Photo sharpness
Jun 7, 2016 00:31:14 #
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?
Jun 7, 2016 01:40:19 #
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?
As usual when asking questions here. What camera do you have that you are talking about and what software do you use, and how do you process or not process your images. And are you talking about view (all) images on a monitor or are you talking about printed photographs.
It sounds rather odd to me. I can get some pretty good images from my Samsung Galaxy Note 5, but they are not better than images I get from my Pentax K-20 (14MP) or K-5 (16MP). If you have say a Nikon D7100 / D7200 (24MP DX), D810 (36MP FX), D750 (24MP FX), an i-phone better? IMPOSSIBLE. You may be doing something wrong!
Jun 7, 2016 09:32:07 #
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?
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.
Jun 7, 2016 10:07:58 #
Just wondering, what was the total pixel count of his image? You might get a nice 4x6, but would it go much larger?
Jun 7, 2016 10:33:18 #
Perhaps post a photo that your not happy with...as far as sharpness is concerned.
Jun 7, 2016 11:11:28 #
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?
iPhone's are often smarter than hobbyists with DSLR's. I have often felt the same way you do and I know that my DSLR's are more capable than an iPhone camera.
Jun 7, 2016 12:39:15 #
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?
Maybe a case of camera shake. When I go to tourist areas, I'm always surprised to see just how many people don't know how to hold their DSLR camera properly while shooting. With the much narrower lens to sensor distance on phone cameras, you can get away with a lot more shake and still produce sharp images.
Jun 7, 2016 12:44:22 #
I hate to admit it but I took a lot of bad photos until I figured out I simply could not hand hold a camera, especially a tele lens, at any speed under 1/125, with 1/250 being preferable. That was hard to do in the old days when the ISO (ASA) was fixed by the film being used. Today, we can increase the ISO up to numbers that were not even considered with film, making shots with speeds of 1/500+ easily managed. My suggestion is to try a higher shutter speed and see if the "sharpness" doesn't return.
Jun 7, 2016 13:35:11 #
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?
Hi Gregger. The iPHONE has a smaller sensor than a SLR camera. The smaller the picture the less details you can see overall. The perception to the eye is that the image is sharper. If you were to print out the image and compare it to your SLR, assuming your exposure was correct, you will find that the iPHONE when enlarged and printed is not as sharp as your SLR. The sensor is tiny in your iPHONE, and designed to be put on the web at low resolution, & printing is yet another issue. Now to the issue of why your prints look less sharp. The better the lens, & using a focal length in the middle of the lens, is important. In post editing, you always need to sharpen the image. Over saturated images blur details. You might ask why pay more for a sports car than a general common one? Well a sports car needs to be tweaked to make the performance the way it was designed. With your general run of the mill car you would never know if its running optimal or not. I hope this helps. It is all about your camera/lens capabilities, and knowing how to use it.
Jun 7, 2016 13:45:10 #
Camera shack is more than a factor than most realize. You can do a little science on this. Take a picture on a tripod or other support. Try taking a photo with the 2 second delay on. See if any of these remedy the sharpness problem. For myself I often find that I sometimes slightly move the camera when I depress the shutter button.
Jun 7, 2016 14:07:47 #
jmcgloth
Loc: Ocean Park, WA
Drala2k wrote:
Camera shack is more than a factor than most realize. You can do a little science on this. Take a picture on a tripod or other support. Try taking a photo with the 2 second delay on. See if any of these remedy the sharpness problem. For myself I often find that I sometimes slightly move the camera when I depress the shutter button.
Is "camera shack" a place to store cameras?
Jun 7, 2016 14:41:37 #
Jun 7, 2016 17:18:09 #
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 aren't using an iPhone -
Seriously, post a sample for critique - you'll get a better answer.
Jun 7, 2016 18:36:07 #
canon Lee wrote:
Hi Gregger. The iPHONE has a smaller sensor than ... (show quote)
Thanks for replying. I am 73 and I think that although I have image stabilization that I may be shaking the camera more than the stabilization can compensate for.
As you, I just don't notice it. I have an EP-5, and two Panasonic's - FZ70 and FZ200. I live in the Phoenix area and in the heat it is difficult to get out and take photos.
I use iPhotos to edit. I seemed to do great when I was younger and had my Canon film DSLR. Thanks to all of you for your advice. That being said, I am still a novice and use Auto most of the time, but I am good at viewing what I believe would make a great photo.
Jun 7, 2016 19:03:13 #
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
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