Why aren't these shots in focus?

[crotonmark]

What examples are you trying to duplicate?

his depth of field mainly.

 

[thetrue]

Did you crop these photos from the original, or are these right from the camera?

 

[480sparky]

Did you crop these photos from the original, or are these right from the camera?

Last Modified Date/Time = 2012:11:24 15:20:12
Original Date/Time = 2012:11:24 15:20:12
Digitization Date/Time = 2012:11:24 15:20:12
Software / Firmware Version = iPhoto 9.4.2


Hard to tell.

 

[crotonmark]

Did you crop these photos from the original, or are these right from the camera?

these are right from the camera

 

[480sparky]

Then take some time and learn how to take shots in low light, without a pod. It's not quick and easy to learn. Practice will make you better.

 

[thetrue]

Thanks sparky, for realizing my oversights.

Which point did you use for the autofocus? If you used the center, which AF mode did you use?

 

[Tuffythepug]

No, that is backwards.

Making the lens aperture smaller lets in less light, so the shutter has to be slower (open longer) for enough light to fall on the image sensor to make a good exposure.

So all I could have done here was increase the ISO or use a flash?

Your options were to increase the ISO, use a flash, or put the camera on a tripod so you could have shot with such slow shutter speeds and not experienced the camera shake which blurred your pictures.

 

[TCampbell]

There is nothing wrong with that camera and many folks here use older models. That is a perfectly capable entry level camera. Read the stuff they posted here and read the manual and practice. Master it and you will do well with it.

When I started out I went through at least 20-30K shots before the lightbulb clicked and I started getting it right. Basic exposure triangle and mastering your cameras functions are step 1. Then a whole new world will open to you.

Thanks. It's just frustrating to be in a once in a lifetime situation and blow the shots.
S the T4i is a decent camera? I'm not sure anymore.
The pictures look much better on the little screen then they do when I add them to iPhoto !

Waitaminute!!!

You posted some shots asking for advice.
You got advice. You got good advice.... no, you got GREAT advice!

This is a "process". It's how we learn. Think we all grabbed a camera, took our first 30 photos and published a book with them? Hell no! Don't be absurd. We all suck when we're new. We ask questions. We get advice. If we're paying attention we learn from that advice. Then we do better the next time.

The camera is great. I don't play piano. I can't just go out and buy a Steinway and expect to be a concert pianist in a week. It takes a bit of practice -- no matter how good the equipment is there is no substitute for operator skill. The camera does as it's told.

Everyone nailed why the shots weren't as crisp as you had hoped. I may have missed it as I read through the thread, but I didn't see anyone mention the minimum shutter-speed guideline:

Your minimum shutter speed should be 1 / (focal-length) X (crop-factor).

The crop-factor of your T4i is 1.6 (that's a constant... it's based on the sensor size. It means you have to multiply the area of your sensor size by 1.6 to be equivalent to a "full frame" camera. A "full-frame" camera is a camera whose sensor is as large as a 35mm film negative. There are even larger sensors, but I dirges.

Your EXIF data says you had the lens zoomed in to 105mm -- that's your focal length. Your crop-factor is constant (1.6) and never changes no matter what you do (as long as you're using that camera ... changing lenses, zooming, changing settings, etc. does not affect your crop-factor.)

1 / 105 X 1.6 = 1/168th sec. That means your minimum shutter speed should be 1/168th of a second or faster in order to avoid a blurry shot caused by camera shake.

But this is a "guideline" and not a "rule". If you drank a LOT of caffeine before the shoot and it makes you jittery then you might need to pad your crop factor. Every individual person is different. It's a "guideline" because it represents how steady the average person can be when they are actually TRYING to brace both themselves and the camera to remain still for a hand-held shot.

A lens with image-stabilization (IS) can bring that value down. Most IS can easily give you 2 stops. You might get 3 stops ... and a really good lens might even get you 4 (but that's rare.) A "stop" is a "halving" or "doubling" of the amount of light collected... depending on whether you're going up or down. So 3 stops slower than 1/168th (btw the "full" stops of shutter speed are at 1/125 and the next stop up is 1/250, but 1/168 is pretty close to 1/160 which is a 1/3rd stop over 1/125th so lets just round and go with that) ... so half of 160 is 80 (that's 1 stop), half of 80 is 40 (that's 2 stops), and half of 40 is 20 (that's THREE stops). So if your lens had image stabilization then it MAY have been able to get you all the way down to 1/20th of a second in a hand-held shot IF you were trying to brace yourself and the camera and be really steady. But you were down to 1/13th... which is too far even for most image stabilization to deal with (and that assumes that you were at least as steady as the average person trying their best to be solid.)

