Canon 50mm 1.4 lens too soft under f/2?

[Excelsius]

I now eliminated all possibility of camera shake. The camera was placed on a solid object and I used a 2 second shutter delay. The results are the same: the images stay blurry all the way until beyond f/4. Curiously though, the images taken with live view (presumably contrast detection instead of phase detection) become sharp at f/3.2. That's the image "IMG_3661 Live 3.2." I also uploaded an f/7.1 photo, that is sharp as it's supposed to be. 2 f-stops above 1.4 is still only 2.8 and the live mode certainly comes close to it. But still, many say that this lens should be sharp even at 1.8.

Here is the link - you have to download the photos so you can have the full resolution and EXIF data: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B0AZLzY6tv15NTlwbzFwUVFRaEk/edit


The way I shot this: spot metering with only the central spot active. The focus was placed on the first pipe from the right of the photograph. Some of the photos show a sharper staircase and noisy pipes, but the focus was never on the staircase or the rail. The distance to the focused pipe is 70ft. The distance to the staircase is 47 ft. At 70ft, DoF is 34ft for the 1.4 aperture and rises beyond 50ft for apertures above 2.



I realize that I misjudged the distance in the previous photo of those two trees - they must have been about 150ft away. I had to move that far to fit them on my cropped sensor.

Edit: After taking a picture at every f-stop, I realized that the photos don't get sharp until f/5.6 and then they start getting blurry again beyond f/18 (this lens can go to f/22). The sharpest range is f/7.1 - f/13, at least in this composition/configuration.

 

[Dao]

I opened the f/2 version photo in DPP. The registered AF point is indeed the center one which is the right pipe at the center. But the focus seems to be lock at the stair case.

 

[melsreturn]

I've had a camera for a few years now and take pictures. I want to learn how to shoot in other modes other than auto and having a hard time. I read that beginners should start with the 50mm so bit the bullet and got one. Now I see why. I'm having so much trouble in getting mine to focus, and also, to take pics indoors. whew its been a challenge and I am trying to start somewhere... just too much info to take in at once.

 

[TheBiles]

I've had a camera for a few years now and take pictures. I want to learn how to shoot in other modes other than auto and having a hard time. I read that beginners should start with the 50mm so bit the bullet and got one. Now I see why. I'm having so much trouble in getting mine to focus, and also, to take pics indoors. whew its been a challenge and I am trying to start somewhere... just too much info to take in at once.

Have you read any books about the fundamentals of photography like Understanding Exposure?

 

[melsreturn]

I tried to read a book about the Rebel XSI (camera that i had) and there were so many terms... then got a Canon 60D and tried to once again read another book. Didn't get very far. I am not a technical person at all so having all these terms coming at me that I had no idea what they were... I'd learn a little tidbit once in awhile but, I'm not beginners. I am the place you get to before getting to beginners. Sometimes its like a foreign language to me and I just say 'what?'

I do have some understanding of different aspects but when I go to use my camera, I have no idea for the setting i am in of what to choose. I try to use AV and wisk around my dial up and down trying to find what looks right. That sometimes gets me at least in a direction.

 

[Excelsius]

Given the temporary hijack of this thread, I'll add that based on Amazon reviews, I was going to read The Digital Photography Book by Kelby, since Understanding Exposure seems too rudimentary. Don't need an explanation of what is aperture or shutter speed. If there is a better book than that for achieving pro quality photos, let me know.

 

[bhop]

Am I blind? What noise are you seeing?

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Given the temporary hijack of this thread, I'll add that based on Amazon reviews, I was going to read The Digital Photography Book by Kelby, since Understanding Exposure seems too rudimentary. Don't need an explanation of what is aperture or shutter speed. If there is a better book than that for achieving pro quality photos, let me know.

free source here at cambridge: Digital Photography Tutorials

 

[Excelsius]

Noise or softness, however you may want to call it. Take any of the pictures below f/5, zoom in 100%, and look at the focused pipe. Then compare it to the same 100% of the pipe in the photo taken at f/7.1. You'll see it then.