image quality of this deer

[Doug]

I'm trying to make a decision, input on quality of this shot appreciated. I think it's a pretty nice pose, but I'm more concerned with whether to use this glass combo in the future.

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http://fotogafer.smugmug.com/gallery/2626585#149637983-L-LB

I see a lot of detail here, I just can't decide if this image quality is acceptable. I've done some sharpening.

I'm thrown here by the fact her face seems spot on, with lash detail and all, but her body seems spotty, but is this a natural deer thing this time of year, or an image problem? I'm just unsure.

 

[dmwphoto]

Doug
Very nice indeed!
Her coat looks normal to me for the season.

 

[Gerald Plowman]

My novice thought from viewing your "original" is. . .the image lacks detail because of the light direction. . I get many images like this and it's because the light was not on the surface of the subject that I shot.

 

[Doug]

Thank you Dave, I take that as a good sign from above.

I begin sometimes to doubt myself, and I have to just stop and ask an opinion. Especially on a new combo. This is a 1.7 TC on my new 300 2.8VR. So, it's 500mm. (still not sure why not 510)

 

[Doug]

Mr. Ricco, you may well be EXACTLY spot on about what my issue is with the shot. Cades Cove offers so much, but then presents it sometimes in a very difficult position with the light to shoot it in.

 

[Baxter]

The light in the eyes makes the photo. The softeness of the coat doesn't matter. If anything, it allows the viewer to focus on the eyes. If anything, you might recrop to take the face out of the center and simply eliminate most of the body, which isn't adding much to the photo.

 

[Bobber]

Nice capture Doug....Does look a bit soft...kinda lacks some detail...but overall,nice shot!

 

[Doug]

well, it is at 500mm with a 1.7TC, and I think I shot it off my car window...

 

[Lou Buscher]

Doug I would say the light is good on the head and casting shadows onto the shoulder area so the sharping you added is produceing noise in the shadow area (shoulder) Perhaps if you have PSCS you can take the lasso tool and isolate that shoulder area and use the despeckel filter on just that area to kill some of the noise there or if you have the original in RAW you can go over with it.
Lou

 

[Matt S]

I agree, it looks like sharpening noise (halos) to me.

 

[Flew]

I like it. I shoot quite a bit in woodsy situations, and you just can't always get perfect light. The highlights in the eyes and the good subject to background isolation that you got with 700mm are what I like about it.

 

[Doug]

I always shoot raw Lou.

My PS skills are somewhat primative. I'll learn more in that area as I can, someday, sooner rather than later I hope. But for now, I am not sure how to a section, without some research. That's the beauty of saving images in archivable backup, I'll have the Raw to work on when I get more time, for now, I can at least enjoy her like she is. I will back off my sharpening a bit and evaluate her.

Thanks Frank, glad you liked her, she was 500mm, not 700, I said a 1.7 TC, I guess that's what you got that from.

 

[Matt S]

Doug are you on a LCD or CRT screen. I am running a dual set up one of each. The "oversharpening" is more apparent on my LCD than on my CRT. I am sure this has to due with the higher contrast of LCD screens. On my CRT, I don't know that I would have noticed the issue in the first place.

 

[davidwcramer]

It's a nice image, albeit with some difficult light to work with. I think you are getting some noise from low light/sharpening. The 300 and 1.7 usually work well together. I'd suggest two approaches: 1 - crop out most of the body and see what you have left or 2 - selectively only sharpen the head, leave the body and background unsharpened and perhaps even add a little blue to increase dof appearance.

 

[jbear]

If you don't mind an unconventional crop you could get a very nice vertical closeup portrait out of it.

 

[Doug]

LCD, albeit not a great one Matt. CRTs are in the garage not being used at present.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to see if I can learn some new techniques. (any techniques maybe...)

 

[Hokum]

I think you may have a bit of camera shake. The photo info button reports 1/15sec shutter time. Cars i find are not the most stable platform, and even if bean bagged i'd aim for 1/200 at least at 500mm. Even a slight shake at this focal length will destroy any detail. The shot looks ok, but i think maybe testing in better light may give you a more "reasonable" grounding to the combo's abilities.

Hope that made sence?

 

[DanielD]

Looked at the original and first thought that it lacks some detail, thought it was high ISO because it looked just like the lacking detail I know from my high ISO shots. Is that the original exposure or did you lighten the shadows in PP?

Then I noticed 1/15s which is very long for 500mm, at least I think so. I couldn't see severe motion blur on the hairs, but my uneducated guess would be that part of the lacking detail might be due to the low shutter speed and/or the TC.

 

[Doug]

If anything I darkened everything. The shot really was overexposed some I think. Though not real sure why with my camera set in aperture priority mode. Then I have good and bad camera days, and the bad thing about wildlife is, you only typically get 1 shot.

I think the lighting was harsh in some ways, and my camera got fooled exposure wise by lighting. It may in fact be no more complex than that. I'll just have to shot some more, but at least a head shot is salvagable here, there seems to be nice head and eye detail anyway.

Thanks for all the continued input. I think I am learning from this, and will review soon too what everyone said here.

Doug