Great video, Jan. You gave some great tips. My RF 100-500 is sharpest at F/8 anyway and noise reduction is easy. Who needs F/4? (I still want that fast prime though 😂 but I can't afford it.)
Thank you for the tip I’m one of those who almost always shoot wide open at f/4 with a 600 prime. I do try to remember to stop down when two or more birds are close together. I need to get this through my thick scull that I need to stop down!!!! Thanks for the reminder!!!
nice topic Jan. yes most lenses on large sensors need to be stopped down. for some reason f8 seem to be the best. and here where the m4/3 shines, take zuiko 300 mm f4, you get f4 light gathering benefits with the f8 effective dof.
Excellent Video Jan, recently I photographed a new born fawn in a patch of lily of the valley, hiding from any danger will the mother foraged for food elsewhere. Desiring to use as learning tool not to chase or disturb fawns alone in the forest who were neither lost or abandon by the mother. I purposely set the Canon lens at 1.6 crop and f14 ( known sweet spot) with ISO OF 5000 in available light at 9:00 PM shutter speed was 250. Shooting from the bed of a stationary truck over the cab. Results were spots on back as well as greenery were in sharp focus without post. The photo will be used for PSA and educational tool for wildlife managers when speaking to children about behavior of deer during spring and early summer fawn encounters. Shooting at lower f stop would not have provided the depth of desired focus. Keep em coming JAN.
I generally stop down to f/8 but will stay wide open if the conditions don't allow. I remember with my old setup (which I still have, wide open was f/5.6) I so etimes wanted the shallow depth of field look in a photo but even then f/8 was the go to aperture.
maybe I shouldn't, but I typically let the available light dictate my Aperture. I shoot a 600 F4 with a 1.4 Converter the majority of the time. with good light I'm normally F8-F14 if I don't have that type of light, then I shoot wide open at f5.6. great topic for us all.
Great video Jan!! It can be quite surprising how shallow the DOF is wide-open, especially when your subject is close to you. You shared some excellent situations where stopping down can improve the shot.
Another quick question...all cameras can bracket for exposure, but is there a camera that could bracket for aperture? I think that would be a useful feature!
👍 Thanks for this great explanation Jan !! In the heat of the moment we sometimes forget to 'balance' the aperture according to the conditions. And it's tempting to go wide open to allow higher shutter, lower iso and better bokeh .. but I also realized when it was too late a narrower aperture would have helped when the bird makes a sudden move, like when a kingfisher dived down too fast for my eye-AF to follow asap .. I still like my shots, but they could have been better and sharper.
Great advice, as always Jan. I always prefer to use my 600mm prime stopped down to at least f5.6 because it's definitely sharper than wide open. I'll try to use at least f8 when my subject isn't perfectly parallel to my sensor. The trouble is - I live in the UK and a lot of the time I'm working with very low light so I often need to compromise and open my lens up a bit. Noise reduction software helps a lot, but it reaches a point at extreme ISOs where the software itself is affecting image quality and I find I'm better off at f4 with more manageable noise. Like everything - it's a balancing act!
I own the Sigma 70-200 2.8 Sports and its a very sharp lens, even at f2.8. But after a year I recognised that its even sharper at f4. So thats what im using for wildlife from now on.
In my opinion it is best to always be active in your photography and never do anything "just one way". Know your gear and how different settings affect the image, and let it be a tool for your creativity at all siuations ... is my philosophy. Great video, as always 🤗
But look at the average, modern canon lenses: They are „wide open“ already slow, but thankfully at least very good and usable wide open. The advice in this video i only saw very obviously with vintage lenses yet since i can not afford for example 600mm F4s and so anyways
This is one to watch over and over to make sure the info becomes second nature. I get excited out there, the mind tends to go blank because I know the birds don't hang around, they flit. Thank you, Jan. Good to see you looking well. Edit: Been subscribed for a long time and always hit the like because I always like :)
As I shoot architecture, I usually use f/11 and only use a wider aperture if there is a lack of light. I also use DXO PureRAW and feel comfortable with it until about ISO 3200, as I needs some headroom to recover shadows. Bumping shadows by two stops means effectively using ISO 12800 instead of 3200. Image stabilization helps me a lot. Architecture usually does not move. So my shutter speed just depends on the IS and my ability to hold the camera still. In future I might not buy very fast lenses any more, as I do not use that fast shutter speed anyway. For example I own a 70-200 f/2.8, but hardly ever use it below f/8. So I carry around a lot of unnecessary weight. Since I recently bought a 100-400, I will probably not take my 70-200 on long trips any more.
Thanks so much Jan for always sharing the best content, I love f8 is my go to get very nice shots and I still get very nice and dreamy backgrounds, of course that's my style 🐦👍🤗
I'm passionate about wildlife photography and since I've been regularly listening to Jan's videos, I always stop down to about f/8 or f/9 and never use low iso's anymore. It has totally changed the quality of my photos!
You are right with your hint. As a Sigma user at my 120-300 it is better to to shoot with 3,5 or higher as well with my 150-600. f/8 is much better than 6,3.
This is a Great video! I see so many photographers wanting lens at f/1.4 and shooting everything at f/1.4 and then complaining they missed the shot because it focused on the person's glasses and not their eyes, well hell if they used f/5.6 that would have not been the issue and they would have still most likely have a very smooth background. I went to Brooks in Santa Barbara and learned from some of the greats like Monty Zucker, he was a wedding photographer and rarely went below f/5.6 and used f/8.0 mainly for his portraits. So thank you for telling everyone what the real world of photography is all about. F/1.4 is great for astrophotography, never my choice for portrait, wedding, wildlife or commercial.
Great Video. I was out today and just experienced this when I was shooting a Squirrel, I got really close to him at F-4 (wide open for my lens) and when I checked out the picture only his eyes where is focus. I am shooting with a Canon 90D and most of the time a Sigma 150-600 I am going to take your advice and stop down to F-9 thanks for the great video.
Thank you for not only sharing your knowledge, but also the real world application of your knowledge in your photographs. I've just purchased your Prosets Bundle Pack and can't wait to see the impact.
Jan, looking good man. Giving you a shout out for continuing to do what you love and share it. WIDE OPEN: You covered everything very well. While Tin Man Lee (who shoots bears, foxes and bigger game) would argue with shooting wide open most of the time (advice he was given by a frequent National Geographic Cover photographer), there are many good reasons, depending on light and background, to change it up. The only thing I would say is all the examples I could see in your video had beautifully smooth backgrounds despite stopping down - even at the beach with the black-neck stilt. Was the water that calm and far away? Thanks for the video share and as always, appreciate the effort.