If the camera isn't moving AND the subject isn't moving THEN you can keep the shutter open as long as you like. Grab a tripod (or a beanbag). The act of pressing the shutter button will induce some motion (even with a tripod) so you can either (a) use a remote shutter release (there's both wired and wireless versions of these and they are cheap) or (b) use the countdown timer on the camera (usually 2 seconds is enough for a steady tripod... for a not-so-steady tripod use the 10 second delay timer.)

Anyway... now you know the guideline. Get that shutter speed up OR make sure the subject and camera cannot move. BTW, lenses with IS will improve your odds... but by no means "guarantee" a sharp shot. If the shot _really_ matters, I don't rely on IS... I rely on a tripod.

Good luck!

 

[amolitor]

One of the nice things about digital cameras is that you can take lots of photos.

In a case like this I might well have pushed the limits of shutter speed, but I would have focused on hold the camera STILL, and I would have taken a lot of identical exposures. Some of them will be sharper than others. Throw the less sharp ones away.

Also, learn to use the zoom function on the screen on the back of the camera, so you can get in closer to the capture and see if it is sharp, or not.

 

[Edsport]

No, that is backwards.

Making the lens aperture smaller lets in less light, so the shutter has to be slower (open longer) for enough light to fall on the image sensor to make a good exposure.

So all I could have done here was increase the ISO or use a flash?

Or use a tripod. Using the timer or a remote to take the photo would allow you to take the shot without touching the camera...

 

[pixmedic]

Yes, increasing the ISO makes the image sensor seem more sensitive to light. More light means you don't need to leave the shutter open as long to make a good exposure.
Camera Exposure: Aperture, ISO & Shutter Speed
Understanding Camera Lenses
Tutorials – Sharpness
Understanding Camera Autofocus

A 'stop' is a doubleing or a halving.
Changing from ISO 200 to ISO 400 is one stop. ISO 400 apparently doubles the amount of light. (Actually, the image sensor electronics just use different amplifier circuits.)

A stop of shutter speed would be 1/25 to 1/50, or 1/30 to 1/60. But with a faster shutter speed, less light is let in because the shutter is open for 1/2 as long.

By increasing the light 1 stop by changing the ISO, and decreasing the light 1 stop by changing the shutter speed, the total amount of light that makes the exposurestays the same. +1-1 = 0

Lens aperture can also be changed in 'stops', but the amount of light the lens aperture lets in or blocks is determined by the area of the lens aperture, not by it's diameter.

consequently x2 or /2 doesn't apply, the square root of 2 applies (about 1.4142). That is why full stops of lens aperture are f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/5.6.
f/1 x 1.4142 = 1.4142is rounded to f/1.4........ NOTE: f/1.4 lets in 1/2 as much light as f/1 does.
f/1.4 x 1.4142 = 1.98 is rounded to f/2
f/2 x 1.4142 = 2.83 is rounded to f/2.8 .......NOTE: f/2 lets in 2x more light than f/2.8 does.
etc.

Most of today's DSLR camera are set by default to be adjustable in 1/3 stop increments.

Typical one-third-stop f-number scale (the green backed numbers are the classic full stop steps)

f/No.	0.7	0.8	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.4	1.6	1.8	2	2.2	2.5	2.8	3.2	3.5	4	4.5	5.0	5.6	6.3	7.1	8	9	10	11	13	14	16	18	20	22

So, f/1.8 to 2 is 1/3 of a stop. f/1.8 to f/2.2 is 2/3 of a stop. f/1.8 to f/2.5 is a full stop.

wait...f/2.8 lets in twice as much light as f/2? I thought it was the other way around? did I miss something?

 

[crotonmark]

Thanks sparky, for realizing my oversights.

Which point did you use for the autofocus? If you used the center, which AF mode did you use?

Center Focus point - AI Focus setting

 

[crotonmark]

There is nothing wrong with that camera and many folks here use older models. That is a perfectly capable entry level camera. Read the stuff they posted here and read the manual and practice. Master it and you will do well with it.

When I started out I went through at least 20-30K shots before the lightbulb clicked and I started getting it right. Basic exposure triangle and mastering your cameras functions are step 1. Then a whole new world will open to you.

Thanks. It's just frustrating to be in a once in a lifetime situation and blow the shots.
S the T4i is a decent camera? I'm not sure anymore.
The pictures look much better on the little screen then they do when I add them to iPhoto !

Waitaminute!!!

You posted some shots asking for advice.
You got advice. You got good advice.... no, you got GREAT advice!

