focus Problems??

chad

chad

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Hi

Been trying to take photos of local reservoir and can’t get it right!!!

I have used two lenses

70-200 F4l
18-55IS

Is it me or could these photos be sharper?????

I used a tripod
Aperture set to 11
And a fast shutter speed

So I think it can’t be vibrations

Can you let me know if these are out of focus or is it me??

I sure I have seen better photos from compacts!!!!

I converted them to jpeg from raw which has made photos 9M or less.

I am not sure how to upload bigger photos.

So if you need bigger photos how do you upload bigger photos???

Thanks

Jamie


oca focal lengths-8.jpg by Digital SLRschad189, on Flickr


oca focal lengths-7.jpg by Digital SLRschad189, on Flickr


oca focal lengths-6.jpg by Digital SLRschad189, on Flickr


oca focal lengths-5.jpg by Digital SLRschad189, on Flickr
 
now I did notice that my lens on the 70-200 was set to 1.2m and not 3m??

checked every thing else and forgot this! dope!

all I want is a nice sharp picture!!
 
Try F16/22, are you using cable release, could be you stabbing at the shutter button, use the 18-55IS at 18mm oh and dont forget to turn the IS off
 
I was using the 2 sec timer with the remote so def not that.

Is was on But how will that affect things I thought just leave it on as it can't do any harm? But must be wrong on that.

So you think my aperture was to low at 11 and I should of used 22?

I am going to have a look at that hyper thing

I am going back it the morning to try again and will keep on till I get it right

Thanks for all your help I need it I am struggling at the moment

Jamie
 
Just Dave said:
Try F16/22, are you using cable release, could be you stabbing at the shutter button, use the 18-55IS at 18mm oh and dont forget to turn the IS off
Click to expand...

Just a quick one as I think I am missing some thing why do you say use 18-55 at 18 mm?
 
chad said:
I was using the 2 sec timer with the remote so def not that.

Is was on But how will that affect things I thought just leave it on as it can't do any harm? But must be wrong on that.

So you think my aperture was to low at 11 and I should of used 22?

I am going to have a look at that hyper thing

I am going back it the morning to try again and will keep on till I get it right

Thanks for all your help I need it I am struggling at the moment

Jamie
Click to expand...

Don't worry about Hyperfocal distance, it's pretty difficult to achieve on modern lenses without distance scales and as these shots don't really have a foreground element that needs to be particuarly sharp having critical sharpness front to back isn't essential, it's more important that the boats and everything behind are sharp. Your best bet would be to focus a third into the scene, maybe even on the first boat. F11 should be fine too, the lack of foreground means you don't need massive DOF.


Simon
 
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Thanks so what do you think I did wrong focus on the wrong part of the frame

Jamie
 
No I Just noticed playing with lens that the switch was set 2 1.2m and not 3m

Do you think this is the problem

And big thanks I am dyslexic so some times its hard for me to understand

Jamie
 
simonkit said:
If I read your post correctly didn't you set the Hyperfocal distance on your lens?
Click to expand...

I guess not how do I Do that

what should I Do

I Just point camera at a boat press focus until camera beeps and locks on and then shoot.

What should I Do to lens how do I set the hyperfocal distance on lens

I think this is my problem
 
If you want both the ducks and the distance to be sharp, or as sharp as they can be, then you will need a high-ish f/number and use hyperfocal distance technique. If you search that against my name, you'll get loads of stuff. If it gets confusing, come back with questions.

However, if you just want one main subject sharp, like the far shore, and as sharp as it can be, then focus on that and your optimum aperture will be around f/5.6 on any crop format camera (pretty much regardless of the lens, it's the diffraction cross-over point). It will also be very sharp up to say f/11, but it will then start to get worse due to diffraction which gets really bad at f/22. Do not use f/22 unless you absolutely have to.

But I have to say that looking at your pictures the main problem is under-exposure. They will look ten times better, brighter and sharper, with a couple more stops exposure in there. What's probably happened is the meter has been fooled into under-exposure by all that light bouncing off the water, and the sky. It's very common - watch out for it and check the histogram to see where you are, and use compensation (it's easy ;)).
 
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Hi

Thanks. Again search from you hoppy thank you

So is this right or wrong..

I downloaded an app to make getting hyperfocal distance easy

I put in aperture and focal lenth am it gives me a distance I.e 45m

So I focuse 45m from camera and that's my hyperfocal distance

So everything from 1/2 this to infinity should be sharp

Right or wrong have I finally got it

I found this link helpfull

http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials...imum-depth-of-field-in-landscape-photography/

Thanks Again

Jamie
 
chad said:
Hi

Thanks. Again search from you hoppy thank you

So is this right or wrong..

I downloaded an app to make getting hyperfocal distance easy

I put in aperture and focal lenth am it gives me a distance I.e 45m

So I focuse 45m from camera and that's my hyperfocal distance

So everything from 1/2 this to infinity should be sharp

Right or wrong have I finally got it

I found this link helpfull

http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials...imum-depth-of-field-in-landscape-photography/

Thanks Again

Jamie
Click to expand...