Thanks Jan. There are always opportunities to improve our shots and revisit our settings. Thanks for all your suggestions and help over the years. You have some spectacular photos and are always an inspiration to do better. Thank you!
Good call Jan here in the UK we often have little choice but to shoot wide open. No global warming here this Summer ! But best to stop down when you can especially with using a zoom lens. The denoise Software is so good now so times have changed . Beautiful colours in your shots Jan awesome 👍
@@jan_wegener I have certainly changed tactics recently with the Denoise software. In the past I was shooting 80% of my shots wide open here in the UK. Definitely sharper and more of the subject in focus now🙂
I have RF 100-500L which a perfect lens in terms of sharpness and quality but its often too dark even with acceptable light before sunset. I often end up with iso 12800-16000 and in this case a brighter lens (400mm f2.8 with tc) would help me. Few days ago I had marsh harrier i the air and when he had tree behind my iso bump up to 25600 because I had a 1,4x tc and shutter speed of 1/3200s. With lower shutter I didnt get fully sharp bird.
Thank you. This information will be of great help to me in the field. Open wide has been the norm used by me because of low light situations. Now I can make a better choice by having a clear understanding of the “why”. So helpful.
Thank you so much for this knowledge. You and another photographer have recommended this technique with great results. I'm an amateur photographer, so every little bit of learning helps!
Most of the time i'm stepping down. I have a 500mm F4.5 and 800mm F5.6 from Sigma and nearly always stepping down to minimum 6.3 and 7.1. Especially the 800mm is a bit blurry on F5.6.
not often talked about since many lenses usually perform well wide open and are anyways not fast in general. sure enough here and there i stop down my 150-600 from 6.3 to F8 for best sharpness, but mostly wide open since i got a good example anyways barely noticable difference between 6.3 and 8 at 600mm Which is with many zoom lenses a real issue and its barely talked about: image quality at widest and longest focal range. The Sigma 150-600 performs a lot better on 400-500mm than on 600mm, also helped a lot to getthe subject in frame with a APS-C camera
Great video. I started getting into wildlife photography within the last couple months and it’s crazy how shallow the depth of field gets at the longer focal lengths. There have been times when I thought everything would be in focus at a certain aperture but then come to find out when I look on the computer that it’s not. This has made me realize that stopping down a bit is the way to go for most situations. It’s a learning curve but the information provided here definitely reinforced the importance of doing so. Thanks Jan.
The thing is: Its always the combination of focal length and aperture as well distance My „slow“ RF 800 F11 is also producing a shallow DoF because its 800mm
Good video. The rules of thumb for bird photography is different than for people. You can also control background blur in post. Getting the shot for birds is most important. Having greater depth of field initially will give you more options in post.
I would encourage you to use the DOF calculator ;) Also, it would have been nice to see a LIDAR in cameras to get a correct and robust depth estimation and display it to the user. Also, it can provide a depth map allowing photo editors to process the depth field in post-production.
With the experience you start intuitively feel which aperture to use in every situation ;). Besides often it is good to vary the aperture to get different artistic effects in shots of the same subject.
A lens that is mostly sharp wide open is the RF 100-500. Beside artistic reasons once in a while I mostly shoot wide open with this lens. Good video Jan !
Hello Jan, I fully agree with you. I don't always use my RF 600mm f/4.0 wide open. Depends on the situation. My personal experience is that there is no fixed rule when it comes to photography. You have already pointed this out. You should know the basic principle of the technology (aperture, shutter speed, ISO) and image design. To have an understanding about that, but outside in the field is mostly a mix requested, adapted to the situation. The next thing is what would you like to have on the photo. In some situations there is little or no opportunity to shoot with the smallest aperture of the lens. When you are in a low light situation and the ISO shouldn't be that high, or when you are at the end of your camera's ISO options. My favorite motives are mammals in the wild. In Germany not so easy. So I'm out either early in the morning or late in the evening at dusk. Often in the forest, where the light is even darker. I usually want to avoid an ISO higher than 12800 on my R5. Of course, if it has to be to capture a special situation, also higher. I usually do it like this, I go out with the smallest aperture and highest ISO. Depending on the light situation, the ISO is gradually turned down. Until I'm at ISO 12.800 sometimes 6.400. The aperture is then further closed as required. I would think that this every wildlife photographer is doing it in that way in those situations. Of course, I also keep an eye on the shutter speed to avoid excessive motion blur. Unless I want to have this for image design reasons. In most cases I have to leave the forest very early because of the walkers with and without dogs, joggers, cyclists and hiking groups. It starts as early as 7:00 a.m. on the weekends, it's still bearable. My photo session ends at 8:00/9:00, depending on the area and how many people arround. In the afternoon makes it no sense for me to go to the forest earlier than 6/7 p.m. Through my volunteer work in conservation, I know some areas where there isn't much traffic. But in these areas are also hunters arround. If the weather is bad, it's also okay, then there aren't that many people out and about. Depending on the light conditions. That's why I often have no choice but to use f/4 with my 600mm lens. When it comes to bird photography, I have a bit more freedom when it comes to aperture and ISO. It often depends on the shutter speed But mostly better light conditions than with mammal photography in the forest. At least my experience. It might be different in Australia than in Germany. In Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand it is definitely different than in Germany. There you can also photograph mammals during the day. I was in Sri Lanka for 3 weeks in May 2023 and I had this experience again. I was able to photograph monkeys, elephants, etc. anytime throughout the day. You just had to be in the right place. Greetings from Uwe Germany, Frankfurt am Main
I used to be obsessed with maintaining a high enough shutter speed as well as a low ISO until someone asked me why I was shooting wide open at ISO 100 in good light. Once I thought about it, I switched to shooting in Manual mode where I can adjust everything to suit the conditions. While important, maintaining a low ISO isn’t everything. This video will help a lot of people, especially those just starting out.
