describes clarity of detail, the perceived combination of resolution and acutance.
4
votes
1answer
79 views
What is the difference between microcontrast and sharpness?
I keep hearing the internet talk of this micro contrast from the famous Zeiss lenses. What is it? Is it the same as sharpness? And if so, why is it called differently for Zeiss? Does anyone have any ...
9
votes
4answers
609 views
Why does the red area in this photo look very un-natural?
I was looking through some photos I took at RAF Cosford a few weeks ago, and noticed this big red area (it's a large door surround on the floor below)
In the photoshop RAW preview, it looked almost ...
10
votes
6answers
647 views
Do lenses lose sharpness when they age?
I was reading this answer where it mentions, "..it's a lens that can lose sharpness as it ages.." and was wondering if this is true and if yes, true for all lenses. Reasons as to why this happens and ...
2
votes
5answers
213 views
Are images taken with newer DSLRs sharper than those taken with old ones?
When I compare images that I shoot with my 30D against images shot with a friend's 600D, the 600D consistently produces sharper images than my 30D. This is true even when the images are viewed at the ...
3
votes
2answers
4k views
What lens should I buy to get sharp pictures from my D7000?
I have just changed my D200 for a D7000 with the kit 18-105 lens. However, the quality of the pictures is not comparable with those of my D200: not as sharp, not as much definition and overall a ...
2
votes
4answers
204 views
Help with Blurry pictures
I have a 3 month old Nikon D5100. The closer I zoom in the blurrier the picture. This is on auto. I have two lens and they are both doing this. Any idea?
4
votes
2answers
88 views
Are older macro lenses soft at long focus distances?
I have an old (20+ years old) Nikon mount Sigma 50mm f/2.8 macro lens with a 2X Tamron teleconverter that I use on my Canon body. When taking macro (1:1) or general close-up shots, the lens is very ...
6
votes
2answers
545 views
How can I take a photo with everything in focus with my DSLR?
I am quite new to DSLRs and one of the first things I noticed was the incredible focus points and depth that you can achieve. That is great in a lot of scenarios, but not in all. When filming a ...
17
votes
4answers
2k views
How do you find out the “sweet spot” of a lens?
I've tried googling this, but have never found a satisfactory answer.
I've heard the term "sweet spot" thrown around by some photographers to mean the f-stop of a lens which results in the highest ...
7
votes
3answers
367 views
At what shutter speed threshold does a tripod start to matter?
I use a Nikon D7000 with a prime 35mm/f1.8 lens. I usually shoot at the highest aperture with 200-1000 ISO, holding the camera steady and taking 6 or more shots in the hope of at least one coming out ...
2
votes
3answers
303 views
Image quality when using the same lens on 16Mpix vs 24Mpix
I'm considering buying a new camera and my two candidates are Nikon D7000 and Nikon D7100. I heard that 24Mpix sensor needs very good lens to produce sharp images. Considering that I currently have ...
32
votes
6answers
3k views
What is a “diffraction limit”?
I've seen the term used, but what is a "diffraction limit", when should I worry about it, and what undesirable effects are a result of it ?
5
votes
2answers
349 views
Is this the level of sharpness and detail I can expect from a Nikon D7000 and 18-105mm lens?
Being a newbie, I would like to have some comments on my current skill level and quality of my current equipment. I own a Nikon D7000 with 18-105. I am not very much satisfied with the quality of ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
Why does the cheap kit lens seem to be sharper than the expensive L wide-angle?
So recently, I was just browsing through Canon's product lists and found the 17-40 f/4 L to be quite interesting, although I will not buy it anytime in the near future. Still, I decided to make some ...
3
votes
3answers
713 views
Does leaving the Canon 7D sharpness setting at zero make images worse or better?
Do you know if leaving the sharpness setting to zero makes the image worse or better. I find that putting it to 7 makes it "sharp" but something seems artificial with it when I review the images. ...
3
votes
4answers
299 views
Why aren't photos from my Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 as sharp as I expect?
I did a shoot with the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 on my Nikon D5000. Most of the pictures came out good but a lot of them weren't as sharp as I would like. I used that lens because it was a shoot in a ...
13
votes
3answers
334 views
Compensating for poor air quality?
I live in a heavily industrialized part of China. The only time you could fairly describe the air as clean is the 45 minutes immediately after a heavy downpour. As such, photos taken of subjects ...
