All Questions
274 questions
69
votes
7
answers
24k
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 ?
- 26.5k
41
votes
8
answers
28k
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 ...
- 513
40
votes
5
answers
8k
views
Focus problem vs. motion blur vs. camera shake - how to tell the difference?
I'm not sure if the title of the question captures what I mean, but it's hard to be succint in the space allowed.
Suppose you have a picture that is not as sharp as you think it should/could be. (...
- 5,095
36
votes
4
answers
8k
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 ...
- 1,919
35
votes
8
answers
41k
views
Why are my photos not crisp?
I use a Canon EOS Rebel T3i (600D) with the kit lens. I have experimented a lot with different settings and modes, but I feel like I have wasted many good shots that could have looked amazing, if only ...
- 477
31
votes
5
answers
42k
views
How can I determine the minimum shutter speed to avoid blur from camera shake?
How can I determine the minimum shutter speed at which I can effectively avoid camera shake while hand-holding the camera?
- 23.7k
30
votes
3
answers
6k
views
With all other things equal, in a DSLR, will a larger sensor produce a sharper image?
I asked a question a while ago here about the "sweet spot" of a lens, which led to a really interesting discussion of "sharpness", the physics of light, and general image quality.
1st Question
In ...
- 1,919
27
votes
10
answers
11k
views
How much "noise" is acceptable in a photograph?
I've been at photography for a little over a year, and I primarily do landscape and wildlife/bird photography. Most of my work has been a learning experience so far, with few shots actually something ...
- 70.8k
26
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Why isn't this portrait taken at f/29 sharp?
I am confused as to why this picture is not sharp. This is a portrait shot at F/29 ISO100 1/250
with a 17-85mm lens focused at 38mm. The subject distance was 1.2M. My DOF app tells me that my DOF ...
25
votes
4
answers
4k
views
What goes into making smooth, crisp, fashion magazine worthy shots?
I bought an SLR, a Nikon D70, several years ago with the intension of eventually reproducing the smooth but crisp effect I had seen from my favorite portrait shots like this one from Declan McCullagh: ...
- 737
24
votes
5
answers
24k
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 ...
- 7,908
23
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Why should my last post-processing step be sharpening?
I've seen a number of people recommend that you apply sharpening as the last step in post-processing, and some seem to imply you should always do that.
Why? I tend to discard pictures that either are ...
user2559
22
votes
2
answers
22k
views
What is sharpness vs. clarity in photo editing software?
I have been using Lightroom and Photoshop Pro for past 7 months. For all my photos, I used to increase the sharpness using the options available. I now see another option called
clarity, and when I ...
19
votes
8
answers
8k
views
How can I take crisp sharp shots without an expensive lens?
Recently I bought my first DSLR camera. It is a beginner's one, a Sony Alpha A230 kit. To tell the truth, my shots are no more crisp than those I used to take with my old point and shoot Nikon Coolpix....
- 1,673
17
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is it still necessary to stop a lens down on an APS-C camera?
I’ve read a lot of lens reviews that say something like, “in order to get the maximum sharpness out of this lens, you’ll need to stop it down” to f/2.2 or f/2.8. I’m shooting on an APS-C camera. Is ...
- 678
16
votes
6
answers
71k
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 ...
- 1,153
16
votes
4
answers
5k
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 ...
- 5,044
16
votes
5
answers
22k
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 ...
- 595
15
votes
3
answers
533
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 ...
- 2,465
14
votes
6
answers
11k
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 ...
- 1,640
14
votes
4
answers
1k
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 ...
- 9,070
14
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Software to find sharpest image in sequence?
I took a batch of images with slight camera shake.
What software is there to automatically find the sharpest image in the batch?
What I already found is Imatest's findsharp, but they write: "Find ...
- 549
13
votes
10
answers
4k
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: ...
- 5,622
13
votes
3
answers
91k
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 appearance of depth that you can achieve. That is great in a lot of scenarios, but not in all. When ...
- 343
13
votes
3
answers
2k
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 ...
- 233
13
votes
4
answers
2k
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 ...
- 26.5k
13
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Is there a noticable difference in sharpness between a 1.8 lens and a 2.8 of similar design?
I recently bought a second-hand Carl Zeiss Jena PANCOLAR MC 1.8/50mm Lens off eBay (still waiting for it to arrive though) and am going to mount it to my Canon 7D via a M42 adaptor. I primarily shoot ...