I don't think I ever shot wide open at ISO 100 (it would be pretty rare indeed that I would be shooting wildlife in such conditions), but your point is well taken. Back in the film days we were stuck with whatever ISO (ASA) film we had in the camera. In the early days of digital, shooting anything at much higher than ISO 800 (400 on some cameras) created a noisy mess that could not be cleaned up by the software of the time. The opposite was often the case. I look at some photos taken in that era that are soft from a bit of motion blur and go, "Why in the heck did I shoot that fast action scene at f8, 1/250 when I could have shot it at f4, 1/1000 and it would be tack sharp!?" The answer, of course, was that someone had told me, "Stop down! Your lens is sharper if you stop down!" The result, a bunch of "almost were" shots! Fortunately, with today's cameras, we no longer have to worry so much about digital noise at high ISO, and we can have the best of both worlds even in less than ideal conditions! I was recently shooting active birds in rainy, relatively dark conditions at 1/2500, f7.1, ISO 3200, 4000 and some at 5000. What noise there was cleaned up with a click in post! One thing, however, you can never set all three camera settings to your liking. Even in full manual, you can set two of them, but you have to accept the third in order to maintain proper exposure. That's why I use auto ISO or Fv mode on Canon.
Great video Jan I have started dropping my tamron 150-600mm down to f/8 and have certainly noticed the difference in quality thanks for your great videos ,keep up the great work cheers John
HeyJan, thanks for another great video one. Just thing I’d like to add which is it’s just as easy if you’re using a zoom lens to zoom out from 600 back to 400mm that will automatically increase depth of field while staying at the same a Fstop, that’s less helpful when you’re using your 600 prime. Admittedly you’ll have to then crop in later but it’s a quick way to solve depth of field when the bird lands only a few metres in front of you and you need to keep your shutter speed up an aperture wide open. Wishing you good health mate and a nice evening 😃
in the case of my Sigma 150-600C i dont even lose any detail when using 450-500mm on the 32MP APS-C R7 vs 600mm 6.3. best sharpness and detail at 600mm F8 , better F9 tho
Jan, the images are absolutely gorgeous... thank you for the great information, never thought about the depth of field eventhough it is not an unknown thing haha
I’d love to see your work flow on the focus stacked images. Does it line up well enough to use a typical focus stack technic or do you have to line just the out of focus bird up and reveal a layer from underneath?
This one had to be two separate layers and I merged them manually. That's almost always the case with these kind of shots, since the DOF is never perfect
I couldnt agree more on this video concept, but I have been afraid of going above 3200 iso with my 7d mk2 so its mostly been just one step down. I got 5d mk4 and was a bit more confident with 6400, then I got the R5 2021 and 6400 is fine even tried 12800 occasionally. I have the canon 400/4,0 mk2 and the 600mm/4,0 mk2 and I use them often with the 1,4 extender so sharpness is definitely benefiting from one step down. Another point of this is that if the autofocus miss a tiny bit that increased dept of sharpness can save the picture. You really go through all the reasons very well, great video, and your shots of small birds are so beautifulI, Thanks for nice video. I use my lenses in northern sweden, above the arctic circle, for small birds and they are often quite shy so I really need long lenses. I really wish that canon come out with a R7 Pro or whatever they would call it, I would like an Aps-c camera thats generally on the level of an R3 or maybe even as the coming R1 but I doubt that will come. I think general interest is not high enough, the price point would be like the R5 or R3 and most photographer want full frame for that money.
Great video Jan, for over 20 years my go to is f/11, I am still using it on an R7 and R5. I find it is more consistent for the results I try to achieve and has the added benefit of the fleeting chances offered when there are multiple birds. Occasionally I feel the need to try wide open but I am mostly disappointed with the results.
Jan: Thanks for doing this highly informative instruction video. I would like to see more of them! I don't think the blogasphere needs any more equipment comparison/review vlogs. Unfortunately, I know how the RUclips algorithms work and what the general audience demands. Appreciate this vlog even more.
Yes, it's a fine line. With all the Nikon reviews I ended up doing more gear reviews than I had planned. So I will focus a bit more on tutorial styles videos again.
Thank you so much for this tutorial, Jan. I definitely needed this reminder. Your examples were easy to understand. I shoot with the R5+RF 100-500mm. I'm going to stop down next time I'm out. Aperature has always been my nemesis. Plus, very bad advice from experienced photographers. Practice, practice.
@jan_wegener How would this work with the RF 1.4x? The lens at 500mm is already at f/10 using the extender. Would you stop down at all or maybe just 1/3?
Interesting. As a general rule stopping down a bit yields better results for most of my lenses. However, I have not noticed much difference in sharpness with the Sony 200-600 at 600mm between f 6.3, f8 and f11. Although, stopping down to increase depth of field, especially with multiple birds or birds close up, is very useful. Wondering if your experience is the same with this lens. I don’t use the 1.4x teleconverter much with that lens because it is not that sharp. I’ll have to experiment with stopping down a bit. Thank you for the thought provoking video.
Hi Jan, I understand your reasoning regarding stopping down, I use an R5 and a 100-500mm 7.1, if I use a 1.4 converter which gives me F10, would you consider that to be already stopped down or would I need to stop down further as that is the minimum aperture for this set up?
Keep in mind before you shoot with big aperture lenses you also have to afford them. As a Sigma 150-600C and Canon RF 800 F11 user i can clearly say wide open is mostly the best. Same goes for my lovely Canon 17-55 2.8 but here and then i slow it down to 5.6 or so for proper corner sharpness and overall better IQ
My 70-200/2.8 is basically always at f/4. For me that's the sweetspot for sharpness but also a good place to go from if I need more depth of field or go back to f/2.8. However, I have kind of given up on getting everything within the DOF 😅My favorite subjects are our free ranging lemurs at the zoo where I volunteer as staff photographer. They get pretty close to me because they are curious by nature but also because they know me for 10 years at this point. But they are also jumpy and constantly in motion. So I do need a fast shutter speed but since they are close to me even at f/8 I do not get the whole snoot sharp when they look right at me 🤣
Great vid as usual Jan! Just a little bit of feedback this vid and the photo bird show had quite a lot of glitching in the vid, stalled frames and error frames. not sure if its the output preset or an issue with RUclips. Thought I would let you know.
this time, i can't fully agree... the quality of bokeh is also directly correlated to the distance of subject to fore- and background... and tyhis is one more parameter to consider once in a location. then comes the compromise between available light, speed, iso and bokeh
Great video! I’m pretty new to photography and primarily shoot wide open. I’m wondering if shooting with a faster lens (example 1.2 or 1.8) and stopping down to f4 will give the same image quality as shooting wide open on my f/4 lens? Technically they’re both at the same f stop so should equal the same sharpness. Thanks!Your content is very helpful.
