Why are my images not sharp?

J

jwphotos

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Name
Jessica
Edit My Images
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ke92cz.jpg


Here is an example.

I take equestrian (mainly jumping) photos. My flatwork (dressage) photos are quite crisp but the jumping ones are never sharp and don't seem very clear.

This photo is taken at f/4.5, 1/1600sec, iso 400, +1 step.

Please feel free to ask any questions.
I use canon eos 400d with canon zoom 70-300mm lens
 
It is difficult to tell at that size. My initial guess would be a focus error. Horse is a fast-moving target, with constantly changing distance to the camera. You should treat that accordingly. The action is fast paced too. 1/1600s should freeze the motion, otherwise you could try panning to keep only the horse sharp.
 
I will link to a full size image, sorry. I am new here and don't really know what I'm doing!
 
daugirdas said:
It is out of focus :|, i.e. the focus is on the trees in the background. You should focus on the rider / horse in AI-servo mode.
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I do :S I focus on the horses shoulder, then track the horse in, then shoot.
 
daugirdas said:
It is out of focus :|, i.e. the focus is on the trees in the background. You should focus on the rider / horse in AI-servo mode.
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Absolutely. The larger version is very telling. Trees sharp. Horse soft. Focus missed.
jwphotos said:
I do :S I focus on the horses shoulder, then track the horse in, then shoot.
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That's basically it. However, you must make sure that you place the focus point over a part of the horse (or rider) that has good contrast. If you end up just on smooth fur (do horses have fur, or is it all hair?) the camera may have difficulty seeing what it should focus on.

You may also improve your focusing results if you shoot from the sunny side of the horse.
 
are you definetly using AI servo and keeping the selected focus point (dont let the camera choose your focus point, it'll go for the background every time, its easier - the horse by comparison is moving quite a way fore and aft in the image as you track its movement) over your subject?
 
You also have to make sure that your camera is in continuous servo AF mode, meaning it will constantly track it. If you're in single servo AF mode, as soon as it's locked on a target, if that target moves, it's out of focus.

Your AF point also needs to be able to "follow" the subject (unless you know your subject is always going to be at the same exact point in the viewfinder as you pan with it). I've no idea if the 400D has a dynamic AF mode where you AF on a subject, and it follows that subject as it moves around your frame or not, but that's what you need ideally.

whitewash said:
dont let the camera choose your focus point, it'll go for the background every time
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I promise I will not make any derogatory comments about Canon's AF system. ;)
 
Thanks for all the replies...however im getting very confused by them all! I'm defo using servo. What baffles me is that a friend uses the same camera as me and a similar lens yet her images are as crisp as can be..
 
It's not just the camera that makes the images :)
 
jwphotos said:
Thanks for all the replies...however im getting very confused by them all! I'm defo using servo. What baffles me is that a friend uses the same camera as me and a similar lens yet her images are as crisp as can be..
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If it's any consolation the bits that are in focus (i.e the background) are nice and crisp :naughty: :exit:
 
Ok thanks.. So what are the main things to remember to get the horse in focus next time i take photos
 
When shooting a moving target but always at a fixed point, such as the point where the horse jumps the fence, you could try re-focussing on that point then switching the lens to manual focus. It's then just a matter of firing the shutter at the right moment to get perfect focus. Takes some practice to achieve this but a great technique when you've mastered it. :)
 
Jessica,

It's one of those things that's not particulalrly easy to explain in text.

There are two parts to hitting focus on a moving subject
1) telling the camera what to focus on
2) letting it continuously track that subject

Putting the camera in AI servo lets the camera do 2), but you still have to take care of 1).

That means either selecting a specific focus point and making sure it is over the subject during the whole focus period or letting the camera decide by leaving the focus point selection in auto mode. If you leave it up to the camera you may often find that what the camera thinks is the subject isn't what you want to be in focus. In the photo you have posted the trees are sharp and the horse not, and this often happens if you let the camera choose the subject, since it's biased towards areas with lots of detail like tree leaves.
 
Jessica, reference my comment on your other thread, I suggest that you don't need to use servo AF tracking. It is more prone to difficulties and in a situation where the horse is perhaps coming straight towards you at speed, I'm not sure your camera and lens will be able to keep up.

In the image you have posted, you know exactly where the horse is going to be, so pre-focus on that spot with the centre AF point, and lock that by holding half pressure on the shutter release. Then when you track the horse as it approaches, the lens is already pre- focused on the place you want to be sharp - just press the release all the way.

For action that is predictable like this, pre-focusing is easy and reliable. For situations where the horse is changing distance and you don't know exactly where it will be at the moment of shooting, that is the time to track it with servo AF. You will get the most reliable results when the distance is not changing too quickly, ie the horse is moving more or less parallel to you, side on, rather than directly towards you, head on.
 
For this particular scene I think it would be a little problematic to use AI Servo (continuous predictive tracking). Ordinarily for a moving subject whose distance was changing that would be the correct approach. Unfortunately, here we have a bit of an obstruction in the form of the support structure for the jump, which will pretty much interrupt and ruin any attempt to track the horse as it approaches from a distance. Predictive tracking works best if it has a little time to settle in and figure out what is going on. Even on the top flight bodies it is recommended to track for 0.5 to 1 second minimum before releasing the shutter. On an entry level camera I'm guessing that 1 second or more would be preferable.

