From blunt to sharp??

Mickwreay

Mickwreay

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Mick
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Hi all,

I'm struggling to get pin sharp images with my Canon 50D & my Tamron 70-300 zoom!

Am I expecting too much, or am I doing something wrong?

The pics below were taken both with & without tripod as indicated.

With tripod:

1

MOON1.jpg


With tripod

2

http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae96/Mickwreay/ROCK.jpg

Without tripod

3

http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae96/Mickwreay/Tern.jpg

Without tripod

4

http://i961.photobucket.com/albums/ae96/Mickwreay/Wagtail.jpg

Staff Edit : Image(s) removed. (Link(s) left in place). Pictures must not exceed current forum limits as per the rules.
Please feel free to replace this with a fresh/resized image and remove this text


C&C please. No's 3 & 4 were taken in sharp light on TV at 800 & 1 & 2 were taken at around 7 p.m. on a tripod on Auto.
 
My advice would be to stay away from the limits of the zoom range...treat it as a 100-270 and keep it down at least one stop from wide open.
There's an obvious quality difference in the last two shots and they're away from the tatty edges of the lens' performance.

Bob
 
The tripod ones are definitely sharper...

The exif on number one is 1/250th... so camera shake could come in to play here - especially as it was shot at 300mm?
 
The Tamron 70-300 I found to be an exceptionally soft lens, I switched to a Canon 70-300 IS USM, then on to a 100-400L and currently have a 70-200 2.8 L on loan. Each lens has been a vast improvement on the previous lens.

The difference in quality and the colours straight from the camera have been extremely noticeable.

When it comes to glass you reall do get waht you pay for...
 
It is contained in the EXIF data of your shots....

What browser are you using? You get plugins that will give you all the info on a shot (if left intact).
 
Canon Bob said:
I'd suggest this for basic shooting info.

Bob
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, just downloaded it, amazing how much info there is :thinking:

Could anyone suggest a test shot subject to help me find the "sweet spot" for the lens, if it exists?

I understand that ££££££££ gets you near perfection, but £££ is more my budget.

Mick
 
Canon Bob said:
TV ariels are quite testing


The trick is to keep your aspirations smaller than your wallet ;)

Bob
Click to expand...

:lol: funny you should rec' TV ariel, I was trying that earlier.

Bit worried my neighbours will wonder what I'm doing :nono:

Ta,

Mick
 
I find for testing a lens that a metal arasol flyspray can is great, as its easy to pick up on the writing to judge the sharpness. You do get a bit fed up of reading it after a bit though. Lol
 
Try not to shoot open wide (f/5.6) as you did in shots 2 and 4.
You need at least f8 for any kind of sharpness with a budget zoom lens.

A better budget option would be the Sigma 70-300mm APO or even the Canon 55-250mm IS if you do not mind losing a bit from the long end.
 
I can't believe some of the comments above about this lens. How many have actually used it?

The Tamron 70-300 isn't as bad as people make out. Although it's hit / miss ratio is a little lower than you might want.

It's not too bad at the 70 end but don't use it at 300. 270-290 is OK. At 4.5 it ain't great but 5.6 it is usable.

A few of my shots with this lens (and a 400D) here.
 
Freester said:
I can't believe some of the comments above about this lens. How many have actually used it?

The Tamron 70-300 isn't as bad as people make out. Although it's hit / miss ratio is a little lower than you might want.

It's not too bad at the 70 end but don't use it at 300. 270-290 is OK. At 4.5 it ain't great but 5.6 it is usable.

A few of my shots with this lens (and a 400D) here.
Click to expand...

Your pictures are good. With my suggestion above, I was questioning this specific lens not the lens in general. I have had a lens with back focus and, till I checked it, I thought I was just bad at focussing. I don't use that lens anymore, and it wasn't worth sending off for repair so I just replaced it with another.
 
Freester said:
I can't believe some of the comments above about this lens. How many have actually used it?

The Tamron 70-300 isn't as bad as people make out. Although it's hit / miss ratio is a little lower than you might want.

It's not too bad at the 70 end but don't use it at 300. 270-290 is OK. At 4.5 it ain't great but 5.6 it is usable.

A few of my shots with this lens (and a 400D) here.
Click to expand...
I agree, great set, just shows the the equipment is not as important as most people think.
 
Freester, Astral.

Thanks for the comments, great pics BTW.

I'm gonna check the focussing over the weekend & will post results. The lens is only 3 weeks old, so if there is a problem it will go back.

If it is faulty, I may ask to exchange it for a better lens, for which I'm sure I'll be asking here!!

Mick
 
Personally i think you will struggle with that lens on a 50D , theres also a load of noise in the images which will contribute to soft looking images.
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
Personally i think you will struggle with that lens on a 50D , theres also a load of noise in the images which will contribute to soft looking images.
Click to expand...

