FRENCHY Loc: Stone Mountain , Ga

Can you tell me what's wrong with this one please ,seems to me there is something not right with the focus

I use f8 1/250 200I SO 290 lenght

Thank you

Bobber Loc: Fredericksburg, Texas

The focus is fine, the problem is that the subject size exceeds the zone of focus, so some of it is in and some is out. I am no expert on the technicals of this, but I suspect that a longer focal length lens would have a greater depth in its zone of focus.

FRENCHY Loc: Stone Mountain , Ga

Thank you Bobber ,
By longer focal lenght you mine with extension or a completely other lense ? I use a 70-300

Cas Loc: Maine

I would think you might need a higher f-stop to cover a wider range, depth of field, which will also give you a longer exposer.

FRENCHY Loc: Stone Mountain , Ga

Thank you Cas

I start to see the picture ( I wish !!! ) I have problems with f stops . I have to keep trying
Thank you .

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

Sounds like it must be my eye sight as to me it is almost but not quite.. I was struggling to find anything that is pin sharp but have failed miserably. Yes the wing tips are beyond the depth of field capability but the main body is not pin sharp..

How have you focussed the camera and if auto focussing what were you aiming at? Could you have been very slightly too close to this insect which might have stopped the lens from locking onto the target?

That is a question and not a statement as you might have been focussing well within the parameters of the lens ;)

FRENCHY Loc: Stone Mountain , Ga

I remember being way out from it ,maybe 5 t0 6 feets . I was aiming at the head mostly , I shot at f8 because that was the best picture i can get with 1/250 at 200 iso , I try to set it up to f11 but not enough light , I should have try maybe with an ISO of 400+ ?

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

Hi Frenchy,
I have no idea of the minimum focus length for your lens but five to six feet might be overly close??

You have the original image which is no doubt larger and do you think it is sharp where you aimed?

I feel the depth of field issue is a red herring because if you focussed on the head then the head should be pin sharp irrespective of that setting and f8 with a 260mm focal length should get that very confined area in focus.

You are not using a macro lens under macro conditions and aiming at the head of a dragon fly should see the head in focus..

If you aimed at the head and used 'spot' focusing then you are either too close, or there is a possible issue with the lens and my money is on the lens being okee dokee. Others might suggest 'back focussing' but I cannot see anywhere that is pin sharp??

Note I am saying I cannot see... as opposed to saying there is not anywhere that is pin sharp. :(

Just had another look and the bottom of the front legs look fairly well focussed?? What do you think?

Could this be one of those images that we all take, and it is just not as good as we hoped?

I have no idea what lens you have but one of the Sigma 70-300mm lens has a minimum focus distance of 59 inches.

FRENCHY Loc: Stone Mountain , Ga

Thank's for your input Glojo ,
When i took the picture seems to me everything was in focus , I have to try again and again , and see if I can come up with something better then this .
As for the lens is a Nikon VR 70-300

Again, thank's to all of you for your time and advices

Stinson222 Loc: White Bear lake, MN

Hi,, nice shot,, I don't think there is too much wrong with the focus, the problem is that there is not much contrast between the dragon fly and the background, so the camera has a problem getting the right focus point

Edges are important to auto focus

Raider Fan Loc: Lake County, IL.

Your DOF is all that is wrong, open it up a stop and see if that helps you. The object is too large for the area of your focus.

FRENCHY Loc: Stone Mountain , Ga

Than you Raider fan, I will try again .

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

Totally 100% agree as parts of the legs which are nearest the ground look like they are nearest to being in focus.

Before even knowing how far away the OP was from the subject I queried the distance just on the off chance that might explain how none of that dragon fly is pin sharp.

The OP guesses the distance as being about 5 to 6ft and this is right on the absolute minimum focussing distance for that lens, too close for comfort.. :)

I go along with the theory of the ground possibly over ruling the focussing sensor as it makes a lot of sense, but I would not dismiss the minimum shooting distance as that is also a game spoiling option.

If it were a depth of field issue then the area of the subject you were aiming at would be pin sharp, but it isn't, so it isn't :evil: :wink:

FRENCHY Loc: Stone Mountain , Ga

glojo and all the helpers here on this foru thank you , I will try in the next day and see if I can accomplish anything .
Now if I shoot at f8 at 250 s. I remenber trying f11 13 and so on , the light was not there, so , If I increase the ISo that would help ? and if I do this the picture will be grany no ? I must be a pain to some of you but ..... I apologized
Thank you

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

Hi Frenchy,
Understanding the 'rules' regarding light and exposure is a great foundation to build from and the available light will to an extent rule your camera settings, but if you think about what experts call the ‘Sunny 16 rule’ you cannot go far wrong.

Any rule is there for guidance and being flexible is the way to go.
On a sunny day (whatever that is) try setting your camera’s ISO to 100, have a shutter speed of 1/125 and an aperture setting of ……… yup, you’ve guessed = f16

Take a picture of anything, a twig, flower, rock or person and the exposure should be there or there abouts. If you want a faster shutter speed then you will need more light, so one click of speed should require one click of aperture but as the speed numbers go up, so the aperture numbers should go down…1/250 = f8

If you use an ISO of 200 then the shutter speeds increase by one click.

Quite a few people will tell you high ISO equates to grain, or noise and whilst this might have been true years ago, it is no true now. Incorrect camera settings will give you poor results of grain or noise but I have posted very nice pictures shot with an ISO setting in excess of 1k but we have to take into account the lighting conditions, so that everything is in tune.

Rather than try to explain why I disagree with your aperture setting being wrong, I will post a picture with an ISO of 1000 and an aperture of f10.

The flying bee has an aperture of just f3 and that thing was moving as quickly as any flying bee you will see and my camera was NOT set up for that shot, it was hand held and I was just snapping anything that was in the area. f3 with a fast flying bee does NOT give very much depth of field and whilst the focus might not be pin sharp, I would suggest the flying bee picture is a 'keeper'

I am NO EXPERT, I enjoy taking snaps and simply pass on my experiences for you to judge if what I am suggesting bears up to what I snap :)

The stationary fly has an ISO of 1000