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Is it me or my camera?
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Aug 25, 2013 20:33:20   #
drcjc Loc: Berkeley (originally Brooklyn)
 
I have two cameras, a panasonic lumix Zf5 and a rebel t2i with kit lens 18-55mm and 55-250. I seem unable to get really crisp photos with the rebel most of the time although on occasion they look pretty good.
The lumix seems to give brighter crisper photos most of the time which is frustrating no end, as I thought I had upgraded my equipment - especially for birding and animals a bit far away. I can't seem to decide whether the lumix does better because the lens are better (leica) than the kit lens. So should I get a better lens set for the rebel and would that be better all around. Or just go back to using the lumix? I sure could use some help and good advice!

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Aug 25, 2013 20:43:25   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
drcjc wrote:
I have two cameras, a panasonic lumix Zf5 and a rebel t2i with kit lens 18-55mm and 55-250. I seem unable to get really crisp photos with the rebel most of the time although on occasion they look pretty good.
The lumix seems to give brighter crisper photos most of the time which is frustrating no end, as I thought I had upgraded my equipment - especially for birding and animals a bit far away. I can't seem to decide whether the lumix does better because the lens are better (leica) than the kit lens. So should I get a better lens set for the rebel and would that be better all around. Or just go back to using the lumix? I sure could use some help and good advice!
I have two cameras, a panasonic lumix Zf5 and a re... (show quote)


To get the best out of a DSLR really takes an understanding of how to use them and the lenses properly as well as plenty of practice. There is a learning curve. However, the results should be much better than your Lumix. It would be useful to see example of the pictures you are having a problem with and the accompanying Exif data so we can assess such things as the shutter speed, the IS setting, the aperture being used, whether the flash was fired, etc. Its difficult assisting with this type of problem without something to go on.

Your panasonic lumix Zf5 is very long in the tooth and only a 5MP camera. The reviews I just read indicate to me that the results from it should not be anywhere nearly as good as on the T2i, so clearly something else is happening here.

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Aug 25, 2013 20:54:27   #
SharpShooter Loc: NorCal
 
Dr, you mention birds. Birds are the most difficult to photograph. On your camera with a 250, you have an effective 400mm of reach. That's barely borderline to reach birds. If you are cropping them to fill your photo, they will look like little blobs. For a song bird, you need to be no more than 20 feet away. With birds, work on getting really close, and it will get better.
Good luck. SS

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Aug 25, 2013 20:59:24   #
RustyCardores
 
If you are shooting JPEG the camera does the processing, so you may need to adjust the t2i's settings for sharpness & saturation etc. Have you adjusted these from the default settings already?

Point and shoot cameras generally process their JPGs with a lot of sharpness and saturation out of the box, but DSLRs ship with these options set at low levels.

Another thing to consider is Depth of Field... the smaller sensors and focal length configurations of the point and shoot cameras create a LOT of DOF. So it's hard to get stuff out of focus at times. DSLRs on the other hand, offer the photographer a lot of control over DOF, so you may need to be a little more critical of your focus and aperture used.

re Birding ... As a general rule, try and shoot a shutter speed that is at least 1.6-2x faster than your focal length. So if shooting at 250mm, try to shoot up near 500th/second (or faster), as this will help minimise softness due to camera movement.

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Aug 25, 2013 21:04:24   #
pappy0352 Loc: Oregon
 
I shot with the T2i before upgrading to the 60D. The T2i like any other camera has a learning curve. Just keep shooting it will come together.

Pappy

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Aug 25, 2013 22:08:02   #
olcoach Loc: Oregon
 
You may also want to borrow a good lens from someone and see if that makes a difference.

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Aug 25, 2013 23:07:41   #
drcjc Loc: Berkeley (originally Brooklyn)
 
Thank you all for the rapid response, I have been trying to compare photos. Here are two that I used for comparison because the chimney won't move and I can set the cameras on a fence to mitigate what may be somewhat shaky hands. The chimney is across the street, maybe 100 ft give or take. I can see a difference in the DOF in the background, but the chimney seems so much crisper in the Lumix photo. What am I doing wrong?

Lumix chimney
Lumix chimney...

The data
The data...

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Aug 25, 2013 23:10:38   #
drcjc Loc: Berkeley (originally Brooklyn)
 
OOps,, I posted the wrong photo - here is the comparison! :cry:

Rebel chimney - settings as close as could match
Rebel chimney -  settings as close as could match...

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Aug 25, 2013 23:21:32   #
RustyCardores
 
drcjc wrote:
What am I doing wrong?


Please see all suggestions above. To me it looks like you are simply running with sharpening and contrast set to their default levels.

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Aug 25, 2013 23:27:59   #
Tea8 Loc: Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.
 
Looks like a focus issue to me. Are you auto focusing on both cameras? Maybe you need to have the lenses checked out or the camera to see if it is auto focusing correctly. Other than that I can't help much because I have zero experience with Canon and Lumix. I'm sure someone here will have a pretty good idea as to what it could be though.

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Aug 25, 2013 23:33:17   #
drcjc Loc: Berkeley (originally Brooklyn)
 
Yes, I am autofocusing on both. My old eyes aren't too good at manual focus. I tried pictures of words closer up and they seemed to focus OK.
Hoping for more help, will indeed try to borrow a lens somewhere.
Thanks.
Drcjc

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Aug 26, 2013 02:31:12   #
drcjc Loc: Berkeley (originally Brooklyn)
 
I see custom functions but am not sure what they mean.
Is there a group of settings to optimize for sharpness and clarity? I hate to mess with what I really don't understand. Any help here from someone with a rebel t2i will be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!

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Aug 26, 2013 05:29:22   #
saxkiwi Loc: New Zealand
 
drcjc wrote:
Thank you all for the rapid response, I have been trying to compare photos. Here are two that I used for comparison because the chimney won't move and I can set the cameras on a fence to mitigate what may be somewhat shaky hands. The chimney is across the street, maybe 100 ft give or take. I can see a difference in the DOF in the background, but the chimney seems so much crisper in the Lumix photo. What am I doing wrong?


I see you are shooting very small files. Around a 100 and 200kb. Up your quality to its maximum and then do another test.

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Aug 26, 2013 06:25:34   #
ocbeyer Loc: Baltimore
 
Are those the actual focal lengths? If so, the Canon's effective focal length is 118mm while the Lumix's is 432mm, implying significant cropping on the Canon's photo. And the Lumix has image stabilization, though at that shutter speed the Canon should not need it, it certainly would help the Lumix at that EFL.

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Aug 26, 2013 06:37:15   #
donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl
 
I would say that the main difference is because of the higher quality of the Panasonic lens... Its made by Leica.... Just that fact speaks volumes...
Last night I sold ALL of my Canon equipment and now have a Panasonic ZS7 comming in a few days... Clearly, it is a far superior camera...

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