Meadowlark II

Greg, I really like the pose and the background. The sharpness, while not bad, is not as good as it should be. Not sure what is going on. I have no experience with the Tamron 150-600, but I have read fairly extensively on it. My friend also shoots the same lens/camera combination that you have. From what I have read, the sharpness of this lens is usually described as good, but not great. The images that my friend has shot and shown me are good, similar to yours. However, the sharpness of his images pretty much tracks what I see in your images. Both you and he are still gaining experience with this lens. So, with lots of shooting and experimentation, I am confident that you will get the most out of this lens. That is what happened with me when I was using my Canon 100-400 lens. I came to know its strengths and weaknesses and also fine tuned my abilities. At some point, as I did, you will be getting the most that this lens can provide. Additional image quality improvements will only be realized with a different lens with more capabilities. Hope this helps.

Jerry

I would suggest two things: a little more PP sharpening and a tripod, or even a beanbag to stabilize the shooting platform. These birds are difficult to catch, anyway. Also remember this is not a Canon 600mm, but a fairly decent lens you bought for less than 1/10th the cost of a 600mm Canon prime. Keep working at it; you have made definite progress!

As presented the image lacks critical sharpness, but as Phill suggests a bit more unsharp mask will help this a lot. The example I'm showing here is taken from your larger image, selecting just the bird, and applying Smart Sharpen in Photoshop CS3 at the values shown.

There are many parameters involved in image sharpness, from the quality of the lens, to the camera settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed), focus point, subject motion, and camera movement. To maximize your results you should address al these factors.

1/1000th second should be safe for hand holding at 375mm as long as you aren't careless in handling the lens, but as Phil also suggests a tripod or beanbag support will help in a lot of situations.

I recommend some basic tests to determine how much of a factor your lens is in this equation. As in any test like this you need to eliminate as many variables as possible. Find a stationary subject with lots of detail (definitely not a roadside bird) in good light and put your gear on a stable tripod with the controls locked down. Then take a series of photos using different combinations of ISO, SS, F, and focal length in constant light without recomposing.Then look critically at each image at 100% view without applying any sharpening (manual or automatic settings) to see how much variation there is with your lens. You might find that wide open at max focal length costs a lot of sharpness, while just pulling back a little on FL and stoping down 1-2 stops gives much better results.

Then remember that whatever combination gave the best results under controlled conditions is the best you can expect working in the field with live subjects. That's when you'll want to see if you can improve your field technique on focusing and keeping your gear steady.

Beautiful pose with nice detail in the larger version. I do not love the perch.

Thanks gents, for your comments and suggestions. I would love to get a prime lens, but that will have to wait for a while longer. I realize I am a complete beginner, so I see all this as a maturation process. I am having more fun "chasing" birds than anything I've done in quite some time and to be able to produce good, but not great images is OK for me right now. However, I wouldn't be on this site if I didn't want to improve. I am taking classes, so hopefully my progress will continue. I will learn and do all I can with this camera/lens combo, then hopefully I'll be at a place to step-up to a better lens.

Thanks again

Nice image as far as my concerns. Good that there are some useful information on Tamrom150-600 mm lens as I am waiting for that. Obviously it can not give sharp images as canon prime lens.

Greg,
I agree with Jerry, the image is a little soft. Nice composition, and the post and barbed wire add a lot to the image. You could also post this on Man and Nature.

Learned to fly at Meadowlark airport in Southern Cal,your photo triggered memories! By the way I like all the photo stuff too.