On my Sigma 150-600 on Canon R7 I have been mainly using f7.1 but will try f9-11 to compare sharpness. Also as the aperture for zoom range changes do you change the stop down rule for different zoom or base it on minimum zoom range?
Thanks Jan for another great video! But I have this dilemma, I use a RF400 f2.8 with a 2x extender while my wife uses the rf600 f11. Because I need to often stop down to f7.1 at least to get sharp photos, I’m starting to wonder if I am carrying all this extra weight for a merely few stops of light. Should I just use a more handy lighter f11 lens instead ?
Very hard to compare the lenses. Yours should be a bit sharper and definitely better suited for lower light photography. But size wise the 600/11 is a lot smaller of course
Thanks for the reminder Jan, I just got back from Kenya and I should have stopped down on a group of elephants. The photo is so beautiful but one elephant is slightly behind the group so it is OOF. So disappointed that that shot could have been better. Oh well I guess I have to go back to Kenya now, lol
Great video and I also stop down most of the time to create the desired DOF and enhance lens sharpness. However, shooting wide open is an option for the reasons mentioned. In addition my tip: shooting wide open with a fast shutter speed can help when you experience heat haze. It will not miraculously disappear, but you can get a few more decent keepers. In my experience, the higher megapixel sensor camera, the more heat haze will effect your shots. Shooting at a shallow DOF just catches less distortion I guess.
Most of us old timers can remember many, many times when we were shooting wildlife with film, or in the earlier days of digital, when we ruined a great shot due to trying to increase depth of field by stopping down (and costing us precious shutter speed), or we increased the ISO (to maintain shutter and dof), on early digital cameras, and ruined the photo due to excess digital noise. We learned pretty quick that fewer photos were being ruined by inadequate dof than were being ruined by motion blur and/or horrid noise. With today's modern technology a lot of those photographic "Sophie's Choices" have been removed. Still, old habits die hard. A reminder doesn't hurt.
Hi Jan, thanks for the video. If using a x1.4TC it adds one full stop. Is that the same as one full stop for the lens/camera combination without a TC, or should I go another stop if adding a TC, for the example above should I go to F11?
Jan, this video confirms further to support my choice of the a7iv and 100-400 GM with the two TC’s. I have had doubts at times. Carrying the weight of the 200-600 around for three to four hours didn’t appeal, particularly with a dodgy shoulder, and the flexibility the 100-400 offers suits my one lens to rule it all photography style (almost all birds and a little pseudo macro on bugs and plants). Astrophotography is on my list, so probably not good there. Maybe the Nikon Z50 with kit 16-50 pancake lens comes out of the cupboard for that.
Another great video Jan! How long will the discounted price for 49 dollars for your prosets stay? I'm looking forward to buy them after my part time job paycheck, but I'm worried that the disounct will end before that 😅. Thanks for your work and answer. Cheers from Prague.
I saw this video and thought of a problem I am having. On my nikon d600, it only allows me to shoot wide open aperture, and if I don't it gives me and ERR message and makes me turn the camera off and back on to adjust the settings again. Is it the lens or is the it the camera?
Hi, Bro I bought an R7 with an RF800 lens But I don't know how to adjust the shooting settings And I was not happy with this purchase Can you help me and write to me how to adjust the R7 camera settings with this RF800 lens And I thank you very much
We have way too much in common haha. I can't tell you how many images I review for people or see on IG, and see eyeball in focus, nothing else at all. Yes the eyes are critical to get in focus, but if you want any detail of the creature you need to be stopping down, knowing how and why you are and what the impact will be. Whoever is confused on this, bookmark this video and watch it over and over. So many images could be incredible if they were just shot with more attention to the technical details. You can always spot someone with more money than skill by the amount of wide open images they make.
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Great video, Jan. You gave some great tips. My RF 100-500 is sharpest at F/8 anyway and noise reduction is easy. Who needs F/4? (I still want that fast prime though 😂 but I can't afford it.)
Jan's class and prosets? YES!!! Buy these and use them before you buy another piece of gear!!!
Glad you enjoyed them! :)
Thank you for the tip I’m one of those who almost always shoot wide open at f/4 with a 600 prime. I do try to remember to stop down when two or more birds are close together. I need to get this through my thick scull that I need to stop down!!!! Thanks for the reminder!!!
nice topic Jan. yes most lenses on large sensors need to be stopped down. for some reason f8 seem to be the best.
and here where the m4/3 shines, take zuiko 300 mm f4, you get f4 light gathering benefits with the f8 effective dof.
Very valid points for wildlife but for action sports like football ⚽️, rugby 🏉 the 400mm f2.8 is preferable to blur a busy background
Sport often has bad light too so you need that fstop. People are also much further away than a small bird so you have more dof
@@jan_wegener that's true as f5.6 or slower can be problematic
Excellent Video Jan, recently I photographed a new born fawn in a patch of lily of the valley, hiding from any danger will the mother foraged for food elsewhere. Desiring to use as learning tool not to chase or disturb fawns alone in the forest who were neither lost or abandon by the mother. I purposely set the Canon lens at 1.6 crop and f14 ( known sweet spot) with ISO OF 5000 in available light at 9:00 PM shutter speed was 250. Shooting from the bed of a stationary truck over the cab. Results were spots on back as well as greenery were in sharp focus without post. The photo will be used for PSA and educational tool for wildlife managers when speaking to children about behavior of deer during spring and early summer fawn encounters. Shooting at lower f stop would not have provided the depth of desired focus. Keep em coming JAN.
I generally stop down to f/8 but will stay wide open if the conditions don't allow. I remember with my old setup (which I still have, wide open was f/5.6) I so etimes wanted the shallow depth of field look in a photo but even then f/8 was the go to aperture.
maybe I shouldn't, but I typically let the available light dictate my Aperture. I shoot a 600 F4 with a 1.4 Converter the majority of the time. with good light I'm normally F8-F14 if I don't have that type of light, then I shoot wide open at f5.6. great topic for us all.
Great video Jan!! It can be quite surprising how shallow the DOF is wide-open, especially when your subject is close to you. You shared some excellent situations where stopping down can improve the shot.
Totally! Thank you
Saving this one, Jan! Been shooting all manual lately and this is the kind of stuff that makes it such a gift.
Great to see an update on this video now covering the newer mirrorless cameras. As a zoom user though, wide open tends to give me the best results.