10
votes
2answers
469 views
How to stop a high F number from appearing blurry?
I have been out taking some evening photos (just after sunset) and I have noticed that in a number of instances the higher f numbers ( 14+ ) are appearing more blurred than the lower f numbers ( < ...
2
votes
1answer
400 views
Canon T2i doesn't seem to take crisp photos
I've been using my Canon T2i to do portraits for the last year now, and usually have really good luck with it. Most of my shots are up close, and turn out beautiful. However, it seems like when I ...
17
votes
4answers
5k views
What is the shutter speed needed to stop motion?
I find that taking pictures where the subject is in motion (people, pets, toy helicopters)
I get a blur where there is movement.
On the other hand I see images of a drop of water in free fall in ...
1
vote
2answers
259 views
How to get blurry backlights but sharp focused front face [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can I maximise that “blurry background, sharp subject” (bokeh) effect?
How can I take shallow depth of field photos with a point-and-shoot camera?
I have simple ...
12
votes
6answers
12k views
How to take fast-shutter-speed photos that aren't dark?
I was taking pictures of some water splashes. I knew I needed a fast shutter speed to make them look frozen in time.
I have not used manual mode yet. I use the settings where I can pick the shutter ...
1
vote
3answers
279 views
Which camera/lens combination achieves the highest possible image quality for macro?
Doing lots and lots of research I have a hard time time finding the ultimate answer to this question. I would like to shoot macro and products and aim for maximum sharpness and reproduction. Maximum ...
9
votes
3answers
218 views
How sharp of an image should I expect at night?
I'm a beginner with my first camera (sony nex6 mirrorless). I was trying my first few night shots Using the kit lens but I wasn't able to find a way to take sharp images. I've done the following:
...
2
votes
2answers
189 views
Editing or retaking my shot to maximize sharpness, image quality, and reduction of noise.
This is my image that is part of a pano I'm working on. How can I transform it to be similar to this amazing image especially when considering sharpness, noise, and the the light coming form the ...
12
votes
9answers
3k views
Is it common to have problems with soft images on a 7D?
I moved from a 20D to 7D recently and moved my EFS 17-85mm to the 7D. The 7D images are soft so I had to program my own sharpness mode. I use both tripod and hand held, and yes I know to turn off ...
1
vote
2answers
728 views
Does long exposure mean more details in landscape photos? If not, then how to take sharp landscape photos?
If I take a nature landscape photo using long exposure (tripod+shutter release), would that help me get more details in my photos?
Example: (I don't have the high res version handy right now, sorry ...
12
votes
3answers
367 views
Distortion/quality when using a full frame lens on a crop sensor camera
I am looking for a sharp, affordable wide-angle prime for my Nikon D7000, primarily for landscape shots.
I am really interested in the Samyang (aka Rokinon, Bower) 14mm f/2.8 lens due to its ...
3
votes
1answer
283 views
Lightroom Exporting for web optimum settings
When exporting a batch of photos in LR you get a variety of options. For photos that are going to be eventually printed I would think that the highest resolution and 300ppi would be a good starting ...
2
votes
1answer
221 views
Clearer - Sharper images reducing noise?
I would like to make my images 'sharper' / 'clearer' with more detail and color and was wondering if this if more of a Equipment issue or rather more of processing the images with different ...
3
votes
2answers
638 views
What would be a good indoor setup to find a lens's sharpest aperture?
I read the whole of How do you find out the "sweet spot" of a lens? — great question and answer, but it didn't discuss a potential homemade rig for finding the sharpness aperture of my ...
8
votes
2answers
652 views
Why do my photos look like they're painted?
I'm not an expert, but all the photos I take look like they've been painted. It doesn't look like normal blur.
I'm using a FinePix S2500HD and the following photo was taken at 1/2000 exposure. I ...
7
votes
7answers
8k views
Difference in picture sharpness between Canon and Nikon?
My wife has a Canon 40D with a Sigma 17-70 DC (no image stabilizer) lens. She sometimes goes on shooting trips with a friend of hers who has a Nikon D90 and a AF NIKKOR 35mm f/2D (fixed focal) lens.
...
3
votes
2answers
175 views
Is there a difference in sharpness between aperture stops?
