Help shooting the sun
Oct 3, 2013 00:10:09 #
I am having problems with getting a crystal clear sun photo. My little Olympus Digital took great sunsets but my new Nikon D5100 is testing me. I know it is me but I would sure appreciate tips and help. Thanks!
Oct 3, 2013 03:48:51 #
Oct 3, 2013 18:10:14 #
Golden Rule wrote:
I am having problems with getting a crystal clear sun photo. My little Olympus Digital took great sunsets but my new Nikon D5100 is testing me. I know it is me but I would sure appreciate tips and help. Thanks!
Are you saying that the sun is "unsharp" or you have some other problem....be specific.
Oct 3, 2013 22:30:59 #
rpavich wrote:
Are you saying that the sun is "unsharp" or you have some other problem....be specific.
Yes, my sun is not sharp.
Oct 4, 2013 02:47:45 #
Golden Rule wrote:
Yes, my sun is not sharp.
ok...could you post a full size jpg? (use the "store original" button)
I guess you are focusing on infinity right?
Other than that, I wouldn't know what to tell you.
what f/stop are you taking these shots at?
Oct 4, 2013 03:36:36 #
Oct 4, 2013 04:24:17 #
Good link JR1.
JR1 wrote:
Oct 4, 2013 06:32:26 #
They look fine to me, the sun does have a glow around it so perhaps without the aid of photo editing, I think we all suffer the same, I'd be glad to be wrong and have some pointers myself.
Oct 4, 2013 10:14:23 #
paulw
Loc: nottinghamshire
the sun is not actually there it has already gone below the horizon because of speed of light and distance when you took the image
Oct 4, 2013 12:40:17 #
There is going to be some atmospheric disturbance which will soften sharpness. The closer to the horizon the more the disturbance. the onnly way to improve this is in post processing. Bracketing both in speed and focal length may help. A polarizer might help with reflections off the water. Maybe not but it's worth a try.
Oct 4, 2013 12:42:36 #
It looks to me like you're letting the camera decide on the focus. Switch over to manual focus and try that. If the sun is to bright to look at, then focus on something else that's far away. To keep the foreground in focus, slow the camera down and use a smaller aperture. Auto focus is great but you have understand it's limitations. Open area shots, such a yours, is when the camera needs your help.
Oct 4, 2013 16:35:41 #
The Watcher wrote:
It looks to me like you're letting the camera decide on the focus. Switch over to manual focus and try that. If the sun is to bright to look at, then focus on something else that's far away. To keep the foreground in focus, slow the camera down and use a smaller aperture. Auto focus is great but you have understand it's limitations. Open area shots, such a yours, is when the camera needs your help.
Bingo! on the auto focus! I will try slowing the camera down too and give it a go this weekend. Thanks....
Oct 4, 2013 16:37:51 #
boberic wrote:
There is going to be some atmospheric disturbance which will soften sharpness. The closer to the horizon the more the disturbance. the onnly way to improve this is in post processing. Bracketing both in speed and focal length may help. A polarizer might help with reflections off the water. Maybe not but it's worth a try.
Thank you..I will try different speeds and focal lengths.
Oct 4, 2013 18:12:04 #
paulw wrote:
the sun is not actually there it has already gone below the horizon because of speed of light and distance when you took the image
Yes, but light is what is being captured on the sensor whether it came to it instantaneously across the room or from a star 100 light-years away. It doesn't matter. I think what you're seeing is light being bent by the atmosphere. As the sun gets low on the horizon it's light is passing through more atmosphere. Also the effect of dust and air pollution is exaggerated the lower it gets on the horizon. All those things combine to bend the light and give it a shimmering effect. I think one of the first replies was correct. Try experimenting with different filters.
Oct 4, 2013 19:04:07 #
Golden Rule wrote:
I am having problems with getting a crystal clear sun photo. My little Olympus Digital took great sunsets but my new Nikon D5100 is testing me. I know it is me but I would sure appreciate tips and help. Thanks!
Your first picture is the best of the three because the sky occupies nearly the two upper thirds of the picture. That generally is best for sunsets composition. Further, it looks like you used a telephoto lens for that one, and the telephoto makes the sun larger. The opposite with a wide angle lens that shrinks it, which appears to be what you did in the other two pictures. Using a very small aperture, perhaps f22, will make some radiation from the
sun more visible, but then you might need a tripod. A graduate ND filter might also help to get a better sun image.
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