T2i Soft pictures????

Bitter Jeweler · Oct 17, 2011

Neat!

Oh, and if you are new to photobucket, it may auto resize the image smaller, and you can change the default to whatever size you what, including "Original"

Tomasko · Oct 17, 2011

janeJ said:
calm down Tomasko... i new to this forum as of a few hours ago and don't know how to upload a bigger picture.. i'm working on it

I can assure you I'm 100% calm janeJ

However, I still can't see any details. You could at least provide us a little bit more info while you're figuring out the forum

janeJ · Oct 17, 2011

details- 1/80s f4.0 focal length 18.o iso 800

bitter- yeah photo bucket is telling me i have to go pro if i want to change the size they upload..bastards... let me pull one up on my smug mug i pay for...

Tomasko · Oct 17, 2011

janeJ said:
details- 1/80s f4.0 focal length 18.o iso 800

bitter- yeah photo bucket is telling me i have to go pro if i want to change the size they upload..bastards... let me pull one up on my smug mug i pay for...

and picture style? PP? How did you sharpen your image?

janeJ · Oct 17, 2011

My Smug Mug - SummerfordPhotography's Photos

i think it looks soft around the priest face and the grooms head.. will try and post another.. smug mug is on the fritz..... i took 1770 pix that day the only info i have is what picasa tells me which is what i use to edit.. i do not use any kind of sharpening?? just color correct, contrast if needed and blk n white...

every thing else in this albumn was taken w/ an older different camera.. there is one other gallery unlocked becky and tom.. most of there stuff is pretty sharp... i didn't change any settings between weddings.. of coarse being inside a church always sucks for lighting..

1/60s f/5.o flength is 41. iso is 1600....

janeJ · Oct 17, 2011

here is another one.. soft around the faces...1/60s fl 30.mm f/4.o iso 1600
My Smug Mug - SummerfordPhotography's Photos

mangtarn · Oct 17, 2011

this is most likely focusing error. i would stop down to about 8 to 10 to ensure i get (mostly) a sharp focus throughout the scene. and i wouldn't suggest green box when you are using a DSLR because it's no difference from using a point and shoot. (i use av mode on my G12)

the 18-55 kit lens is not very sharp wide open to begin with. I used to have one.

janeJ · Oct 17, 2011

mangtarn said:
this is most likely focusing error. i would stop down to about 8 to 10 to ensure i get (mostly) a sharp focus throughout the scene. and i wouldn't suggest green box when you are using a DSLR because it's no difference from using a point and shoot. (i use av mode on my G12)

the 18-55 kit lens is not very sharp wide open to begin with. I used to have one.

i will have to try av.... i like to use p for dark receptions find it works well there, out door pictures are no problem it's these dark inside venues killing me... what lens would you recommend.. i like the focal lengths of the 18-55 for my purposes... something more wide angle that went up to 55 would be nice but sharper..

pgriz · Oct 17, 2011

There are lots of reasons you could be having soft pictures. Some of them...
1) focus not at right place due to operator error (wrong point focused on)
2) focus not at right place due to camera making the focusing decision (camera was allowed to pick the focus location, and picked wrong)
3) focus not at right place due to either front or back-focusing by camera (needs repair center adjustment)
4) Sharpness of focus not achievable with lens (soft lens or poor copy of lens)
5) camera shake (too slow a shutter speed)
6) motion blur (too slow a shutter speed)
7) DOF too thin to allow all areas of interest to be in focus (aperture too wide)...

I'm sure there are other reasons/causes, but to figure out what the problem is, you need to tackle each possible cause on its own. For instance, to eliminate camera shake, put the camera on a tripod for test purposes, use a remote trigger, and perhaps even use flash. To achieve critical focus, use the live-view function on a clearly defined target with lots of detail, using manual focusing. If this gives you good sharpness, then you know it's not the lens. Next, set the lens from manual focus to autofocus, select the center point, and let it focus on the same target you shot earlier. If the camera's autofocus is working well, you should have exactly the same point in focus. If not, then the camera is either front- or back-focusing. If this test passes, then switch the focus selection points to auto and see what it focuses on. Chances are the camera will focus on the brightest or highest contrast or the closest point, which may or may not be the point you wanted the focus on.

By approaching this systematically, you can figure out where the problem is, and address it.

mjhoward · Oct 17, 2011

Since you say that you've used this lens on Canon XT and XTi and got sharp images and are now getting soft images on the t2i, I would suspect that you've reached the resolving limit of the kit lens. Camera lenses have a limit on what they are able to resolve. Generally, lens manufacturers test this ability and present the results via an MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) chart which shows how well a lens can preserve contrast between line pairs of a given size. Your Canon XT and XTi had 8 and 10MP sensors which had a pixel pitch of 6.31µm and 5.62µm. Your new body, the t2i, is now 18MP with a pixel pitch of 4.17µm. This is a much smaller spot that the lens has to resolve and apparently it isn't able to very well.

For reference, a pixel pitch of 6.31µm is equal to 79LP/mm and a pixel pitch of 4.17µm is equal to 120LP/mm. MTF charts supplied by Canon are measured at 10LP/mm and 30LP/mm.

jaomul · Oct 18, 2011

Some default picture styles in the camera are fairly soft, portrait especially to smooth out tones. Disregard if you are using raw files and processing yourself but if you customize a picture style from standard and increase the sharpness a little it might solve your issue.

mangtarn · Oct 18, 2011

janeJ said:
i will have to try av.... i like to use p for dark receptions find it works well there, out door pictures are no problem it's these dark inside venues killing me... what lens would you recommend.. i like the focal lengths of the 18-55 for my purposes... something more wide angle that went up to 55 would be nice but sharper..

Try shooting with Av and once you are comfortable with that learn to shoot in M. That's when you have true control over your photos.

Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 (non-VC) is my lens of choice here. it is a very good lens for the price. very sharp even wide open. However I do recommend trying a narrower apature next time before you go out and by a lens. After all it's not about the gear, it's about you-know-who.

Clarke · Oct 18, 2011

Is anyone else not shocked that the OP is shooting weddings with a Canon T2i + kit lens?

I don't know if it's just me, but I have the same set up as OP (except I have a 430 EX II) and I could not imagine doing weddings.

But I'm sure OP has a reason.

mrelsewhere · Oct 18, 2011

Clarke said:
Is anyone else not shocked that the OP is shooting weddings with a Canon T2i + kit lens?

I don't know if it's just me, but I have the same set up as OP (except I have a 430 EX II) and I could not imagine doing weddings.

But I'm sure OP has a reason.

Agreed. I have the same kit, and I don't think I'd feel comfortable shooting weddings. But then, janeJ's pics aren't that bad.