Dilemma, sharp photos.....

[greybeard]

The only way anyone can offer you any useful advice would be for you to post some of the frames that are well NOT sharp. That way we can determine weather it is a focus, motion, ISO, or exposure issue. Right now we are just stabbing in the dark.

 

[Braineack]

every picture you posted is sharp. the color rendition on the other-hand...

 

[Lucryster]

Yes, I use single auto focus point and IS is on...

If your using a tripod, turn off IS.

 

[pgriz]

When trying to figure out a problem, it helps to simplify, so that only one variable at a time changes. Part of the question is whether the lens is at fault, or whether there is some component of your technique. Among the variables that can affect sharpness are:

• Is there a filter in front of the lens?
• Is the lens itself front/back focusing?
• Is the focus point placed at the correct place? If so, how are you verifying the placement?
• Is there subject motion blur?
• Is there camera motion blur?
• If using IS/VR, is it helping or hurting?
• Is there any vibration from mirror slap?
• Is the aperture selection appropriate for what you're trying to capture?
• Is the focus done automatically or manually?

Generally, if something is not working, I set up a series of tests where I vary only one thing at a time and see if the variable is making the problem worse or better, or is neutral. That usually allows me to figure out what's going on.

 

[Overread]

A few thoughts:

1) Aperture - shutter speed - ISO. Those are the 3 parts that make up your photographic exposure and ergo your final photo. The mode that you use (aperture priority - shutter priority - manual - auto) only changes how you control and reach the settings, the core 3 still remain.

2) In aperture priority you set the aperture and the ISO and the camera sets the shutter speed. You also have exposure compensation, which is not a separate element. What exposure compensation does is to tell the camera when its choosing the shutter speed to either over or under expose the shot from the cameras meter reading.
This is helpful as some times you have a situation where the meter will give you a bad exposure - for example if you shoot a scene with a lot of snow the camera will typically underexpose (because its metering for grey). So you tell the camera to over-expose using its setting to get the exposure you want.

3) When using any mode you have to learn to balance the settings. This sounds complex at first but gets easier as you go on. For example you're already learning to balance the aperture based upon the effect it has to your sharpness and depth of field.
Shutter speed also has to be balanced based upon the situation - is the scene moving during the exposure - is the camera moving (handheld) etc....

4) Remember that a tripod only counters camera shake, it will have no effect upon any motion of the subject. Also note that if the tripod isn't fully stable or the surface its upon isn't then it can still cause blur (eg a tripod on carpet or wooden flooring can shift as you move your weight around on the floor).


What your problem is is hard to tell - you must save your bad shots and put them up to show along with a mention of how you shot them and what settings you used. With that information we can help see what problem(s) you are experiencing and thus what solutions you can use to solve them. Without examples of the bad its hard to tell what might be going wrong.

 

[James Baranski]

every picture you posted is sharp. the color rendition on the other-hand...

I only posted sharp photos as stated with exception of the Mexican women

 

[James Baranski]

A few thoughts:

1) Aperture - shutter speed - ISO. Those are the 3 parts that make up your photographic exposure and ergo your final photo. The mode that you use (aperture priority - shutter priority - manual - auto) only changes how you control and reach the settings, the core 3 still remain.

2) In aperture priority you set the aperture and the ISO and the camera sets the shutter speed. You also have exposure compensation, which is not a separate element. What exposure compensation does is to tell the camera when its choosing the shutter speed to either over or under expose the shot from the cameras meter reading.
This is helpful as some times you have a situation where the meter will give you a bad exposure - for example if you shoot a scene with a lot of snow the camera will typically underexpose (because its metering for grey). So you tell the camera to over-expose using its setting to get the exposure you want.

3) When using any mode you have to learn to balance the settings. This sounds complex at first but gets easier as you go on. For example you're already learning to balance the aperture based upon the effect it has to your sharpness and depth of field.
Shutter speed also has to be balanced based upon the situation - is the scene moving during the exposure - is the camera moving (handheld) etc....

4) Remember that a tripod only counters camera shake, it will have no effect upon any motion of the subject. Also note that if the tripod isn't fully stable or the surface its upon isn't then it can still cause blur (eg a tripod on carpet or wooden flooring can shift as you move your weight around on the floor).


What your problem is is hard to tell - you must save your bad shots and put them up to show along with a mention of how you shot them and what settings you used. With that information we can help see what problem(s) you are experiencing and thus what solutions you can use to solve them. Without examples of the bad its hard to tell what might be going wrong.

I will keep thread alive and post "unsharp" photos soon..

 

[James Baranski]

thanks for thew comments so far guys.... I will update thread in a few days

 

[Braineack]

every picture you posted is sharp. the color rendition on the other-hand...

I only posted sharp photos as stated with exception of the Mexican women

oh... that doesn't help us help you

 

[James Baranski]

every picture you posted is sharp. the color rendition on the other-hand...

I only posted sharp photos as stated with exception of the Mexican women

oh... that doesn't help us help you

The Mexican girls are not sharp....... Read the post please

 

[Overread]

From flickr
The mexican women shot
ƒ/5.6
1/15
ISO 400

Your problem is 1/15sec. The blur is coming from the subjects moving.
Now if you are in aperture priority mode you can:
1) Select a wider aperture (smaller f number). This lets in more light to the sensor and thus allows for a faster shutterspeed; but of course loses you some depth of field.

