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01/01/2009 03:49:19 PM · #1 |
Im wondering how to get sharper pictures. I look at some of the Landscape shots and I am amazed at the clarity and sharpness of the images. Im not happy with mine. I use a tripod, shoot in Manual mode, usually use my canon 17-40L, usually shoot at f22 or there abouts. So... im wondering what else i can do while taking the shot, and is there anything i can do in PP. I usually use Smart sharpen, or an action in USM.
Any thoughts/insights would be greatly appreciated!
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01/01/2009 03:58:39 PM · #2 |
hmmmm....
shooting at f22 might not be the best way to go. lenses are usually sharpest when stopped ~2 stops from wide open, or maybe mid range. Since you are shooting a reasonably wide angle lens, you should get decent dof. Also, f22 might be slowing your shutter speed selection down, so you could get some motion blurring. The smaller apertures cause "diffusion" effects, and too wide open you get "diffraction" effects (I may have those reversed). Shooting neither too wide open or too stopped down gets you to the sweet spot of the lens.
Some also use a remote shutter release, and some use mirror lockup. You might try a remote if you have it, and they aren't too expensive usually.
But try taking a shot exactly the way you usually do, then try the same shot with a series of aperture/shutter combinations that get you the same net exposure. Close examination will let you know the aperture range for sweet spot sharpness on that lens (I guess around f8-11 for that puppy) :-)
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01/01/2009 04:02:10 PM · #3 |
Some ideas:
1) Don't use the center post of your tripod (place it all the way down). Make sure your tripod is very stable.
2) Use the self timer or a remote when shooting
3) Use mirror lockup
4) Set the focus to the hyperfocal distance
And don't stop all the way down--try between F11 and F13.
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01/01/2009 04:03:17 PM · #4 |
I assume you're using the timer or a remote shutter release of some sort. Just pressing the shutter button can cause camera shake.
Also, where are you focusing? If at infinity then most of your foreground will be out of focus. The focal plane is 1/3 in front of your subject and 2/3 behind. Using f22, you should be focusing 1/3 of the way into the scene to get everything in focus. |
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01/01/2009 04:25:56 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by nshapiro:
Some ideas:
1) Don't use the center post of your tripod (place it all the way down). Make sure your tripod is very stable.
2) Use the self timer or a remote when shooting
3) Use mirror lockup
4) Set the focus to the hyperfocal distance
And don't stop all the way down--try between F11 and F13. |
Good advice. I also find that most people own tripods that are not tall enough to apply 1).
For some shots, especially landscapes I prefer to use the more selective edge sharpening (in Aperture), which, IMO, tends to create a bit of a perceived contrast between sharp and soft, stressing what's truly sharp.
Message edited by author 2009-01-01 16:26:39. |
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01/01/2009 04:26:34 PM · #6 |
All of the suggestions offered are good. I would add that I shoot with my 17-40 at f4 all the way up to f22(my current Free Study) and sharpness seems to be good throughout. Maybe it's a Chuck Norris kind of thing... :) (kidding!)
It is probably better at f8/f11 but I have a hard time seeing the difference. Post a couple of your shots that you are disappointed with. That might help get some other ideas going. |
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01/01/2009 04:40:03 PM · #7 |
I agree that the extremely narrow aperture may be part of the problem. The current issue of Photo Techniques magazine has a very good (but extremely technical) article about diffraction hurting detail at higher f stops. Their final determination was that optimum sharpness is found somewhere between f4.5 and f8.0, with visible degradation if you go higher than F11.
Interesting magazine. More text and less illustration than many other photo mags. Easy to overlook on the newstand, but a wealth of information inside. I may subscribe.
Message edited by author 2009-01-01 16:40:57. |
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01/01/2009 04:47:38 PM · #8 |
Aside from any issues of instability/camera movement (use cable release, mirror lockup, good tripod) your biggest culprit is, definitely, the aperture. And it's a function of the actual, physical size of the aperture, not the f/stop.