Yes, you've got it :thumbs: Couple of comments.

In practise, HFD focusing really only works with wide and standard focal length lenses. With longer lenses the distances invloved are too great and you would need a ridiculously high f/number to pull the foreground sharp.

Easy way to do it. Decide what is the closest area of the subject you want sharp, then visually select an object that is twice that distance away. Focus on it using the centre AF point - that is your HFD set.

Estimate visually how far away that focused object is - it's easy enough to guess distances of a few meters accurately enough. You can try and read the distance off the lens, but the scales on there are often too approximate.

Refer to your HFD table and select the f/number for that distance. If in doubt, read a slightly closer distance to be certain of covering everything.

Those tables on the link are helpful, but I use a much shorter version, stuck inside the lens cap. Just three key focal lengths, and three f/numbers - you can work out the inbetween settings sufficiently accurately. DoF isn't the exact science it seems from looking at charts - sharpness fades to blur very gradually, and if in doubt, just use a slightly higher f/number to make sure.
 
Thanks for explaining this Richard, i'll give it a whirl next time.

So on Jamies 1st pic at 18mm & f11, he needs to focus around just 1.5m? So basically right in front of his feet to get everything in shot in focus?....... it doesn't sound right, but i'm sure it is. :thinking:
 
Thanks hoppy what are standard focal lenths I thought 50mm was known as standard
 
Zarch said:
Thanks for explaining this Richard, i'll give it a whirl next time.

So on Jamies 1st pic at 18mm & f11, he needs to focus around just 1.5m? So basically right in front of his feet to get everything in shot in focus?....... it doesn't sound right, but i'm sure it is. :thinking:
Click to expand...

Yes, if you have an 18mm lens set at f/11 on a crop format Canon, the hyperfocal distance is about 1.5m and therefore everything will be sharp from half that distance, 0.75m, to infinity. With HFD, the far distance is always infinity.

You get a lot of DoF with an 18mm lens at f/11, especially on a crop format camera. Nikon and Canon are fractionally different, because of the very slightly different sensor sizes. Full frame gives less DoF for the same framing, about one stop less than Canikon croppers. Smaller sensors than that like 4/3rds format give even more, about one stop more, and with compacts and their tiny sensors, it's almost impossible not to get everything in focus!

chad said:
Thanks hoppy what are standard focal lenths I thought 50mm was known as standard
Click to expand...

A 'standard' focal length equates, very roughly, to the diagonal length of the sensor. 50mm has always been used as the standard reference for full frame (technically it's a few mm less than that) which translates to around 30-35mm on crop format - divide by crop factor. Standard focal lengths measured in this way will always deliver a field of view roughy 40 degrees from side to side, regardless of focal length or format, which is a handy reference and a good sort of angle for a lot of general photography.
 
Thanks again Richard...... will certainly bear that all in mind when next required.....

People have probably seen this one before, but you can create your own customisable printable HFD chart here..... http://www.johnhendry.com/gadget/hf.php
 
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Thanks this is excellent I'm going to go out over weekend now we might have some good weather to put it to use
 
Zarch said:
Thanks again Richard...... will certainly bear that all in mind when next required.....

People have probably seen this one before, but you can create your own customisable printable HFD chart here..... http://www.johnhendry.com/gadget/hf.php
Click to expand...

This looks really good I understand it ok except the top on circle of some thing can't spell it...

What this and What do I put

I take its some thing to do with camera as the app I use just ask you for camera not this

Thanks
 
Thank you I stook in my bloody lorry and sun belting down and all I want to do is get the camera out lol
 
chad said:
This looks really good I understand it ok except the top on circle of some thing can't spell it...

What this and What do I put

I take its some thing to do with camera as the app I use just ask you for camera not this

Thanks
Click to expand...

It's the Circle of Confusion - appropriately enough. This changes with the size of the sensor in order to bring the magnifcation factor in line for all formats. There are lots of DoF calculators around on the web, but I use the DoFmaster link because it's very comprehensive - there's everything you could ever want to know on that site. Notice how when you input the camera type at the top, the circle of confusion figure changes at the bottom right, according to that camera's sensor size.

Also on DoFmaster is a very handy rotary custom DoF calculator which you can tailor exactly to your personal lenses, focal lengths, distances etc, then print it out in exactly the style and size to fit on to your lens cap or in the camera bag. Use it for all DoF calculations, including HFD, and when you see the data presented like that, understanding DoF suddely becomes much easier (unlike most phone apps) :thumbs: You can see in analogue style how the relationships between focal length and distance work with the f/number, instead of just getting a confusing pile of numbers. It's here http://www.dofmaster.com/custom.html
 
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Just to clarify one thing if I could...... with many shots at shorter focal lengths, ie 18mm, the HFD of 1.5m you need to focus on can be out of shot..... ie at your feet / under the camera.

