Can someone tell me what Im doing wrong?

[JerryPH]

f/4-f/5.6 works rather well.

JPG files are sharpened in the camera so a RAW file will appear soft for the most part when compared to a normal image. You have to add a little bit of sharpening when you get them out of the camera.

Thats a good range. I used to like in camera sharpening... until I saw that forgetting about it in camera, and doing it post process gave me WAY better pics.

Now I just concentrate on getting a good, well exposed and well focused picture out of my camera, and post processing the little things that I want. My picture quality has increased 50% in the last 4 months by doing it that way.

What I no longer care too much about:
- white balance... done post processing
- noise... if I shoot high ISO, rectified post processing
- sharpening... post processing

I *may* touch saturation if the picture comes out a little bland due to overcast or clouldy days, but 95% of the time, thats also not something I change. Thanks to the workflow that I've fallen into, I can also now handle 700-800 pictures in a short afternoon, where as before, that would have taken me a whole weekend to process.

 

[Village Idiot]

Thats a good range. I used to like in camera sharpening... until I saw that forgetting about it in camera, and doing it post process gave me WAY better pics.

Now I just concentrate on getting a good, well exposed and well focused picture out of my camera, and post processing the little things that I want. My picture quality has increased 50% in the last 4 months by doing it that way.

What I no longer care too much about:
- white balance... done post processing
- noise... if I shoot high ISO, rectified post processing
- sharpening... post processing

I *may* touch saturation if the picture comes out a little bland due to overcast or clouldy days, but 95% of the time, thats also not something I change. Thanks to the workflow that I've fallen into, I can also now handle 700-800 pictures in a short afternoon, where as before, that would have taken me a whole weekend to process.

I still have a habit of setting my WB setting in camera. It's a button press and a wheel turn and saves me the step of reviewing after the fact. Just personal preference.

 

[NJMAN]

Neither was I, but let's not spread false info when we can avoid it (I am not saying you did this maliciously, you just "thought" you were right... but you did say something that was not technically correct. In the end, it had nothing to do with the OP's pics. They were fine, just needed a little post processing. )

No lens is at it's sharpest at it's most wide open nor closed down, and though you may find the nifty-50 (F/1,8 version) is sharper at 2.8 than it is at 1.8... you haven't seen anything yet till you get above F/4 with it, and it will be sharper at F/8 than at F/1.8, though not by much, as you have gone right past that "sweet spot" again.

If we are trying to help each other out, don't get offended when someone corrects the info you give out... this happens to me often and I appreciate it, and not get defensive about it.

Im not offended. Its all good. Thanks for the info.

 

[Jon0807]

If you're shooting in jpg, make sure you have the camera's sharpness setting set to it's highest if you want it really sharp. That's overlooked sometimes. And as Jerry pointed out, you can always sharpen in post proccessing with PS or any number of programs if it's not sharp enough out of the camera

 

[SBlanca]

faster shutter speed should fix the problem, also, it looks like it was quite sunny, keep ISO the lowest poss. these two things will help the photos stay sharper

 

[MarcusM]

Here's one idea I just wanted to throw out there. I have the same problem as you sometimes (more than I'd like to). I just started to notice this with my own shooting just recently.

I held my camera out in front of me for few shots just because I wanted to watch it as I pressed the shutter button. I noticed the camera moving down ever-so-slightly with each press of the button.

After I noticed this, I really tried my hardest to hold the camera still and press the shutter as light as possible, and I noticed the camera movement diminished but wasn't eliminated.

So just yesterday I was at Costco and I was playing with a Nikon D70. The shutter button was sooo much looser and easier to press and I did not notice any camera movement each time I pressed it. This really got me wondering...is the 300D shutter button really that stiff? I am starting to think this contributes to some of my blurry shots.

If your 400D is anything like my 300D (and I have a hunch that the shutter is the same), then maybe this is something to consider. I actually just posted a thread about this before I saw your thread but haven't gotten many responses yet. http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118488

Next time you go to the camera shop, bring your 400D and ask to try out the 40D and 5D and compare the shutter on all 3, and let me know what you think.

That's what I'm going to try.