Is there a notable difference in sharpness between aperture stops of a lens?
If so, where can I find that information for my Canon 550d Kit lenses?
12
votes
10answers
1k views
How can I make a very sharp photograph with a point & shoot camera?
I've taken a picture with my Canon PowerShot SX210 IS and the following settings:
Aperture: F8 (Maximum I have)
Shutter speed: 1/400
ISO: 80
Focal length: 21.1 mm (118mm 35mm-e)
I did increase the ...
7
votes
4answers
1k views
Given the same lens, does shooting with FX cameras yield sharper results than DX cameras?
I have a D7000, and I want to buy a D800 sometime next year because of a "foolish idea" that FX cameras yield sharper images over DX cameras. I am quite new to photography and did my research. ...
1
vote
3answers
246 views
Do lenses need to be made with more precision for Hasselblad's 60MPix camera?
One of Hasselblad's cameras has a Double-Full-Frame sensor.
Does that mean that the lenses needed for it are incredibly complex to build (to have a sharp, high quality, abberation free image on the ...
3
votes
3answers
278 views
What are the main factors that will affect the sharpness of my images?
I am relatively new to DSLR photography and I am mainly learning by taking photos and enjoying doing so. One of the curiosities with my photos are how the level of sharpness varies from photo to ...
8
votes
3answers
737 views
Why are my city night pics more blurred than I expect, and what can I do about it?
I have a Canon 550D using a 10-20mm Sigma lens, with tripod.
I have taken some photos of my city at night, and while the shots are ok... upon zooming in just a little you can see many lights are ...
11
votes
5answers
692 views
What is the difference between a soft and sharp image?
I have seen several questions talking about images being soft or sharp. What is the difference? Is soft simply the opposite of sharp in this context, or is there something more to it?
Sample images ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
Why do photos look best without any sharpening?
Maybe it's a subjective question, but most of the time my photos look best when I leave the Sharpening slider of Lightroom in a value close or equal to zero.
Which are the benefits of digital ...
8
votes
4answers
662 views
Why buy an intentionally soft lens?
While reading some reviews of older lenses, I keep reading "It's soft wide open, but that's not always a problem with portraits." Over my rather short time in photography thus far, I've come to ...
5
votes
2answers
203 views
Can I get better image quality with a higher focal length or by cropping an image from a sharper lens?
Two well known ways to get better image quality are to use a sharper lens, and to zoom in to fill the frame (as opposed to zooming out and cropping in post). Sometimes there is a give and take between ...
2
votes
1answer
229 views
Which attribute is the most important in a DSLR and lens when shooting objects from a distance?
I need a DSLR & lens that can shoot objects at a long distance with great sharpness when I open the image to view and zoom.
So, what attribute is the most important to do that? Some of my friends ...
7
votes
4answers
757 views
Why are my photos taken at f/11 less sharp than those taken at a wider aperture?
I am new to photography. I have Fujifilm FinePix HS10 camera. Lately I was trying my hands on landscape photography.
I learnt from different tutorials that setting high aperture value gets most of ...
1
vote
2answers
420 views
How can I improve the sharpness of my pictures? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How I could take crisp sharp shots without expensive lens?
I have software to correct sharpness, the one I use the most in Linux is darktable. But post-processing never ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
Why am I getting soft images with my Sigma 24-70 f2.8?
I recently purchased a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 lens which I am using on a Canon 40D body. Around 8 of 10 shots were soft, regardless of subject matter. Exposure, white balance etc. all looks fine. I only ...
7
votes
4answers
948 views
How to take sharp photos while using maximum optical zoom?
When I shoot with high zoom (above 3X on my point-and-shoot camera), the sharpness of the picture seems to come down. Is it a feature of all cameras or is it due to higher sensitivity to camera shakes ...
31
votes
7answers
4k views
How can I get sharp manual focus despite poor eyesight?
I suffer from astigmatism. It's only mild, though I feel it's affecting what I'm seeing when looking through the viewfinder. Frequently, after shooting a photo with my Canon EOS 7D, I'll load it into ...
2
votes
2answers
199 views
Why doesn't pixel peeping with magnified Live View give the sharpest possible image?
I've seen this comment (most recently in this question), or similar, in several answers here on photo.SE: "Pixel peeped images aren't likely to look sharp".
Why is that? It would seem to me that if ...