Another quick question...all cameras can bracket for exposure, but is there a camera that could bracket for aperture? I think that would be a useful feature!
Thanks for this video Jan. I needed that reminder. I also like these videos because it doesn't matter which system you use, the pro tips are valid.
Glad it was helpful!
👍 Thanks for this great explanation Jan !! In the heat of the moment we sometimes forget to 'balance' the aperture according to the conditions. And it's tempting to go wide open to allow higher shutter, lower iso and better bokeh .. but I also realized when it was too late a narrower aperture would have helped when the bird makes a sudden move, like when a kingfisher dived down too fast for my eye-AF to follow asap .. I still like my shots, but they could have been better and sharper.
Great advice, as always Jan. I always prefer to use my 600mm prime stopped down to at least f5.6 because it's definitely sharper than wide open. I'll try to use at least f8 when my subject isn't perfectly parallel to my sensor. The trouble is - I live in the UK and a lot of the time I'm working with very low light so I often need to compromise and open my lens up a bit. Noise reduction software helps a lot, but it reaches a point at extreme ISOs where the software itself is affecting image quality and I find I'm better off at f4 with more manageable noise. Like everything - it's a balancing act!
I own the Sigma 70-200 2.8 Sports and its a very sharp lens, even at f2.8. But after a year I recognised that its even sharper at f4. So thats what im using for wildlife from now on.
In my opinion it is best to always be active in your photography and never do anything "just one way". Know your gear and how different settings affect the image, and let it be a tool for your creativity at all siuations ... is my philosophy. Great video, as always 🤗
But look at the average, modern canon lenses:
They are „wide open“ already slow, but thankfully at least very good and usable wide open.
The advice in this video i only saw very obviously with vintage lenses yet since i can not afford for example 600mm F4s and so anyways
The same applies to lenses like those 150-600 zoom. They're not very "wide" yet benefit a lot from stopping down
This is one to watch over and over to make sure the info becomes second nature. I get excited out there, the mind tends to go blank because I know the birds don't hang around, they flit.
Thank you, Jan. Good to see you looking well. Edit: Been subscribed for a long time and always hit the like because I always like :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
As I shoot architecture, I usually use f/11 and only use a wider aperture if there is a lack of light. I also use DXO PureRAW and feel comfortable with it until about ISO 3200, as I needs some headroom to recover shadows. Bumping shadows by two stops means effectively using ISO 12800 instead of 3200. Image stabilization helps me a lot. Architecture usually does not move. So my shutter speed just depends on the IS and my ability to hold the camera still.
In future I might not buy very fast lenses any more, as I do not use that fast shutter speed anyway. For example I own a 70-200 f/2.8, but hardly ever use it below f/8. So I carry around a lot of unnecessary weight. Since I recently bought a 100-400, I will probably not take my 70-200 on long trips any more.
Thanks so much Jan for always sharing the best content, I love f8 is my go to get very nice shots and I still get very nice and dreamy backgrounds, of course that's my style 🐦👍🤗
I'm passionate about wildlife photography and since I've been regularly listening to Jan's videos, I always stop down to about f/8 or f/9 and never use low iso's anymore. It has totally changed the quality of my photos!
That’s great to hear!
You are right with your hint. As a Sigma user at my 120-300 it is better to to shoot with 3,5 or higher as well with my 150-600. f/8 is much better than 6,3.
This is a Great video! I see so many photographers wanting lens at f/1.4 and shooting everything at f/1.4 and then complaining they missed the shot because it focused on the person's glasses and not their eyes, well hell if they used f/5.6 that would have not been the issue and they would have still most likely have a very smooth background. I went to Brooks in Santa Barbara and learned from some of the greats like Monty Zucker, he was a wedding photographer and rarely went below f/5.6 and used f/8.0 mainly for his portraits. So thank you for telling everyone what the real world of photography is all about. F/1.4 is great for astrophotography, never my choice for portrait, wedding, wildlife or commercial.
Yes, unless you really want it for an artistic reason, it doesn't;t make a lot of sense
Great Video. I was out today and just experienced this when I was shooting a Squirrel, I got really close to him at F-4 (wide open for my lens) and when I checked out the picture only his eyes where is focus. I am shooting with a Canon 90D and most of the time a Sigma 150-600 I am going to take your advice and stop down to F-9 thanks for the great video.
with sony 200-600 the lens is sharp at f8 and you have better DOF! or with the olympus M43 everything is in focus wing tip to wingtip.
Thank you for not only sharing your knowledge, but also the real world application of your knowledge in your photographs. I've just purchased your Prosets Bundle Pack and can't wait to see the impact.
Awesome, enjoy
Hmm for me I actually usually shoot wide open unless there are multiple subjects. But if low light I have to go wide open usually.
Jan, looking good man. Giving you a shout out for continuing to do what you love and share it. WIDE OPEN: You covered everything very well. While Tin Man Lee (who shoots bears, foxes and bigger game) would argue with shooting wide open most of the time (advice he was given by a frequent National Geographic Cover photographer), there are many good reasons, depending on light and background, to change it up. The only thing I would say is all the examples I could see in your video had beautifully smooth backgrounds despite stopping down - even at the beach with the black-neck stilt. Was the water that calm and far away? Thanks for the video share and as always, appreciate the effort.
Thanks Jan. There are always opportunities to improve our shots and revisit our settings. Thanks for all your suggestions and help over the years. You have some spectacular photos and are always an inspiration to do better. Thank you!
You are so welcome!
I generally start my walks on f8 and just adapt if needed too 🙂
Nice
Great topic Jan! I prefer my subjects to be fully in focus, even with human portraits. I tried wide open, but I just don't like that look.
Good call Jan here in the UK we often have little choice but to shoot wide open. No global warming here this Summer ! But best to stop down when you can especially with using a zoom lens. The denoise Software is so good now so times have changed . Beautiful colours in your shots Jan awesome 👍
Yes, sometimes you can't change it, but in most cases the shots are better stopped down! Thank you
@@jan_wegener I have certainly changed tactics recently with the Denoise software. In the past I was shooting 80% of my shots wide open here in the UK. Definitely sharper and more of the subject in focus now🙂
@@CamillaI great!
I tend to stop down for DOF, but the benefit of say a 2.8 lens is that as more light is entering the camera, it will focus more quickly.