 

[cherylmuhr]

These definitely look fine on my monitor too....but I will tell you that I used to have this lens....and found it to be soft in general. Not unacceptably soft, but I couldn't ever get that razor sharpness that I wanted. I ended up upgrading to the 1.4 and couldn't believe the difference. Just my two cents.

 

[MarcusM]

Those were good pictures of the kids.

See if this website helps you
www.photographyplace.info

Tell me what you think! Good luck!

Wow, that site is obnoxious, I couldn't handle it. Too many ads to wade through to find the content.

 

[Sarah23]

Here's one idea I just wanted to throw out there. I have the same problem as you sometimes (more than I'd like to). I just started to notice this with my own shooting just recently.

I held my camera out in front of me for few shots just because I wanted to watch it as I pressed the shutter button. I noticed the camera moving down ever-so-slightly with each press of the button.

After I noticed this, I really tried my hardest to hold the camera still and press the shutter as light as possible, and I noticed the camera movement diminished but wasn't eliminated.

So just yesterday I was at Costco and I was playing with a Nikon D70. The shutter button was sooo much looser and easier to press and I did not notice any camera movement each time I pressed it. This really got me wondering...is the 300D shutter button really that stiff? I am starting to think this contributes to some of my blurry shots.

If your 400D is anything like my 300D (and I have a hunch that the shutter is the same), then maybe this is something to consider. I actually just posted a thread about this before I saw your thread but haven't gotten many responses yet. http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118488

Next time you go to the camera shop, bring your 400D and ask to try out the 40D and 5D and compare the shutter on all 3, and let me know what you think.

That's what I'm going to try.

I really wonder how much of it is that. I just watched the camera and my hands while taking a few shots and it does move just a tiny bit right when I press it all the way down...hmmm...and I usually have pretty steady hands...

 

[MarcusM]

I really wonder how much of it is that. I just watched the camera and my hands while taking a few shots and it does move just a tiny bit right when I press it all the way down...hmmm...and I usually have pretty steady hands...

I'm not claiming to know for sure that that's what is causing the bluriness in your shots (or mine for that matter) but it is a strong hunch I have that it quite possibly could be a contributing factor. If you're not paying attention and the camera is moving an 1/8th of an inch or so every shot, it's possible that that movement would be enough to cause blur, especially at slower shutter speeds. I'm going to compare my 300D with the 40D and 5D tomorrow and I'll report what I find.

 

[Sarah23]

I'm not claiming to know for sure that that's what is causing the bluriness in your shots (or mine for that matter) but it is a strong hunch I have that it quite possibly could be a contributing factor. If you're not paying attention and the camera is moving an 1/8th of an inch or so every shot, it's possible that that movement would be enough to cause blur, especially at slower shutter speeds. I'm going to compare my 300D with the 40D and 5D tomorrow and I'll report what I find.

yeah...im interested in what you find out. Whether thats it or not, its interesting to know! I never even thought about different cameras having that different of shutter button stiffness :thumbup:

 

[MarcusM]

Ok, so I went to test out my hunch today, and I determined that although there may be just the slightest difference in stiffness between the 300D compared to the 40D, (I didn't test the 5D but I'm guessing it's the same as the 40D) I think it is insignificant and almost unnoticeable. But, I do think that I may be pressing too hard sometimes when I press the shutter and I'm going to be more conscious of this from now on.

So I think my theory is partly right, except that it is me, not the camera.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Along the wall, about half a foot in front of him - are those bricks sharper, or is there just an uneven surface? Is there a chance that it is giving you a focus confirmation, but is actually front-focusing? (Is there such a thing with SLRs, or is that just a Rangefinder problem?)

 

[SBlanca]

Marcus, about the shutter pressing, i've got a 400D and I just read your post and felt super curious so tried it myself, im guessing you're pressing too hard because i've taken a couple of test shots and doing exactly what you described i didn't see much movement

 

[MarcusM]

Marcus, about the shutter pressing, i've got a 400D and I just read your post and felt super curious so tried it myself, im guessing you're pressing too hard because i've taken a couple of test shots and doing exactly what you described i didn't see much movement

Yep, that's the conclusion I came to as well. Thanks.