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Sharp photos
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I would love my pictures to be really crisp and sharp. Even when I’m using a tripod and big f-stops I get images that are sharp enough but I wish they could be even more so. How will I achieve this ? Does this depend on my lens or my camera ? Is this where you need one of the L lenses ? I have a canon 1000d+kit lens.
Kristina, first of all, you’re not doing anything wrong. Bear in mind that some lenses are indeed sharper than others, and “big f-stops” sometimes don’t help (in regard to sharpness, though I understand why you’d want to maximize depth of field as much as you can).
First of all, do some research on lenses, and test others, you may find some that suit your style and kind of photography better. Meanwhile, you can sharpen your pictures to some degree in post-production: Photoshop has the “unsharp mask” tool which is very useful, and if you want to go one step further there’s an amazing filter package from Nik, called Sharpener Pro, that gives amazing control and results.thanks francesco… I am just wondering- you said that ‘big f stops’ sometimes don’t help to sharpness. Why would this be ? See I like to shoot landscapes that’s why I want to know :) I also wonder would they be sharper with a better camera (higher resolution) ?
Stopping right down might not improve sharpness, but will improve depth of field-
often it’s a tradeoff-The resolution of your sensor shouldn’t be a problem,
but the resolution of your lenses might-
Though I know nothing about canon-Diffraction limitation will come into play-
an optimal aperture for your system might be no more than ƒ/11.All digital images need to be sharpened anyway,
the amount is dependent on your output size,
and whether it’s for print or web-Perhaps try opening up a little,
and make sure your focus is correct-joseph
Kristina,
Can you post up an example photo ?
Lots of good tips posted already. The need to sharpen a photo afterwards
might be the answer…Hi Kristina,
I wouldn’t panic too much about the solution to this question or
rush out and change your equipment.Sharpness and DOF and their relationship to focal lenght, f numbers, distance
from subject and focus point might not be the easiest of subjects to master but
once you get the basics your photography, I feel, will improve no end.The focussing and DOF requirements will differ for different types of photographs and
depend as well on the result that you require.You mentioned that you liked landscapes and generally it is required to have whole scene appear
in focus from front to back.
I do not have expensive lenses (canon EF-S 17-85 and EF-S10-22).
For landscapes I would generally use aperture priority, set F8-F11 and ISO100.
I would use a tripod if possible and use the self timer.
If you are including foreground don’t get too close to it.
I try to focus about 1/3rd of the way into the frame (I use manual focus) and hope for the best.
I have been advised to turn off IS (Canon) when using a tripod but I generally forget or if I do
I forget to turn it back on for the next handheld shot.
None of the above are written in stone and adjustments will have to be made for lighting conditions,
different scenarios, rushed shots before a scene changes, personal preferences etc but if you grasp
the rudiments of what affect each setting has on the final image you can then use the settings to
suit yourself.The following are some of the things that may influence what is in focus in your picture.
The focal lenght of your lens.
The f stop you set.
The distance you are from the subject.
The focussing point.
Camera shake.
The quality of your lens.As you can see you can influence most of these with the equipment you have.
Experiment to see the differenece each setting makes and do as you have done already ask
plenty of questions here.As yhou can see there are plenty of members here only too willing to help.
Good luck.
John.
thanks everyone for answers…i suppose I really have to experiment and try different settings…I had no idea that the big f stop could cause the photo to be less sharper. Nobody told me :) Now that I know I will do things differently :) I will also try and turn off the IS. Well, there is still a lot of stuff I have to learn :)
Mark, I could post up an example photo but you can’t really see it unless you zoom in.
A few tips.
Try different apertures – f/8 to f/16.
Try setting mirror lockup on (probably a custom function).
Try using a timer mode, so your finger doesn’t slightly shake the camera.
Turn off IS (you should never use it with a tripod anyway).Make sure your camera/tripod is as stable as possible.
If needed boost your ISO to ISO400 to get a faster shutter speed.
Finally – try, try, try – different settings, combinations, etc.
That is very good and much needed advice. I must say that I have definitely learned from it. Many of my photos do not have the required sharpness no matter how hard i concentrate on the focus. I suppose just keep trying different combinations.
kristina wrote:
Mark, I could post up an example photo but you can’t really see it unless you zoom in.
Hi Kristina
I have a feeling there is nothing wrong with the sharpness of your photos to be honest. If you are zooming in 100% on it then using a kit lens is never going to be very sharp. In actual fact most lenses and cameras won’t look very very sharp at 100% crops.
Try opening a photo at about 1024px wide and have a look at it. If it looks sharp to you at this size then you don’t really have a problem. If it still isn’t sharp at 1024px then take all the advice above to try and resolve it.
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