Just how sharp is sharp enough? I’m relatively new to digital photography and have collected some gear, but wondering if it’s the right stuff. I have a Sony a6000, the kit lenses, a...

Lknack Loc: NOCO

I’m relatively new to digital photography and have collected some gear, but wondering if it’s the right stuff.
I have a Sony a6000, the kit lenses, a sigma 100-400 (MC-11 adapted), a Tamron 18-200 (B011) and an old manual Nikkor zoom macro that I’m happy with.
I’m not 100% satisfied with the sharpness I’m getting, of course the Tamron is better than the kit lenses and the Sigma is better still.
My question is:
Should I sell the lenses and go with better lenses?
Get a full frame camera and keep the lenses?
Sell everything and go with something else?
I’m also having trouble determining just how sharp is sharp enough. I don’t do social media, mostly prints, some up to 16x20.
My shooting breaks down like this (Approx):
Landscape—40%
Close up—30%
Wildlife—20%
Sports (Grandkids)—8%
Indoor sports—2%
Any advise would be most appreciated.

spaceytracey Loc: East Glacier Park, MT

If you can afford it, upgrade your lenses. I would go with Sony G-Master or, Carl Zeiss.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Lknack wrote:

I’m relatively new to digital photography and have... (show quote)

I don't mean to be smart, but only you can decide if your photos are sharp enough. If you're happy with the results, then they're fine.
As for the lenses, you use the generic term kit lens which doesn't tell anybody much of anything. What are the kit lenses? On the Sigma and Tamron you give the focal length range , but not the max aperture(s). On the Nikon you tells us it's a zoom, but keep the focal length range and the max aperture(s) secret. Whithout knowing all the information, it's difficult to give good advice.

ClarkG Loc: Southern Indiana USA

I think the Sigma and Tamron can get you sharp focus. Find the “sweet spot” for each lens. That is the aperture that gives you the sharpest focus. Usually, f/6-f/9 but depends on the lens and the focal length you’re shooting. Shoot some test shots (probably Manual) with all the same settings except change the aperture. Your results will tell you which aperture yields the sharpest focus.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Most lenses have a sweet spot around the centre of their range. You can check this with a tripod' timed shutter release and moveable object. use a single fstop and move the object further away between shots..repeat with every fstop.
Sharpness or lack of has quite a lot of reasons from shake to atmospheric conditions. wrong aperture giving too short a depth of field or too long a foreground for the DOF.

You can Post process 'sharpness' with a slider or by creating a 'high pass' filter in a new layer and then combining. High pass is like a fine line drawing of the image (bit like the teacher did with your drawings to 'keep the scribble' inside the shape). layers allow you to alter your image by 'tracing an area' onto a transparent layer and overlaying them on the same image or a new image.

Look at tutorials on how to achieve sharp images from various sources.

Chances are it is technique not lenses.

have fun

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Your best camera investment is in glass. Good lenses hold their value better than camera bodies. In fact they hold there value better than automobiles.

ClarkG Loc: Southern Indiana USA

Don’t use the Aperture Priority setting. It will change other settings that can affect the focus (like ISO) that can effect noise. Use Manual setting.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Lknack wrote:

I’m relatively new to digital photography and have... (show quote)

Post an example or three.

Lknack Loc: NOCO

Holy cow, that was fast.
Thanks for the responses and info.
I'll post detailed info on lenses and a couple photos this evening.
Thanks again.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Lknack wrote:

Holy cow, that was fast.
Thanks for the responses and info.
I'll post detailed info on lenses and a couple photos this evening.
Thanks again.

Please post some examples, being sure to store the originals. There are numerous possibilities in your shooting technique, and camera config, and image processing that will serve to accomplish extremely sharp images with no changes to your equipment. Equipment too could be an issue. Analysis of a few examples is the best and free next-step in determining actionable suggestions. We look forward to your examples.

You did a good job of explaining your equipment and image usage. What software are you using for processing?

bleirer

The biggest hurdle is to maximize your shooting technique and settings to make sure it's not your fault, then make sure your are doing what you can in post processing, then get better glass and/or better gear. My biggest errors are camera shake, shutter speed too slow for subject motion, too high ISO, having the aperture too high or too low both for depth of field and for things like diffraction and aberrations, not using the right lens corrections or overdoing the sliders in post, and just plain bad luck.

Lknack Loc: NOCO

CHG_CANON wrote:

Please post some examples, being sure to store the... (show quote)

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Your reply is missing. When using <quote reply>, you need to add your text outside the square brackets that denote the [ quoted ] portion / generated text of the prior post. For about 45-minutes, you also have an 'edit' link directly below your post that lets you correct any typos.

Lknack Loc: NOCO

Again, thank y'all for the response.
Equipment--
Sony a6000
Sony 55-210 (SEL55210)
Sony 16-50 (SEL1650)
Tamron 18-200 (B011)
Sigma 100-400 DG w/MC-11
Nikkor 35-70 3.3-4.5 Macro
I am trying to learning Affinty Photo.
Attached are 3 recent photos. I don't think they are bad, just not as good as I wish they were.
Couldn't figure out how to send raw files so here are some JPEGs with no processing, straight out of the camera.
I'm here to learn so let me have it!

(Download)

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Lknack wrote:

Again, thank y'all for the response.
Equipment--
Sony a6000
Sony 55-210 (SEL55210)
Sony 16-50 (SEL1650)
Tamron 18-200 (B011)
Sigma 100-400 DG w/MC-11
Nikkor 35-70 3.3-4.5 Macro
I am trying to learning Affinty Photo.
Attached are 3 recent photos. I don't think they are bad, just not as good as I wish they were.
Couldn't figure out how to send raw files so here are some JPEGs with no processing, straight out of the camera.
I'm here to learn so let me have it!

#1 looks good to me.
#2 the kid in the foreground looks ok. The other kid and the coach are a little out of focus, probably due to shallow Depth of Field.
The same with #3, the flower looks fine, but the bud is out of focus. Probably shallow DoF again.