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Focus issue
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May 23, 2012 13:04:17   #
silver Loc: Santa Monica Ca.
 
Weddingguy wrote:
"Thanks Silver. I hear what you are saying. As far as the new camera goes, the one I have is only 8 megapixels, and it seems that when I enlarge, or crop, it becomes grainy. Is that technique, or lack of a higher pixel count?"

I have a 24 x 36 picture on my wall taken with an 8.1 megapixel Canon camera . . . it is perfectly sharp . . . no pixelization (is that a word?) . . . no grain/noise.

Two things determine the quality of your end result:

1) Proper exposure and cropping right out of the camera. (One F/stop of under exposure causes a loss of 50% of image quality and under exposure is the biggest single cause of "grain"/noise.)

2) As little as possible post processing in editing software. Each and every adjustment causes loss of quality.

Want to upgrade? . . my suggestion is to keep the camera and invest in some "L" glass. If you stick with Canon you can always use the better glass. In a camera/lens combination, it is only as good as the weakest link. In your case the lens will be your weak link and a top end lens will show you incredible improvement of quality.

Hope that helps
"Thanks Silver. I hear what you are saying. A... (show quote)


One thing that I would like to know is are you using jpeg or raw files to work with?

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May 23, 2012 16:56:15   #
Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada
 
I have, and always will, shoot in Raw. It saves 10 times the information and lets you decide on many adjustments to suit the particular image without loss of quality. Shooting in JPG lets the camera make those decisions for you, then after the fact if you decide you don't like what the camera decided, you can change it (to a degree) but at the cost of losing quality with each and every adjustment. JPG is also a compressed file. It compresses by throwing away valuable information and pixels, which when re-opened, replaces those pixels and information with a computerized guess as to what was there in the first place. I hope that I am more intelligent than the little computer in my camera! ;-)

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May 26, 2012 19:34:47   #
MIKE GALLAGHER Loc: New Zealand
 
Izza1967
Hand holding and slow shutter speed.
It's a real buzz to be able to do that. If you find you need to there are a couple of things that can help. Don't hold the camera body with both hands - hold the underside of the lens with one hand and as far forward as you can. That way you can slow the movement at the end of the lens and maybe reduce motion blur.
Then breathe slowly and take the shot with your breath held. You might gain a couple of stops with practice. Practise keeping the lens STILL!
Mike

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May 30, 2012 18:36:38   #
TexasSky Loc: Houston, TX
 
MIKE GALLAGHER wrote:
Izza1967
Hand holding and slow shutter speed.
It's a real buzz to be able to do that. If you find you need to there are a couple of things that can help. Don't hold the camera body with both hands - hold the underside of the lens with one hand and as far forward as you can. That way you can slow the movement at the end of the lens and maybe reduce motion blur.
Then breathe slowly and take the shot with your breath held. You might gain a couple of stops with practice. Practise keeping the lens STILL!
Mike
Izza1967 br Hand holding and slow shutter speed. b... (show quote)


Thanks Mike, I'll try that.

Reply
May 31, 2012 01:13:16   #
Viper64 Loc: Chino Hills, California
 
Hi TexasSky: Oh, How I LOVE Your Yellow Lab... I had one for 7 years and he was my Best Friend..

I just replied to "melllyn" regarding her Focus problem. There is a nice little program out there called "Focus Magic", it will help you correct for Camera Shake or Subject Shake as well as fix most focus issues. I've used it for years now and I love it. Nice tool to have for editing. You can play around with your "Sharpening" tools which just might help you with your subjects. Try putting a mask/selection around your subject and sharpening only that, and leaving the background a bit out of focus or even set the blur effect a little for the background. Brings your attention to the subject..

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Sep 1, 2012 21:59:01   #
Holmes1 Loc: Memphis Tenn
 
I hear so many people say they want a better camera so they can take better pictures.
But like you said people need to learn their camera's and get out and practice click-click-delete!

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Sep 1, 2012 21:59:09   #
Holmes1 Loc: Memphis Tenn
 
I hear so many people say they want a better camera so they can take better pictures.
But like you said people need to learn their camera's and get out and practice click-click-delete!

Reply
 
 
Sep 2, 2012 10:10:26   #
docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado
 
rpavich wrote:
TexasSky wrote:
I’m attaching two pictures I took yesterday. They were both shot on Shutter Priority, Auto White Balance, f29, 1/40, and ISO 100. The first one is at 55 mm and the second one is at 53 mm. In my eye, the first one is out of focus, where the second one is in focus. I don’t know if I’m using the wrong settings, or if I just have a shaky hand and need to have a camera with good stabilization.


Here is the deal.

You are using the wrong settings (really the camera is) and so they are making you susceptible to camera shake (both shots have it.)

