is it my lens?

[Nix]

im just not getting the clarity out of my shots that im wanting, they seem to be missing the crispness. with my 18-55 kit lens the pictures just arent as crisp as with my 70-300. is it because its a kit lens? does the lens make
THAT big of a difference?
ok now i know the lighting isnt that great, i was stuck only having my flash and it was a VERY overcast day. but it just isnt as crisp as im wanting it... just not as clear... whats wrong?

 

[Big Mike]

What aperture were you shooting at? The kit lens is much better at F8 than it is at it's maximum aperture (F3.5-5.6). With this shot, it's hard to tell, but it sort of looks like you were focused on the plants, rather than the family.

As I mentioned, the kit lens is OK when stopped down but if you want to spend $1000 on a lens, you will really see a difference.

 

[Garbz]

Even the rebel's sensor outperforms nearly all lenses on the market. You will notice a difference, but it all comes down to the utility. Is it worth the difference to spend ooodles on a lens? That only you can say.

Mind you the above picture is sharp as a tac, just focused on the wrong place from the looks of it.

 

[Nix]

garr then my autofocus is broken

 

[Big Mike]

garr then my autofocus is broken

9 times out of 10...it's user error.

 

[photogincollege]

Dont forget to check where your af point is set at.

 

[Nix]

yeah i have it set right... i dont understand the issue

 

[JIP]

I think th shot that you have presented here is pretty much what a "normal" lens is capable of. The only way to go up in quality is going to be to get a 2.8 lens and/or a higher resolution body.

 

[dipukp]

reason may vary... Aperture, how you are taking, subject motion, lighting all can have an effect. As far as I know, between these 2 lenses, the difference should not be much. Is it consistently happening?

 

[Flash Harry]

Focus on the front persons eyes, wait till it locks n fire away, dont have the lens full open try 5.6, f8 or f11, for statics hold the camera steady and dont shoot slower than 1/60th sec. H

 

[lightmajestic]

Your best results will come from ditching autofocus on shots like this and using manual focus, I did the same after suffering occasionally and noticed a significant increase in sharpness of all my portraits.

 

[ANDS!]

The only way to go up in quality is going to be to get a 2.8 lens and/or a higher resolution body.

Guh? I mean really. . .guh?

Your best results will come from ditching autofocus on shots like this and using manual focus

Double Guh.

As someone said, it looks fine, just not looking where we'd expect the focus to be on. Can you check the photo-info and toss that up here, give folks some more information to work w/.

 

[Don Simon]

I second your guh

Stopping down a bit, focusing properly and a few seconds' work in Photoshop or equivalent will get you the "crispness" you're looking for here.

 

[jon_k]

I read in I believe " Exposure - a beginner's guide to photography." that there's an aperture on every lens that gets you the best sharpness. He refers to a "who cares?" aperture in which if he doesn't need any creative control over aperture he'll set it to like 6. He says in the book that this is the sharpest for his lens, and that your lens may be 6 or a little above or below.

I'm curious how you can determine the sharpest aperture for your lens without taking lots of test shots? Is 6 a good aperture for sharpness generally on any lens? What factors would go to calculate this? I'm obviously trying to determine the value for my lenses listed below.

 

[Big Mike]

I read in I believe " Exposure - a beginner's guide to photography." that there's an aperture on every lens that gets you the best sharpness. He refers to a "who cares?" aperture in which if he doesn't need any creative control over aperture he'll set it to like 6. He says in the book that this is the sharpest for his lens, and that your lens may be 6 or a little above or below.

I'm curious how you can determine the sharpest aperture for your lens without taking lots of test shots? Is 6 a good aperture for sharpness generally on any lens?

Swap that 6 for an 8, and that's what I've always heard.

Each lens design is different, some lenses are actually designed to be very sharp when at their max (wide open)...while most lenses tend to get much better when stopped down a stop or two. A safe bet for the sweet spot on most lenses would be F8.