Bevman Loc: Baileysville, West Virginia

Thanks, I'm beginning to think I was to close for the lens....I can't reshoot the exact scene..it was at a state park...

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

You could always go to a local nursery and try again!

gdwsr Loc: Northern California

An often overlooked problem is the effect of a UV or other filter. Recently, I was helping a UHH member with a 5100 that wasn't getting sharp images. I had her take the exact some shot with and without the filter. The difference was obvious.

Bevman Loc: Baileysville, West Virginia

Thank you Radioman..I need to concentrate more on the Av setting right now I think...being new to this, it will take a while to grasp it all..I appreciate the chart..

Bevman Loc: Baileysville, West Virginia

You are right Nat!

MtnMan Loc: ID

If you really want everything in focus you want a smaller aperture: f16 or smaller.

Edit: I saw someone already suggested the DOF calculator for the lens you are using and distance you are at to see why.

PS: With my D5100 I mostly use P mode. It lets you use the thumb wheel to toggle through the available f stop and shutter speed combinations to get what you want. If you want depth of field you need the smallest aperture: highest f-stop. If it doesn't get to f16 or higher you need to up the ISO. On my D5100 I keep the function button set to ISO so I can push it and use the thumbwheel to adjust the ISO and then let it go and use the thumbwheel to again adjust the f-stop shutter speed combo.

Most flower shots require the highest fstop you can muster. The exception is if you have a flat flower and want to blur a background. Then 5.6 or less may be OK.

I usually use a tripod for flowers to get the small aperature and keep the ISO low.

Example at f14

gdwsr Loc: Northern California

Bevman, i don't think you were too close for the lens to focus. If that was the case some of the flowers further from the lens would be in focus. Rather, the focus point seems to be in front of the flowers. Could you have acquired the focus then leaned back just a bit as you released the shutter?

The friend (UHH member) of mine that has a D5100 just replaced her UV filter with a Hoya and the "softness" we were seeing in her photos disappeared.

The third thing I would check is the sharpness setting in the JPEG mode setting in the camera.

I did a quick sharpening in Aperture and posted it here. The sharpness setting in camera should be able to do as well.

Just a few thoughts, hope it helps.

mgstrawn Loc: Atlanta, GA

Stunning image!

Bevman Loc: Baileysville, West Virginia

Thanks gdwsr I could have flinched....I'll check the sharpening...I didn't have a uv filter on the lens.......

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

I'm sure your main problem here was too wide an aperture. You didn't say what focal length you were using, but at 50mm and a distance of 5 feet your depth of field is less than a foot. If you focus on the flowers closest to you only two thirds of your depth of field is beyond that - less than eight inches - and the rest of the depth of field is between you and the flowers and is wasted. That would account for the flowers on the corners being out of focus. The slight softness in the flowers in the centre could be a bit of movement on your part at the time of exposure. Beat that with a tripod or much faster shutter speed. That slight softness can be fixed with a dose of unsharp mask.

Bevman Loc: Baileysville, West Virginia

Thanks mcveed...I'm beginning to understand a little better....