Lens, Camera or Me

Bobby uk

Bobby uk

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Rob
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Hi guys hope all is well. I'm currently shooting with a canon 50d and a 24-135 IS and needless to say im just not happy with my results. Don't get me wrong i'm only a beginner and with two mortgages a wife two kids under 5 and one on the way money is always few and far between so my kit is always limited.
I recently upgraded from my 1100d and 18-55 kit lens and rather disappointingly i was looking back through some past images and the 1100d just seems as though it gave me better pictures. So im kinda asking if its me as a photographer, a bad choice in camera or is it about time i took it on the chin and spent a bit of money on some new glass.
 
Does a cook blame the ingredients ? What ever kit your using the most important thing is your imagination and vision. Stop dwelling on past equipment and the belief that it gave better pictures. Just get out more and shoot more images.:thumbs:
 
Don't despair, we all go through these phases, well I do anyway. I doubt very much if it is the equipment as I've seen some great shots with a camera phone. Why not post some photos for critique, make sure you explain what you were hoping to achieve and the very helpful people on here will give you plenty of advice
 
As ever without a sample image or two it makes it hard to answer your original question

Could be any number of reasons and sure you will receive friendly advice that might help you in the right direction

Best to try and get to the bottom of the problem, if past experience is anything to go by more than likely technique then lens and lastly camera (or last two combined as in AF accuracy requiring MA)

Give us all a go and see what happens
 
When you talk about the 1100 giving better pictures, are you basing that on the technical aspects of the images - sharpness, colour, dynamic range etc - or are you looking at composition and the kind of overall images you're capturing? A new camera can take a while to learn before you stop thinking about the camera and concentrate on the image. It might also require different image processing from the previous model, and to get the best from your images you may need to re-think how you handle them post capture.
 
I think its something we all go thought with an change over with cameras,just stick with it a get used to your new camera :)
 
Bobby uk said:
Hi guys hope all is well. I'm currently shooting with a canon 50d and a 24-135 IS and needless to say im just not happy with my results. Don't get me wrong i'm only a beginner and with two mortgages a wife two kids under 5 and one on the way money is always few and far between so my kit is always limited.

I recently upgraded from my 1100d and 18-55 kit lens and rather disappointingly i was looking back through some past images and the 1100d just seems as though it gave me better pictures. So im kinda asking if its me as a photographer, a bad choice in camera or is it about time i took it on the chin and spent a bit of money on some new glass.
Click to expand...

I don't know that lens (24-135.)

Anyway, personally I think that gear only helps when you're pushing things to the very limit such as at the highst ISO's, in the most challenging DR or lighting, with the most difficult subject to focus on etc... and in most situations I've given up hoping that the camera and/or lens really matter all that much or that spending more will make my pictures better.

In your place I think I'd try to think about what exectly I like and class as better (maybe the lighting was just better?) and if spending more time with the new kit will help, it probably will. Maybe you could look at processing too?

Good luck with it, I hope you get to where you want to be.
 
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Bobby uk said:
Hi guys hope all is well. I'm currently shooting with a canon 50d and a 24-135 IS and needless to say im just not happy with my results. Don't get me wrong i'm only a beginner and with two mortgages a wife two kids under 5 and one on the way money is always few and far between so my kit is always limited.
I recently upgraded from my 1100d and 18-55 kit lens and rather disappointingly i was looking back through some past images and the 1100d just seems as though it gave me better pictures. So im kinda asking if its me as a photographer, a bad choice in camera or is it about time i took it on the chin and spent a bit of money on some new glass.
Click to expand...

I presume this was 2nd hand kit you've upgraded to ?

First I would do a full factory reset on the 50D - you don't know what adjustments the previous owner has made to the settings...
Second I would check and adjust the diopter for your eyesight - this can cause issues if shooting in manual focus.
Thirdly, do you have any other lenses to try ? You need to make sure there isn't anything wrong with the lens.
Is it the 28-135IS lens ? This is a good lens, I've had one previously and really enjoyed it

What are you shooting on - are you in a basic zone (landscape, sports etc) or Av, Tv mode and what are you finding wrong with your photo's - if you can put up an example or explain what you're not happy with...

And don't forget, the 2 camera bodies are quite different and the processing the body does itself can be different and sometimes you have to do more processing yourself

Hope this is of some help and enjoy your new purchase...
 
my two pennyworth ,first off you have made a large jump in camera bodies there ,i suspect that the settings on the 50d will need to be tweaked to your own STYLE of photography ,i will assume that the camera is used and a lot will depend on the previous owners settings that are most likely in place .
it would help if you told us some more info about how your using the camera ,i.e are you just shooting j/pegs or shooting RAW files ,with either theres settings that affect how the picture appears when viewed ,are you shooting in fully auto mode ,or semi auto a/v or t/v etc all these things affect the result .having had a 50d i found it to be a really good bit of kit and should produce the goodies so i would hazard a guess its down to user error
 
Hi guys sorry for late reply had a few issues with internet.

