Troubleshooting: unable to take a sharp shot with Canon EOS1200D

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Those look better to me, do they to you? The reason some of the photo is blurred is due to your depth of field (aperture) at 4.0. What you can do to see how sharp you can get that photo is to setup a tripod, put the aperture to say f11, ISO 800 and adjust the shutter speed until that meter 0's out. Set up a 10 second timer or whatever your camera allows so that after you push the shutter button the shake from you touching the camera calms down. That will show you i'm sure what you've been after. But to me those look better. How do you feel shooting in manual? Play with DOF (depth of field). Setup a bunch of items on a table and space them out evenly or unevenly, doesn't matter. Just stack them front to back like you would to form a line. Sit back a bit and change your aperture. You can bump up the ISO since you're doing this inside and don't need great image quality so that you can move up your shutter speed. Change it from the smallest number and go up two stop increments or so. You'll see the foreground and background get more blurry or more clear. But you'll also notice how the meter moved depending on your aperture. A smaller number aperture (larger aperture) has a much larger hole. You can look this up in google or look through the front of your lens while you work the aperture on the camera. Larger hole = more light and more blurred background, shallow DOF. A smaller hole (smaller aperture) will be say f11, f16. These don't allow in much light but do allow a larger depth of field or more in focus. If you're out on a cloudy day and want to keep your ISO low and don't care about the background of your subject, you can use the largest aperture to allow in more light and allow you to up your shutter speed. Photography is all about light, but don't forget that even though you've got the meter perfectly centered, your shutter speed is key if you don't want to blur. Think about it as SMUDGING the photo. That's how I have explained it before, I don't know if anyone else has. If you don't let the photo "dry" (fast enough shutter to stop YOU from moving) then it smudges and will be blurry. I'll link up two things I think you'll find interesting. I don't "preach" shoot in manual, but I do recommend it.

Understanding Aperture - A Beginner's Guide

 

[bobbysafety]

Thank you very much for these clear explanations! That's very helpful. I knew the basics regarding shutter speeds, aperture etc., but am still learning and eager to do so. Thanks a lot!

As for the picture quality, I do however disagree. Those pictures taken today (the rainy outdoor ones), seem to me very mediocre (if not plain unsuitable). I will keep noodling around in the manual mode as you explain and try to reach a better result, but IIRC, today's pictures have a fast shutter speed and the focus area should have looked "crisp". Do you think that is close to "as good as it gets" in terms of sharpness? I would be glad to rule out any material problem.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I'm out right now but forget what ISO was used. What is your cameras range? 100-3200?

 

[bobbysafety]

ISO 800; F4; 1/640. The ISO is indeed quite high here I guess.

The camera can go up to 6400.

 

[bobbysafety]

And thanks again for teaching me all this!

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

So try ISO 200, f11 and shutter speed to match the meter in the middle. On a tripod. Focus on something with detail inside

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

How's this look to you?

IMG_7338edited by Christopher Wilson, on Flickr

IMG_7337edited by Christopher Wilson, on Flickr

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

As well, I forgot to mention. Heat, fog and other types of weather variables will also have an effect on sharpness. Especially at longer focal lengths. An example is an image I shot here a week or so ago in the hot weather. See the heat in the background? This photo came out not sharp at all but with a little manipulation in DPP it came out halfway decent.

IMG_0039 by Christopher Wilson, on Flickr

 

[bobbysafety]

Hi, interesting results! My balcony shots appear more "vivid" and do look better. Do you think that gets rid of this sharpness issue I am having? I mostly enjoy taking landscape and sight-seeing shots and am looking for better results than my little old point and shoot camera, is this something my dslr should be able to deliver (provided it's in good hands)?

Also, I added one more shot, following your instructions, to the dropbox.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Braineack]

the sharp foreground looks good, but that background looks so odd -- still has a "shot through plastic" look to it

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Yes, it should be able to. You really should learn manual mode and raw image processing if you want good results. The reason raw files are better is because you can manipulate certain areas without distorting the whole image. Image this. You have red, beck, blue and green paper, in that order. A jpeg file is compressed, so let's say for the jpeg all those pieces have been glued to one another. On the other hand the raw file has no glue, the pieces are stacked loosely. Yippy want to change out the blue piece for purple. Which is easier to change without damage? You can change both, but the jpeg suffers a loss even though it can be put back together. Where as the raw file hadn't been glued together yet. When you convert a raw file to a jpeg once you're done making your changes, the glue is then applied. And manual mode allows full control over the image attributes.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I just downloaded that photo, i'd like to see what I can do. I want to make a suggestion though. Buy the lens hood that corresponds with the lenses you'll be using. If you plan to sell one or not use it, don't bother. But I've noticed in your photo's there's flare, unless you like that look the last photo has a ton of it) a lens hood will solve that and actually make your photo's look more crisp. I just bought 75$ in lens hoods... no more flare.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

That image doesn't look bad at all to me. You can't expect pro camera quality from a "rebel" line of cameras, but if you work at it and check your meter/shoot in raw you should get good results. Just keep in mind a low shutter speed will blur if you hand hold and a high aperture will need more light to expose properly, high ISO increases noise. So if you balance all of those or favor one over the other, you'll get the images you want. I'm sure you'll want to upgrade once you master those. Since the last photo you took came out the best in terms of detail, contrast, etc. I decided to post up both the edited and unedited versions. The first photo is untouched, the second is edited. Look at how much more even and pure the whites are. To the right of the photo you get more detail in the highlights. The guitar looks a bit more rich. Is that what you've been looking for?

IMG_7341unedit by Christopher Wilson, on Flickr

IMG_7341edit by Christopher Wilson, on Flickr

 

[Braineack]

You can't expect pro camera quality from a "rebel" line of cameras, but if you work at it and check your meter/shoot in raw you should get good results.

you should be able to expect better than trash. there's very little resolving power in all these shots. I blame the glass more than anything -- look at the edges of that shot. look how blurred the guitar strings get on the neck. look at the CA on the shelf. look at the barrel distortion.

the edits help, but you shouldn't need to do that...

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

You're shooting with this lens, correct?

EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM


and this camera?

EOS Rebel T5 18-55 IS II Kit

I don't think that those photos being from a rebel are all that repulsive. Do not take this the wrong way but I think it's more the OP than the camera. In my hands my old XTi which I sold to my brother still produces "nice" images at the XTi level. Meaning my 80D taking the same photo will be more crisp. It is what it is. The beginning photo's posted have come a long way to what they are now. I think part of it is the area the OP is in looks very humid. That will drop IQ and sharpness. Indoor shots seem much better though.