Clear sharpe focus
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Russ77
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AF works better when there's good contrast on what you're trying to focus on.
How much of the rest of the image that's in focus will depend on your aperture and where in the image you're focusing, for instance using a big aperture and focusing on something that's close to you will render a lot of what's behind the focus point out of focus.
Using as low ISO as possible will help you get a less noisy/cleaner image and a faster shutter speed will help reduce blur from either moving the camera or the subject moving.
Do you have any examples of pictures you've taken where you think the image should be sharper than it is? If so post them up and we can try and work out what's what
How much of the rest of the image that's in focus will depend on your aperture and where in the image you're focusing, for instance using a big aperture and focusing on something that's close to you will render a lot of what's behind the focus point out of focus.
Using as low ISO as possible will help you get a less noisy/cleaner image and a faster shutter speed will help reduce blur from either moving the camera or the subject moving.
Do you have any examples of pictures you've taken where you think the image should be sharper than it is? If so post them up and we can try and work out what's what
AJQS
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Nope, the opposite.
However what's Sean Bean got to do with anything? (Sorry, just been reading the apotrphe thread...)
HoppyUK
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Exposure times makes no difference. In fact there is much greater probability of camera movement or subject movement introducing blur.
For sharpest possible image, focus carefully using centre-point AF, on a static subject with good contrast, in good light, high shutter speed*, low ISO. Bump up the sharpness and contrast a bit in the camera pre-sets. Lens will be sharpest around f/5.6-8 in the middle of the frame.
Any decent camera/lens will be very sharp when used like that.
* Be aware that camera movement/shake is magnified with longer lenses. When hand-holding, rule of thumb is your shutter speed should not be longer duration than the effective focal length, ie 50mm lens would be minimum 1/50sec x 1.6x crop factor = 1/80sec, but YMMV depending how steady you are. IS/VR can help with this a lot, but cannot prevent subject movement blurring.
For sharpest possible image, focus carefully using centre-point AF, on a static subject with good contrast, in good light, high shutter speed*, low ISO. Bump up the sharpness and contrast a bit in the camera pre-sets. Lens will be sharpest around f/5.6-8 in the middle of the frame.
Any decent camera/lens will be very sharp when used like that.
* Be aware that camera movement/shake is magnified with longer lenses. When hand-holding, rule of thumb is your shutter speed should not be longer duration than the effective focal length, ie 50mm lens would be minimum 1/50sec x 1.6x crop factor = 1/80sec, but YMMV depending how steady you are. IS/VR can help with this a lot, but cannot prevent subject movement blurring.
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petersmart
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HoppyUK
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Dave in Wales
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Clear sharpe focus
How do you do it ?
Simple question, simple answer.
Steady camera, high ISO, fast shutter speed and AF of course.
My recipe is monopod, ISO 400 min and 1/500 min shutter speed.
When on a tripod I lower these values.
If for any reason I forget the monopod then I look around for the nearest solid object, lampost, brick wall etc.
Works for me
D in W
How do you do it ?
Simple question, simple answer.
Steady camera, high ISO, fast shutter speed and AF of course.
My recipe is monopod, ISO 400 min and 1/500 min shutter speed.
When on a tripod I lower these values.
If for any reason I forget the monopod then I look around for the nearest solid object, lampost, brick wall etc.
Works for me
D in W
realspeed
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I think you will find there are a lot of photos on here that have gone through some sort of post processing which can make all the difference. I would suggest you have a look at something like Adobe Elements 9 for a reasonably priced editing suite which isn't that hard to use.
Realspeed
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Can I ask what is probably a very obvious question about this calculation? I'm using a 28-80mm lens. Am I correct in thinking that I would vary the shutter speed according to where I am on the lens, so when I'm at 28mm my shutter speed would be 1/28sec x 1.6x crop factor?
And if I'm at 80mm it would be 1/80sec x 1.6 crop factor. And if I'm anywhere in between I'd adjust accordingly?
I realise that its just a rule of thumb and a good starting point, but am I understanding it correctly?
thanks
The23rdman
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MollyB said:
You got it!
Barks
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Always remember the reciprocal rule when shooting handheld too.
Which is to match your minimum shutter speed to the focal lenght you're currently shooting at. Remembering to factor in any crop ratios in to the equation.
So assuming you're on a full frame/35mm camera and you're shooting handheld at say 135mm focal length, then you don't really want to shoot with a shutter speed of slower than 1/135sec or as close as your camera offers to this. But 135mm on say a Canon APS-C sensor camera with a 1.6 crop ratio that 135mm equates to something like 215mm in 35mm equivalent format so you'd want to shoot no slower than 1/215sec.
Put simply, never shoot handheld slower than your focal length, taking in to account that 135mm or whatever on your lens can be significantly higher if you're shooting on a crop sensor.
Which is to match your minimum shutter speed to the focal lenght you're currently shooting at. Remembering to factor in any crop ratios in to the equation.
So assuming you're on a full frame/35mm camera and you're shooting handheld at say 135mm focal length, then you don't really want to shoot with a shutter speed of slower than 1/135sec or as close as your camera offers to this. But 135mm on say a Canon APS-C sensor camera with a 1.6 crop ratio that 135mm equates to something like 215mm in 35mm equivalent format so you'd want to shoot no slower than 1/215sec.
Put simply, never shoot handheld slower than your focal length, taking in to account that 135mm or whatever on your lens can be significantly higher if you're shooting on a crop sensor.
Nawty
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Unless you have VR/IS or what about if you want to freeze the action?
Also, focal distance has a factor too as the close something is the bigger the parallax so the more it moves.
Unfortunately there is no one answer for these types of question but I would say understanding your cameras focussing modes and depth of field are equally important to understand as shutter speed.
Also, focal distance has a factor too as the close something is the bigger the parallax so the more it moves.
Unfortunately there is no one answer for these types of question but I would say understanding your cameras focussing modes and depth of field are equally important to understand as shutter speed.
Barks
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Agreed. The reciprocal rule is a rule of thumb to stop images being spoiled by camera movement when shooting handheld. Most image stabilsed lenses let you go around 4 stops slower on your shutter speed than you would go using the reciprocal rule. As with just about everything else in photography there are no one quick fix always right options. Other than removing the lens cap anyway
As for freezing the action that isn't a problem, you match your minimum shutter speed to your focal length. So you can freely go for a faster shutter speed, but not slower. Shooting at say 400mm handheld you wouldn't go slower than 1/400sec but you can go for 1/4000sec.