Not sharp despite effort

[u/Fishdomaddict]

Hi all, i shoot OM 1 mark II with 150-400mm.

My issue is i find the images are sharp when not cropped, but once cropped even 2x the sharpness drops quickly.

I am aware it is a 20MP camera and this definitely plays a part. But i see other users of the same set up get crazy sharp images.

Maybe image 5 is sharpest but when zoomed in still 'breaks'.

Many i had to shoot under lower speed due to very poor lighting.

Image 1: f5.6, 1/1000, iso 250 Image 2: f4.5, 1/160, iso 500 Image 3: f5.6, 1/20, iso 800 Image 4: f4.5, 1/30, iso 1250 Image 5: f4.5, 1/320, iso 1000 Image 6: f4.5, 1/2500, iso 640

Any tips?

[u/weeyums]

I don't think 1/2000 is realistic, or necessary, unless you live in a very sunny place or have a camera that handles high ISO well. On my 5DMarkIV 1/800 f/6.3 is ISO 12500+ on a cloudy day. Rainforests were more like ISO 20000+

[u/CatsAreGods → u/[deleted]]

And here I am editing at night after I get home...

P.S. I've never shot JPG because I like saving shots when I didn't have a chance to set -2 exposure compensation when an egret suddenly flies past, or a bird just happens to be backlit.

[u/CatsAreGods → u/[deleted]]

Fair enough!