Blurry shots question

[Petraio Prime]

If you choose about 1/250 sec your dof will be greater and the lens will be sharper.

Have you been drinking?

Well he is right - just a rather indirect way of stating that stopping the lens down (and thus reducing shutter speed a few stops) will make sure you get stuff in focus and the lens will be more in its 'zone'.

Yes, the lens is not sharpest wide open.

 

[Dominantly]

I posted all the info you need in my original post.

 

[TiCoyote]

Dominantly, I follow your line of thought, and I used the DOF calculator, but it came up with 2.5 feet, so your calculation might be a bit off. A goose isn't 2.5 feet wide, so at least one of the geese should be in focus.

 

[Steve01]

I don't see anything in this photo that's in focus but you said AF was on.

Are you sure the camera achieved focus, a beep, or a lighting the viewfinder?

I agree you need to learn more about depth of field, but I'm not sure that's the problem.

You also have some unusual settings for this shot.
As already said the sweet spot on a lens is usually in the f8 range, it's much sharper in the middle of it's range.
As for the ISO it seems like a pretty well lit day, it should have been lower to reduce noise.
That shutter speed is way to high there's no need for it.

ISO 100, f8-f11, 1/125 probably would work very well for this shot.

 

[Dominantly]

There probably is just one goose, or maybe half of one, in focus.

Our numbers are off due to using different distances.

Either way, that's the reason your photos are soft. Unless you intend to isolate a 2.5' stretch of your subject, which for this specific shot, is not desirable.

Now you know what to change.

 

[Dominantly]

I don't see anything in this photo that's in focus but you said AF was on.

Are you sure the camera achieved focus, a beep, or a lighting the viewfinder?

I agree you need to learn more about depth of field, but I'm not sure that's the problem.

You also have some unusual settings for this shot.
As already said the sweet spot on a lens is usually in the f8 range, it's much sharper in the middle of it's range.
As for the ISO it seems like a pretty well lit day, it should have been lower to reduce noise.
That shutter speed is way to high there's no need for it.

ISO 100, f8-f11, 1/125 probably would work very well for this shot.

Good point.:thumbup:

 

[TiCoyote]

Okay, well thank you everyone for your advice. I do wait for the beep before I take the shot, and I use the little red light to aim the shot. So I am reasonably sure that the camera did achieve focus. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it would not have taken the shot before it achieves focus, because I had it in "One Shot" mode.

 

[Derrel]

Is it really a circular polarizer??? Maybe it's a linear polarizer, which will play havoc with most AF systems.

 

[Dominantly]

The exif data says it's a circulated linear depolarizer. Not sure what that means, but sounds expensive.

 

[AverageJoe]

That camera will beep even if a lens is set to manual focus.

One Shot mode means once you set the focus with a half way down shutter button it will stay there, but this doesn't necessarily mean you are in focus.

 

[TiCoyote]

The side of the filter does say "Circular PLD"

 

[Derrel]

The side of the filter does say "Circular PLD"

It might state that it is a circular polarizer, but not actually be one. Sunpak stuff is, well...Sunpak is sold through WalMart and other outlets and much of their newer stuff is OEM'd via Chinese plants that tend to cut, well, corners, and where English isn't really spoken among the rank and file...it is possible that the engraved filter rings were used to assemble linears...at that price level, quality isn't the main focus.

All about Polarizers - Linear and Circular

This article describes how to test a polarizer to see if it is truly linear or circular. One thing I see in the sample picture is that green shrub on the right hand side--it looks VERY off-kilter, almost as if the filter's assembly is not plano-parallel. Which can be a problem with cheap polarizers. years ago, I had a cheapie polarizer that ruined many shots. I bought a good,oversized Nikon polarizer, and it worked much,much better. I still have it, 23 years later.

 

[Steve01]

That camera will beep even if a lens is set to manual focus.

One Shot mode means once you set the focus with a half way down shutter button it will stay there, but this doesn't necessarily mean you are in focus.

But did it beep?
Did it focus?

 

[AverageJoe]

Uh, Steve I'm not the OP, but was commenting...

If I set my Canon lens to MF and hold the shutter button down it will still beep... food for thought as it relates to the OP's problem...

 

[Steve01]

Uh, Steve I'm not the OP, but was commenting...

I know Joe, a rhetorical question.

"But did it beep (TiCoyote)?"
"Did it focus (TiCoyote)?"