Yeah, always go down to f/7.1 or even f/9 with 600/4 when need to shoot big bird in flight in closer distance
I have RF 100-500L which a perfect lens in terms of sharpness and quality but its often too dark even with acceptable light before sunset. I often end up with iso 12800-16000 and in this case a brighter lens (400mm f2.8 with tc) would help me. Few days ago I had marsh harrier i the air and when he had tree behind my iso bump up to 25600 because I had a 1,4x tc and shutter speed of 1/3200s. With lower shutter I didnt get fully sharp bird.
Yes, at some stage 7.1 is limiting
Brilliant video! Than you, Jan. You have some truly magnificent photos and footage.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you. This information will be of great help to me in the field. Open wide has been the norm used by me because of low light situations. Now I can make a better choice by having a clear understanding of the “why”. So helpful.
Great!
Thank you so much for this knowledge. You and another photographer have recommended this technique with great results. I'm an amateur photographer, so every little bit of learning helps!
Great to hear!
Most of the time i'm stepping down. I have a 500mm F4.5 and 800mm F5.6 from Sigma and nearly always stepping down to minimum 6.3 and 7.1. Especially the 800mm is a bit blurry on F5.6.
Loved this video Jan, not often talked about, yet important. Cheers.
Glad you enjoyed it!
not often talked about since many lenses usually perform well wide open and are anyways not fast in general.
sure enough here and there i stop down my 150-600 from 6.3 to F8 for best sharpness, but mostly wide open since i got a good example anyways barely noticable difference between 6.3 and 8 at 600mm
Which is with many zoom lenses a real issue and its barely talked about: image quality at widest and longest focal range. The Sigma 150-600 performs a lot better on 400-500mm than on 600mm, also helped a lot to getthe subject in frame with a APS-C camera
Great video. I started getting into wildlife photography within the last couple months and it’s crazy how shallow the depth of field gets at the longer focal lengths. There have been times when I thought everything would be in focus at a certain aperture but then come to find out when I look on the computer that it’s not. This has made me realize that stopping down a bit is the way to go for most situations. It’s a learning curve but the information provided here definitely reinforced the importance of doing so. Thanks Jan.
The thing is: Its always the combination of focal length and aperture as well distance
My „slow“ RF 800 F11 is also producing a shallow DoF because its 800mm
Good video. The rules of thumb for bird photography is different than for people. You can also control background blur in post. Getting the shot for birds is most important. Having greater depth of field initially will give you more options in post.
I would encourage you to use the DOF calculator ;) Also, it would have been nice to see a LIDAR in cameras to get a correct and robust depth estimation and display it to the user. Also, it can provide a depth map allowing photo editors to process the depth field in post-production.
With the experience you start intuitively feel which aperture to use in every situation ;). Besides often it is good to vary the aperture to get different artistic effects in shots of the same subject.
A lens that is mostly sharp wide open is the RF 100-500. Beside artistic reasons once in a while I mostly shoot wide open with this lens. Good video Jan !
Yes, that's one I don't stop down much or at all
@@jan_wegener Yep !
Will definitely give it a try! Thank you for a very informative video!!
Glad it was helpful!
Good video Jan. I often use the DOF button on the front of my Olympus camera to determine what aperture I choose.
Great tip!
Hello Jan, I fully agree with you. I don't always use my RF 600mm f/4.0 wide open. Depends on the situation. My personal experience is that there is no fixed rule when it comes to photography. You have already pointed this out.
You should know the basic principle of the technology (aperture, shutter speed, ISO) and image design. To have an understanding about that, but outside in the field is mostly a mix requested, adapted to the situation. The next thing is what would you like to have on the photo. In some situations there is little or no opportunity to shoot with the smallest aperture of the lens. When you are in a low light situation and the ISO shouldn't be that high, or when you are at the end of your camera's ISO options.
My favorite motives are mammals in the wild. In Germany not so easy. So I'm out either early in the morning or late in the evening at dusk. Often in the forest, where the light is even darker. I usually want to avoid an ISO higher than 12800 on my R5. Of course, if it has to be to capture a special situation, also higher. I usually do it like this, I go out with the smallest aperture and highest ISO. Depending on the light situation, the ISO is gradually turned down. Until I'm at ISO 12.800 sometimes 6.400. The aperture is then further closed as required. I would think that this every wildlife photographer is doing it in that way in those situations.
Of course, I also keep an eye on the shutter speed to avoid excessive motion blur. Unless I want to have this for image design reasons.
In most cases I have to leave the forest very early because of the walkers with and without dogs, joggers, cyclists and hiking groups. It starts as early as 7:00 a.m. on the weekends, it's still bearable. My photo session ends at 8:00/9:00, depending on the area and how many people arround. In the afternoon makes it no sense for me to go to the forest earlier than 6/7 p.m. Through my volunteer work in conservation, I know some areas where there isn't much traffic. But in these areas are also hunters arround. If the weather is bad, it's also okay, then there aren't that many people out and about. Depending on the light conditions. That's why I often have no choice but to use f/4 with my 600mm lens.
When it comes to bird photography, I have a bit more freedom when it comes to aperture and ISO. It often depends on the shutter speed But mostly better light conditions than with mammal photography in the forest.
At least my experience.
It might be different in Australia than in Germany. In Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand it is definitely different than in Germany. There you can also photograph mammals during the day. I was in Sri Lanka for 3 weeks in May 2023 and I had this experience again. I was able to photograph monkeys, elephants, etc. anytime throughout the day. You just had to be in the right place.
Greetings from Uwe
Germany, Frankfurt am Main
Thanks for sharing Uwe!
I used to be obsessed with maintaining a high enough shutter speed as well as a low ISO until someone asked me why I was shooting wide open at ISO 100 in good light. Once I thought about it, I switched to shooting in Manual mode where I can adjust everything to suit the conditions. While important, maintaining a low ISO isn’t everything. This video will help a lot of people, especially those just starting out.
I don't think I ever shot wide open at ISO 100 (it would be pretty rare indeed that I would be shooting wildlife in such conditions), but your point is well taken. Back in the film days we were stuck with whatever ISO (ASA) film we had in the camera. In the early days of digital, shooting anything at much higher than ISO 800 (400 on some cameras) created a noisy mess that could not be cleaned up by the software of the time. The opposite was often the case. I look at some photos taken in that era that are soft from a bit of motion blur and go, "Why in the heck did I shoot that fast action scene at f8, 1/250 when I could have shot it at f4, 1/1000 and it would be tack sharp!?" The answer, of course, was that someone had told me, "Stop down! Your lens is sharper if you stop down!" The result, a bunch of "almost were" shots!