F/stop is a ratio between the diameter of the aperture and the focal length of the lens. So a 25mm aperture on a 50mm lens is f/2.0. On a 100mm lens it's f/4.0. On a 400mm lens it's f/16.0. And so forth...
It follows from this that f/22 on a 10mm lens, for example, is a REALLY small opening, like a pinprick really. And the problem is that as apertures get small, they cause a diffraction of the light rays and this rob the image of critical sharpness.
At the same time, you have issues with the sensor itself, and how small of a detail it is capable of capturing, and you have issues with the display medium (the computer screen) and how small of a detail it is capable of resolving. So in my case, for example, a LOT of my landscapes entered in challenges are quite disappointing at DPC-mandated sizes: the details that make up the image are so small they can't be resolved at this size, and the overall sharpness suffers.
When you're working with WA lenses, in the landscape, there's rarely any need to stop down beyond f/8 unless you are trying to include an extremely close foreground object and still be sharp at infinity. On the 10-22mm lens at 10mm, f/5.6 is essentially sharp from 3 feet to infinity.
So that's what I'd concentrate on, those two things: work with a larger aperture and stabilize your rig.
R.
Message edited by author 2009-01-01 17:06:09.
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01/01/2009 04:55:36 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Aside from any issues of instability/camera movement (use cable release, mirror lockup, good tripod) your biggest culprit is, definitely, the aperture. And it's a function of the actual, physical size of the aperture, not the f/stop.
F/stop is a ratio between the diameter of the aperture and the focal length of the lens. So a 25mm aperture on a 50mm lens is f/2.0. On a 100mm lens it's f/4.0. On a 400mm lens it's f/16.0. And so forth...
It follows from this that f/22 on a 10mm lens, for example, is a REALLY small opening, like a pinprick really. And the problem is that as apertures get small, they cause a diffraction of the light rays and the rob this image of critical sharpness.
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Thank you, Robert. I learned something new today.
edit to add: For me nearly *every* time I have a blurry image, it's from some sort of motion. I was shocked, *shocked* I tell you, when I did some testing and found out how much shake the mirror slap was adding to my images. Since I found out how to use the mirror lock up and a remote shutter release, my shots have gotten much better.
Message edited by author 2009-01-01 16:58:20. |
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01/01/2009 07:33:20 PM · #10 |
wow thanks for all of the feedback. I will try to post a few of my shots for feedback, once i figure out how to do that!! I will try shooting a bit more open. Always thought that a small aperture was the best way. Not sure i understand this whole "HYERFOCAL" thing, someone want to explain more?
As for a remote, i usually use the poorman's version, my timer. So maybe its the aperture. Still, like i said, when i look at some of the landscapes on here ( I was looking at a lot of yours Bear) i feel like Im so far off from achieving that type of shot! One of my New Years resolutions... to eally get into my photography.
Thanks again! |
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01/01/2009 07:37:03 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by nshapiro:
Some ideas:
1) Don't use the center post of your tripod (place it all the way down). Make sure your tripod is very stable.
2) Use the self timer or a remote when shooting
3) Use mirror lockup
4) Set the focus to the hyperfocal distance
And don't stop all the way down--try between F11 and F13. |
i've never really understood that.... |
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01/01/2009 07:55:40 PM · #12 |
In optics and photography, hyperfocal distance is a distance beyond which all objects can be brought into an "acceptable" focus. There are two commonly used definitions of hyperfocal distance, leading to values that differ only slightly:
The first definition: the hyperfocal distance is the closest distance at which a lens can be focused while keeping objects at infinity acceptably sharp; that is, the focus distance with the maximum depth of field. When the lens is focused at this distance, all objects at distances from half of the hyperfocal distance out to infinity will be acceptably sharp.
The second definition: the hyperfocal distance is the distance beyond which all objects are acceptably sharp, for a lens focused at infinity.
The distinction between the two meanings is rarely made, since they are interchangeable and have almost identical values. The value computed according to the first definition exceeds that from the second by just one focal length.
A calculator
Message edited by author 2009-01-01 19:56:41. |
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