- 700
12
votes
10
answers
12k
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 ...
- 393
12
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Does image quality of a lens depend on the camera used?
I recently bought a Canon 50mm f1.8 for my Canon 1000d. But, I find that the images are not as sharp as those I saw in the reviews or any other images taken using other cameras like the 550d and above....
- 373
12
votes
2
answers
5k
views
How can I/should I check the sharpness of my camera lens?
The sharpness of a lens is a major concern for most photographers. This might be because we are worried about a defect in the lens, a problem with our technique or a problem with the camera. Or we ...
- 8,317
11
votes
5
answers
18k
views
Why are my night photographs always blurry?
I was shooting the lighting of the city that is visible at the top of the trees if you shoot landscape.
No matter what I do, the image is blurry. What have i done:
ISO 100
Manual focus towards ...
- 305
11
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Do more megapixels mean sharper images?
Do more megapixels mean sharper images?
Would a 24 MP camera produce a sharper image than an 18 MP one (given the same lens, settings and scene)?
user91798
11
votes
2
answers
5k
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 ...
- 213
11
votes
2
answers
6k
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 ( < ...
- 1,187
11
votes
4
answers
3k
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 ...
- 133
11
votes
3
answers
357
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:
...
- 3,308
11
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Are superzoom lenses really so bad?
I have read comments in multiple places, both on photo.SE and elsewhere, that superzoom lenses are not good and that most people will be better served by buying two zoom lenses, each spanning a ...
- 4,726
11
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What properties of an image could be used to programmatically discard it as "bad"?
I'd like to have a quicker review process of my photos when I dump them from the camera to the computer. Surely there are some parameters that I can extract programmatically from the photos and this ...
10
votes
8
answers
36k
views
Why am I having trouble getting sharp results with my new DSLR, compared to a point and shoot?
I'm having issues with my new Nikon D3200. I am new at photography, but I've previously used my parents camera (a Canon) for my brother's senior photos, and those were crystal clear.
I've got this ...
- 101
10
votes
4
answers
4k
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 ...
- 203
10
votes
4
answers
7k
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. However,...
- 1,609
10
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is it worth investing in a used 35 mm Film camera?
I've a Canon 60D and I'm mainly interested in shooting landscapes. I feel very interested in buying a used canon EOS film camera (since my EF lenses are compatible).
I would like to take pictures ...
- 3,728
10
votes
8
answers
5k
views
Should auto-focus need adjusting?
I own a Canon XTI, and it always seems my shots are slightly out of focus. I usual have my camera set to the center focus point, and usually half press the shutter button to establish the focus on the ...
- 1,411
10
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How do I clear an AE lock on my Canon XTI?
If I press the AE Lock (*) button on my Canon XTI it will lock the exposure, but how do I un-lock it? I usually just end up turning the camera off and then back on. After playing with my camera a ...
- 1,411
9
votes
4
answers
718
views
Were lenses for film designed to focus different colors at different depths, and what does that mean for digital?
I was reading the book Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: The Ultimate Workshop by Martin Evening & Jeff Schewe (Focal Press. 2011) and read this paragraph about film lenses and DSLRs:
… ...
- 2,279
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What makes the difference on partially and fully visible moon?
While I'm satisfied (despite the fringe) with shoots from a partially visible moon with a cheap 500 mm lens:
1/100 ISO 100 f/?
I cannot understand why the image quality is extremely diminished when ...
- 527
9
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Under what circumstances does f/22 cause diffraction?
Today I went out to get a photo of a historic building with a lake in front and opted to shoot at f/22 with a tripod. To my surprise, the images aren't sharp. I also used the Olympus high res mode and ...
- 527
9
votes
5
answers
20k
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 ...
- 1,069
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How to avoid the grainy background in sunset picture?
I was taking this picture of the sunset.
I used auto focus, but the trees are not really that focused.
Also, the red background is grainy.
Any tips if I get this opportunity again?
I was using a ...
- 249
9
votes
1
answer
307
views
Can the sharpness of the lens be evaluated with no relation to the DSLR?
When I read lens reviews, they all say that one lens is sharp, another is very sharp, another one is not sharp at all, etc.
For me, it doesn't make sense to just say that a lens is sharp or not, with ...
- 4,390
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