A57 Sharpness

A57 · Dec 21, 2013

Hi,

I´m brazilian and speak portuguese, so apologize me about my poor english.

I have a Sony A57 almost for one year and I didn´t know what I need to acquire the perfect sharpness. The vast majority of photos come out with sharpness I desire, but in some cases, the sharpness are awesome. Below are some examples.

Photos 1 and 8 were shooted with Minolta Xi 35-105. I´ve brought this lens, but it´s zoom motor were damaged, so I return it to seller 1 day before. I´m impressed of its sharpness. These shots were taken without any concern about settings and the light was no flash or built-in flash. That sharpness is the sharpness I desire in my whole photos. Nor with the SAL35F18 I can be sure that the result will be similar. Photo 9 was taken with kit lens and also is good, but I don´t know why. I´ve tried manual focusing, all AF modes and points, all fotometry modes, estabilization on and off, RAW and JPG, and everything else.
Where is my mistake? Am I vary picky? Only Minolta Lenses are good, neither SAL35fF18 lens is good?

Where is the Exif informations and comments. All shots with AF, JPG, handheld.

PHOTO 1: http://imageshack.com/a/img585/1873/7mm1.jpg
Minolta Xi 35-105 3.5-5.6
1/160s f/7.1 ISO 400 MANUAL MODE 105mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
BUILT-IN FLASH
AWESOME SHARPNESS

PHOTO 2: http://imageshack.com/a/img41/1398/niap.jpg
SONY SAL55-200 3.5-5.6
1/160s f/8 ISO 400 MANUAL MODE 105mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
BUILT-IN FLASH
AWESOME SHARPNESS

PHOTO 3: http://imageshack.com/a/img534/3264/f2sa.jpg
SONY SAL55-200 3.5-5.6
1/640s f/8 ISO 100 APERTURE PRIORITY 200mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
NO FLASH
POOR SHARPNESS (SEE ZOOM AT EYEBROW)

PHOTO 4: http://imageshack.com/a/img20/3933/z5c2.jpg
SONY SAL55-200 3.5-5.6
1/640s f/8 ISO 100 APERTURE PRIORITY 200mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
NO FLASH
SAME SCENE OF PHOTO 3, BUT MORE SHARP (SEE ZOOM AT EYEBROW). WHY?

PHOTO 5: http://imageshack.com/a/img7/2743/cadz.jpg
SONY SAL18-55 KIT 3.5-5.6
1/40s f/5 ISO 800 MANUAL MODE 35mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
BUILT-IN FLASH
SHARP

PHOTO 6: http://imageshack.com/a/img31/5350/r9r6.jpg
SONY SAL18-55 KIT 3.5-5.6
1/60s f/5.6 ISO 400 MANUAL MODE 45mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
BUILT-IN FLASH
LOW SHARPNESS

PHOTO 7: http://imageshack.com/a/img689/8777/46fs.jpg
SONY SAL35F1.8 (PRIME LENS)
1/160s f/8 ISO 400 MANUAL MODE 35mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
FLASH SONY HVL-F36AM
NO SHARPNESS. I SHOT SEVERAL PHOTOS ON SAME DATE AND ALL RESULTS WERE SOFT SHOTS, DESPITE SETTINGS DONE.

PHOTO 8: http://imageshack.com/a/img30/1053/x13s.jpg
Minolta Xi 35-105 3.5-5.6
1/50s f/3.5 ISO 800 MANUAL MODE 28mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
NO FLASH
AWESOME SHARPNESS

PHOTO 9: http://imageshack.com/a/img268/6167/n1sn.jpg
SONY SAL18-55 KIT 3.5-.56
1/100s f/5 ISO 400 MANUAL MODE 35mm
MULTISEGMENT METERING
BUILT-IN FLASH
AWESOME SHARPNESS (WHY?)

DiskoJoe · Dec 23, 2013

All these lenses are of lesser quality and that is why the sharpness is not where you would like it to be. Time to upgrade.

A57 · Dec 25, 2013

I know theses lenses aren´t the best. But why sometimes these lenses give me a sharp image? Why the Minolta 28-105, that is an ordinary lens, gave me the sharpest image I´ve never had? The SAL35F18 isn´t a Zeiss or Leica, but also is not a bad lens and also gave me poor results. Can this problem be caused by another thing?

Dliwevad · Dec 25, 2013

I'm reading an assumption you have that the lens is all that controls sharpness. It's one important factor, but not the only one. Any camera movement can impact sharpness. Is the lens clean? Focusing? Also different zoom ranges and apertures will vary sharpness in a lens.

Every lens has a limit as to how sharp you can get it, and better lenses produce better results. But that's static and variations are introduced by the operator.

