Photo sharpness (Page 2): I have Olympus 35mm 3.5m Olympus 17mm 1.8 and Olympus 14-140mm. I Purchased a Think Tank 20 and by accident they sent a 10 also. I was told to keep it. They...

Gregger Loc: Phoenix area

tdekany wrote:

Your ep5 is an excellent camera with a fantastic 5axis IS. Put the camera on a tripod, turn IS off and either use a remote or a 2 second delay and you will get tack sharp pictures. What lenses do you have? The iPhone is no match for your ep5 technically

I have Olympus 35mm 3.5m Olympus 17mm 1.8 and Olympus 14-140mm. I Purchased a Think Tank 20 and by accident they sent a 10 also. I was told to keep it. They are nice, but the 20 is a bit heavy with two cameras and the lenses I have.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

35mm?

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

lamiaceae wrote:

As usual when asking questions here. What camera ... (show quote)

I agree; my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 delivers some admirably sharp images as well, but then it also has a 16MP sensor...might help explain.....????

Dave

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charles brown Loc: Tennesse

Gregger wrote:

Thanks for replying. I am 73 and I think that alt... (show quote)

Gregger; will soon be 75 and now experiencing the same problem as you. Finding it very hard to get a sharp image while hand holding the camera, even when using VR function and a reasonable fast shutter speed. Just going to have to admit that ain't as young as I use to be. Going to get a monopod to see if that doesn't help. Otherwise going to have to go to using a tripod all the time. Also, going to do some tests of my lenses using a tripod to make sure am not expecting more from the lenses than they can deliver.

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Gregger wrote:

I received a photo from my brother taken with an iPhone this weekend. The photo is sharper than the photos I take at least the jpg. I don't develop many. It looked like the gloss film photos. I rarely see photos this sharp. What am I doing wrong?

Taken with a Samsung S5 Cell Phone.

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Zone-System-Grandpa Loc: Springfield, Ohio

Gregger wrote:

I received a photo from my brother taken with an iPhone this weekend. The photo is sharper than the photos I take at least the jpg. I don't develop many. It looked like the gloss film photos. I rarely see photos this sharp. What am I doing wrong?

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There could be several reasons for your not getting sharp photos from your camera, such as your lens needing fine tuned to your camera body, a defective lens whereas auto focus is not working properly, your shutter speed is not fast enough which will make photos not sharp should there be motion with you or motion with the subject, and, actually, there are many more reasons for your not getting sharp images, but as far as your doing something wrong, the biggest thing that you have done wrong is to have posed your problem on this forum without providing more information about your camera because once some of the not so kind members of our forum read your thread, they are going to slam you up, down, sideways, and just about any way they can think of ! Sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but they will !

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Gregger wrote:

I received a photo from my brother taken with an iPhone this weekend. The photo is sharper than the photos I take at least the jpg. I don't develop many. It looked like the gloss film photos. I rarely see photos this sharp. What am I doing wrong?

You must be steady and not punch shutter button. Hand your camera to someone too take your photo and most of them will punch the release in one fast stroke. Half way too focus and steady camera. I can take hand shots at a real slow speed. Steady as a rock.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I'm 73 and I try only to shoot from a tripod or bean bag. If I have a shutter speed of 1/200 or better I will hand hold. When it counts, I also use a remote shutter release.

Gene51 wrote:

You aren't using an iPhone -

Seriously, post a sample for critique - you'll get a better answer.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

You are surely doing something wrong. Have you reviewed and learned basic photography?
A cell phone camera is practical, nobody will deny that but when it comes to quality even a simple dSLR or mirrorless camera will excel.
Many people beginning to photograph are after the "best" camera and lenses and for the majority of them sharpness is an obsession. All modern lenses have enough technology to make them sharp and when those results are not reached it is in general the fault of the operator not the the camera or lens.
As Annie Leibovitz put it once when asked what camera she would recommend, "it is convenient having one" referring to cell phones and implying non photographers in general.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

This is a follow up to my previous post. You should have basic photographing information based on what I have learned so far. Brake the AUTO habit once in a while if you want full control of what you do.
I also own the EP-5, an excellent tool and you have good lenses to go with it. No reasons for not being happy with your results.
Using a tripod will make your camera much more steady although the IS built in camera is excellent. Begin to use high shutter speeds if the camera is not on a firm platform and obviously a cable release will make those pictures sharper. Turn IS off as has already been advised.
Posting some shots for critique could help you to improve your photography considerably.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Greg, there are a number of things that can affect sharpness. Camera and lens components aside, is it possible that your shutter speeds are slower than recommended by the rule of 1/focal length of the lens for the slowest shutter speed. Unclean lens surfaces can cause unsharp images. Getting back to the camera / lens combination, it could be that the lens is not focusing properly on the sensor. That can be adjusted in some cameras. Yeah, lots to consider.

Oh, in addition, you might do a search for your camera lens combination and focus issues.
--Bob

Gregger wrote:

I received a photo from my brother taken with an iPhone this weekend. The photo is sharper than the photos I take at least the jpg. I don't develop many. It looked like the gloss film photos. I rarely see photos this sharp. What am I doing wrong?

Leon S Loc: Minnesota

Hi Granger, I too am close to your age and for me I always use a monopod when I need the pictures to be sharp. I would use a tripod, but its too much to carry along with a cane. None of us are as steady as we were at the age of 20. You will find the monopod really helps with camera shake, balance and can doubles as a cane. Leon

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Yes, this and it may be that he just photographs subjects that are more interesting than yours. Anyone can take a picture of flowers, but if you take your time to compose the shot and put some thought into what leads your eye in and around the image, symmetry, lighting, too much or too busy, group of three, tight crop, etc. There's more to taking a picture than just a snap shot.

brucewells wrote:

As a test, let your brother take a few photos with your camera. Most of us associate image sharpness with the equipment, and that does make a difference, but not as much as what we do when we take the picture. Focus and image sharpness are related, but not the same.

mkaplan519

If you show us an example you can possibly get some more helpful answers.
Under ideal conditions, today's smartphones can give a picture as good as any camera. It is only once you start pushing then that the camera phones really start to fail.
As others have said, that are a lot of possible reasons for his looking sharper than yours. It could even be as simple as his phones internal sharpening is higher than yours. Also note that due to the tiny sensor size in the phone, it has a greater depth of field so it may look sharper just because more of the photo seems in focus.
Post a photo and we can probably be more sure about that the problem was.

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

I've said it before and I will say it again. In good light, the iPhone camera will take good photos. What it lacks is versatility. The DSLR will take good photos in less than ideal conditions that cannot be obtained with any phone camera.