Soft focus

[bigsarg7]

Hello all, Well most know I have a d200 and love it, but i find my shots aren't always in focus the way i'd like, what looks sharp through the viewfinder on the computer isn't sharp......not sure if its me (got new glasses and it still happens) or whether its a bit of shake in my hands maybe? obviously i can shoot with a tripod but that means i don't have the freedom to move about with the kids like i want to..... surely i am not the only one who has this kind of trouble..... I really want to make sure my images are nice and crisp but it just doesn't seem to happen unless i am using a flash etc.... so i know its not the camera as i know it can take some incredible shots, but its when i am not using a flash i can't seem to get images crisp..... any suggestions on how i can get some clearer shots? i tend to use my 50mm lens a lot (1. but have it set at around f8 or f2. SO yeah. thanks.

[gstark]

Could you please post a few images (including the EXIF) showing us the issues, so that we can better understand what you're seeing?

[bigsarg7]

Hi gary, i've gone through my latest uploads (last 2 weeks) but i had deleted most of the really soft ones, but here's two, one taken with my 50mm and the other with my 24 - 120mm.

So here is the link to 2 soft images (the kids are my kids out in the backyard earlier today nothing spectacular just a quick snap)

Settings for the ring shot are as follows :
F/8
Shutter Speed 1/20 sec
ISO 200
focal length 120.0mm
Lens 24-120mm f3.5 -5.6
Flash did not fire
Metering Mode: Center Weight


Settings for the kids shot are as follows:
F/8
Shutter Speed 1/640 sec
ISO 200
Focal Length 50mm
Lens : 50mm f1.8
Flash did not fire
Metering mode: Center Weight

Here is a link to a crisper image with flash: (although i think its softened due to compression for net a little)

Settings for this shot is as follows:
f/9
Shutter speed 1/60
Focal Length 110mm
Lens 24 - 120mm f3.5 - 5.6
Flash Fired
Strobe return light not detected
Metering : Matrix

[Reschsmooth]

In your first image, you are shooting at 120 mm (which will appear like a 180mm) at 1/20th. Unless you used a tripod, I would suggest this is way too slow.

[TonyT]

1 : 60 is considered by some to be the slowless that most people can take a shot hand held. I am sure their are some that can handle this speed but I have trouble with this it.

[Mr Darcy]

The rule of thumb I learned about hand held was never go slower than 1/xxx Seconds where xxx is the focal length of the lens. So in this case Don't go below 1/120s when near the long end of the lens. Of course, VR will make a difference to this, but so will the crop factor in the other direction. So say min shutter speed for this lens handheld would be about 1/60. Also remember this iis a rule of thumb. If you have the shakes ( I do ) you will need faster speeds. If you are exceptionally steady, you can probably go reliably slower.

So #1 is about what I would expect. #2 should be sharp though. Sadly EXIF is not telling the whole story. What settings did you use. There are several that affect sharpness in camera. Have a look at "Image optimisation" (p45ff in manual) Personally I would be happy with #2. It looks to be well within the range that PP sharpening will allow to pop. Of course, my eyes are even older than yours. At least I assume so. My kids are older. &not as cute.

Also I am not familiar with this lens, but I suspect is is a kit lens. These are not renown for sharpness. Did you end up with the 85 1.4 the other week? I know you were one of the bidders. That will give you SHARP.

[bigsarg7]

No i didn't get that lens, i desperately wanted it, but i was at a wedding shoot and by the time i got home to find the message saying i needed to confirm my intention and replied it was too late (40 minutes too slow) unfortunately someone else confirmed before i could. was a sad moment! lol

I have just brought a tamron 28 - 75 f/2.8 i think it is, it should be arriving tomorrow, so it'll give me a little more glass to play with.

The reason I like my 50mm lens is that it is so much sharper then my 24 - 120mm. I do have a shakey hand normally, so i might take everyones advice onboard and not go slow speeds!! and fingers crossed i will see improvements!!

[malificentmuse]

Good luck!

[aim54x]

No i didn't get that lens, i desperately wanted it, but i was at a wedding shoot and by the time i got home to find the message saying i needed to confirm my intention and replied it was too late (40 minutes too slow) unfortunately someone else confirmed before i could. was a sad moment! lol

I have just brought a tamron 28 - 75 f/2.8 i think it is, it should be arriving tomorrow, so it'll give me a little more glass to play with.

The reason I like my 50mm lens is that it is so much sharper then my 24 - 120mm. I do have a shakey hand normally, so i might take everyones advice onboard and not go slow speeds!! and fingers crossed i will see improvements!!

That is unfortunate to hear that you missed out on that 85mm. I am sure the new owner will enjoy it throughly!

That Tamron SP 28-75mm f/2.8 will be nice to play with, it is a sharp little lens but remember that it doesnt have VR so you will have to watch your shutter speed a bit more.

[biggerry]

The reason I like my 50mm lens is that it is so much sharper then my 24 - 120mm. I do have a shakey hand normally, so i might take everyones advice onboard and not go slow speeds!! and fingers crossed i will see improvements!!

In addition I would also suggest just spending a few minutes doing some tests to work what is the minimum shutter speed needed to sharply capture certain subjects. For example when trying to nail that crawling baby or toddler your may find pushing up the iso and getting that shutter well over the 1/100s mark works much better (50mm lens).

I have in the past done this for longer lens - 300mm (450mm DX) and have found that even at the rule of thumb of 1/500s shutter shots where panning is involved or a relatively fast moving subject is involved there was still an element of motion blur, just enough in most cases to make the shot look not sharp or just out of focus. Pushing the shutter up to 1/750s or even 1/1000s completely ruled this issue out for me, bear in mind this was for a long lens (300mm) without VR.

[tommyg]

Here's a link to a site where you can print out a quick test chart to see if your focal area is correct or not.

http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/focus-chart

I haven't tried it, so have no idea how well it works, but going to give it a try tonight and see what I get

Cheers
Tom

[Murray Foote]

No i didn't get that lens, i desperately wanted it, but i was at a wedding shoot and by the time i got home to find the message saying i needed to confirm my intention and replied it was too late (40 minutes too slow) unfortunately someone else confirmed before i could. was a sad moment! lol

Because they have just been replaced you can get them new on EBay for just under $1,000 (including freight) and you should be able to pick up a good second hand one for $800 (provided you're happy with purchasing on EBay).

However, the first issue to sort out is your technique, otherwise you may not always get sharp results with any lens. Try taking test shots systematically at different shutter speeds to find optimum sharpness. It doesn't really matter of what but maybe 10 at each speed because there will be variation. Just be aware that your lens is also likely to be softer wide open and stopped right down (on line reviews will give you more detail).

A monopod is another thing you could try. That should give you about another two stops of leeway.