I purchased Nikor 70-300 VR but most photos rejected with “Focus” error!

[K.K.T Madhusanka]

I purchased Nikkor 70- 300 mm AF-P DX NIKKOR  f/4.5-6.3G ED VR lens for Nikon d5300 dslr.. but most landscape and other zoomed 300 mm photos rejected due to focusing errors on shutter stock... can you help me to get adjust settings to eliminate this but I’m currently switching on noise reduction option on camera but using 18-55 kit lens all pictures approved... I’m looking your kindly help...!

[David A Litman]

Some lenses are just sharper than others.  The Nikkor18-55 kit lens is very sharp.   I'm not sure about the 70-300, but when I had the Nikkor18-200 I also had a lot trouble getting images accepted due to out of focus.  If it's not the lens, another issue to consider is motion blur.  At longer zoom you need a faster shutter speed to avoid this.

[Former_Poster]

Most peoples images get rejected for focus these days even if they're perfectly focused.

Its SS AI or auto-rejection kicking in.

Have a look at it, if it is in focus (check though, or post on here so someone else can look), just resubmit.

 

[Doug McLean]

4 hours ago, K.K.T Madhusanka said:

I purchased Nikkor 70- 300 mm AF-P DX NIKKOR  f/4.5-6.3G ED VR lens for Nikon d5300 dslr.. but most landscape and other zoomed 300 mm photos rejected due to focusing errors on shutter stock... can you help me to get adjust settings to eliminate this but I’m currently switching on noise reduction option on camera but using 18-55 kit lens all pictures approved... I’m looking your kindly help...!

The D5300 does not have AF fine tune, so your lens may not be focusing perfectly. Try using a steady tripod, and focus using live view to get on-sensor focusing which will be more accurate than the phase detect AF. Once focused, mirror lockup and a remote release will help.

Also note that inexpensive DX lenses aren't as well built and don't have the same quality of glass that more expensive lenses do, so the image quality won't be as good. Don't expect to get the same sharpness and image quality from a cheap $350 zoom lens as you would get from a better $1500 lens, especially a telephoto lens with a variable aperture. Shorter zooms and primes are easier and cheaper to make, so in general they will be sharper than longer zooms in the same price range.

A longer lens is harder to get sharp photos with than a shorter lens, especially a slow lens like 70- 300 mm AF-P DX. A lot depends on how good your technique is.

[stevemart]

Whether your photos are actually sharp using the 70-300mm VR lens depends on a lot of factors.

Was the lens new or used ...test it at various apertures for sharpness:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAiGyl5CKlQ

If it has front or rear AF focus issues and the camera body does not have a correction facility....send it back (if new) and get another. If bought second-hand....that's probably why the previous owner wanted it gone! Tough.

VR may be good but you can't hand hold 200-300mm (without tripod) at a shutter speed much less than 1/200th sec and get it critically sharp.I'm sure the lens manufacturers would disagree! VR is a 5 stop miracle!

Check the quality of the lens at the various focal lengths.....I had a Nikon 70-300mm for DX and it was OK below 200mm but above 200mm it was really crappy. As previously mentioned, there's a reason for some lenses being cheap whilst other are expensive!

 

 

[Dinesh Hukmani]

13 hours ago, K.K.T Madhusanka said:

I purchased Nikkor 70- 300 mm AF-P DX NIKKOR  f/4.5-6.3G ED VR lens for Nikon d5300 dslr.. but most landscape and other zoomed 300 mm photos rejected due to focusing errors on shutter stock... can you help me to get adjust settings to eliminate this but I’m currently switching on noise reduction option on camera but using 18-55 kit lens all pictures approved... I’m looking your kindly help...!

A good sturdy tripod is required when using any long zoom lens. Start using and you will see the positive difference in your images. All the best.

[Former_Poster]

9 hours ago, Dinesh Hukmani said:

A good sturdy tripod is required when using any long zoom lens. Start using and you will see the positive difference in your images. All the best.

Not really.  Just make sure the shutter speed is high enough.  Good luck getting any moving, tracking wildlife shots on a tripod...

[Tupungato]

Nikkor 70- 300 mm AF-P DX NIKKOR  f/4.5-6.3G ED VR is a relatively cheap lens. I wouldn't expect it to be sharp with 24mpix camera. At least not sharp enough for most stock requirements.

[stevemart]

Not necessarily true. I've had a Nikon kit lens 18-55mm which was sharp and good , albeit on a 12Mp camera. I have a 16-50mm kit lens on my Sony A6000 and it is not great but OK at the short end but excellent in the middle and long end. My aperture is usually between 5.6 and 8 and if any lens I buy isn't sharp between those apertures, I send it back.

[Tupungato]

Well, I'm commenting on this very lens, Nikkor 70- 300 mm AF-P DX NIKKOR  f/4.5-6.3G ED VR. Optical resolution of this lens is at best average.

Also, 12Mp vs 24Mp is a huge difference. A lens can produce sharp images on 12Mp camera, and blurry photos on 24Mp camera if its optical resolution limit is somewhere between.

[KeremGogus]

Almost 5 years ago I did the same mistake with purchasing a 55-300 VR lens. Didn't know the big difference between a 5.6 lens and a 1.8 one. If I knew the things I know today, I'd buy a 85mm F/1.8G lens instead. Would be a great short tele on DX (crop) sensor and my photos would probably look magical. But kinda too late now  Maybe one day  

[deciofotografia22]

I have a Nikkor 70-300, but I only use it with tripe, it is very difficult to focus without it.

[Philip Armitage]

the 70-300 VR is not a bad lens and should give good results. If using a tripod as others are suggesting, don't forget to turn off the VR. I had the non VR version and didn't like it. I now have the Tamron 700-300 with VR and find it pretty good, even hand holding down to 1/30 second. Using on both a crop and full frame camera