Sharpness or complete lack of!?

S

steve_w

Suspended / Banned
Messages
89
Edit My Images
Yes
Im wondering if someone can help or at least point me in a direction that will be of some use.

Basically, im really struggling with this photography lark, while yes I can take photos and yes most of the time they are poor i'm not one to give up at will. However, one thing that seems to be creeping in to most of my photo's that arent taken using a tripod is a small amount of blur / lack of sharpness.

The photo's seem to look ok when viewed zoomed out but the moment you zoom to 100% or even 50% they look blurry / fuzzy / lacking that sharp focus. Its really starting to frustrate and annoy me :(

Below is an image I took while at Burnham Beeches on Sun:


Ducks 1 by s_west, on Flickr

It was shot at 200mm 1/60 iso400 on a D3000 55-200mm VR F/7.1

This is 'as is' from the camera and while it looks ok when viewed like this the moment you zoom to 100% it looks blurry and, I suppose, like ive missed the focus.

This is the image cropped so you can kinda see what it looks like at 100%


Ducks 2 by s_west, on Flickr

Basically what I'm asking is how could I have achieved a clearer sharper shot?Should I have bumped the ISO to 800 (which seems to be the limit for the D3000) in order to increase the shutter speed or opened the aperature again in order to boost shutter speed at the cost of dof. I tend to try and keep the shutter speed equal to that of the focal length but on sunday it was wet and miserable and the light was flat.

I appreciate that there is no hard and fast rule and opiions will differ but how do I get those super clear shots?
Cheers Steve
 
Last edited:
I think youve just reached the limitations of the lens. The shots dont look that bad to me, for the situation and the settings.

Higher ISO will reduce sharpness, or the appearence of it anyway.

If you want super sharp shots, you need super sharp lenses.
 
Have you tried adjusting the camera's 'sharpening' setting - not sure where it is in the D3000 menus.
 
1/60 on a 200m focul lenght isnt going to do you any favours... you gave the answer in your question when you said it happens when not using a tripod... you have to get your shutter speed up a bit... your choice of aperture or iso in order to get it...
 
1/60 is a bit slow for 200mm the genral rule of thumb is 1/focal length X crop. Image stabilisers are all well and good but not miracle workers when you are pushing the limits of your gear. As said given the settings the shots don't look that bad, for birds you really need a longer lens.
 
steve_w said:
It was shot at 200mm 1/60 iso400 on a D3000 18-55mm VR F/7.1
Click to expand...

Impressive. How did you manage that?

The honest answer is don't view your photos at 100%.
 
DemiLion said:
Impressive. How did you manage that?

The honest answer is don't view your photos at 100%.
Click to expand...

haha, I only just noticed that.. No wonder they are a bit soft.. :bonk:
 
The images from what i can see are pretty sharp... might be my monitor. but there are ways of getting sharper images. one way might be to use a tripod and cable release to help stop camera movement. doing this might allow you to lower your ISO, as this can cause slight loss of sharpness.

what focal length were you shooting by the way? as at the moment it says you were shooting at 200mm on a 18-55 which we all know isn't possible...
 
Last edited:
Haha sorry guys was shooting on a 55-200 vr not an 18-55 d'oh!!! Shots are completely as is from the camera no pp.

Cheers for the responses, I was just out with the mrs for a walk and thought I would take the camera didn't really or wasn't planning on using it.
 
Fill the frame, focus carefully, do not crop (it is death to all aspects of image quality), keep your shutter speed up ;)

With birds of any sort, you usually need a lens that is a lot longer than you think. Plus good light and impeccable technique. Long lens photography is hard - eveything goes against you.
 
Try using a monopod. I found that my long lens photography improved dramatically when I started to use a monopod, and tend to have it with me all the time now, even with my 70-200 f2.8 IS. It just gives that extra bit of stability that you need at full stretch.

Steve

Sent from my iPad using TP Forums
 
TCR4x4 said:
I think youve just reached the limitations of the lens. The shots dont look that bad to me, for the situation and the settings.

Higher ISO will reduce sharpness, or the appearence of it anyway.

If you want super sharp shots, you need super sharp lenses.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, higher ISO's on the D3000 do seem to have a real effect on image quality with a lot of noise from what i've seen. I am considering an upgrade to a D90 but feel I should learn to use what I've got.

What would be a better lens which wont break the bank?

chazza said:
Have you sharpened in photoshop?
Click to expand...

Nope as is!

Ozei said:
Have you tried adjusting the camera's 'sharpening' setting - not sure where it is in the D3000 menus.
Click to expand...

