E520 results - soft images?

Hi.. I've just shifted from an E500 to a brand new E520 (so i'm familiar with the settings etc)

Despite all efforts, I am getting softer images on the E520 than my E500 used to produce. Despite the advantage of IS :(

Anyone have an idea what it could be? I shoot birds mostly, using a Sigma 135-400 DG lens with just a UV filter on. I have stopped down the lens to f8, avoided zooming out to full 400mm, turned noise filter and NR off, use a beanbag/tripod.. i still cant get crisp images :(

Any ideas what could be going wrong here?

Sandeep

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Originally Posted by sandeep

Hi.. I've just shifted from an E500 to a brand new E520 (so i'm familiar with the settings etc)

Despite all efforts, I am getting softer images on the E520 than my E500 used to produce. Despite the advantage of IS :(

Anyone have an idea what it could be? I shoot birds mostly, using a Sigma 135-400 DG lens with just a UV filter on. I have stopped down the lens to f8, avoided zooming out to full 400mm, turned noise filter and NR off, use a beanbag/tripod.. i still cant get crisp images :(

Any ideas what could be going wrong here?

Sandeep

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Are you shooting RAW or JPEG? If your talking about the JPEG imaes are you shooting in fine or superfine? The superfine is hidden, but I dont know if it is hidden on the e500 or not in a similar fashion.

Can you post an example? The images should be better not worse since the e520 uses the E3 sensor

Yes, please post a few shots. I have the E3 and I find the images sharper than the 500. Have you tried the kit lens? And do you have the IS set to the right one?
There are two IS settings one for normal shots and one for panning.

could be the UV filter on the lens, it's a filter after all that inhibits the light from returning through the lens even by a little bit..

what was your original lens on the e-500?

it could be your settings...color, contrast, sharpness ? what are those values in the custom color menu? what about Noise reduction, is it on or off?

as for the sigma 135-400 5.6;


it's not an incredible telephoto lens, for starters, there is a lot of clarity loss towards the long end of the focal length. It's very very cheap, only 400 bucks so I guess you get what you pay for. That said it certainly is NOT horrible. The resolution is a negative feature about the mid-range zooms but for the price it's pretty good...sure you're not going to get absolutely stunning shots of everything you point 400 mm of focal length at but that's just the way the ball bounces...mind you, we really do need to see the same images as well as all the EXIF data you can manage (particularily focal length and aperture, shutter speed, exposure, ISO to be the absolute minimum).

I find certain lenses have their own personalities. I've personally heard a lot of bad things about the 135-400, and if I were you I'd just sell it and get the Sigma 170-500 which is basically the same range of zoom, only much much better quality of resolution towards the far end of the lens.

one more thing; it could be the AF being slow to focus on your birds. What kind of birds are they? Fast birds? Slow birds? Do they sit for a long time? Try manually focusing your lens to focus on the birds..and I know that's hard (especially considering the LCD display on the e-500) if they're the fast moving type but you'll have to compensate if you want clearer images

here's some reviews in depth of the 135-400 5.6
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Si...-DG-Aspherical
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/s...&cat=37&page=1

knee-jerk reaction:

Keep IS turned OFF while using a tripod. See if that helps. IS is intended for moving platforms only, I.E. handheld or panning...

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Originally Posted by Greg McCary

Yes, please post a few shots. I have the E3 and I find the images sharper than the 500. Have you tried the kit lens? And do you have the IS set to the right one?
There are two IS settings one for normal shots and one for panning.

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My 520 has 3 IS settings. Normal, Horizontal panning, and verticle panning.

Also why Do I keep hearing I need to keep IS off for tripod shots? What does it hurt?

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Originally Posted by Justintoxicated

My 520 has 3 IS settings. Normal, Horizontal panning, and verticle panning.

Also why Do I keep hearing I need to keep IS off for tripod shots? What does it hurt?

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I don't know the mechanics behind it, but I'm guessing when the camera is absolutely still, the IS is looking for vibrations, begins over-correcting, and causes the sensor to drift (creating camera shake from inside the camera itself). It's said that lens based IS suffer some sort of "feedback loop" in tripod situations, and I would guess sensor shift cameras have similar problems too.

Personally, when using a tripod, I only turn my IS off when conditions are very good (studio, no wind, stable surface, etc.). But I often keep it on even on a tripod, since my tripod, despite being more stable than me, is sometimes still not truly stable.

As to the OP's post, it sounds like you've covered the common causes of soft images and I've seen perfectly sharp images taken with a 520, so perhaps it's a defect in your specific lens or camera. Have you been able to get any sharp shots at all from the 520? Or with the lens you are using?

hi.. thanks for all your responses. And apologies for not responding earlier, as I was on travel.

I did try switching off the IS etc.. but not much improvement. Also tried not exceeding 350 mm, keeping the lens stepped down one or two stops..

I'm gonna go get the lens and the new body checked by the dealer..

In the meantime, am attaching some pics here.. if you see the eye of the birds, there is softness that I am unable to get rid of..

Not sure how to post the exif data, but they are generally on 5.6 to f 8, at 350 mm, ISO 100, no exposure compensation and NR turned off

Though one observation is that things seem to get better if I am shooting in bright sunlight... maybe i'm just expecting the lens to do more than it was meant to!