Grahame Loc: Fiji

Possibly.

To me it looks 'noisy' which will add to the apparent softness and make things difficult to assess. I'm also wondering about the CA between roof and sky which looks pretty abnormal raising more questions.

no12mo

One final, final etc comment. The thing that gave it away to me was the pattern of the mottling was on the stone/concrete wall, bricks etc was pretty much the same. I'm thinking now it was something induced by PP. Got the original photo? Before *any* processing?

This is fun guys. Do we need to take a collective deep breath? Original photos are always preferred when trying to diagnose this sort of problem, I think.
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But wait! there is more! :) That shadow between the chimney and the sky with the image greatly blown up does suggest motion! Jim. You may have been up to something. Maybe there are two problems - perhaps motion compounded by PP

Alan

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I did post a corrected image. Look at Oct 25, 2019 21:59:58 on this same thread.

I am also going to post an example of my own.

Image 1: A crow that suddenly took off catching me by surprise. The picture is horrible, too far away and blurry. But a good candidate to show what this SW can do.

Image 2: A crop of that image. You can now clearly see the bluring.

Image 3: A fix of the crop using Topaz Sharpen AI - Stabilize option. Picture is quite a bit sharper, but not exactly what I would call a keeper. But look at it with just the understanding of what the SW can do. And if the shake is not as severe as this one, it can actually do quite a nice job.

Image 4: A pine tree with the focus the large pine cone.

Image 5: A crop of that pine cone. The lens softness is obvious.

Image 6: A fix of the crop using Topaz Sharpen AI - Sharpen mode.

Note: Topaz Sharpen AI requires a fast computer with a GPU to speed it up. Not everyone has sufficient horse power to use this product. Try the free trial first.

Also, this product has 3 options: Sharpen, Stabilize and Focus. If the image does not need the Sharpen option, the results will not be better, perhaps worse. If the image does not need the Stabilize option, the same effect on results. And the same goes for Focus.

Sharpen option is best when there is no shake and no mis-focus. Only lens softness.
Stabilize option is best when there is camera shake.
Focus option is best when you miss correct focus.

Stabilize was the only option that improved the O.P.'s image.

Original

(Download)

crop of original

(Download)

A fix of image 2 using Topaz Sharpen AI Stabilize

(Download)

Original of pine cone shot

(Download)

A crop of the original

(Download)

The fixed image using Topaz Sharpen AI - Sharpen Mode

(Download)

Grahame Loc: Fiji

Whilst what you have done with that original image (and your bird example) has certainly improved its appearance I would not consider it has "corrected" it. As for the pine cone examples all you have done is added artefacts.

For the ops original image in those lighting conditions it should have been possible to produce a SOOC picture with sharp focus on the intended plane without having to revert to specialist 'improvement' software tools.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I agree with you assessment. It has improved it, but not made it perfect. But there is a whole lot of shake in that image. Enough so that most would throw away the image. But if it was a shot that you just didn't want to part with, it is going to look reasonably good if you just don't blow it up too big.

As for the pine cone, I could dial back the effect. I am still learning this software, and from what I see, it is very good.

I might add also that a lot of people are clamoring for the same ability in cameras that they are now getting from high end cell phones. And this is sort of correcting images after the fact and is going to actually appeal to many.

And yes, the ops certainly could produce a SOOC image that didn't need this fixing. I agree that this is not a very difficult or challenging image to make if correct technique is used. The 1/400 sec f/7.1 shot with a 55mm focal length should have been sharp.

I have included another image of the pine cone, but the sharpen was dialed back a bit from the default amount.

(Download)

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I haven't read all the pages so forgive me if I am repeating what others said. Are you using center point focus? That should maximize the focus in the middle of the pic. Also, can you take a shot with a tripod and the 10 second timer, hands off, and one hand held? That should tell you if it's the camera, the lens or you.