So, is the general opinion that the Tamron lens is poop? If it's not fit for purpose, i.e. will never get a sharp image, then I think i'm gonna take it back.
I've only had it 3/4 weeks & have not got a decent sharp image to-date?

I've had better images using my Fuji Finepix S7000 :shake:

Is the Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM a worthy lens?

I don't want to spend more cash on a lens that is not significantly better!

Mick
 


I sharpened this in elements 2, 100% radius 1 threshold 0.

Normally I sharper the raw files in Capture NX then export to elements or photoshop 6 and sharpen again after resizing for the web.

It looks sharper to me, might be worth a go on the others, but at 500 asa the grain will increase a lot unless you selectively sharpen just the subject.
 
Mickwreay said:
So, is the general opinion that the Tamron lens is poop? If it's not fit for purpose, i.e. will never get a sharp image, then I think i'm gonna take it back.
I've only had it 3/4 weeks & have not got a decent sharp image to-date?

I've had better images using my Fuji Finepix S7000 :shake:

Is the Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM a worthy lens?

I don't want to spend more cash on a lens that is not significantly better!

Mick
Click to expand...

The Canon lens is in a different league to the Tamron and you WILL notice a difference - unfortunately you will need all the help you can get with a 50D - optical weakness is punished by the high MP of the 50D sensor.
 
Thanks mate,

It does look better, I'm just annoyed I can't get a sharp image.

3,4 & 5 were all shot less than 20 feet away, I was sat cross legged with a firm support.

I was on TV at 1/1250, is that too fast. The ISO is on auto and was at 500.

On a clear day, on a semi static subject such as 3,4 & 5 what ball-park settings should I be using?

Mick
 
No idea on settings i'm afraid, I use a ten year old Nikon D1x, steam age! :D
 
300mm is also quite an ask for such small birds, you still end up with quite a heavy crop, which is where you lose quite a bit of quality, especially with a budget lens.
 
The Tamron is not very quick at focusing so if the subject you are shooting moves during the time delay from acquirement of focus and firing the shutter you'll find it almost impossible to get a sharp looking shot at less than F8. It can be sharp at 300mm if you work at it, I have one here from a D60 I used to use and tried this. 300mm and as low as it will go at F5.6

 
heyho said:
300mm is also quite an ask for such small birds, you still end up with quite a heavy crop, which is where you lose quite a bit of quality, especially with a budget lens.
Click to expand...

Meaning it's too short?

I'm enjoying the trial & error element but if the kit is not up to the task, can you recommend a lens that I will not have to sell my house to buy?

Some of the shots were quite close & I was not any where near 300, some were around 176mm.

The statue shot is nice & clear, I'm out today & am gonna try a set using a broad spectrum of shots, along TV & AV.

Should I set to ISO100 & then compare or is Auto a better option for general changing opportunity shots?

What speed should I be aiming for, if the bird is perched?

Mick
 
Mickwreay said:
Meaning it's too short?

I'm enjoying the trial & error element but if the kit is not up to the task, can you recommend a lens that I will not have to sell my house to buy?

Some of the shots were quite close & I was not any where near 300, some were around 176mm.

The statue shot is nice & clear, I'm out today & am gonna try a set using a broad spectrum of shots, along TV & AV.

Should I set to ISO100 & then compare or is Auto a better option for general changing opportunity shots?

What speed should I be aiming for, if the bird is perched?

Mick
Click to expand...


Settings will always be different for different lighting - adjust your ISO and aperture to get the optimum shutter speed - try and stick to keeping you shutter speed at least as fast as your focal length x 1.6 so at 300mm you're looking at 1/500.

Which lens is more difficult, it all depends on budget - the Canon 70-300mm IS is excellent for the cost about £330 used, A sigma 150-500mm OS will give you extra length for about £550 used or a Canon 100-400mm for about £800 used.
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
Settings will always be different for different lighting - adjust your ISO and aperture to get the optimum shutter speed - try and stick to keeping you shutter speed at least as fast as your focal length x 1.6 so at 300mm you're looking at 1/500.

Which lens is more difficult, it all depends on budget - the Canon 70-300mm IS is excellent for the cost about £330 used, A sigma 150-500mm OS will give you extra length for about £550 used or a Canon 100-400mm for about £800 used.
Click to expand...

Cheers, Dogfish.

I've just got back from a wander & took a test set of a fence post top with plenty of grain & detail, around 9 pics from about 20 feet away in full sunlight at around 4 p.m. Good strong supported position, ranging from 1/100 to 1/800 Auto ISO on TV.

There is one that I would call fairly sharp, but if that's the best I can expect in strong sunlight, then I'm either getting it badly wrong or the lens is poop.

I also took around 50 general shots, using Auto, TV & AV settings.

Think the Tamron is going back tomorrow.

Think I'm gonna take a while to choose my next lens, hopefully a bargain comes up on here!

Mick
 
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