What am I doing wrong?

[Sockles]

I just bought a Sony A200K a month or so ago, and I decided to try to take some pictures of the Chicago skyline last night. When I reviewed them on the computer they came out (to me) pretty bad (hazy). Anyone know whats up? I was using a tri-pod.

1/6 F3.5 ISO 800

10" F14 ISO 400

Is it that my ISO is too high, or too much polution? Let me know if I can provide anymore info. Thanks

 

[choudhrysaab]

any kind of filter attached? what were the weather conditions like?

 

[choudhrysaab]

if you're using a tripod then ISO 100 is good enough as well ... providing you leave the shutter opened for 10-15 seconds.

 

[camz]

I don't know if hazy is the word for it. I think your first photo is just soft. I would shoot a city skyline at a higher aperature then 3.5 to increase your DOF (although i do see a hint of haze on top of the city but does not pertain to your image). On your second shot I think the lights might have been overexposed a bit giving it glow..definitely took a bit away from the sharpness of some of the lines.

 

[dxqcanada]

What lens are you using.

Looks out of focus.

Did you have the Steady Shot turned on ?

 

[Dao]

Also, it is better to shoot with a lower ISO setting if possible especially for tripod setup.

 

[musicaleCA]

Both images have luma noise, and in the first I see chroma noise in the foreground. Noise reduction is in order, and in this case, will help both images greatly.

 

[Sockles]

The lens I was using was the one that came with the camera, 3.5-5.6/18-70.
Yes autoshot was turned on.
also, no filter
It was starting to get "foggy", but very little over the city. probably why I got the glow effect.

I'll try again with different ISO settings and hope for a clear night.
thanks guys!

 

[JerryPH]

It does look out of focus. I tried applying noise reduction and sharpening just to test, and it was still the same, meaning very bad.

No amount of sharpening or noise removal will fix a soft picture.

 

[KmH]

#1 looks soft from camera shake to me.

Did you release the shutter manually or with a remote? Use mirror up? Was it windy?

Not all tripods are created equal. A $35 tripod from walmart is, for all practical purposes, useless for long exposure photography. If you spent less than $250 for yours, it will have limitations.

 

[bigtwinky]

With most pictures in most conditions, you try and aim to get a low ISO, 100-200, as this ensures a cleaner picture. ISO needs to be upped when the light conditions go down AND you still need a fast shutter speed.

Shooting on a tripod means you do not need a fast shutter speed.

When doing night shots like this, set your camera to AV (Aperture Value) and set it between f/8 and f/16. This ensures that you get good depth of field. Going lower could result in somethings being out of your depth of field and thus blurry.

Even pushing down the button can cause camera shake. If you don't have a remote to set off the shutter, I'd suggest using your camera's timer. Most set to 2 or 10 seconds. So set to 2 seconds, you click, take your hand off, 2 seconds later, picture goes.

Also check that your lens is set to Auto Focus and not Manual Focus

If the cities lights are really bright, aim to get a slightly under exposed picture.

 

[SrBiscuit]

like kmh, i was going to ask whether or not you used a remote? heavy presses can have detrimental effects on long(er) exposures

 

[c.cloudwalker]

They look out of focus to me. Do you wear glasses? or are you trying to shoot without your glasses?