Critique and advice please!

[tommylacey]

hi folks

been trying to get some snaps of my nephew using canon eos 450d with Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II Lens

but i just cant seem to get clear/sharp shots--here's 2 samples--most are similar in term of clarity and sharpness

the first picture taken f/3.2 and 1/30 sec
the second picture taken f/3.2 and 1/25 sec.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17535&title=img-7086a&cat=500

http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=17534&title=img-7062a&cat=500

by increasing the f number more i was getting slowing shutter and more blur

any advice/suggestions?

the room was reasonably bright with some light coming in from big window

I keep reading about this lens and its razor sharp images but i just can't get them!!!

cheers in advance

 

[Docphil]

First one, sharp focus on hair, not the eyes, second one, focussed on nose plus camera shake or subject movement.
Alter focus points so you only have one off centre which can be placed over eye to focus on eye,( multiple points focus on nearest point, usually tip of nose.)
Then adjust iso so you have shutter speed of 1/125 at least if using available light
Good luck.
Phil

 

[dxqcanada]

Will have to agree with Doc.

The first image has hair on top of head within acceptable focus + camera shake.
Second is OOF + camera shake.
Maybe try setting your camera for center point focus.

Watch your shutter speed ... you should have set your aperture to f/1.8 to gain a couple extra stops.

 

[dxqcanada]

Smaller f-stop number = wider aperture = more light

1.8 is a wider aperture than 3.5

More light = faster shutter speed = reduced camera shake.

Rule of thumb ... try not to hand hold shooting at 1/focal length.
So I suggest keeping the shutter speed at 1/50 or faster.

 

[tommylacey]

thanks for that advice folks

so am i right in saying i should set the camera to use just ONE "AF point selection"---i.e the centre one ---i had it using all 9 points for those pictures

try get a shutter speed of at least 1/50 sec

use f/1.8 to get more light in and quicker shutter

set ISO higher if needed to get 1/50 sec

cheers

 

[KmH]

Wide open apertures tend to give softer focus than having the lens stopped down, like to f/3.5. Particularly an inexpensive prime like the 50 mm f/1.8 II.

The focus gets less sharp because a lens is not the same thickness from edge to edge and light that goes through the lens close to the edge focus at a differnet distance than the light that goes through the middle of the lens. Stopping down lets less light go through the lens near the edges. No doubt the lens is made of several lens elements, the extra elements intended to correct that and other optical effects.

Again it is an inexpensive lens, and Canon doesn't spend the money to correct the focus and other effects as well as they can be corrected in a lens that costs considerably more.

Increasing the ISO to gain shutter speed may mean more image noise, but noise is more often preferable over soft focus.

 

[tommylacey]

hi Folks

so i went back and snapped my nephew again at bath time taking on board your suggestions-----min shutter speed 1/focal length (i.e 1/50 sec), had just one AF point selected out of 9 (the centre one mainly), most pix shot at f/1.8 , some at iso 800 and the rest at iso 1600

here are the results:

f/1.8 1/100 sec iso 800
http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/uploads/92691/IMG_7137.JPG

f/1.8 1/200 sec iso 1600
http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/uploads/92691/IMG_7219.JPG

f/3.2 1/50sec iso 1600
http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/uploads/92691/IMG_7262.JPG

f/2.8 1/80 sec iso 1600
http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/uploads/92691/IMG_7267.JPG

they still don't appear sharp to me (especially the eyes)---am i missing something?? Or is this the "best i can do with this lens" in this situation?

what would you do to get a better shot???

thanks for the advice

 

[photocist]

probably get a better lens.

better lighting would help too.

 

[tommylacey]

any recommendations on lens that would improve my shots but wont break the bank

my other lens in canon 17-85mm

 

[misstwinklytoes]

This is not a bad lens and can produce some great shots. It looks like this lighting situation sucks and at 1/50 and 1/80 you're probably still getting a lot of motion blur. Don't go buy another lens until you figure out your settings/etc.

Try taking him out in natural sunlight in the late afternoon and getting that shutterspeed up to at least 1/125. Keep your F# at about 3 and work with your other setting until you get a feel for it.

Just my advice, take it as you will.

 

[Stradawhovious]

Get away from f/1.8. At that close of a distance your DOF is only about 3" with your aperture wide open, and everything will seem soft. That lens, from what people have said here, starts getting really sharp at about f/5.6. Try for f/3 or smaller to get a larger DOF. I usually shoot this type of thing in f/5.6-f/8 if I can get away with it. Also, focus on the eyes. If you need to , change to single point focus, focus on the eyes, then keepnig focus locked recompose. The camera isn't as smart as you, and will sometimes lock focus on the oddest things if you let it.

Get out of 1600 ISO. That's going to make everything look a bit soft as well.

You want sharper pictures? 2 things you can do in this situation..... #1 get a good speedlight. #2 Get a good tripod.

Do both, thank me later.

ETA *I'm not a pro. Quite the contrary. Take my advice at your own risk.*

 

[CCericola]

I was always taught that you need a min shutter speed of 1/60 for hand held pictures. For children: 1/125 because no matter how many times you tell them to sit still, they still move.

 

[subscuck]

I was always taught that you need a min shutter speed of 1/60 for hand held pictures. For children: 1/125 because no matter how many times you tell them to sit still, they still move.

The general rule of thumb for hand held is minimum of 1/fl. Therefore, 1/60 would be the min for 60mm, for a 30mm lens, you'd be 1/30 for a minimum. For stopping action, it depends on how fast your subject is moving. 1/125 would stop slight movement, but certainly not a speed skater.

 

[subscuck]

any recommendations on lens that would improve my shots but wont break the bank

my other lens in canon 17-85mm

Like others have said, the super shallow DOF is killing you. There are other issues as well, such as lighting and White Balance. You need to remember that what appears to be reasonably bright to your eyes isn't reasonably bright for your camera. Take misstwinklytoes advice and get him outside in sunlight and work with greater DOF. You'll see a dramatic improvement.

 

[tommylacey]

thanks for the advice folks

really appreciated!