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01/29/2005 06:15:45 PM · #1 |
Hello all
can you give me some advice please?
I have a Canon 300D with a new lens 28-135. It has 'IS' to avoid my camera shake. I have a clear glass lens screwed on as well as advised by the camera shop.
How can I take good clear sharp photos? I know a tripod would help but the majority of my pics are taken on the spur of the moment, my 'style' being 'spontaneous, impulsive photo journalistic'. I carry this or another camera with me at all times!
Any advice would be most welcome.
Many thanks
Rob |
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01/29/2005 06:19:05 PM · #2 |
Turn the IS off and remove the filter to start with. "Protective" filters are just that, but they also degrade the image quality, especially cheap filters. Bump your iso up one level for a faster shutter speed.
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01/29/2005 06:37:06 PM · #3 |
Yes, pay close attention to your shutter speeds. Sometimes an IS lens can give a false sense of confidence. It will help but it is still no substitute for proper technique. Evaluate how you are holding your camera and make sure that you are squeezing the shutter gently and exaggerating holding the camera still until that camera has completely taken the shot. I would bet that most image blur comes from not holding the camera still enough for a long enough time. Whenever you can try finding something that you can either rest your camera on or against. Maybe you can purchase a really compact tripod to carry with you indiscretely. It just takes practice and remember that most digital images still require a little sharpening. Good luck.
T
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01/29/2005 06:41:37 PM · #4 |
John, if you are hand holding the camera why would you suggest turning the IS off? I understood that to only apply to when you are using a tripod or other unmovable surface that keeps the camera perfectly still already. In those cicumstances the IS will still try to work and then could actually cause minor camera shake.
T
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01/29/2005 06:47:08 PM · #5 |
Stop the lens down to f8 for max sharpness from the optics.
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01/29/2005 06:48:08 PM · #6 |
a 50mm/1.8 might help. Also remember to keep the camera super steady..
handheld with 50mm at fullsize: face |
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01/29/2005 07:00:06 PM · #7 |
| And about the protective filters? Surely a scratch on an actual lens surface would be worse than the possible bad effects of a good filter - it would render the whole lens useless, wouldn't it? |
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01/29/2005 07:01:37 PM · #8 |
talkingabout filters are the hama skylight any good? is it a good filter?
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01/29/2005 07:09:53 PM · #9 |
What kinds of problems are you having with not sharp photos? Do you have any examples we can look at?
I shoot with a filter and have no problems. For the "spontanious photojournalistic style" you are saying you have filters can be a good thing. There's really two schools of thought. Since I have not got the patience to deal with no lens for a month if I ding my front lens element I'm inclined to use a filter. :D
We need a few more specifics to help you get the sharpness you crave.
Clara
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01/29/2005 07:19:15 PM · #10 |
for camera shake, I just went out and bouth construction gloves with the fingers cut off at the middle part of each finger. They are "gel packed" so when my hands shake the camera doesn't
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01/29/2005 07:22:04 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Discraft:
talkingabout filters are the hama skylight any good? is it a good filter? |
I've got some Hama stuff (like a quick release system for my old tripod) and some other small gear, but I would not buy a Hama filter for my lenses.
Go with Hoya HMC, Tiffen or B+W. I've done business with the guys at Camerafilters.com twice now and I always got my goods delivered. Last time I ordered it on sunday and it arrived two and half days later in Holland. Filters in Europe are way overpriced. For the price of the 77mm Hoya HMC in Holland I could buy a 52, 67 and 77 in the US, including shipping and tax.
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01/29/2005 07:29:28 PM · #12 |
i use hama skylighter for portection of the lens on my three lenses... so you suggest i get rid of them and buy hoya?
But do these filters affect the image so much?
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01/29/2005 07:37:54 PM · #13 |
Your image is only as good as the glass in front of the sensor. If you are chosing to add a filter- add a good one. Junky filters increase lens flare and ghosting.
I regularly have people come into my store asking why their pictures look so bad. 80% of the time I look at the lens and discover serious schmutz on the lens elements or the filter.
Schmutz does not attractive images make.
Clara
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01/29/2005 07:40:41 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by Discraft:
i use hama skylighter for portection of the lens on my three lenses... so you suggest i get rid of them and buy hoya?
But do these filters affect the image so much? |
No, I am not saying to get rid of them, I just prefer all the brands I mentioned over Hama. I assumed you had no filters yet. I have no idea how much filters affect the quality. I have Hoya HMC on all my lenses and I am very happy with the sharpness and other stuff. To check the effect of the filters is very easy. Just shoot the same object with and without it. If you feel there is no difference or not enough difference to change, than don't. The advantage of good multicoated Hoya's, Tiffens and B+W's is not only a slight amount of sharpness but also about flare, contrast, reflections, color and durability. Just test it. If you don't have a problem, don't change.
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01/29/2005 07:41:07 PM · #15 |
You wouldn't buy a Ferrari and but in a lada engine now would you?
So buy the best filter glass you can get your hands on, and clean it regularly. |
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01/29/2005 08:34:50 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by gi_joe05:
for camera shake, I just went out and bouth construction gloves with the fingers cut off at the middle part of each finger. They are "gel packed" so when my hands shake the camera doesn't |
what kind? brand name?
