Stuggling to get sharp images

[ian-83]

Changed to a Panasonic G7 with 14-140 lens and struggling to get sharp images.

https://flic.kr/p/S5dWxe

I had focused on the building but when zooming in all the brickwork looks soft.

Never seemed to have a problem with my D7000 and 16-85 lens I had before.

 

[nog]

2 second exposure, maybe camera moved/tripod not stable?

 

[ian-83]

2 second exposure, maybe camera moved/tripod not stable?

Tripod was on damp grass. Made sure I had image stabilization off. Tripod is a lightweight carbon fibre one and camera and lens only weigh 700 grams all in! Wonder if that's why?

 

[chris malcolm]

A 2sec exposure of a brick wall at night with flat lighting and not much else in nearby focus is not a helpful shot for diagnosing problems, which might be camera shake, front or back focusing, lens, etc. Have you a daylight shot, and a comparable shot with your Nikon?

 

[Alastair]

Tripod was on damp grass. Made sure I had image stabilization off. Tripod is a lightweight carbon fibre one and camera and lens only weigh 700 grams all in! Wonder if that's why?

Remote shutter release or delayed shutter?

But as Chris says, start by nailing your technique in good light and then try night shots.

 

[ian-83]

A 2sec exposure of a brick wall at night with flat lighting and not much else in nearby focus is not a helpful shot for diagnosing problems, which might be camera shake, front or back focusing, lens, etc. Have you a daylight shot, and a comparable shot with your Nikon?

I'll try a daylight shot, probably won't get a chance till the weekend. I haven't got the Nikon anymore so can't do a side by side comparison. But I could probably try something in the garden and test it out.

Remote shutter release or delayed shutter?

But as Chris says, start by nailing your technique in good light and then try night shots.

Remote shutter release. Going to try daylight shots and see how I get on first.

Beginning to wonder if it was due to the lighting on the building and poor technique. I tried manual focusing but that turned out worse.

 

[alfbranch]

You are using a different camera with a smaller sensor which for night shots may not quite compare. Though higly rated by saome the lens is a bit of a compromise at 10X zoom there are sharper lenses out there.

This is in focus but maybe lacks a little highlight control was it shot in RAW or JPEG

E-luminate2 by Ian Diplock, on Flickr

 

[ian-83]

You are using a different camera with a smaller sensor which for night shots may not quite compare. Though higly rated by saome the lens is a bit of a compromise at 10X zoom there are sharper lenses out there.

This is in focus but maybe lacks a little highlight control was it shot in RAW or JPEG

E-luminate2 by Ian Diplock, on Flickr

Was shot in Raw all I have done to edit it was remove a slight tint and bring the shadows up a bit.

What lens would you recommend are better than the 14-140? Can't afford any of the fast zooms.

 

[alfbranch]

Was shot in Raw all I have done to edit it was remove a slight tint and bring the shadows up a bit.

What lens would you recommend are better than the 14-140? Can't afford any of the fast zooms.

Lowering the highlights should help too look at the histogram while work in ACR. There is noting wrong with the 14-140 but it is not as sharp as things like the Panasonic 12-35 f2.8 it may just be a matter of the subject and your expectations from what you had before.

Looking through this may help too in fact it may have where you should have started.

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/panasonic-g-series-owners-thread.262800/

I am an OLY m4/3 user and I am aware of some of this issue not all.

 

[BrynBoru]

I tried manual focusing but that turned out worse.

This doesn't sound right. Manual focusing is a better technique IMO for this kind of shot. I understand in low light some cameras in AF may "hunt" for focus.
Is f/8 the right aperture for this type of night shot? Maybe you should try wider settings.
Added to this using a light tripod won't help. Maybe try hanging a weight on the tripod under the camera for better stability against wind or ground vibrations.
The earlier suggestion of a delayed shutter is also appropriate. It doesn't take much to upset things! Good luck!

 

[sirch]

Were you using anti-shock? although I wouldn't exepct it to make much of a difference on a 2 second exposure but every little helps

 

[ian-83]

Lowering the highlights should help too look at the histogram while work in ACR. There is noting wrong with the 14-140 but it is not as sharp as things like the Panasonic 12-35 f2.8 it may just be a matter of the subject and your expectations from what you had before.

Looking through this may help too in fact it may have where you should have started.

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/panasonic-g-series-owners-thread.262800/

I am an OLY m4/3 user and I am aware of some of this issue not all.

I have looked through the Panasonic G series thread. Aware the camera does suffer from shutter shock and have turned the electronic shutter on to hopefully eleminate it. I am thinking maybe my expectations are probably too high for what I am doing.

