Soft iamges

[AMac]

Hi,

I have just bought myself a canon 70-300 USM IS lens. I not sure if I am expecting too much or I am doing something wrong but a lot of the images look a bit soft to me, however some are ok.

I don't think it is camera shake, which I first thought as I am using a fast enough speed.

on some of them, something that is in the same plane, as in the same distance form the lens, but towards the edges of the image, look soft when the section in the middle looks ok.

Oh I know the images are a little dark and have a funny tint to them, it is something to do with when I load them up, but I have not worked out what yet!

Well I hope the question makes sense, and thanks for any help or advice.

This is the folder they are in:http://www.amacimages.com/for-review/

 

[jon ryan]

Not much wrong, really. They all look a bit under exposed and need a touch of sharpening. But, nicely composed bunch of shots there I'd say. Are you seeing softness throughout the lens range? Some softness at the edges is to be expected at full zoom, but should be even; that is, not soft on one side and sharp on the other. Try pulling the zoom back a bit and seeing if that helps. Then you can crop in post (which is also the best place to sharpen). Closing the aperture by a stop or two is likely to help as well.

 

[petersmart]

I have this lens and it is fine, and most of your pics look fine to me apart from the underexposure as already mentioned.

You could experiment with various methods of sharpening including double sharpening - sharpen the pic as a whole then give a final tweak after all the PP work is done - I use this and it can make a real difference as long as you don't overdo it.

.

 

[AMac]

Hi Jon,
thanks for getting back to me. Where I see it the most is when I quickly check it at 100% in lightroom, it might be I am expecting too much or seeing things that are not there.

I just posted another one http://www.amacimages.com/for-review/1210_reading-walk354.jpg.php. When I check it at 100% it all looks soft. it was taken at 70m, 1/125, f5.0, 800 iso. I only apply medium for screen sharpening on export.
The darkness is something to do with uploading to the site , it has just started doing that, not too sure why yet,
Thanks for our help.

Now I have see it I just keep looking

 

[jon ryan]

Pretty near all digital images benefit from some sharpening, AMac. This isn't to do with the lens ( OK, occasionally it's to do with the lens, but this is rare), it's a feature of digital processing. How much sharpening depends on what you're shooting and how your personal tastes run. Adding sharpening in post is best as you can see the results on a decent sized screen and vary it accordingly. Often people want a portrait to be a bit softer (more flattering) than a shot of a car. Some shots may look best when sharpened selectively. Sharpening is another skill that needs to be learned if you want to end up with the best results.

I'd say that your shot of the woody glade is again undercooked. Try dialling in a half-stop of exposure compensation. Also, you shot that one using 1/125th at a focal length of 70mm. That could be getting into camera shake territory when hand-holding. Dunno where a 550D starts showing noise, but 800 ISO may well make the shot look a bit soft through noise rather than focus. Or it could be all three. Or something totally different.

But my guess is that you just need to get used to your new lens. It's a pretty good lens, the 70-300. Try taking a series of the same thing, preferably from a tripod, varying your settings, to see where it performs best.

 

[D4rr3n]

I'm still using my 70-300. It's not a bad lens but is a bit soft wide open and at anything longer than 200mm is at it's best between f8 - f11.

 

[AMac]

Hi thanks for that, but at f8-f11 would mean very slow shutter speeds, would it?

 

[Nod]

Either slow shutter speeds or a higher ISO setting. Either will introduce a bit of noise but only the slower shutter speeds will introduce camera shake. At 300mm on a Canon crop, I would suggest 1/500th as a reasonably handholdable speed. Take a few test shots at 1/500th and f/8 (adjust ISO to get correct exposure) and see what the results are like as far as noise goes. At a guess (not familiar with Canon performance, so it's purely a guess), up to ISO 400 will be fine, at ISO800, noise will start to creep in (but may well be unnoticeable in prints) and ISO 1600 noise will probably be a problem, although there are many noise reduction programmes available, some even free! (Noiseware Community Edition is quite good and free.)

As suggested, take some test shots at assorted focal lengths and apertures to see where your copy of the lens is at its best. It's unlikely to be pin sharp wide open at 300mm but should sharpen up a bit stopped down a couple of stops or backed off to 250mm or so. Again, at a guess, 250mm at f/8 and you may be surprised - crop into that image to simulate a longer focal length.