Why is it not sharp .... mark II
Feb 6, 2017 16:44:35 #
stevenh0027
Loc: Melbourne Australia
Hi, A week or so ago I posted a picture and asked why it was not sharp. I received a fantastic response from hoggers with mountains of good advice and suggestions.
I tried to heed the advice and took the camera out again.
I increased the iso and shutter speed. I took a series of shots working hard to hit the bird with the central focus point.
The result is posted and as you can see it is still not great.
The second image is a screen capture showing the camera settings and the focus point.
Any further advice would be appreciated.
I tried to heed the advice and took the camera out again.
I increased the iso and shutter speed. I took a series of shots working hard to hit the bird with the central focus point.
The result is posted and as you can see it is still not great.
The second image is a screen capture showing the camera settings and the focus point.
Any further advice would be appreciated.
Feb 6, 2017 17:21:10 #
Feb 6, 2017 17:23:08 #
Feb 6, 2017 17:28:49 #
stevenh0027
Loc: Melbourne Australia
I was hand holding but I thought that the increased shutter speed (1/640) would address this.
I guess not.
I guess not.
Feb 6, 2017 17:29:16 #
Nothing is in focus so I suspect camera shake also. Here's a suggestion: Place your camera on something solid. Tripod, a rock, tree stump, etc. Set up a shot and use either your 2 sec or 10 sec timer to take it, or a remote shutter release. Doesn't have to be a bird. A sign on a building or a license plate from a distance makes a good test subject because of the lettering. See how that comes out .
Feb 6, 2017 17:46:53 #
stevenh0027 wrote:
Hi, A week or so ago I posted a picture and asked ... (show quote)
1. whole picture out of focus, you indicate AF on the other image, did you AF or use manual focus
2. for a bird this size you are pretty far away, is this cropped or not, lens is at 300, probably not it's sharpest setting but it is supposed to be sharper than this.
3. was it hand held? but your shutter speed should be enough to handle that unless you are very unsteady
4. under exposed, nearly 5PM, I see no shadows, is this in shade/shadow or cloudy sky?
With this lens and no IS 1/500 should be fast enough unless the camera is very unsteady. F/5.6 is wide open, very shallow depth of field. try about f/6.3 or f/7.1 for more DOF, keep shutter speed around 1/400 to 1/500, ISO as appropriate (your body gets good ratings up to ISO 800), use a tripod or some other rest to eliminate camera movement/shake, get as close as you can, try the experiment in good light.
If that doesn't work, then something is wrong, has the lens and or body ever been serviced/cleaned/adjusted?
You are two firmware versions out of date, you have 1.1.0, current is 1.1.2.
Feb 6, 2017 18:09:00 #
I wonder if a single focus point would help in addition to more stability. I can see from the second shot that you have a number of focus points being used so the camera is choosing where to focus rather than you doing so.
Feb 6, 2017 18:11:09 #
stevenh0027
Loc: Melbourne Australia
Thanks for the responses.
The lens autofocus was on. Yes the bird was quite a distance - any closer they fly away. The sky was cloudy.
Regarding the DOF - the focus point was on the bird and I was quite far from it so I would expect the the DOF would be enough to cover the whole bird but as you say nothing is in focus.
The lens is about 11 years old. It came as a kit lens with my Canon 350d. It has never been serviced but the lens glass is kept clean.
What does 5PM mean?
re firmware: I will research how to update this.
The lens autofocus was on. Yes the bird was quite a distance - any closer they fly away. The sky was cloudy.
Regarding the DOF - the focus point was on the bird and I was quite far from it so I would expect the the DOF would be enough to cover the whole bird but as you say nothing is in focus.
The lens is about 11 years old. It came as a kit lens with my Canon 350d. It has never been serviced but the lens glass is kept clean.
What does 5PM mean?
re firmware: I will research how to update this.
Feb 6, 2017 18:12:52 #
stevenh0027
Loc: Melbourne Australia
Hi English Brenda,
I had set the camera to use only the central focal point. The software just shows the other points though they were not engaged.
I had set the camera to use only the central focal point. The software just shows the other points though they were not engaged.
Feb 6, 2017 18:13:56 #
stevenh0027 wrote:
Hi, A week or so ago I posted a picture and asked ... (show quote)
Here's one thing to think about.
If you don't fill the frame with the subject you won't get optimum sharp details. I've shot a LOT of very expensive L lenses and you can get good out of them...or crap out of them depending on how you approach shooting.
I guarantee, if you shot that bird by filling the frame and having good lighting, you'd see a world of difference.
Feb 6, 2017 18:14:31 #
When I'm having difficulty learning , I try to isolate one problem at a time and take a morning to work on just that. In this case you are flipping around settings .. first of all eliminate the most glaring problem which is that camera and lens moving. Lock it down. Set up a subject that has decent light on it. Sit down with a notebook and pencil and start taking test shots at different aperatures. Then try those aperatures with different ISO settings. We all go through this. With a 300 mm and not a zoom you have to get closer. Not an easy thing with wildlife. You are shooting into the shade. Choose a subject that is better lit and see how the stabilized camera and lens behaves. I agree with many other responses that an aperatures of 5.6 is much too shallow dof here. Crank it up to 8 and go from there. Good luck.
Feb 6, 2017 18:15:43 #
stevenh0027 wrote:
Thanks for the responses. br The lens autofocus wa... (show quote)
5PM refers to the time you took the image. Actually, your metadata shows 4:49.
Feb 6, 2017 18:29:49 #
stevenh0027 wrote:
Thanks for the responses. br The lens autofocus wa... (show quote)
The "nearly 5PM" was a typo , I meant 7 AM as in time of day I was thinking of something else and typed the wrong time.
Try shooting from cover/a blind, even a parked car shooting out the window will sometimes work. Park the car near where the birds are, sit quietly inside until they start to ignore you and take pictures out the window(preferably open-use frame as a camera rest).
Some birds are easier to get close to than others with or without cover/a blind. If you sit still and quiet Hummingbirds will come and feed very close to you. They are so fast it more or less makes them fearless.
The firmware update's download and instructions are available on line.
Feb 6, 2017 18:33:09 #
MadMikeOne wrote:
5PM refers to the time you took the image. Actually, your metadata shows 4:49.
That is what I thought too, but when I enlarge the image it shows 06 Feb 17 7:04:49 as the time, so it is 7:04 AM
Feb 6, 2017 18:33:38 #
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