New Stuff - First Raw Image for me.

[LINYBIMMER]

Hello veryone,
Just getting back into photography. Santa brought me some awesome equipment - Sony A700, 18-70 kit lens and a Sigma 70-200 2.8. I was out shooting in manual for the first time since my Olympus OM1 days and was lucky to catch this scene. Sure would like to hear what you think.

Thanks,

LINYBIMMER

 

[kn4ds]

Everything's green.

White balance is way out of whack... at least, at first glance. The front of the microwave antenna should be white... unless it's been painted to match the water tower, which seems doubtful looking at the whole image.

Other than that, I think it's a cool image - I'm drawn the steeplejack hanging by the proverbial thread.

 

[fiveoboy01]

I like the image, but your timing is bad... The guy on the rope looks like a limp dead guy.

 

[dtornabene1]

I like it. I though too at first the WB (white balancee) was off, yet I think the camera might have nailed it. The only way to be sure, besides looking at the actuall watertower, it by asking if the helmets should be bright orange. If so, reference those, otherwise, leave it as you see it.

-Nick

 

[LINYBIMMER]

You're all right, it's all blue.... The water tower is sky blue, the microwave dishes are in fact painted blue to match. The workers helmets are bright red. I did some PP to bring out the detail on the underside of the tower.

Otherwise, It probably could have been sharper if I shot it at a lower ISO, I think this was 640. With as much sun, I could have lowered that quite a bit and gotten some more detail.

Thanks again for the comments. I'm looking forward to learning and growing with the board here.
:thumbup:


Jim

 

[davebmck]

You're not going to get more detail with a lower ISO, just lower noise. However, noise probably isn't an issue on bright scenes like this.

 

[LINYBIMMER]

You're not going to get more detail with a lower ISO, just lower noise. However, noise probably isn't an issue on bright scenes like this.

Thanks dave. Is detail (I guess I mean sharpness) wholly a matter of lens quality?

 

[dtornabene1]

Thanks dave. Is detail (I guess I mean sharpness) wholly a matter of lens quality?

I don't mean to answer on behalf of dave, yet the short answer is yes. The reason a lens costs $1,800 is not just because it is fast. With that said, you don't need a lens of this caliber to get great images all the time.

The long answer is not in this case. Normally I would suggest a smaller aperture, but you shot this at f/10. This would normally give you enough detail. But which lens did you use, the 18-70mm or the 70-200mm? Did you use a tripod? Include all the shoot specifications when posting please.

To get this sharper I would use the 70-200mm at 85-100mm and back up. This is your better lens, yet at the 70mm mark it has known to be a little soft.

I would try to get the aperture down to f/20. On a bright day like this you should have no problems. Also, shot at a lower ISO. Yes ISO give more noise, but noise will reduce sharpness. This is technical and requires a longer explanation, so let me know if you need it.

Lastly, we are not "right". You are right. We are just giving our opinions. We were not there. For all we know this is exactly how it looked or maybe this is exactly the colors you were going for. I applaud you for your efforts and even though I am a Canon guy, I think Santa really came through for you this year!

-Nick

 

[davebmck]

Thanks dave. Is detail (I guess I mean sharpness) wholly a matter of lens quality?

That's pretty much correct. Assuming your subject is not moving and your camera is steady it pretty much comes down to lens quality. Don't confuse sharpness with depth of field. Decreasing your aperture (smaller number) with give you more depth of field, but not better sharpness for the area in focus. Now, on the other hand, there are certain lenses that are sharper when stopped down, but that's a different issue.