red-winged black bird

Female Red-winged Blackbird

I’ve really been enjoying shooting wildlife at 500mm. I’ve never shot at this focal length before, and the process has been a lot of fun. I believe I have found the “sweet spot” with the Tamron 150-500mm lens, regarding optimal sharpness and aperture size. That sweet spot seems to be at f/8. Although the lens offers a faster f/6.7 aperture, the images just aren’t as crisp when stopped down to this maximum limit. Case in point; the little bird below; shot at f/8.

1/2000 sec at f/8.0, ISO 500, 500mm, Sony A7R IV