So, for this scenario, as Hoppy says, it may be the case that prefocusing somewhere on the fence would be a better solution, but a judgement would need to be made as to where the horse will cross the fence and at what distance the near side of the horse would be at the moment of shutter release. There's no point just focusing randomly on any old part of the fence.

Than there is the small matter of panning technique. The composition here looks OK, and maybe the shot was panned, and that would be the correct technique going forward. But that does mean a little bit of thought is required in order to prefocus, reframe the camera, track the horse and release the shutter at the decisive moment without losing the focus lock along the way. This is the kind of situation for which back button focusing is ideal.

In a scenario with an oncoming horse, or with no obstructions in the way, I would go with AI Servo AF rather than One Shot. AI Focus should be ignored altogether. It would also be best to manually pick a single focus point that suits the composition, rather than having the camera choose one for you. That said, the centre AF point is likely to be the best performer, so I'd recommend using that in preference to others when tracking a moving subject.
 
What about pre-focus, pan and continuous shutter . . . ? then choose 'the picture' from the dozen captured? I dont do much 'action' . . . but this would be my way:thinking:

Or even continus shutter, pre-focus and hold the camera on the focus point . . . 1/1600 will stop the action . . . Mmm, all bit hit and miss?
 
I've not seen it mentioned before, but make 100% sure that you only have the camera set to use the centre AF point.

Also, make sure you focus mode is AI Servo NOT AI Focus

Your camera and lens combination should be more than capable of that sort of photography - stick with it!
 
tdodd said:
Unfortunately, here we have a bit of an obstruction in the form of the support structure for the jump, which will pretty much interrupt and ruin any attempt to track the horse as it approaches from a distance.
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Ok, I'll jump out of this conversation now, as I think I'm just confusing matters.

Nikon's AF system (even the one on my D200) has no problem tracking moving subjects that become temporarily hidden behind other objects. I've used it with dogs and horses in the past moving at various speeds, jumping, and going behind objects as I pan.
 
Kaouthia said:
Ok, I'll jump out of this conversation now, as I think I'm just confusing matters.

Nikon's AF system (even the one on my D200) has no problem tracking moving subjects that become temporarily hidden behind other objects. I've used it with dogs and horses in the past moving at various speeds, jumping, and going behind objects as I pan.
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As far as Canon cameras go, a foreground obstruction, unless very fleeting, is likely to cause a problem for AI Servo in any camera except the 7D and 1 series. The way around it is to use back button focusing and, with quick reactions, to temporarily cease AF until you have panned past the obstacle. You can pick things up again on the other side, but that is an acquired skill. However, if you work that way the AF system will have to start from scratch when you resume focusing and your investment in tracking from an early stage will be worth nothing.

On the 7D and 1 series bodies there are custom settings that need to be tailored to suit the needs of the photographer. That might include ignoring temporary foreground obstructions, or jumping straight to them. On the lower level bodies you don't get to make those choices.

With all that said, if the top AF point was used to focus on the rider's face then there would be no issue with obstructions at all. Unfortunately, the centre AF point is the strongest performer and that is the one that is likely to get caught out by the obstruction.
 
According to the EXIF data the focal distance is 4294967295.00m

Which sounds to me like another way of saying infinity.

Which I presume means the camera was not finding focus and either ended up at infinity or was cycling to/from there, when you took the shot?
 
What might work well here is to focus on the black and white bar before the horse approaches, then, whilst holding down your AF lock button, move the frame to go and find your horse, then track it (out of focus, still holding AF lock) and start shooting as it approaches the jump.

If you assign your AF lock button to a convenient button, e.g. I use the front Fn button on Nikons, then it should be real easy.

Having said that, I can't see why the camera couldn't track that horse really? It's distance relative to you is not changing too fast, and there are some nice bits to focus on on...
 
Kaouthia said:
Nikon's AF system (even the one on my D200) has no problem tracking moving subjects that become temporarily hidden behind other objects. I've used it with dogs and horses in the past moving at various speeds, jumping, and going behind objects as I pan.
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And how exactly is that piece of knowledge going to help someone with a Canon 400D? :cuckoo:
 
tdodd said:
On the 7D and 1 series bodies there are custom settings that need to be tailored to suit the needs of the photographer. That might include ignoring temporary foreground obstructions, or jumping straight to them. On the lower level bodies you don't get to make those choices.
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Interesting. Does the 5DMk2 not have this ability?

wippers said:
And how exactly is that piece of knowledge going to help someone with a Canon 400D? :cuckoo:
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It isn't, except to imply that he may want to look deeper into his AF settings to find something more appropriate to his body (although Tim says that's not possible with the 400D), which is why I said I was jumping out of the conversation. But given that the D200 is 5 years old, I figured Canon would've caught up by now. :)
 
What software are you using to process the images? Can you view where the focus point was? I ask this as you keep suggesting that it may be camera error (my friend has same set up, their images are sharp.....) when the focus point may tell you something different to where you thought you were focussing.

