Beginner Picture sharpness?

Messages
1
Name
Rosa
Edit My Images
Yes
Quite simply put: why are my images not razor sharp?
I don’t know enough about photography to see if it’s because my camera isn’t capable, o its the lens or maybe just my settings? Can someone advise?
Currently using my old Canon 350D with a Canon efs 18-55mm lens.
Mainly trying to get some pictures of my one year old so have tried with the shutter speed high as he is obviously moving around a lot - any advise much appreciated!
 
Hi Rosa, welcome to TP!

Unsharp images can be down to many things...

Missed Focus
You focussed on the wrong thing.
You focussed on the right thing, but the thing moved and the camera focussed on a different part of the thing.
Fix: Care, practise, manual focus, trying a different focussing type, using a narrower (smaller hole, larger number) aperture to increase depth of field.
How to tell? Look to see if some/any part of the image is sharp - not just the bit you want.

Subject Movement
The thing moved, and your shutter speed wasn’t fast enough to freeze it
Fix: Faster shutter speed
How to tell? Difficult, but "slow" shutter speeds are generally anything slower than 1/125sec for most subjects (exc sport & wildlife)

Camera Movement
The camera moved while you were taking the photo
Fix: Tripod, monopod, faster shutter speed, image stabilisation
How to tell? Check the shutter speed. Very general rule of thumb I'd use (with my shaky hands) for a 350D would be 1/2xfocal length, so a photo taken at 55mm should be at least 1/110sec.

Dirty/Cheap lens
Lenses that come with the camera can be plastic & cheaply made resulting in “poor” quality
Fix: Clean, or buy a new lens
How to tell? People generally take photos of things like brick walls with no depth, and with the camera on a tripod to eliminate all the above. If the photo is still blurred, it could be the lens.

Or it could be any combination of the above!
 
Last edited:
It would be helpful if you posted an image shot with your current set up ( not your Son if you are not comfortable with that) ?

This along with the settings you used, ( ISO Shutter Speed- Aperture etc as this will help people on this lovely forum to have a better chance of helping you

Les :)
 
Are you shooting RAW or jpeg files as the sharpness may need adjustment
 
You focussed on the right thing, but the thing moved and the camera focussed on a different part of the thing.
Fix: Care, practise, manual focus, trying a different focussing type, using a narrower (smaller hole, larger number) aperture to increase depth of field.
How to tell? Look to see if some/any part of the image is sharp - not just the bit you want.

Yes, you aren't using the best of gear, but..... I would guess that the issue is as above.

Stick the camera on a tripod (or tabletop) Set a delay 2 second timer, focus on something, take the shot & see how that comes out initially.

That will determine if it's technique/situation or the actual camera gear.
 
2 tests: try a bowl of fruit, and / or try with a timer instead of pressing the shoot button and so giving the camera a jolt.

If that still gives you "unsharp" images:
Test with another lens too. If you already have 18-55mm i'm guessing you'd want an autofocus telephoto zoom too, like circa 80mm to circa 200mm, so you could perhaps try a lens like that.

If that other lens doesn't give you sharp images either (even photoing a bowl of fruit with a timer instead of physical button press), and you're on a steady surface, then maybe the camera's autofocusing isn't working very well? I'm not an expert here so pinch of salt.

If the second lens works perfect, then i'd like to blame the first lens, it's not autofocusing well.
 
Last edited:
Your kit lens is fine. It is not the best lens out there but will give you sharp images. How are you deciding that your images are not "razor sharp"? If you are zooming right in on the image, no lens will give you "razor sharp" images. Are your images sharp enough at a sensible size (A4?) viewed from a sensible distance? You really do not need your images to be any sharper than that.
 
Theres not much help anyone can give you apart from guessing.. show us a picture... full size or a crop of a full size pictures and add all the settings used then we can help.. otherwise as said..its guesswork albiet educated guesswork :)
 
Perhaps adjust the ISO settings?

Hi and welcome to TP.

As you may have seen the OP is a beginner, so though ISO selection is important to be aware of..........rather than making such a brief statement it would likely be more helpful to the OP if you explained why you suggested that as a course of action :)
 
Last edited:
Back
Top