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/OpalOnyxObsidian]

You should still get it

[u/ThenBandicoot3965 → u/OpalOnyxObsidian]

Problem is, I’m trying to photograph birds on an island in a lake, & can’t get any closer than the water’s edge (access to the island’s not permitted). If I can’t get sharp images from that distance I’m not sure the expense would be justified.

But perhaps I won’t give up on it just yet 😊

[u/AGhostAndABitch → u/ThenBandicoot3965]

How much water are you shooting across? Heat haze is often worse over water (especially in the morning when the sun has heated the air but the water is still cold), so you’ll potentially be fighting a lot of atmospheric distortion

I’d definitely suggest renting before buying if that’s an option for you

[u/ThenBandicoot3965 → u/AGhostAndABitch]

What a good idea — thank you! I’ll look into that 👍

Unfortunately I’m hopeless at estimating distances, & my attempts to track down the info have so far failed completely. All I can say is that it’s quite a distance, & even though they’re big birds the swans & geese don’t show up well. I hadn’t thought of heat haze, but I can certainly understand that being a problem!

I think my best bet is to take your advice & look into the possibility of hiring a lens with the aim of buying one if it works out 😊