Beginner Image sharpness

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fenderdave

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14
Name
David
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello
Ive always been unhappy about the softness of my images and in the last few months am getting back into my photography. (its an on off thing sadly due to work etc). Primarily i shoot low in light most of the time, local gigs etc and picked up a canon 50mm f1.8 prime lens and a budget flash gun which really helped with shutter speed and subject lighting. All in all I'm getting pretty satisfactory results. However I'm also starting to think more about general photography and make the point of getting out more with camera in hand.

Ive been reading quite a bit about people not getting very sharp images and I'm about to embark on a full test run using both my kit lens and the nifty 50. Realistically how good should the results be using my camera. (Canon EOS 450D) I appreciate its only a budget model but not sure how good it should be. Ive been snapping a few things around the garden with various settings to see whats what, locking the mirror etc to minimise shake. Links to full size images to follow. Have been disappointed when cropping but again not sure what i should expect.

Unfortuately I've deleted my current test shots and its been rather overcast and raining today so I've not had the chance to get out and get some descent samples.

Which leads to the next question - Where can i buy a test card. I can download an image but my printer isn't great so defeating the object really.

Thanks
 
Sharpness is something that needs to be put in context to be understood, and people often have unrealistic expectations of how sharp their images should be. A good idea would be to post up a full resolution image... use Dropbox and put up a ink to one of your RAW files so we can check it out.

Also.. shooting in low light with wide apertures will not be making the most of things. Sharpness can be effected by so many things, and often chasing sharpness can divert your attention from more important things. My advice is not to get obsessed.
 
Diving Pete said:
Because it starts to get very expensive, very quickly...lol
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Tell me about it, i like my music gear

Hope to get some sample pics today and drop them on my website. I do like close up work, not full on macro and thats something I'm saving up for (a nice lens). Maybe i should sell a guitar or 3. Have read the thread in detail shortly after posting and have taken a lot on board.

Cheers
 
fenderdave said:
Tell me about it, i like my music gear

Hope to get some sample pics today and drop them on my website. I do like close up work, not full on macro and thats something I'm saving up for (a nice lens). Maybe i should sell a guitar or 3. Have read the thread in detail shortly after posting and have taken a lot on board.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Im a Fender fan too David, I have a Fender Telecaster + a Gibson 335 in Cherry Red, and a few others inc a Dobro which I love - I'm looking to sell the Telecaster to buy CAMERA GEAR, CAN'T HAVE TWO EXPENSIVE HOBBIES :D:D:D:D

iPhone image, Guitars are above an none working radiator

 
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Very nice they are. Is it a a good idea to have them suspended above a heater? I thought that may 'dry' them out?
 
fenderdave said:
Hello
Which leads to the next question - Where can i buy a test card. I can download an image but my printer isn't great so defeating the object really.
Click to expand...

Personally, I think pixel-peeping and test card shots are the route to madness and guaranteed dissatisfaction with your photography.
  • Only assess the printed image, never pixel-peep on screen.
  • Never ask yourself first whether the image is sharp, first print it and decide whether you like the image and then if you really want to wear a hair shirt and beat yourself with birch branches ask yourself if the image is sharp enough.
I've been making the most of the fine weather and shooting some spring flowers in the garden, on-screen the images are soft as soap if I pixel-peep - but printed they're more than sharp enough and look great. Do yourself a favour, instead of buying a test card get a cheap dyesub printer (a second-hand or refurbished Selphy), print more and worry less about sharpness.
 
The23rdman said:
I have seen this photo before and can answer this! The heater doesn't work. ;)[/quot
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Correct who in their right mind would suspend a Gibson 335 dot ( £2,500) and a 1972 Classic Fender Telecaster (£900) above a heater :D:D:D

I'd rather do that with my Camera Gear

Ok where the guitar porn thread???

Les
 
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Lez325 said:
Correct who in their right mind would suspend a Gibson 335 dot ( £2,500) and a 1972 Classic Fender Telecaster (£900) above a heater :D:D:D

I'd rather do that with my Camera Gear

Ok where the guitar porn thread???

Les
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I posted it in the general photo forum. :D
 
Right, have thrown some sample images on my website. No cropping
Images 1 to 3 (50mm f1.8) ISO 400, f/10, 1/200

images 4-6 (18-55 kit lens) ISO 400, f/10, 1/200
to me they all look soft but i do need new glasses

EDIT - Image issues - will be posting links to images asap.
 