Does that make sense?
 
Kaouthia said:
Interesting. Does the 5DMk2 not have this ability?
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No. As far as I can think, the 5D2 is inferior to the 7D in every single respect except the sensor and the IQ it produces. The 7D has better AF, better weather sealing, faster frame rate, larger buffer, wireless flash control, built in level, more advanced user interface, better viewfinder, better metering, better exposure and flash compensation control, shorter viewfinder blackout time, shorter shutter lag, yahdah yahdah yahdah. I think it may also have a superior LCD screen too.

In the world of "pro" bodies (and personally I would not call the 5D2 a "pro" body) the only thing the 5D2 has going for it is the sensor. Of course, when it comes to taking pictures, that is often quite important. :) In all other respects it is nothing special at all. That isn't to say that it is a poor camera. For its intended purposes it is very good indeed. Improved AF would make it even better as an all rounder. I guess we wait for the 5D3 for that. The 5D2 is all about IQ, not speed and action. It's not that it can't do it at all, but there are better cameras for those things.
 
tdodd said:
No. As far as I can think, the 5D2 is inferior to the 7D in every single respect except the sensor and the IQ it produces. The 7D has better AF, better weather sealing, faster frame rate, larger buffer, wireless flash control, built in level, more advanced user interface, better viewfinder, better metering, better exposure and flash compensation control, yahdah yahdah yahdah. I think it also has a supeior LCD screen too.
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Thanks for the info. I've been considering picking up either the 5DMk2 or the 7D for some video work, but I hadn't realised the 7D was considered a generally better camera than the 5DMk2, considering the price difference.
 
Kaouthia said:
Thanks for the info. I've been considering picking up either the 5DMk2 or the 7D for some video work, but I hadn't realised the 7D was considered a generally better camera than the 5DMk2, considering the price difference.
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I have no interest in video and I'm not sure how the two cameras compare in that regard. I think for a long while the 5D2 was playing catchup there too, but the most recent firmware release has probably closed that gap. As to which is better outright for video, or specifically for your needs, I have no idea. A lot of the things I listed, not least the AF, have no relevance for video, and there it probably comes down far more to the sensor. If great performance in dim light and shallow DOF are your thing then probably the 5D2 will pull ahead, but that all comes down to the sensor, which I think I already mentioned. :)
 
Indeed, but if I'm picking one up, I might use it occasionally for stills too. ;)

It also makes me wonder what else may be hidden under the hood of the two bodies I'm not thinking about that might be advantageous between one body and the other.
 
Well I think I've covered the bulk of it. I bought both cameras within a week of each other, last Novemeber, so I've had a fair time to get to know them. My typical decision tree is...

If the 5D2 is fast enough and I can fill the frame (not focal length limited) then I'll use the 5D2. But if the 5D2 can't keep up, or I'm going to have to crop the image down to APS-C size or smaller then I will use the 7D.

For really fast action, or action in poor light, I prefer to use my 1D3. It's not that the 7D cannot keep up, but there is no point throwing 18 tightly packed megapixels at a subject that will either suffer a visible blur at the pixel level or need an ISO so high that I will need to downsize substantially to get any use from the file. I prefer to work with 10 clean, sharp megapixels than 18 soft, noisy ones.
 
Swag has the answer here. If you use the Canon utilities that came with the camera, you can load the image and the software will put a little read dot on the point used to focus. From this you can polish your technique. Hope that helps :)
 
FlyTVR said:
Swag has the answer here. If you use the Canon utilities that came with the camera, you can load the image and the software will put a little read dot on the point used to focus. From this you can polish your technique. Hope that helps :)
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A common problem with that is it only shows you which focus point was used, not what it was covering when the focus was set.

If there is any delay between focusing and firing the shutter, then it can be out. And of course if you pre-focus and use focus-recompose technique, it's not going to be right at all.
 
It might also help to have the aperture set at f 8.0 or so, as whom what I see horses are relatively long beasts and have a habit of moving quite quickly........... therefore a deeper depth of field will give more of the shot in focus generally (though apparently not in the image above as focused on the background.)

Would suggest AF-C or whatever the canon equivalent is - Autofocus Continual - thus when you have "lock-on" it will refocus as moves closer to / further away........

Select an autofocus point from however many you have on the back........ and practice......
 
I used to suffer the same problem with jumping horses so I now pre-focus as has been suggested. Depending on the standard of the competition I can still get 2 or 3 jumps from a ring covered. Sometimes consecutive jumps with faster riders can be challenging getting it all set up before the horse arrives.
Another thing I do to help is use back button focusing with the metering performed on the shutter. That way I don't meter on the fence but on the scene I am actually shooting.
 
Haven't read the thread so apologies if repeated.

Your focus is off. Not much to do with aperture or shutter. Pre-focus on the middle of the jump bars / thingy's (sorry, my equestrian terminology is somewhat lacking), set the camera to multiple shot and time your shutter release (i.e your finger) to take the set of the photographs as the horse is just about to pass through the jump and release when it has just past the jump. Key thing here is to remain stationary as adjusting your position will require a refocus.

Apologies if mentioned before.
 
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