As LA said...1/40 is TOO SLOW to avoid shake.

You need to have AT LEAST 1/250 minimum of a shutter speed to avoid shake; preferably more.

Here are some settings that you can use as a baseline in conditions like your pictures show:

1/500 shutter speed

f/8

ISO 100.


There are other settings that work but that's a starting point.


Your camera and lens are fine...it's just a technique issue.
quote=TexasSky I’m attaching two pictures I took ... (show quote)


where you been?

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Sep 2, 2012 10:13:22   #
docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado
 
TexasSky wrote:
I’m attaching two pictures I took yesterday. They were both shot on Shutter Priority, Auto White Balance, f29, 1/40, and ISO 100. The first one is at 55 mm and the second one is at 53 mm. In my eye, the first one is out of focus, where the second one is in focus. I don’t know if I’m using the wrong settings, or if I just have a shaky hand and need to have a camera with good stabilization.

I’m going to get a better camera, specifically with a higher megapixel rating. I currently have a Canon EOS Rebel XT (with 8 megapixels), with a EFS 18-55 mm 0.28m.0.9 ft lens, and also EF 75-300 mm 1:4-5.6 lens. Talking to the people at Houston Camera Exchange (one of the largest camera stores in Houston), they said I really should stay with Canon, since I have the lens. However, it seems that the Nikon is better rated for the stabilization quality.

Any comments on what I'm doing wrong would be appreciated.
I’m attaching two pictures I took yesterday. They... (show quote)


This all got quite complicated quite fast - shot 1: there is no contrast so your auto focus did not know what to lock on too - combine that with the SS and you get what you got. A little knowledge or practice learning how your camera focus's would eliminate much of this.

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Sep 2, 2012 10:23:31   #
TexasSky Loc: Houston, TX
 
docrob wrote:
rpavich wrote:
TexasSky wrote:
I’m attaching two pictures I took yesterday. They were both shot on Shutter Priority, Auto White Balance, f29, 1/40, and ISO 100. The first one is at 55 mm and the second one is at 53 mm. In my eye, the first one is out of focus, where the second one is in focus. I don’t know if I’m using the wrong settings, or if I just have a shaky hand and need to have a camera with good stabilization.


Here is the deal.

You are using the wrong settings (really the camera is) and so they are making you susceptible to camera shake (both shots have it.)

As LA said...1/40 is TOO SLOW to avoid shake.

You need to have AT LEAST 1/250 minimum of a shutter speed to avoid shake; preferably more.

Here are some settings that you can use as a baseline in conditions like your pictures show:

1/500 shutter speed

f/8

ISO 100.


There are other settings that work but that's a starting point.


Your camera and lens are fine...it's just a technique issue.
quote=TexasSky I’m attaching two pictures I took ... (show quote)


where you been?
quote=rpavich quote=TexasSky I’m attaching two p... (show quote)


Been out practicing with my camera & trying to learn more. I'll be back posting some pictures, hopefully next week.

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Sep 2, 2012 13:15:06   #
gordnanaimo Loc: Vancouver Island
 
PhotoArtsLA wrote:
The exposure settings look quite a bit off. That looks like a bright, clear, sunlit day. The exposure mentioned is quite strange for that condition.

The slow shutter speed caused the dog to have motion blur in the first image. In bright daylight, you could be using 1/1000th of a second and freeze just about any animal behavior, even (mostly) the wings of a hummingbird.

What's worse, the oddball f/stop of f/29... I suspect this is the limit of the camera to display f/stops, as, with 1/40th of a second, even f/32 would be overexposed for ISO 100 (I just checked my sunny day to be sure, though 30+ years as a Director of Photography in the movies was screaming at me.)

When the aperture of a lens gets so tiny, the performance of the lens suffers. Usually, 2-3 stops from wide open will show optimum performance with most lenses.

In short, use shutter priority, and choose a shutter speed which stops down the lens 2-3 stops. You will get optimum performance (and motion stopping fast shutter speeds) this way.

This will also cure underskilled camera technique, for the most part, but there is also no substitute for practice, practice, practice.
The exposure settings look quite a bit off. That l... (show quote)


Wouldn't 2-3 stops from wide open comprimise the depth of feild?

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Sep 2, 2012 23:22:41   #
ftpecktim Loc: MONTANA
 
silver wrote:
TexasSky wrote:
silver wrote:
TexasSky wrote:
I’m attaching two pictures I took yesterday. They were both shot on Shutter Priority, Auto White Balance, f29, 1/40, and ISO 100. The first one is at 55 mm and the second one is at 53 mm. In my eye, the first one is out of focus, where the second one is in focus. I don’t know if I’m using the wrong settings, or if I just have a shaky hand and need to have a camera with good stabilization.