This doesn't sound right. Manual focusing is a better technique IMO for this kind of shot. I understand in low light some cameras in AF may "hunt" for focus.
Is f/8 the right aperture for this type of night shot? Maybe you should try wider settings.
Added to this using a light tripod won't help. Maybe try hanging a weight on the tripod under the camera for better stability against wind or ground vibrations.
The earlier suggestion of a delayed shutter is also appropriate. It doesn't take much to upset things! Good luck!

Will try some weight on the tripod next time. I think I need to have a good play with the camera in better conditions and see if my results improve. I have only had it since October and still getting use to it.

 

[BrynBoru]

Aware the camera does suffer from shutter shock and have turned the electronic shutter on to hopefully eleminate it.

Didn't realise you had this facility. I use it as much as possible to reduce vibration so this should help.

 

[alfbranch]

If you posted this in the Group series thread the regulars on the thread will be able to tell if that's what to expect.

 

[ancient_mariner]

TBH for a superzoom lens on a small sensor body in low light with bright sections that might cause a little flare, that's probably as sharp as I would expect. A comment that I've seen made is that diffraction is a problem with smaller sensors, with optimal sharpness at a wider aperture than f8. The previous shot in your flickr stream (multicolour 'flowers' lit inside with LEDs) was shot at a longer focal length and wider aperture, and looks appreciably sharper at the scale presented, even though it was shot at f5.6 using iso1600.

If you want biting sharpness then you're probably going to need a prime or a professional zoom.

 

[ian-83]

Didn't realise you had this facility. I use it as much as possible to reduce vibration so this should help.

It's currently set to auto switch between manual and electronic shutter. I need to find out how I can tell which one its using. Hopefully it'll be in the exif data.

If you posted this in the Group series thread the regulars on the thread will be able to tell if that's what to expect.

Will check a post up in there later on.

TBH for a superzoom lens on a small sensor body in low light with bright sections that might cause a little flare, that's probably as sharp as I would expect. A comment that I've seen made is that diffraction is a problem with smaller sensors, with optimal sharpness at a wider aperture than f8. The previous shot in your flickr stream (multicolour 'flowers' lit inside with LEDs) was shot at a longer focal length and wider aperture, and looks appreciably sharper at the scale presented, even though it was shot at f5.6 using iso1600.

If you want biting sharpness then you're probably going to need a prime or a professional zoom.

I am going to try a few test shots at the weekend at various apertures and see how it fairs.
So used to using f8 on my D7000 and everything seemed to be sharper.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I am going to try a few test shots at the weekend at various apertures and see how it fairs.
So used to using f8 on my D7000 and everything seemed to be sharper.

We have an E-M10 with EZ pancake zoom as a replacement for a compact for my wife, and pixel-peeping was a bit of a shock to begin with compared to Sony APS-C and Nikon FX using decent optics. I do, however, have a couple of superzooms too: compared to the worst of them your image is really quite sharp, and probably as good as the best of them. This is probably as good as that lens is likely to manage.

 

[ian-83]

We have an E-M10 with EZ pancake zoom as a replacement for a compact for my wife, and pixel-peeping was a bit of a shock to begin with compared to Sony APS-C and Nikon FX using decent optics. I do, however, have a couple of superzooms too: compared to the worst of them your image is really quite sharp, and probably as good as the best of them. This is probably as good as that lens is likely to manage.

Begging to wonder if it's me expecting too much.

 

[alfbranch]

Begging to wonder if it's me expecting too much.

Maybe for this situation but maybe it could be processed better.

 

[dclutter]

@ian-83

I've struggled with the same issue you have here. About 50% of our photos with the G7 w/ 14-140 coming out soft or out of focus. Yet for some reason the 14-140 on my e-m5ii images came out sharp 95% of the time. I've still not worked out what is going on. So keen to see if someone has an answer for us.

 

[Box Brownie]

Hmmm! modest weight kit attached via the body tripod point on a lightweight carbon tripod with a 2sec exposure on a grass surface.

If no remote release,
Use the delayed shutter release (has the body got that setting e.g. 2 or 10 second delay)
Hang a good heavy weight under the tripod to damp vibrations
Alt tech ~ set 4 sec exposure but to compensate for shutter press vibration hold a black card very close to lens at time of pressing shutter and then remove.

IMO it is all about eliminating or mitigating for any low frequency vibrations that will affect critical sharpness in a long exposure

PS sorry all covered above but I was speed reading and may have missed some posted suggestions.