This is a "process". It's how we learn. Think we all grabbed a camera, took our first 30 photos and published a book with them? Hell no! Don't be absurd. We all suck when we're new. We ask questions. We get advice. If we're paying attention we learn from that advice. Then we do better the next time.

The camera is great. I don't play piano. I can't just go out and buy a Steinway and expect to be a concert pianist in a week. It takes a bit of practice -- no matter how good the equipment is there is no substitute for operator skill. The camera does as it's told.

Everyone nailed why the shots weren't as crisp as you had hoped. I may have missed it as I read through the thread, but I didn't see anyone mention the minimum shutter-speed guideline:

Your minimum shutter speed should be 1 / (focal-length) X (crop-factor).

The crop-factor of your T4i is 1.6 (that's a constant... it's based on the sensor size. It means you have to multiply the area of your sensor size by 1.6 to be equivalent to a "full frame" camera. A "full-frame" camera is a camera whose sensor is as large as a 35mm film negative. There are even larger sensors, but I dirges.

Your EXIF data says you had the lens zoomed in to 105mm -- that's your focal length. Your crop-factor is constant (1.6) and never changes no matter what you do (as long as you're using that camera ... changing lenses, zooming, changing settings, etc. does not affect your crop-factor.)

1 / 105 X 1.6 = 1/168th sec. That means your minimum shutter speed should be 1/168th of a second or faster in order to avoid a blurry shot caused by camera shake.

But this is a "guideline" and not a "rule". If you drank a LOT of caffeine before the shoot and it makes you jittery then you might need to pad your crop factor. Every individual person is different. It's a "guideline" because it represents how steady the average person can be when they are actually TRYING to brace both themselves and the camera to remain still for a hand-held shot.

A lens with image-stabilization (IS) can bring that value down. Most IS can easily give you 2 stops. You might get 3 stops ... and a really good lens might even get you 4 (but that's rare.) A "stop" is a "halving" or "doubling" of the amount of light collected... depending on whether you're going up or down. So 3 stops slower than 1/168th (btw the "full" stops of shutter speed are at 1/125 and the next stop up is 1/250, but 1/168 is pretty close to 1/160 which is a 1/3rd stop over 1/125th so lets just round and go with that) ... so half of 160 is 80 (that's 1 stop), half of 80 is 40 (that's 2 stops), and half of 40 is 20 (that's THREE stops). So if your lens had image stabilization then it MAY have been able to get you all the way down to 1/20th of a second in a hand-held shot IF you were trying to brace yourself and the camera and be really steady. But you were down to 1/13th... which is too far even for most image stabilization to deal with (and that assumes that you were at least as steady as the average person trying their best to be solid.)

If the camera isn't moving AND the subject isn't moving THEN you can keep the shutter open as long as you like. Grab a tripod (or a beanbag). The act of pressing the shutter button will induce some motion (even with a tripod) so you can either (a) use a remote shutter release (there's both wired and wireless versions of these and they are cheap) or (b) use the countdown timer on the camera (usually 2 seconds is enough for a steady tripod... for a not-so-steady tripod use the 10 second delay timer.)

Anyway... now you know the guideline. Get that shutter speed up OR make sure the subject and camera cannot move. BTW, lenses with IS will improve your odds... but by no means "guarantee" a sharp shot. If the shot _really_ matters, I don't rely on IS... I rely on a tripod.

Good luck!

Tim Campbell
Thank you very much for this post
I will keep shooting!
I know Rome wasn't built in a day but sometimes I wish it was.

Mark

 

[crotonmark]

One of the nice things about digital cameras is that you can take lots of photos.

In a case like this I might well have pushed the limits of shutter speed, but I would have focused on hold the camera STILL, and I would have taken a lot of identical exposures. Some of them will be sharper than others. Throw the less sharp ones away.

Also, learn to use the zoom function on the screen on the back of the camera, so you can get in closer to the capture and see if it is sharp, or not.

thanks

 

[ph0enix]

There is nothing wrong with that camera and many folks here use older models. That is a perfectly capable entry level camera. Read the stuff they posted here and read the manual and practice. Master it and you will do well with it.

When I started out I went through at least 20-30K shots before the lightbulb clicked and I started getting it right. Basic exposure triangle and mastering your cameras functions are step 1. Then a whole new world will open to you.

Thanks. It's just frustrating to be in a once in a lifetime situation and blow the shots.
S the T4i is a decent camera? I'm not sure anymore.
The pictures look much better on the little screen then they do when I add them to iPhoto !

In a "once in a lifetime" situation, while not knowing what the camera is capable of and not having a good handle on fundamentals of photography I would have shot in the full Auto mode.

I would start here if I were you:
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...-forum/267492-info-those-new-photography.html