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fenderdave said:
Here's an image using the 50mm prime lens. ISO 400, f/10, 1/200
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ibhuiijnv7wabyu/IMG_3123.CR2

and the same using my kits lens 18-55.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/09ds2inj14s9uzq/IMG_3126.CR2
Click to expand...

I assumed you'd post a normal photograph... one you feel is not sharp enough, not a photo of a measuring tape :) The lenses are very close focused here, so will not be at their best. You're also shooting at f10 with the prime lens... so it will be a little softer at that aperture than it would be someone nearer the middle.

Sharpness seems as good as I'd expect from that camera with those lenses. I certainly wouldn't be thinking anything was wrong. Are any actual photographs you take (not test images of charts or measures) actually not as sharp as you'd like?
 
They look absolutely fine to me. I reckon you're just pixel peeping and then expecting too much from the gear. You have to remember that even what we laughingly call "full frame" these days is essentially, 35mm... which pre digital, was a bit of a toy format, and only really used by those who needed portability - press, sports, documentary etc. Anyone interested in quality, would be shooting medium format, preferably 6x7cm, and any serious landscape photographer for example, would probably have been using 5x4" large format. Now.. along comes digital, and everyone expects miracles from a teeny weeny 24x36mm frame. :) ...and your camera isn't full frame... it's smaller still.

Nothing wrong with your gear. Enjoy taking images with it. :)
 
My observations on why my images wheren't always (and sometimes still aren't) tack sharp as a beginner. It might not help you as I suspect you're more advanced than this, but since this is in the beginners section:

1. Poor focus - sounds obvious but focus on what you want to be sharp (the subject, or a particular part of the subject e.g. closest eye, eyelashes etc.)
2. Subject has moved since focus - you're either recomposing and changing the focus distance or the subject (or you) has actually moved... this is not related to #4 below
3. Camera shake - too slow a shutter speed (1/focal length is a general rule of thumb here)
4. Subject is moving - too slow a shutter speed (depends on the subject!)
5. Too shallow a depth of field - you're shooting at a wide aperture (small f number) and the area in critical focus is just too narrow... e.g. on a portrait you can't get both eyes in focus - close down the aperture a bit
6. Lens wide open at its limit - all lenses have a sweet spot and by working wide open you may be outside this sweet spot and the lens clarity just isn't good enough. I have this problem with my 50mm prime at f/2 and below
7. Poor light - related to 1, 5 and 6 - autofocus might not be working well leading to poor focus lock and you're possibly using a wide aperture which can lead to other issues
8. Aperture too small (diffraction) - at f numbers above (say) f/11 on a crop sensor, you're likely to see softening of the image from a quirk of physics called diffraction. Nothing you can do except widen the aperture (smaller f number) or get a FF/MF camera!
9. Excessive noise reduction applied - NR usually blurs a little, so going heavy on this can reduce sharpness
10. Wrong camera settings - save as RAW is the usual advice but if you're saving as JPG for good reason, make sure your quality and resolution settings are maxed out otherwise you'll be losing image quality
11. Dirty lens - unlikely to be a cause but keep your kit clean anyway!
12. Cheap filter - don't use them as they'll degrade the image
13. You're pixel peeping and have unrealistic expectations!
14. Your lens back/front focuses - not the most likely problem but it can be. You can test for this and usually correct for it in camera - if something is in focus but it's not the bit you want, then this, 1, 2 or 5 are probably the cause.

Hope that helps someone. Final observation: using flash (a speedlight either on camera or off camera) really helped sharpen up images for me. Obviously it can be used to help address a number of issues above but it also "freezes" action. If a flash helps, it can narrow down what's causing your out of focus problems (it's most likely 3 or 4 but could also be wide aperture related). Re: point 1 & 2, I find using the back button to focus and moving the AF point to close to where I want the subject in focus to be in the frame. Obviously doesn't work with fast-moving compositions and "snaps" but it's usually good to know. Placing the AF point in one of the corners (intersection of 3rds) can also help a lot with composition...

Edited to add: final possibility (not for you with the 50 though) - the lens is rubbish. I have a soft super telephoto zoom that will not produce razor sharp images but then it was £20. I've seen one other pair of images posted here from an even longer super tele which are similarly poor quality. Buy decent lenses (these don't always have to be super expensive) and it'll never be an issue, though.
 
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There's absolutely nothing wrong with your gear. They are as sharp as can be expected from a 12MP crop sensor camera.
 
I gotta say I've been using my nifty fifty for the past 4 years, and I would be really happy with the sharpness of your image :)
 
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