Problem with Night Crime Scene Photo(s)

[mfr301]

Hey everyone,

This is a link to several photos I shot last night.

http://www.publicsafetypictures.com/011408/

They are all full sized JPG photos with EXIF/IPTC info saved. Each photo was taken with a 1D Mark III and a 70-200 lense with IS on. (settings on each photo vary).

There's a total of 7 photos - no flash on any of them.

Here is the processing done:

Starts as a RAW file and imported to Lightroom
Brightness / Contrast adjusted
Saturation / vibrance adjusted
Saved as a 72dpi JPG with 49" being the longest side

For some reason when zooming into the photo it just looks either soft or digitally fuzzy looking (if that even makes sense).....

Any ideas on what I may be doing wrong??? Could the IS be off on my lense? Some of the shots don't look "tac sharp" and I should be getting that for this kidn of gear.

Mike

[danskim]

Well they are at ISO1600 and ISO3200, so that can contribute to fuzziness especially at a large print size.
Perhaps also it's because of the 72dpi JPG? I think DPP defaults to 350 or 300dpi - but I guess it doesn't matter much on a computer screen.

[danskim]

It could also be helpful if you stated where your focus points were on each photo. The fact that they're taken at f/2.8 means that a lot of the photo could be fuzzy.

[mfr301]

It could also be helpful if you stated where your focus points were on each photo. The fact that they're taken at f/2.8 means that a lot of the photo could be fuzzy.


Center focus on the lense..... and each photo was focused on the center of the photo.... I was usually aiming for the yellow tape because it was the "center of attention" with the people around it.... On the 1st 2 it was the side of the Wayne Police Car....

Mike

[mfr301]

Also regarding the 72DPI.... I thought it was OK as long as the photo stayed the original RAW size?

[Hinson]

Also regarding the 72DPI.... I thought it was OK as long as the photo stayed the original RAW size?

Correct. As for 'tack sharp,' I don't think it's going to happen at these ISO numbers. Also, I've found that shooting the 70-200, wide open, even with IS will not give a 'tack sharp' image when handheld. Maybe I'm just too old and weak but that's been my experience. Add to that the noise generated at high ISO and you get an acceptable photo but not perfect.

[Mike-DT6]

I think you have a number of factors working against you there.

The high ISO, slow shutter speeds and shallow depths of field and high focal lengths are going to be quite difficult to deal with. Certain post processing tasks can then make things worse.

Your IS should allow you to get away with your low shutter speeds (eg, 1/50th at 200mm), so I wouldn't necessarily suggest that the shutter speed is a problem, unless maybe you weren't very steady whilst hand-holding.

The shallow depth of field is going to give you greater areas of the photograph that is out of focus. Noise is more apparent in out of focus areas, so that's one consideration.

The shallow depth of field is obviously going to cause background blur, some of which may be in areas that you wanted to be sharp. Add this to the increase in apparent noise in out of focus areas and that will compound the problem.

Then, if you increased the exposure compensation in your RAW settings, that will increase noise. If your photos were underexposed and you couldn't get away with hand-holding at a slower shutter speed with the lens opened right up, and at the highest ISO, then you didn't have much choice, but bear in mind that it will greatly increase noise if you increase the exposure of an underexposed shot in post processing.

If you used any sharpening on the photos then that is another factor that will increase apparent noise.

I would suggest that it is probably an unfortunate combination of several of those factors, especially the shallow depth of field.

For example, in photo 011408-6 you were at f/2.8 and 200mm focal length. I don't know how far you were from the police car, but even at 50 feet away your depth of field is only going to be just over 2 feet. So, if you focused on the lettering on side of the police car, you are not going to get more than approximately 16 inches in focus beyond that point (i.e. towards the policemen in the background). Bearing in mind that the police car will be over 6 feet wide and that the policemen are standing beyond the car, then you can see that they won't be within your depth of field.

That can be applied in varying degrees to the rest of your photos at their different focal lenghts, and the other factors that increase apparent noise in out of focus areas will then apply.

Mike

[Mike-DT6]

Sorry Hinson, you edited and added to your post whilst I was typing mine. I'm not deliberately repeating your advice. :-)

Mike

[mfr301]

Thank you both.... I usually always use flash but now with the 1D Mark III I'm trying to do more with the camera with less in the field... .meaning... push the camera's limits with more extreme situational settings... such as high ISO to compensate for lower light etc....

I'm actually in a current search for the "perfect settings" for my camera to handle the photojournalism jobs I cover.... I'm actually wondering if I should turn OFF my "High ISO Noise Reduction" option on the camera....

Mike

[Mike-DT6]

Mike

I haven't got a 1D, so don't know about the in-camera noise reduction, but the third paragraph via this link might be of some help: http://kammagamma.com/articles/canon-eos-1d-mark-iii-vs-canon-eos-5d-studio-scene-high-iso.php

You have got some great equipment there, so I'm sure you will find the ideal settings for your work. There must be plenty of other users on here who could advise you about settings.

Mike

:-)

[IMARLOW]

Not much to add to what has already been said, the elements are soem what against you really in this particular situation.
I did read somewhere that it was advised to tun off the noise reduction feature, software was better able to handle noise issues.

And as for the location, no doubt i will be venturing into Wayne and surrounding locals again in April when i go on my annual pilgrimage to NJ.

[mfr301]

Well I have since turned off my Noise Reduction at High ISO, my AF Assist Beam (as recommended on the Sports Illustrated page), and tweaked some other stuff....

Of course EVERYTHING looks great on the back of camera display. Just can't wait to get them up in Lightroom later to see how they REALLY came out.

[Hinson]

... (as recommended on the Sports Illustrated page), ...

Michael, where did you find the photo tips on the SI site?

[emtp563]

Michael, where did you find the photo tips on the SI site?

Here you go: http://www.siphoto.com/?

[Hinson]

Got it, thanks.

[mfr301]

Yeah it was on SIPhoto.com BUT they don't have the settings for the 1D Mark III. I did find the settings for Photoshop also which is nice.