Fortunately, with today's cameras, we no longer have to worry so much about digital noise at high ISO, and we can have the best of both worlds even in less than ideal conditions! I was recently shooting active birds in rainy, relatively dark conditions at 1/2500, f7.1, ISO 3200, 4000 and some at 5000. What noise there was cleaned up with a click in post! One thing, however, you can never set all three camera settings to your liking. Even in full manual, you can set two of them, but you have to accept the third in order to maintain proper exposure. That's why I use auto ISO or Fv mode on Canon.
Thank's for another great video. I mostly use f5.6 or f8 which give a good compromise between DOF and lens image quality.
Thanks for sharing
Great video Jan I have started dropping my tamron 150-600mm down to f/8 and have certainly noticed the difference in quality thanks for your great videos ,keep up the great work cheers John
Great to hear!
HeyJan, thanks for another great video one. Just thing I’d like to add which is it’s just as easy if you’re using a zoom lens to zoom out from 600 back to 400mm that will automatically increase depth of field while staying at the same a Fstop, that’s less helpful when you’re using your 600 prime. Admittedly you’ll have to then crop in later but it’s a quick way to solve depth of field when the bird lands only a few metres in front of you and you need to keep your shutter speed up an aperture wide open. Wishing you good health mate and a nice evening 😃
in the case of my Sigma 150-600C i dont even lose any detail when using 450-500mm on the 32MP APS-C R7 vs 600mm 6.3. best sharpness and detail at 600mm F8
, better F9 tho
Good job I don’t have this problem with the rf600/11 on the R7. But excellent video
Hehe true!
Great video Jan! I would happily retire after an image like 3:30. 😍😍😍
Thank you!
Thanks!
wow, thank you :)
Jan, the images are absolutely gorgeous... thank you for the great information, never thought about the depth of field eventhough it is not an unknown thing haha
Glad it was helpful!
I’d love to see your work flow on the focus stacked images. Does it line up well enough to use a typical focus stack technic or do you have to line just the out of focus bird up and reveal a layer from underneath?
This one had to be two separate layers and I merged them manually. That's almost always the case with these kind of shots, since the DOF is never perfect
Very nice and helpful content … thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Nice summary Jan! very helpful to a lot of new wildlife shooters out there👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
I couldnt agree more on this video concept, but I have been afraid of going above 3200 iso with my 7d mk2 so its mostly been just one step down. I got 5d mk4 and was a bit more confident with 6400, then I got the R5 2021 and 6400 is fine even tried 12800 occasionally. I have the canon 400/4,0 mk2 and the 600mm/4,0 mk2 and I use them often with the 1,4 extender so sharpness is definitely benefiting from one step down. Another point of this is that if the autofocus miss a tiny bit that increased dept of sharpness can save the picture. You really go through all the reasons very well, great video, and your shots of small birds are so beautifulI, Thanks for nice video. I use my lenses in northern sweden, above the arctic circle, for small birds and they are often quite shy so I really need long lenses. I really wish that canon come out with a R7 Pro or whatever they would call it, I would like an Aps-c camera thats generally on the level of an R3 or maybe even as the coming R1 but I doubt that will come. I think general interest is not high enough, the price point would be like the R5 or R3 and most photographer want full frame for that money.
I loved photographing in Scandinavia! Thanks for sharing
Always nice to see your smile at the end Jan! I've the Canon 100-500 RF. How do you find it for stopping down?
Thanks! That’s one of the few lenses I don’t stop down much. It’s very good wide open, even with TC
Great video Jan, for over 20 years my go to is f/11, I am still using it on an R7 and R5. I find it is more consistent for the results I try to achieve and has the added benefit of the fleeting chances offered when there are multiple birds. Occasionally I feel the need to try wide open but I am mostly disappointed with the results.
Thanks for sharing!
Jan: Thanks for doing this highly informative instruction video. I would like to see more of them! I don't think the blogasphere needs any more equipment comparison/review vlogs. Unfortunately, I know how the RUclips algorithms work and what the general audience demands. Appreciate this vlog even more.
Yes, it's a fine line. With all the Nikon reviews I ended up doing more gear reviews than I had planned. So I will focus a bit more on tutorial styles videos again.
Thank you so much for this tutorial, Jan. I definitely needed this reminder. Your examples were easy to understand. I shoot with the R5+RF 100-500mm. I'm going to stop down next time I'm out. Aperature has always been my nemesis. Plus, very bad advice from experienced photographers. Practice, practice.
The 100-500 is one of the few lenses where I don't stop down a lot.
@jan_wegener How would this work with the RF 1.4x? The lens at 500mm is already at f/10 using the extender. Would you stop down at all or maybe just 1/3?
@@cathco9 yes, maybe F11, but it doesn't;t seem to affect sharpness as much on that lens as it does on others
Interesting. As a general rule stopping down a bit yields better results for most of my lenses. However, I have not noticed much difference in sharpness with the Sony 200-600 at 600mm between f 6.3, f8 and f11. Although, stopping down to increase depth of field, especially with multiple birds or birds close up, is very useful. Wondering if your experience is the same with this lens. I don’t use the 1.4x teleconverter much with that lens because it is not that sharp. I’ll have to experiment with stopping down a bit. Thank you for the thought provoking video.
The Sony lens was pretty good wide open already, even with TC
Hi Jan, I understand your reasoning regarding stopping down, I use an R5 and a 100-500mm 7.1, if I use a 1.4 converter which gives me F10, would you consider that to be already stopped down or would I need to stop down further as that is the minimum aperture for this set up?
I would not consider it stopped down, but the lens is one of the few exceptions where stopping down doesn't seem to make much of a difference.
@@jan_wegener Thanks Jan.
Really great images!
Thank you! Cheers!
Keep in mind before you shoot with big aperture lenses you also have to afford them.
As a Sigma 150-600C and Canon RF 800 F11 user i can clearly say wide open is mostly the best. Same goes for my lovely Canon 17-55 2.8 but here and then i slow it down to 5.6 or so for proper corner sharpness and overall better IQ
I agree with the F11 lens, since that is fixed. The Sigma will likely benefit from shooting at F8
@@jan_wegener just slightly sharper at F8 but i mainly use it for the bigger sperture
My 70-200/2.8 is basically always at f/4. For me that's the sweetspot for sharpness but also a good place to go from if I need more depth of field or go back to f/2.8.
