dissapointed in 18-105 vr

[Douglas]

Hey folks. Pretty much the same thing I posted in the 18-105 vs 18-200 thread. But didnt want to derail that one too much. Im not sure if its the auto focus or what. But it seems that at 105, the images are fairly blurry.

The other week I went to a football game and it just seemed a bunch of the pictures werent really in focus. Wasnt sure if this was due to the sports setting or not. And I dont mean just the action, but when I was trying to get shots of the band playing. I did not see 1 spot in focus.

I chalked it up to maybe the distance and maybe the camera maybe focusing on something else in frame other then my subject. So this weekend, I went to the beach. I shot this image at 105mm, f/5.6 and at a shutter speed of 1250th. VR was on

Heres the photobucket shrunk version of the image:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Picture178.jpg

and here is a screen cap (I dont have photoshop here at work and my home comp is acting up) of the full size image. This was shot at jpg fine and on the large setting.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ydor/sharp.jpg

Now it doesnt seem to be this way through the whole range, as this image I took shows:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Picture168.jpg

Is it something im doing, the camera is doing, am I just seeing it more from the full size image, or does the lens just suck at the 105 end of the zoom? If I could see 1 part of the image looking sharp, I would just assume I mis-focused. But the whole thing seems blurry

Now the colors seem great. I am very happy with them. Just the focus seems dissapointing. Oh, and this was shot with a D90

[R. House]

What I'm seeing is a pretty sharp image, considering its posted with a couple of compressions. One thing you might consider doing...close the lens down a couple of stops. You're shooting wide open (f5.6@105mm) and the optimum is more like f11. Also, what is being done in post processing as far as sharpening and contrast? I do see that you have the camera set for hard sharpening and sometimes that isn't the best for high contrast subjects.

[Douglas]

No post processing. Thats straight out of the camera. I did push the sharpness up 2 notches (out of 9) in camera, but thats it.

Ill try some other shots and see if I see any difference. Maybe the size of the image is why I am seeing it as being unsharp (4200 x 1200 or something like that)

Oh, and if anyone was wondering, the dark corners are from me shooting this pic from my car.

[palakaboy]

have you tried using this with another camera?

i've used the 18-105 with my d60, it produced some insanely sharp results.

[Douglas]

I think Im going to have to try another 18-105. I did some minor testing last night. The 18/105 vs a 50 f1.8. Now I know since this is a prime, it should be sharper then a consumer grade zoom. But this different?

18-105 at 70mm.f/8 iso 200 for 1/100 with VR off. I do have steady hands



18-105 at 105. f/8 iso 200 with 1/25 with vr on





50mm, f/8, iso 800 for 1/320



Am I expecting too much from this zoom or just think I have a dud? Middle one was spot metered. Others matrix. No post processing other then to cut the image down to a workable size from the full 4800x2800 image.

And yes...I need to wash my car.

[R. House]

Your comparison test is not an accurate indicater due to the settings you used. I think you're looking for a solution to the wrong problem. Proper post processing and good technique can do wonders. If you go to the Luminous Landscape site, there are some great tutorials. Best regards, Ray

[Douglas]

The whole issue is if the lens is focusing properly. I didnt do any post processing to fix color, lighting, etc. My testing was just some shots using 2 different lenses at 2 different appateurs to see if the lens was focusing correctly. All the postprocessing (or presets) wont fix an issue with a lens that isnt getting a clear image to the sensor.

[träskmannen]

If you want to compare the two lenses you need to use identical settings - same focal length (50mm), same aperture, same shutter time and same ISO.

[palakaboy]

i shot this the day after i got my camera.

these are from october 18..


1/15th @ 3.5 w/ 640 ISO
18mm



1/40th @ 5.6 w/ 1600 ISO
105mm



1/4th @ 5.6f w/ 640 ISO
66mm



1/250th @ 5.6f w/ 250 ISO
105mm

[gaopa2]

Palakaboy, those images of yours look fine.... nice sharp focus and color. I don't know anything about that lens, but it would appear that you have a good one. Cheers, Bill P.