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Macro shots not as sharp as they could be. Please help!
Nov 11, 2018 01:13:44   #
Levi M.
 
Hello Hedgehogs

I've recently upgraded from my 18-55mm to a Tamron 90mm macro lens. Loving it in its entirety but there's something wrong with how I'm taking photographs that's preventing my photos from being sharp and I'd like to correct that. The problem is that I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm still new to this. And to avoid confusion, I'm not talking about the image as a whole, I'm talkkng about what is in focus.

Here is a (in my opinion) reasonably sharp image of a pocket knife. Here I used a tripod, remote shutter, f/13, 1/8 shutter speed, 100 ISO, used flash and tripod
Here is a (in my opinion) reasonably sharp image o...
(Download)

Below are photos of the thread of a lightbulb under a continuous LED and basic living room lighting. These are not as sharp as I feel they could be. F/8, 1/100, ISO 1000, no flash and hand-held
Below are photos of the thread of a lightbulb unde...
(Download)

F/16, 1/8, ISO 100, tripod and no flash
F/16, 1/8, ISO 100, tripod and no flash...
(Download)

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Nov 11, 2018 07:05:14   #
olsonsview
 
When you shoot a macro shot with close to 1:1 reproduction ratio the depth of field is very limited. Even at f-16 the depth of focus is very shallow. Many macro lenses seem to do best in the area of f-8 to F-11 from my experience. You do not need any fancy test charts to put your lens and camera through its paces. For a better test subject try taking a shot of some fine newsprint at a 45 degree angle ramped from the news paper base to the top which is canted away. Focus at a point in the middle of the news paper piece. Use various f stops to find out which are the sweet spot. Also shoot some at 1:1, some 1:2, etc and find out more about your lens and how it performs. You may have to shoot many pictures in order to really test that lens. Over a hundred is not unreasonable. Focus on the print in the center of the frame and see how much in front of and behind the focus point is sharp and you may have a better idea of the performance of your lens and tripod, or other gear. Using a flash during parts of the test may also be good to try as well. You will get a good grasp of what works best with your camera and lens in the field. By looking at the sharpness both in front and behind where you focus you will also know where you should choose for a focus point in the field. You will also see if the focus needs adjusting inside the camera? Have fun, this can be an interesting winters day project!

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Nov 11, 2018 08:27:11   #
Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI
 
Agree with olsonsview. Also, between shots taken at different settings it is best to be careful to not move the camera or subject at all. This allows for more exacting comparisons. In the above pictures, the subjects are at slightly different positions for some reason.
After changing settings, take time to let your rig stop shaking before the next shot. Seeing it in 'live view' on the back lcd screen shows whats' shaking.
I personally suspect there is nothing wrong with the lens.

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Nov 11, 2018 17:20:53   #
Levi M.
 
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
Agree with olsonsview. Also, between shots taken at different settings it is best to be careful to not move the camera or subject at all. This allows for more exacting comparisons. In the above pictures, the subjects are at slightly different positions for some reason.
After changing settings, take time to let your rig stop shaking before the next shot. Seeing it in 'live view' on the back lcd screen shows whats' shaking.
I personally suspect there is nothing wrong with the lens.


Thanks! They are two different photos taken from different angles intentionally. It may be possible that the subject wasn't quite in focus.

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Nov 12, 2018 07:24:48   #
clickety
 
Are you using autofocus, if so have you tried to manual focus on the same subject? These last two subjects do not have any intersecting angles, straight lines or abrupt color changes for the camera to lock focus on, manual focusing may have produced better results. I have noticed when shooting objects like a coffee mug without a design I get better auto focusing results by focusing on the intersection of the handle to mug or base and table and I suspect the camera locks on that line.

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Nov 12, 2018 12:10:35   #
John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN
 
With respect to this test, be aware that newsprint might not produce sharp-edged letters. So even at very best focus the letters may be somewhat fuzzy edged. My Sony a6300 has a focus mode that allows manual tweaking of the auto focus.


olsonsview wrote:
When you shoot a macro shot with close to 1:1 reproduction ratio the depth of field is very limited. Even at f-16 the depth of focus is very shallow. Many macro lenses seem to do best in the area of f-8 to F-11 from my experience. You do not need any fancy test charts to put your lens and camera through its paces. For a better test subject try taking a shot of some fine newsprint at a 45 degree angle ramped from the news paper base to the top which is canted away. Focus at a point in the middle of the news paper piece. Use various f stops to find out which are the sweet spot. Also shoot some at 1:1, some 1:2, etc and find out more about your lens and how it performs. You may have to shoot many pictures in order to really test that lens. Over a hundred is not unreasonable. Focus on the print in the center of the frame and see how much in front of and behind the focus point is sharp and you may have a better idea of the performance of your lens and tripod, or other gear. Using a flash during parts of the test may also be good to try as well. You will get a good grasp of what works best with your camera and lens in the field. By looking at the sharpness both in front and behind where you focus you will also know where you should choose for a focus point in the field. You will also see if the focus needs adjusting inside the camera? Have fun, this can be an interesting winters day project!
When you shoot a macro shot with close to 1:1 repr... (show quote)

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Nov 12, 2018 15:24:12   #
olsonsview
 
Correct, the news print is rather coarse when magnified, but the paper fibers really pop out! And of course very cheap way of testing.

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