I will try and answer as much of the feedback as i can.

so first things first. Yes it is a second hand 50d and no i haven't done a factory reset. To be honest i didn't realise this needed to be done. With my 1100d i used to shoot in jpeg but now have started shooting in RAW with the 50d so i have got a bit more freedom to adjust. (im currently using elements 11). I tend to shoot using manly manual and av mode and most of my shots are landscapes, architecture ect. The current lens that i favour is a 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM which again i brought second hand and the optics seem clear and in good condition but again im no expert. I have recently managed to pic up a cheap 18-55 IS kit lens just to try and get a comparison as i found it quite good on the 1100d.
My main worry is the lack of detail and sharpness that im not getting while using the 50d. I used to do a lot of night shots with the 1100 i.e light trails ect and although i haven't as much with the 50d when i do they seem to be a lot different in quality.
i will post up some examples
 
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I'm seeing a lot of Chromatic Aberration, but that may be down to the 10 stop filter (indeed I would hope it is). At that level of CA it will tend to smear detail; it can be largely remedied in software.

Also, that's taken at f/13 - you're going to start running into diffraction on a 50D at that aperture, which will soften the image further.

Do you have a sample without any filters on the lens at something like f/8?
 
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I just had a quick look at a couple of other images taken with the 50D/28-135 combo in your Flickr photostream and they don't exhibit any of the same CA and softness.

I think it's the 10-stop filter that's causing your problems. :suspect:
 
One other thing: are you turning off the Image Stabilisation when doing long exposures with the 28-135?

As it has the older IS technology, it doesn't automatically adjust when it detects it's on a tripod and may actually add movement instead of reducing it. Although it's not visible as movement in the image, on top of everything else, it may be contributing to any softness you're seeing at a sub-pixel level.

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/technical/image_stabilization_lenses.do

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/technical/image_stabilization_lenses.do?page=2
 
hi there musicman and thanks for taking the time to respond. As you can see from the flickr page the sharpness and detail i was getting from the 1100d was quite good in my opinion.
Admittedly no i don't think i turned off the IS when taking the shot although i suppose as i was on the coast i wasn't sure if it would help if there was any movement from wind ect. Although i agree with your comment, i remember reading an article about making sure to turn it off as sometimes it can have the opposite effect.
As to your comment on taking it at f/13 to be honest i wasn't aware off any issues that i may have going that high? and in which case what would you suggest in future?
quote ; I'm seeing a lot of Chromatic Aberration? Could you please explain what you mean by this.
As for the filter if im honest i think it was my first go using the haida ND3.0 so i suppose my results would be questionable?
I will have a flick through and see what i have with regards to other examples.

Again many thanks
 
I wonder if this is a combination of F13 and image stabilisation enabled on the tripod so introducing movement. Looking closely I can't see sharp focus anywhere really, from front to back, so that wouldn't normally be a user error as you would have focused somewhere, whether rightly or wrongly. So I'm feeling it is a kit / setup issue.
 
Another thing to consider, is if your just making your first start into raw processing, how much attention are you paying to it and are you doing it right, and in the right order? Some people don't realise just how bad raw looks OOC when compared to JPG.
 
Basic rules of troubleshooting:

Is the problem a one-off, happens some times or always?

If it is a one off, it's usually not worth bothering about.

If it happens only some times, eliminate each of the factors in play one at a time so you can determine which of them is causing the problem.

If it happens always, eliminate each of the factors in play to see if you can determine if any of them is not causing the problem.

At the moment, the only evidence I've seen of a poor image is one long exposure with an ND 3.0 filter. Everything else looks reasonably good.

However, should you need to pursue it, ideally with the same subject under the same conditions...

try shooting JPEG as you had previously with your old camera.

try shooting with the ND filter on and off

try shooting at different apertures

if you still have access to your old lens or camera body, use those one at a time.

etc., etc.

Some reading on diffraction at smaller apertures

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm


Edit: the-digital-picture.com has a useful tool to compare lens performance at different apertures and focal lengths.

This link will compare your lens at f/8 and f/16 at 28mm on a 50D. You can see how the f/16 image is softer and has less contrast across the frame.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=474&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=5
 
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Again thanks for the feed back and its all been taken on bord.
I have re-set the camera back to factory settings and for the time being gone back to jpeg to get some comparison on my editing.
Again as a beginner and naturally wanting to run before i can walk i suppose a lot of it is finding an opportunity and having the knowledge on how to react with it when it comes to settings.
Im all for learning from your mistakes but as a carpenter by trade and not trying to give the old 'never blame the tools' excuse i wanted to check that it wasn't my gear. After all i would never use a £3.99 set of chisels while trying to hang a solid oak door if you get my meaning.
 
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