repeated streaking using a tripod and remote shutter release.

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mrsnoogle

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hey there....
I have just recently purchaced my first dslr, a pentax k100d and am having some troubles getting the sharpness I expected. I am using a sigma 70-300mm dg apo zoom lens in macro mode on a tripod with a remote shutter release and a 2 second delay (flicking up the mirror before the picture is taken) but am still getting streaking.

[url]http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/5873/streaking001hk6.jpg[/URL]
Shot with PENTAX K100D at 2007-07-16


The shots were taken repeatedly in an inside environment without any wind of any kind using a flash and each time an almost identical blur/streak in the same direction was captured. The other settings are (1/180, f5.6, 0.0 ev, iso 200).

Does anybody know how i could possibly be going wrong here?

any help is of course much apprieciated...
camm.
 
Turn off the camera shake reduction feature if you can, I know on VR lenses they say to turn it off when using a tripod as it confuses the VR. This is the only thing i can think that might be causing you a problem. Failing that try it without locking the mirror up first.
 
its camera shake caused by the shutter/mirror.

Does the camera have mirror lockup?
If so it will reduce the vibration your getting.
 
Do you have the kit lens? If you try some shots with that, at least we'll know whether it's the cam or the lens.
 
Matt said:
its camera shake caused by the shutter/mirror.

Does the camera have mirror lockup?
If so it will reduce the vibration your getting.
Click to expand...

:agree:
Also how long were you exposing for?
Is the surface the tripod is on absolutely still?
Is the subject absolutely still?

These can all be problem issues
 
Matt said:
Does the camera have mirror lockup?
If so it will reduce the vibration your getting.
Click to expand...

Think he mentions he is locking mirror up prior to shot in 1st post. :)
 
ppp said:
Think he mentions he is locking mirror up prior to shot in 1st post. :)
Click to expand...

It looks like he has.

When you use mirror lock up, you need to allow some time before releasing the shutter. The mirror movement causes quite a bit of vibration, even when on a sturdy tripod.
Allow about 5 seconds for any vibration movement to settle.
 
My Sigma 70 - 300 was "back-focussing". Every shot I took from f5.6 - f14 looked "out of focus". Every shot from f16 - f32 was fine. Might be worthwhile setting up the camera on the tripod and taking a shot with each available aperture at the 300mm end of the zoom. I used a page from the daily paper as my test image.
 
That indeed does look like camera shake to me.

Try putting your camera down on a table, in a stable position, and pointing it at something in the distance to focus on.

Then use the remote / mirror lockup etc, to take a shot, and see if it's bad.

If so, I'd look at the tripod. It might not be as sturdy as you think.

Also I have the same lens as you, the sigma (albeit a canon fit), and I know that to use the macro funciton, you have to be between 200-300mm, and that means the lens is almost fully extended, which can make it quite wobbly.
 
shake reduction turned off. result was just the same.

The bench the tripod was resting on was extreamly sturdy. As far as lighting I am getting the exact same result on a flower i was shooting at midday in broad daylight.

Images seem sharp at the lower end 70-180mm, but up towards the top end the streaking becomes very evident.

The k100d i am using has a maximum of 2 seconds for locking mirror but i have tired both with and without and the resulats are virtually identical in regards to the streaking.

kendo: Are u saying i have to shot at f16 just to get a sharp shot?! I am new to all this digital photography stuff but that just sounds wrong. was your lens faulty? might mine be?
 
just tried it on a table without the tripod. with shake reduction on and off, locking mirror on and off.

the results are the same, a noticable second image streaking and blurring the image :(

can anybody help me?
 
Not at all. (about shooting at f16 and above)

I suspected there was something wrong with my 70 - 300. In order for me to eliminate any camera problem, I taped a page from a newspaper to the wall, set up the camera on a tripod about 3 metres away, set the lens to 300mm, the camera to manual focus and using the viewfinder focussed on the newspaper. In aperture priority mode, I then took an image, using the remote, at each available aperture setting and viewed the series of results on my pc. I foun that only images over f16 were sharp. Having contacted Sigma and sent a couple of test images they advised the lens appeared to be "back-focussing" and I should return it for calibration.

I was going to return mine via Jessops but they replaced it without question.

Might be worth trying the test.
 
Definitely camera shake there IMO, there is no section of the image in focus which leads me to believe that it's not the lens backfocusing.
Have you tried upping the shutter speed & aperture? If you set shutter speed to as high as possible (try at least 1/500sec though) in good lighting & take a photo (or up the ISO if needed), then see if there is evidence of camera shake. If there is then it may be something to do with the camera itself :shrug:

Your images were over the forum size limit so I've replaced them with links btw :thumbs:
 
problem solved! it was indeed a dodgy lens. went back to micheals in melbounre and they exchanged it straight away once i told them what the problem was.

in hindsight it seems to make sense. it was only happening with one lens so that indicated it being a lens issue, and there was a definite double sharp image happening which would have been very difficult to produce with a shaky tripod setup (as there would have been a continual smear rather then two sharp images overlaying each other).

thankyou everyone for your help, id still be scratching me head if it wasn't for all the quick feedback i received so thanks :)
 
:banana:
 
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