I do have this set to on, basically its 'on' or 'off' I did read somewhere that its better to leave it off and apply sharpening in pp, not sure how true this would be tho.

DemiLion said:
Impressive. How did you manage that?

The honest answer is don't view your photos at 100%.
Click to expand...

Good spot, post now amended. :eek:

Again through further reading its not the first time i've read about not viewing photos at 100% due to.....er.......stuff - something to do with pixels and whatnot :thinking:
 
Last edited:
Hi Steve, I used to have a 55-200VR and thought it was pretty sharp when I first got it. I then had a Sigma 150-500 which is much more expensive lens so I thought I'd do a test with my D300.

nikkor.jpg
sigma.jpg


they are 100% crops of the centre of the lens, focus was on the satellite dish which was about 150 metres away. 1/800s shutter at f/8 (I think).

The difference is a bit of an eye opener.
 
The pokemon kid said:
The images from what i can see are pretty sharp... might be my monitor. but there are ways of getting sharper images. one way might be to use a tripod and cable release to help stop camera movement. doing this might allow you to lower your ISO, as this can cause slight loss of sharpness.

what focal length were you shooting by the way? as at the moment it says you were shooting at 200mm on a 18-55 which we all know isn't possible...
Click to expand...

Thanks for vote of confidence, it would have been difficult to get the intital shot with a tripod as the birds were twitchy and didnt seem to keen on me (and then flew away when the mrs walked up in her bright yellow coat :bang:) maybe I need to plan a bit more :)

HoppyUK said:
Fill the frame, focus carefully, do not crop (it is death to all aspects of image quality), keep your shutter speed up ;)

With birds of any sort, you usually need a lens that is a lot longer than you think. Plus good light and impeccable technique. Long lens photography is hard - eveything goes against you.
Click to expand...

Interesting point and taken on board more advice I can get the better.

Jelster said:
Try using a monopod. I found that my long lens photography improved dramatically when I started to use a monopod, and tend to have it with me all the time now, even with my 70-200 f2.8 IS. It just gives that extra bit of stability that you need at full stretch.

Steve

Sent from my iPad using TP Forums
Click to expand...

I'll have to look into one, the tripod is great but can be a bit of pain when you supposed to just be out for a walk ;)
 
Last edited:
Eth wow thats a bit of an eye opener thanks for that, I thought the 55 - 200mm was meant to be an ok, basic starter, but ok lens.

So its not completely me then :nuts:
 
TBH, I'd be well happy with the duck pictures - they look sharp, have good colour and tonal range and the DoF is good. The lens is probably going to be the limitation, as said previously - stick a 300mm f/2.8 on the body and it'll be a different story probably. You look to have things going for you.....
 
The photos both look great, exactly what I would expect with a similar lens. The satellite dish photos really do show what a huge difference a quality lens can make.
 
steve_w said:
Eth wow thats a bit of an eye opener thanks for that, I thought the 55 - 200mm was meant to be an ok, basic starter, but ok lens.

So its not completely me then :nuts:
Click to expand...

the lens is good but not a top of the range lens,give yourself a break,you had a lot going against you but still got a very good pic,you say

a better camera would improve the pic
the light was not the best
you have a starter lens
no tripod used
slow shutter speed used

improve all these and you get a better pic,leave some increase in quality for those guys that have the top gear ;)
 
Last edited:
As people have said, your shutter speed should be faster to improve sharpness when handheld, VR will compensate a little for your movement and the camera, but not your subject, especially at that focal length.

And the longest end of a zoom lens is it's usual weak point for image quality as far as I'm aware. I owned a 55-200mm lens, fantastic little lens, but although its sharp, its not near as good as a pro level equivalent and you really shouldnt expect it to be for the modest cost.

Unless you're thinking of printing this very large, you literally have no issue. If it's just web use, it's very much sharp enough as it is.
 
DemiLion said:
The honest answer is don't view your photos at 100%.
Click to expand...

Totally correct. At least, not until you've learned to look at an image at 100% and know how it's going look when viewed full-size. Pixel-peeping is a dirty habit, but it is possible to wean yourself off.
 
Just a quick note to say thanks for all the input and positive replies, I went back to Burnham Beeches at the week end and think I got some better shots so will have to post them up when I get a chance.
 
You got some nice shots there.

I was in Burnham Beeches on Sunday, and never saw one Mandarin....

If you want to give another lens a go, such as the Sigma give me a shout next time you are going down there and I will meet you..

:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top