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01/29/2005 10:08:05 PM · #17 |
Wow they were quick answers!! Many thanks all.
There were a lot of useful hints there! |
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01/30/2005 02:54:36 AM · #18 |
I would agree with Terje on the canon 50mm/1.8 lense,very fast,light, and cheap enough to not need a filter on it for protection.
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01/30/2005 05:03:02 AM · #19 |
A very portable monopod.
A string hanging from the bottom of his camera which you put your foot on and pull the camera up to tighten the slack will help stablize the camera. |
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01/30/2005 06:16:08 AM · #20 |
Just a comment on filters and the quality/type thereof..
It's more important to use high quality filters on wide angle lenses than standard or telephoto lenses. This is because on a standard to telephoto lens the light that is being collected passes through the filter closer to perpendicular, so the effects of refraction/reflection on the filter are not as noticable where on a wide angle the light passes through at an oblique angle near the edges of the frame.
Often with wide angle landscapes, for example, it can be advantageous to loose the filter. As it happens, if you're serious about your landscape you're on a tripod anyway, so the protection the filter provided is not as important.
Also, using 'skylight' filters on a digital camera is a little academic, as they are designed to warm up shots taken in sunlight.. The auto white balance on your camera will 'correct' the difference made by the filter, or if you shoot with preset white balance of 'sunlight' you'll get a pink tinge to some of your images. A UV filter is all that's needed.
edit: And if you shoot raw, you're not worried about white balance in the camera anyway...
For what it's worth I use Hoya filters, as they are reasonably priced, and it's what the camera shop I use stocks. Tokina seem to know what they are doing with lenses in any case (Tokina make Hoya filters..).
Cheers, Chris H.
Message edited by author 2005-01-30 06:18:44.
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01/30/2005 06:28:17 AM · #21 |
My Canon 100-300 was very soft at 300mm but when I replaced the hoya UV with a B&W UV it sharpened up quite nicely.
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01/30/2005 07:12:22 AM · #22 |
i just bout the filters for lens protection didin't know they effect the image... and bought the skylighter because i thought it was like an UV filter... so guess i'll be testing the filter and lets see the result, hope i don't have to change since i have my three lens already equipt with the hama filters. :(
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01/30/2005 10:47:53 AM · #23 |
Man, people seem ready to place a lot of blame on the filters. Do a test, take the same shot with and with out the filter and see if the filter is really degrading the image, do this at a number of F-stops. For the most part I can not tell if the filter is on or off from these tests. Whether you use a filter or not also depends on where you are, I do a lot of photography by the ocean, kind of hard not to here, to not use a filter here would be very hard. I shoot in conditions where the filter has to be cleaned every few minutes, much easier to do this cleaning on a flat filter that I donĂ¢€™t care about.
The two things you really want to look at are the f-stop you are using on the lens and the shutter speed. You have to have a fast shutter speed to avoid hand shake, uses the IS will give you some relieve from this need but just some. Without the IS on you should try and shot at a speed about twice what your focal length is, so if your are shooting at 100mm you should not shoot slower then 1/200 sec. With the IS on your can shoot at about half the focal length of the lens. Lenses also have a sweet spot in the f-number, for many but not all this is around f/8, again it would take some testing to determine what is best for your lens at different focal lengths.
If you have paid for an IS lens then use it, donĂ¢€™t go running to a tripod unless you really need it. As long as you can keep your shutter speed fast enough you. If you have a shutter speed of 4 times your focal length then there is very little benefit from a tripod, and this is without the IS on. Again do the tests, shoot the same photo with and without the tripod and see if there is a large difference.
In the end donĂ¢€™t take any advice, including mine, without testing it for your self. Take a series of photos at different ISO settings, in order to shoot at different shutter speeds, and see where they start to get sharp. Do this test at f/8 to try and get into the sweet spot of the lens. Do this with and without the IS on. Take photos with and without the filter on, you will be able to judge if it makes a difference. I have a clear filter that makes no noticeable difference in the tests I have done. I have a polarizing filter that is in a word crap, with it the edges of the photos come out very soft unless I shoot at a pretty high f-number.
In relative importance
1. Shutter speed, if this is too slow all is lost.
2. Focus, make sure you are focusing on what your really want to.
3. Aperture sweet spot, get the most you can from the lens.
4. Added filters, check and see if it is a problem, if it is get a better one or donĂ¢€™t use it if you are in a clean envierment.
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01/30/2005 11:03:41 AM · #24 |
Originally posted by timj351:
John, if you are hand holding the camera why would you suggest turning the IS off? I understood that to only apply to when you are using a tripod or other unmovable surface that keeps the camera perfectly still already. In those cicumstances the IS will still try to work and then could actually cause minor camera shake.
T |
In my limited experience with an IS lens, i found that my photos were sharper with it turned off. This, however, was in cases where IS was not really needed. When I'm shooting in the dark where there is not adequate light for photos, I just use my flash.
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01/30/2005 04:50:22 PM · #25 |
i have to go and couldn't read every post to this thread, but it didn't seem like anyone mentioned the 1/focal length guideline. if you're shooting at 250mm, your speed should be no slower than 1/250. IS lenses supposedly add a couple stops to this and you could maybe take it to 1/60 if you are steady enough - but as mentioned before, nothing is a substitute for good technique.
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