cokin p filters, slightly soft images?

DoubleT

DoubleT

Messages
1,318
Name
Matt
Edit My Images
Yes
i got myself an nd4 grad P series filter a couple of weeks ago,

i find that the photos are coming out a little too soft for my liking.,

is this the norm?

is there any special way i should be using them?

cheers
 
Matt,

There shouldn't be a softness issue to worry about but maybe camera shake is coming into play here.

An ND4 is nominally 2 stops lost but also equates to dropping to a quarter of the shutter speed that you'd use without the filter. If you're hand-holding, then are you too slow? If you're on a tripod, then is it sturdy enough?

I have a whole stash of Cokin's and various ones provide their own challenges but softness hasn't been something I've needed to be concerned about.

Bob
 
thanks for that Bob.

you know what, i was viewing them in windos picture viewer and they were looking really soft, but then i zoomed in slightly and it was sharper? for some reason when i view my pictures resize to fit screen and soften up?

this is straight out of camera (d80 ) just resized, low quality Jpeg as it was matched with RAW.

focus was on the clock face.

and considering it has all factors against it.being shot at f22, 3.6 sec exposure and at 18mm on an 18-135 lens i dont think it came out too bad at all.

what do you think? does it look soft to you?

DSC_8726s.jpg
 
Any softness is likely to be due to diffraction effects due to shooting at f/22 rather than the filter.
 
I'll go along with Puddleduck on this one....diffraction would be a bigger hit than any filter optics when stopped down that far.

Bob
 
Look ok to me. I do notice a colour cast on mine. I'm gonna get a lee grad which has no colour cast. I have one question. why would you shot that scene with a ND Grad? or was it just for the purpose of checking the softness issue.
One other thought. If it's windy, you may get slight movement on a lightweight tripod, Clip bags to it to weigh it down and a bean bag on top of the camera to make sure.

Edit. I've just realized it's a grad filter, not an ND filter. So ignore most of my post.
 
Personally i would have taken this at f8, not sure of the advantage of f22 for this shot, better to use a tripod.

just my opinion...
 
yeah i realised that f22 wasnt the greatest set up to shoot with. was just trying to get as much front and rear focus as possible.

i did mention in my post that the shot had everything against it.

this was the first time i used an ND grad so yeah just really wanted to try it out.

but i found without it the sky was becoming blown out, so thats why the grad came into use. a 3.6 sec exposure wouldnt help much too.

ill go out and try again and see if i get better results.

as always thanks for you advice guys

(y)
 
You don't need shoot at f/22 to get everything in.

If you'd shot at f/11 and aimed at the titled grave stone behind and to the right of the Cross, you'd had enough depth of field.

Remember your depth of field is about 1/3 in front and 2/3rd behind your focus point, so if you think about shooting this at f/11 you can see how this would work.

Never go past about f/11 on a cropped DSLR.
 
puddleduck said:
You don't need shoot at f/22 to get everything in.

If you'd shot at f/11 and aimed at the titled grave stone behind and to the right of the Cross, you'd had enough depth of field.

Remember your depth of field is about 1/3 in front and 2/3rd behind your focus point, so if you think about shooting this at f/11 you can see how this would work.

Never go past about f/11 on a cropped DSLR.
Click to expand...


thats a good bit of advice, thanks, i shall take that on board.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top