Why do distant birds look soft and pixelated with my Nikon D5200 and 18-105mm lens?
Asked 10/26/2013
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I’m using a Nikon D5200 with the 18-105mm lens and photographed flamingos at a distance. Their faces don’t show clearly, and if I zoom into the image it looks pixelated. I’ve also tried Manual mode without better results. What settings or shooting mode work best for this kind of bird/wildlife photo, and is this mainly a settings issue or a lens/reach limitation?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
5
This is nothing to do with your settings; you just need a longer focal length - or in other words, a new, bigger, heavier, significantly more expensive lens.
As a very rough rule of thumb, you'll want a focal length of around 400mm (full-frame equivalent) in order to do birding shots, or a lens which can go to about 250-300mm taking into account the 1.5x crop factor of your camera.
Originally by user11371. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11371
13y ago
0
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This is mostly a reach issue, not a camera-mode problem. Your 18-105mm lens is too short for distant bird shots, so the birds occupy only a small part of the frame. When you crop or zoom into the file, it will look soft or pixelated because there simply isn’t enough subject detail captured.
For birds, you generally want much more focal length—roughly 250–300mm or more on your D5200 for better results, and longer is often even better.
A few technique tips can help:
- Fill the frame more by getting closer or using a longer lens.
- Don’t always shoot wide open; stopping down a little can improve sharpness.
- Keep ISO moderate when possible.
- Watch exposure carefully with bright subjects like flamingos; slight negative exposure compensation can help preserve detail in pale feathers.
- Apply sharpening/resizing in post-processing for display.
So: Manual mode alone won’t solve this. The main improvement will come from more focal length, plus careful exposure and sharpness technique.
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