I’m going to get a better camera, specifically with a higher megapixel rating. I currently have a Canon EOS Rebel XT (with 8 megapixels), with a EFS 18-55 mm 0.28m.0.9 ft lens, and also EF 75-300 mm 1:4-5.6 lens. Talking to the people at Houston Camera Exchange (one of the largest camera stores in Houston), they said I really should stay with Canon, since I have the lens. However, it seems that the Nikon is better rated for the stabilization quality.

Any comments on what I'm doing wrong would be appreciated.
I’m attaching two pictures I took yesterday. They... (show quote)


What nonsense the camera store is selling you. You have a good camera, you just have to learn how to use it. Of course the camera store will tell you that you need a "better camera" because they want to make more money off of you, they will not tell you that you need a better technique. If your images are blurry you are making several mistakes. You are hand holding and thats not a bad thing but you have to be careful and very still and focused and you have to be very careful when you press the shutter release button on the camera, press gently and dont move the camera when you press the button. More megapixels will not give you a better image, learning the proper ways to use a camera will. You should be using the camera on manual settings because this gives you much more control over your images and you should also consider getting a good tripod. Image stabilization is ok but it is a crutch to lean on. learn how to properly hold a camera and image stabilization will not be necessary. I think that your problem is technique rather then equipment. Remember, a camera goes not make you a good image maker, its that big hard thing with hair on it that rests on your shoulders that does that. If you have a lot of money to throw away by all means give it to that camera store. A camera store is there to make money and I personally think that they are not really being honest with you. One other thing, reading your post you mention a shutter speed of a 40th of a second, that is much to slow for hand holding a camera. You are letting the camera do the settings for you, big mistake. learn how to use your camera on manual settings and then you will be in control, not the camera. You have to improve your technique.
quote=TexasSky I’m attaching two pictures I took ... (show quote)


Thanks Silver. I hear what you are saying. As far as the new camera goes, the one I have is only 8 megapixels, and it seems that when I enlarge, or crop, it becomes grainy. Is that technique, or lack of a higher pixel count?
quote=silver quote=TexasSky I’m attaching two pi... (show quote)


Most probably your technique for processing your images is faulty. An 8 mp camera should have files that can easily enlarge to 8x10 or 11x14 or a little larger. I dont know what program you are using to process your images and I also dont know how large you are going. The biggest mistake that people make is that they shoot with the idea that if they dont have the image they like they can crop into the image and enlarge the crop and have a good quality image. The correct way is to shoot with the intention of printing the whole frame that is captured without any cropping. The idea that any image can be cropped down and enlarged only creates technical problems that are hard to correct and it also makes you very lazy. Shooting so you dont have to crop makes you work differently. The first thing that it does is it slows you down and the second thing it does is it makes you think differently when you shoot. Learning this is very important and this will improve your image making. Dont be in a hurry, slow down and really see what you have in the frame of your viewfinder. Look at all 4 corners of the viewfinder before you shoot the image, really look at what you are doing. There is nothing wrong with up grading equipment if you really feel a need for it and if you can afford the price but the camera does not make the good image, the camera is just a tool.
quote=TexasSky quote=silver quote=TexasSky I’m ... (show quote)


:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

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Sep 3, 2012 18:29:12   #
Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY
 
rpavich wrote:
TexasSky wrote:
I’m attaching two pictures I took yesterday. They were both shot on Shutter Priority, Auto White Balance, f29, 1/40, and ISO 100. The first one is at 55 mm and the second one is at 53 mm. In my eye, the first one is out of focus, where the second one is in focus. I don’t know if I’m using the wrong settings, or if I just have a shaky hand and need to have a camera with good stabilization.


Here is the deal.

You are using the wrong settings (really the camera is) and so they are making you susceptible to camera shake (both shots have it.)

As LA said...1/40 is TOO SLOW to avoid shake.

You need to have AT LEAST 1/250 minimum of a shutter speed to avoid shake; preferably more.

Here are some settings that you can use as a baseline in conditions like your pictures show:

1/500 shutter speed

f/8

ISO 100.


There are other settings that work but that's a starting point.


Your camera and lens are fine...it's just a technique issue.
quote=TexasSky I’m attaching two pictures I took ... (show quote)


Listen to him TexasSky. To the point without jargon. :thumbup:

Reply
Sep 12, 2012 14:20:15   #
EoS_User Loc: Oshawa, Ontario Canada
 
Seems to be the same issue I had. I used Av setting and shot some photos of a beaver lodge. When I later viewed them I found the focus was off or appeared to be. Turned out to be unsteadiness on my part. What I failed to note was that my shutter speed went to 1/45 of a second. With ISO at 100 I too was the victim of unsteady hands.

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