i need a little help here...

[OverSpun]

ok, today was my first day shooting with the new 20D, and i took some pics this morning at a car show with the stock 18-55mm lens, and also in the afternoon with a 100-300mm 5.6L glass. It was pretty overcast today as well. i'm not exactly sure why these pictures came out so bad, but here are 2 samples along with the EXIF. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.bionicnonsense.com/overspun/ferrari.jpg
File Name
Picture 189.jpg
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS 20D
Shooting Date/Time
10/17/2004 12:22:49 AM
Shooting Mode
Aperture-Priority AE
Photo Effect Mode
Off
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/250
Av( Aperture Value )
6.3
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
400
Lens
18.0 - 55.0 mm
Focal Length
31.0 mm
Image Size
3504x2336
Image Quality
Fine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
One-Shot AF
Parameters
Tone Curve Standard
Sharpness level 0
Color tone Normal
Noise reduction
Off
File Size
2963KB
Custom Function
C.Fn:00-0
C.Fn:01-0
C.Fn:02-0
C.Fn:03-0
C.Fn:04-0
C.Fn:05-0
C.Fn:06-0
C.Fn:07-0
C.Fn:08-0
C.Fn:09-0
C.Fn:10-0
C.Fn:11-0
C.Fn:12-0
C.Fn:13-0
C.Fn:14-0
C.Fn:15-0
C.Fn:16-0
C.Fn:17-0
Drive Mode
Continuous shooting

http://www.bionicnonsense.com/overspun/soccer.jpg
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS 20D
Shooting Date/Time
10/17/2004 5:43:55 AM
Shooting Mode
Aperture-Priority AE
Photo Effect Mode
Off
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/500
Av( Aperture Value )
6.3
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
800
Lens
100.0 - 300.0 mm
Focal Length
300.0 mm
Image Size
3504x2336
Image Quality
Fine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
One-Shot AF
Parameters
Tone Curve Standard
Sharpness level 0
Color tone Normal
Noise reduction
Off
File Size
3236KB
Custom Function
C.Fn:00-0
C.Fn:01-0
C.Fn:02-0
C.Fn:03-0
C.Fn:04-0
C.Fn:05-0
C.Fn:06-0
C.Fn:07-0
C.Fn:08-0
C.Fn:09-0
C.Fn:10-0
C.Fn:11-0
C.Fn:12-0
C.Fn:13-0
C.Fn:14-0
C.Fn:15-0
C.Fn:16-0
C.Fn:17-0
Drive Mode
Continuous shooting

also, i was reading on how to set the custom functions.. i couldnt figure out how to set the * button to the focus button.. could someone tell me how? thanks for your help.

[OverSpun]

the problem with the 2nd pic is that it somehow gave it a really soft focus..i cant figure out why. almost all the pics i took of soccer (about 80) are like that.

i touched up the ferrari image in photoshop a little bit... it helped, but setting suggestions would still be nice if theres anything i can change to make them better.

heres the old vs. new.
http://www.bionicnonsense.com/overspun/ferrari.jpg http://www.bionicnonsense.com/overspun/ferrari2.jpg

[who10]

OverSpun,

Mostly I think they need a little sharpening [the soccer shot may be a tad soft but seems pretty good for the 300mm end of the lens]. Here's a touch of tone adjustment and a little sharpening to the soccer shot...

http://www.haskellct.com/photos/soccer_sharp.jpg

I think your PS'd Ferrari is a great improvement - very nice as it is.

David

[OverSpun]

thanks man.. the soccer shot does look better. it still lacks that sharpness and clarity that my stock lens gets.. which is kinda odd because the stock 18-55 isnt that great of a lens. i think theres some kinda of compatibility issue with the 20D and the 100-300 5.6L lens... good thing i only rented it for the weekend to test it out and didnt buy it. :D i'm going to give it another shot tommorow at the beach on some surfing.. i'll see how it does then. thanks again for your help.

[Hellashot]

Was the second one on a tripod? 1/500 is a rather short exposure length for an overcast day. And with an effective focal length of 460mm if you're even a little shakey it'll result in the image being a little out of focus.

[OverSpun]

Was the second one on a tripod? 1/500 is a rather short exposure length for an overcast day. And with an effective focal length of 460mm if you're even a little shakey it'll result in the image being a little out of focus.

nope, i didnt use a tripod, i figured that 1/500th would be plenty fast enough to not need one.

[sGu]

1/500 is plenty for actions, and from the look on the second shot, she wasn't moving very "fast" at all.

To me, it looks like shot was out of focus, did you select focus point?

[Radtech1]

Yeah, the soccer shot is out of focus.

Here is my attempt as sharpening it up a bit. I am using the Focus Magic (http://www.focusmagic.com) plug in for Photoshop. I DID NOT adjust the tone as I wanted you to see an apples to apples comparison. Keep in mind that this was done on the compressed jpg that you posted, not on a full sized one.

Rad

http://home.ripway.com/2004-2/78486/Canon/soccer.jpg

[OverSpun]

ya, i see.. i think it was the lens that was the problem.. its supposed to be a decent lens, its a 100-300 5.6L glass.. i think i expected more out of it, especially since my pics with the stock lens in the morning came out nicer before editing.