Does this matter? Do you just initially focus at that point, keep the shutter held and then compose the landscape/image as you want?

I did this during some quick testing in the garden and it appears to work ok!! :clap: Although over shorter distances like a garden its appears more difficult to spot the lack of sharpness through the picture. :thinking:
 
Zarch said:
Just to clarify one thing if I could...... with many shots at shorter focal lengths, ie 18mm, the HFD of 1.5m you need to focus on can be out of shot..... ie at your feet / under the camera.

Does this matter? Do you just initially focus at that point, keep the shutter held and then compose the landscape/image as you want?

I did this during some quick testing in the garden and it appears to work ok!! :clap: Although over shorter distances like a garden its appears more difficult to spot the lack of sharpness through the picture. :thinking:
Click to expand...

No, it doesn't matter what you focus on, so long as it's at the right distance. Use centre point AF, and hold it with half-pressure on the release. Using back-button AF is handy for this (some cameras allow you to reconfigure the buttons to do this, via custom functions).

Alternatively, you can read the distance off the focusing scale on the lens, but many lenses don't have too many numbers on them and it's hard to judge. Use either method, or both and compare - see how you get on.
 
Ok been out this weekend and how sharp should you expect photos to be. If you take landscape like I have and you click 100% zoom

Should all pictures still be sharp even tho its a long way a way?

If you know what I mean

Basically I don't know if its me expecting to much

Or I am doing some thing wrong

or the camera needs a service

camera about 18 month old and bought from park cameras

How often do you need camera serviced

Thanks

Jamie
 
No camera/lens ever looks really sharp at 100%. It's too easy to do with digital, and will take you on a short road to madness.

Measure the total size of the image you're looking at, and it's absolutely massive. Nothing ever looks good at that size, and it's unrealistic to expect it to. You never look at real pictures that big, that close up.
 
That's what I am worryd about am I barking up a tree that I'm can't do what I think I should
 
Do you use canon by any chance.

Just messing around with camera now and when I focus some times focus point box goes red and camera goes beep and some times camera just beeps and box stays black dose that mean any thing
 
One thing others havn't mentioned is the tripod. A cheap tripod with the centre column extended can move a camera when the shutter is actuated (shutter slap). Looking at the ripples in the water the wind may have even made your camera shake so make sure your tripod is well weighted down unless you are using something like the Manfrotto 055XPROP which is a heavy bit of kit.

I have set up my Nikon D300 so it won't take a photo until it is focus, that way I have got an increase in usuable shots, a tip I got on here some time ago from a member.
Just one other thing I don't know if you can fine tune your lenses to your camera not knowing the camera, I did mine and put the settings in the camera memory bank using a SpyderlensCal.

Just checked and you are using a Canon 7D, so fine tuning the lens to that camera is possible, my manageress has that camera and she did hers
Realspeed
 
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chad said:
Do you use canon by any chance.

Just messing around with camera now and when I focus some times focus point box goes red and camera goes beep and some times camera just beeps and box stays black dose that mean any thing
Click to expand...

When the lens is focused, the box square goes red and the camera beeps. You can't get one without the other, unless you have turned off the beep.

But it needs an area of contrast and detail to lock on to, or it won't focus at all. If you're messing a round at home now, in low artificial light and aiming at plain walls, it won't work.
 
Yes camera is on a tripod and its light and the and centre collum is extended......

So prob not brilliant

But I thought my shutter speed was fast enough to compensate this

And I can adjust focus but sacred to do it as don't want to make it worse been down that road might send it of if It's that.

Is the tripod the problem you think
 
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Taken from your first photo shows a shutter speed of 1/320sec and ISO100 for your info.
A tripod can make all the difference and a good test is to try it out in a room fully extended with a camera using a remote control. then again collapse the tripod so its more stable and do the same shot. This should give some indication if shutter slap has an affect of the picture . Don't forget ISO- shutter speed and aperture work in conjunction with each other, so maybe a higher ISO of say 400 will allow a faster shutter speed and "freeze "the picture more.
It also depends on what mode you have your camera set to ie shutter or aperture priority or auto. I prefer aperture when not working in manual mode .
 
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Focal length 18mm, shutter speed 1/320sec, mirror slap is not going to be a problem at all.
 
Hoppy its just a suggestion, as is the rest I posted, and something so often overlooked when using a weak tripod, but I take your point.

Realspeed
 
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I'll have a look at the last one that was at 200mm and see what shutter speed of that was

But the wind was bad this weekend and think I am expecting to much from zoom to 200mm at a object a long way away and expecting it to be sharp.

And the tripod is not brilliant and that is a possibility
 
Exposure? you need to sort that first. Very dark will make any pic look soft. Get that right and show us the shots then.

No point in getting worried about focus when you cant see the content. Get back out there .... and bring coffee and fig rolls :)
 
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