However, I have kind of given up on getting everything within the DOF 😅My favorite subjects are our free ranging lemurs at the zoo where I volunteer as staff photographer. They get pretty close to me because they are curious by nature but also because they know me for 10 years at this point. But they are also jumpy and constantly in motion. So I do need a fast shutter speed but since they are close to me even at f/8 I do not get the whole snoot sharp when they look right at me 🤣
Great vid as usual Jan! Just a little bit of feedback this vid and the photo bird show had quite a lot of glitching in the vid, stalled frames and error frames. not sure if its the output preset or an issue with RUclips. Thought I would let you know.
Not sure why that is happening...hmmm
What lenses and at what max distance ..should the target be in order to get fault free capture
changes with every scene
Your pics are so amazing 👍🏼 I like also photopodcast with you named Bohnensack.
Oh thank you!
this time, i can't fully agree... the quality of bokeh is also directly correlated to the distance of subject to fore- and background... and tyhis is one more parameter to consider once in a location. then comes the compromise between available light, speed, iso and bokeh
Every photo consists of many factors. The subjects pose makes a big difference, too
Thanks...
You're welcome!
Great! Thanks!
You're welcome!
Does the same theory apply to APS-C?
pretty much
Great video! I’m pretty new to photography and primarily shoot wide open. I’m wondering if shooting with a faster lens (example 1.2 or 1.8) and stopping down to f4 will give the same image quality as shooting wide open on my f/4 lens? Technically they’re both at the same f stop so should equal the same sharpness. Thanks!Your content is very helpful.
The Depth of Field is different on every lens, so F4 isn't necessarily the same.
Buen video como siempre. Respecto al 100-500 F 7,1 los usas en 7,1 habitualmente?
I do
On my Sigma 150-600 on Canon R7 I have been mainly using f7.1 but will try f9-11 to compare sharpness. Also as the aperture for zoom range changes do you change the stop down rule for different zoom or base it on minimum zoom range?
If you shoot not at the longest end you wouldn't need to stop down as much
Thanks Jan for another great video! But I have this dilemma, I use a RF400 f2.8 with a 2x extender while my wife uses the rf600 f11. Because I need to often stop down to f7.1 at least to get sharp photos, I’m starting to wonder if I am carrying all this extra weight for a merely few stops of light. Should I just use a more handy lighter f11 lens instead ?
Very hard to compare the lenses. Yours should be a bit sharper and definitely better suited for lower light photography. But size wise the 600/11 is a lot smaller of course
Thanks for the reminder Jan, I just got back from Kenya and I should have stopped down on a group of elephants. The photo is so beautiful but one elephant is slightly behind the group so it is OOF. So disappointed that that shot could have been better. Oh well I guess I have to go back to Kenya now, lol
seems like a good reason to go back :D
Jan, do you always stop down the canon 100-500. I have a bad habit of always shooting at 500 f7.1. Should I be stoping down to f8 or f10?
That's one lens I don't usually stop down
Great video and I also stop down most of the time to create the desired DOF and enhance lens sharpness. However, shooting wide open is an option for the reasons mentioned. In addition my tip: shooting wide open with a fast shutter speed can help when you experience heat haze. It will not miraculously disappear, but you can get a few more decent keepers. In my experience, the higher megapixel sensor camera, the more heat haze will effect your shots. Shooting at a shallow DOF just catches less distortion I guess.
Most of us old timers can remember many, many times when we were shooting wildlife with film, or in the earlier days of digital, when we ruined a great shot due to trying to increase depth of field by stopping down (and costing us precious shutter speed), or we increased the ISO (to maintain shutter and dof), on early digital cameras, and ruined the photo due to excess digital noise. We learned pretty quick that fewer photos were being ruined by inadequate dof than were being ruined by motion blur and/or horrid noise. With today's modern technology a lot of those photographic "Sophie's Choices" have been removed. Still, old habits die hard. A reminder doesn't hurt.
Very true! The emergence of good image quality at high ISO has made a lot of this possible
Hi Jan, thanks for the video. If using a x1.4TC it adds one full stop. Is that the same as one full stop for the lens/camera combination without a TC, or should I go another stop if adding a TC, for the example above should I go to F11?
Yes I stop down one stop form whenever the TC starts
Hmm 🤔, Not sure about the Galah, but in truth that is about where I am with my photography 😂
Jan, this video confirms further to support my choice of the a7iv and 100-400 GM with the two TC’s. I have had doubts at times. Carrying the weight of the 200-600 around for three to four hours didn’t appeal, particularly with a dodgy shoulder, and the flexibility the 100-400 offers suits my one lens to rule it all photography style (almost all birds and a little pseudo macro on bugs and plants). Astrophotography is on my list, so probably not good there. Maybe the Nikon Z50 with kit 16-50 pancake lens comes out of the cupboard for that.
Waiting for my Z 180-600;) But on your RF 100-500 do you use it wide open f7.1 or f8?
usually wide open on the 100-500
Another great video Jan! How long will the discounted price for 49 dollars for your prosets stay? I'm looking forward to buy them after my part time job paycheck, but I'm worried that the disounct will end before that 😅. Thanks for your work and answer. Cheers from Prague.
You will be fine :)
@@jan_wegener Thanks a lot! :)
I saw this video and thought of a problem I am having. On my nikon d600, it only allows me to shoot wide open aperture, and if I don't it gives me and ERR message and makes me turn the camera off and back on to adjust the settings again. Is it the lens or is the it the camera?
sounds strange for sure. I have no idea unfortunately
Hi, Bro
I bought an R7 with an RF800 lens
But I don't know how to adjust the shooting settings
And I was not happy with this purchase
Can you help me and write to me how to adjust the R7 camera settings with this RF800 lens
And I thank you very much
The 800 is fixed at f11, so you cannot change the aperture
We have way too much in common haha. I can't tell you how many images I review for people or see on IG, and see eyeball in focus, nothing else at all. Yes the eyes are critical to get in focus, but if you want any detail of the creature you need to be stopping down, knowing how and why you are and what the impact will be. Whoever is confused on this, bookmark this video and watch it over and over. So many images could be incredible if they were just shot with more attention to the technical details. You can always spot someone with more money than skill by the amount of wide open images they make.
Personally I don't like the noise reduction tech because it reduces the image sharpness. I prefer reducing the background.
I never shoot wide open 5.6 is the lowest I go
pretty much the same for me