The kit lens is basic and will rarely produce a sharp image. The 35mm 1.8 prime is ok when stopped down a little but. If the 35-105 is the older model with the macro switch then you have a gem and this lens can produce excellent sharpness and colors. (If it's the newer one then it's just ok)

Kolia · Dec 25, 2013

Don't expect very good sharpness at 200mm with the 55-200mm. Any zoom lens when set at its extremes are never at their best.

Looks like you have motion blur issues. Pay attention to your posture. Are you using the view finder ? You should.

Notice the aperture range where each lens perform best.

Over all. It think it is just a question of experience. You can extract more from your gear.

As a side note, extreme sharpness isn't always necessary. You need enough sharpness for the media you use.

minicoop1985 · Dec 25, 2013

The SAL-18-55 is pretty soft at the long end. I've never liked that lens, really. For the cheap lenses, the SAL 50 1.8 is pretty good. Or the Minolta 50mm 1.7. There's some amazing glass out there from the Minolta days (the old school Maxxum stuff-metal mounts, avoid the plastic), such as the 70-210 Beercan, 28-125 Secret Handshake, etc. Those may be a good investment.

A57 · Dec 25, 2013

Dliwevad said:
I'm reading an assumption you have that the lens is all that controls sharpness. It's one important factor, but not the only one. Any camera movement can impact sharpness. Is the lens clean? Focusing? Also different zoom ranges and apertures will vary sharpness in a lens.

Every lens has a limit as to how sharp you can get it, and better lenses produce better results. But that's static and variations are introduced by the operator.

The kit lens is basic and will rarely produce a sharp image. The 35mm 1.8 prime is ok when stopped down a little but. If the 35-105 is the older model with the macro switch then you have a gem and this lens can produce excellent sharpness and colors. (If it's the newer one then it's just ok)

All lenses used are clean. The 35f1.8 is new. I usually hold the camera steady. The focusing is working fine. I know that the sharpest aperture is about 2 points closer, but elsewhere the images became soft. The Minolta 35-105, and don´t have macro switch. Thanks for help.

A57 · Dec 25, 2013

Kolia said:
Don't expect very good sharpness at 200mm with the 55-200mm. Any zoom lens when set at its extremes are never at their best.

Looks like you have motion blur issues. Pay attention to your posture. Are you using the view finder ? You should.

Notice the aperture range where each lens perform best.

Over all. It think it is just a question of experience. You can extract more from your gear.

As a side note, extreme sharpness isn't always necessary. You need enough sharpness for the media you use.

Hi Kolia.

I know that extreme zoom don´t give sharp images. I´m talking about all ranges of these lenses. I always use viewfinder and my posture is ok. Or Am I a parkinson sick?

I also know that the extreme open aperture isn´t the sharpest aperture (2 points down is recommended). I will continue trying an answer.... Thanks.

A57 · Dec 25, 2013

Thanks minicoop.

jfrabat · Dec 26, 2013

My advise is to eliminate the variables one by one to find what the problem is. I would go about this in the following way:

1. Create a setting which has enough texture to be able to judge sharpness
2. Set up a tripod, and place the camera in it
3. Set the camera's shutter to timer (points 2 and 3 are to exclude camera shake as a cause)
4. Make sure the camera settings (WB, picture quality, etc.) are set properly
5. Take pictures of the subject at different zoom setting and different f stops (most lenses are not great shooting wide open; try them a couple of stops down, and they should improve their sharpness, regardless of how expensive the lens it)

Regarding the Minolta lenses, I just bought one off eBay, and I have noticed that it does not focus so well, so I am going to try to use the micro adjustments to get it to work, otherwise, it's going back... But that's a risk you take when buying used items!

Hope this helps!

A57 · Dec 27, 2013

jfrabat said:
My advise is to eliminate the variables one by one to find what the problem is. I would go about this in the following way:

1. Create a setting which has enough texture to be able to judge sharpness
2. Set up a tripod, and place the camera in it
3. Set the camera's shutter to timer (points 2 and 3 are to exclude camera shake as a cause)
4. Make sure the camera settings (WB, picture quality, etc.) are set properly
5. Take pictures of the subject at different zoom setting and different f stops (most lenses are not great shooting wide open; try them a couple of stops down, and they should improve their sharpness, regardless of how expensive the lens it)

Regarding the Minolta lenses, I just bought one off eBay, and I have noticed that it does not focus so well, so I am going to try to use the micro adjustments to get it to work, otherwise, it's going back... But that's a risk you take when buying used items!

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the tips and support. I will comment on these tests and the results.
The A57 don´t have micro adjustments.
I receive another Minolta 35-70 and it´s sharpness isn´t so good like the xi 35-105 that I brought and return because the zoom system was damaged. I still trying

Photography is an endless addiction.