2) Raise the ISO - yes higher means more noise, but you need that shutter speed faster. You can deal with noise in editing you can't fix softness. Take the ISO higher when needed.

3) Add light - flash, a reflector - ergo boost the light levels so that there is more light to work with in the exposure.


Each of those options alone or in combination would help. For a shot like this chances are you'd need to both widen the aperture and also rise the ISO to get that shutter speed up. 1/60sec at the very least for something like this - if not faster.


EDIT - out of interest on the shot did you boost the brightness/exposure in editing? Some of it is showing some very strong noise which would hint at that. Remember whilst a higher ISO means more noise, a lower ISO which underexposes a photo and is then brightened up in editing will show far more noise than one taken at a higher ISO and a correct exposure.

 

[tecboy]

We had a discussion about when to use full manual, ap mode, and sp mode.

 

[pgriz]

James, part of the challenge for any photographer, is to understand your own limits. In particular, at which shutter speeds can you shoot without incurring blur (and that varies also with the IS and focal length)? Since each of us is different, those numbers change for each person, but it is worth-while to test that (or if you have a scientific bent, you'll be calibrating your hand-held abilities). Once you know this, you'll be able to make better decisions on how to adjust for exposure. For example, I have a T1i which I usually use with the 24-105mm lens (same as yours). At 24mm, without IS, I can shoot down to about 1/30 sec. without blur. If I take special care to be perfectly still (breathing, bracing, handholding technique), I can get that down to about 1/15 sec. With IS enabled, I've been able to shoot at 1/4 sec. (again, using all the available techniques for stabilizing hand-held exposures). At the upper end of the scale (105mm), the best I've been able to do is about 1/30 sec. without blurring. So in general, I try to keep the shutter speed above 1/30 sec. and I am able to get decently sharp images.

However, I also like to shoot under rather marginal conditions, and almost always it's either a question of using the tripod (scenics, still life, nature closeups), or the flash (family, events). So you need to bring the right tools to the job given the limitations of your equipment and yourself.

Incidentally, in the earlier post that I made in this thread, every one of the points I've listed I had to deal with. I've had a filter cause a very good lens to be apparently sub-standard. I've had the camera back-focussing, and had that corrected by sending both the camera and lens to Canon for adjustment. I've had blurry photos until I learned how to use the correct focusing point for getting the AF right. And so on.

 

[James Baranski]

From flickr
The mexican women shot
ƒ/5.6
1/15
ISO 400

Your problem is 1/15sec. The blur is coming from the subjects moving.
Now if you are in aperture priority mode you can:
1) Select a wider aperture (smaller f number). This lets in more light to the sensor and thus allows for a faster shutterspeed; but of course loses you some depth of field.

2) Raise the ISO - yes higher means more noise, but you need that shutter speed faster. You can deal with noise in editing you can't fix softness. Take the ISO higher when needed.

3) Add light - flash, a reflector - ergo boost the light levels so that there is more light to work with in the exposure.


Each of those options alone or in combination would help. For a shot like this chances are you'd need to both widen the aperture and also rise the ISO to get that shutter speed up. 1/60sec at the very least for something like this - if not faster.


EDIT - out of interest on the shot did you boost the brightness/exposure in editing? Some of it is showing some very strong noise which would hint at that. Remember whilst a higher ISO means more noise, a lower ISO which underexposes a photo and is then brightened up in editing will show far more noise than one taken at a higher ISO and a correct exposure.

Thanks, this was shot in lower light and AP mode...... This is what I figured.... Next time in similar conditions, I will move to Shutter Priority or manual... As mentioned earlier by another person, I was not looking at shutter speed in AP mode..

 

[James Baranski]

From flickr
The mexican women shot
ƒ/5.6
1/15
ISO 400

Your problem is 1/15sec. The blur is coming from the subjects moving.
Now if you are in aperture priority mode you can:
1) Select a wider aperture (smaller f number). This lets in more light to the sensor and thus allows for a faster shutterspeed; but of course loses you some depth of field.

2) Raise the ISO - yes higher means more noise, but you need that shutter speed faster. You can deal with noise in editing you can't fix softness. Take the ISO higher when needed.

3) Add light - flash, a reflector - ergo boost the light levels so that there is more light to work with in the exposure.


Each of those options alone or in combination would help. For a shot like this chances are you'd need to both widen the aperture and also rise the ISO to get that shutter speed up. 1/60sec at the very least for something like this - if not faster.


EDIT - out of interest on the shot did you boost the brightness/exposure in editing? Some of it is showing some very strong noise which would hint at that. Remember whilst a higher ISO means more noise, a lower ISO which underexposes a photo and is then brightened up in editing will show far more noise than one taken at a higher ISO and a correct exposure.

Thanks, this was shot in lower light and AP mode...... This is what I figured.... Next time in similar conditions, I will move to Shutter Priority or manual... As mentioned earlier by another person, I was not looking at shutter speed in AP mode..

Thanks