Couple macro flowers.

[Aethyr]

I was playing around with my kit lens earlier today out of boredom. I hadn't really been using it as often as the 50/1.8 so I thought I'd see what it is capable of. I definitely like how I can get the actual physical lens closer to the object, rather than having to be farther away and cropping it. Anyway, my manager bought these flowers for the lobby of the hotel I work in, and I thought the roses were a pretty color.

[eosster]

Little soft, of course JMO.

[Aethyr]

What would you suggest to get a sharper image?

[jfrancho]

Assuming you were shooting in the lower ISO range (100-200): Higher aperture setting. Try somewhere around f/5 to f/8, in AV mode. Once you get the sharpness you like, go to M and dial in that aperture, and adjust the shutter speed to properly expose to the right.

[markubig]

if you're using an aperture of f/1.8, your DOF is going to be razor thin at a close shooting distance. like jfrancho said, stop it down to f/8 to try to get more of the flower in focus. Also, remember that there is a minimum focusing distance for a lens (i believe it is approx 11 inches for the kit lens?). that distance is from the sensor to the subject, so the length of your lens is part of that distance. Anything closer than that distance, then your camera will not focus.

Also, do you use Photoshop? there is a feature called USM (Unsharp Mask) that will sharpen your photos even further.

[Aethyr]

The largest aperature the kit lens has is 3.5 so I can't even get down to 1.8, but that's usually what I use with the 50mm because I like the effect.

It seems like I need to try using M mode more often. Most of the time I rely on P or Av mode. I don't have my time to practice because I work 65 hours a week, but I will try stopping it down to get more sharpness.

[jfrancho]

Originally Posted by Aethyr

The largest aperature the kit lens has is 3.5 so I can't even get down to 1.8, but that's usually what I use with the 50mm because I like the effect.

It seems like I need to try using M mode more often. Most of the time I rely on P or Av mode. I don't have my time to practice because I work 65 hours a week, but I will try stopping it down to get more sharpness.

I like to use P/Av/Tv to get close to what I want, then M to "fine tune" it. Eventually, you can use the exposure meter and histogram. I can appreciate the time constraints though....

[markubig]

sorry about the brain fart on the 1.8 . . . forgot the kit lens wide open is 3.5. even so, you should still try a higher f-stop for a deeper DOF. However, you are going to need a tripod for the slower shutter speeds.