DSLR General Settings

Ok, so it took me a long time to come over from the film era. Mainly because of cost issues. I purchased a Canon 450D last summer, and have been using it alot. Although I have a pretty good knowledge base about basic photography stuff (film era), some of the newer stuff, I'm still doing my best to get a grasp on.

I'm asking this because alot of my images just don't seem nearly as sharp as some of those I see posted. Color/contrast I'm happy with, but the sharpness just isn't there.

Do most folks tend to use the in-camera picture style settings, ie. portrait/landscape/neu​tral/faitful? Do you tend to increase your in-camera sharpness setting as a default, or shoot more according to the preset? I'm not sure I can blame it on the lens. I see lots of sharp images from people shooting just the kit lens, and I've compared on a few different lenses, but I'm not getting the sharpness. Am I expecting too much from a 12mp sensor?

Just wondering, or if anyone can point me to a good resource on this, it would be appreciated.

perhaps a too slow shutter?

where are sharpness shots failing?

morning, bright sunny shots, night time??????????

I use the kit lens a lot and have achieved very sharp images from them and crappy ones too.

The crappy ones are mainly due to shutter not fast enough, within logic that is.

I use standard and shoot raw.


What did you shoot that came out bad.....Exif data would be handy with perhaps a pic to view


Ian

snapshot2011 wrote in post #12432832
perhaps a too slow shutter?

where are sharpness shots failing?

morning, bright sunny shots, night time??????????

I use the kit lens a lot and have achieved very sharp images from them and crappy ones too.

The crappy ones are mainly due to shutter not fast enough, within logic that is.

I use standard and shoot raw.


What did you shoot that came out bad.....Exif data would be handy with perhaps a pic to view


Ian

It's just about every scenario. Outdoor stuff with higher shutter speeds, indoor with flash, indoor without flash. Mainly I'm wondering if I should be using the in camera picture style settings, or jacking up my sharpness setting as a default?

I'm at work right now, so I can't really mess around with posting samples. I'll try it when I get home.

can i ask what file format you are shooting in? low quaility jpeg, high quality jpeg, RAW?

Buford wrote in post #12432802
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Do most folks tend to use the in-camera picture style settings, ie. portrait/landscape/neu​tral/faitful? Do you tend to increase your in-camera sharpness setting as a default, or shoot more according to the preset? I'm not sure I can blame it on the lens. I see lots of sharp images from people shooting just the kit lens, and I've compared on a few different lenses, but I'm not getting the sharpness. Am I expecting too much from a 12mp sensor?

Just wondering, or if anyone can point me to a good resource on this, it would be appreciated.

Those custom camera setting are only applied to jpeg files. Then you need to worry about color space (sRGB vs Adobe RGB) as well as a couple of the others.
If you're shooting Raw(CR2) you will have to apply your own adjustments using Raw Processing software on your computer, or rely on the defaults in the software. Your Raw processing software is probably DPP(Digital Photo Professional) which you Should have on the EOS Solutions CD that came with the camera.

Although ideally you want to get everything right in the camera so that you have as little or no image editing/corrections to perform after the fact, I still recommend shooting Raw vs Jpeg to give you more leeway in the event you do need to make corrections. Shooting Raw puts the control in your hands and gives you the image data you need to work with. You can find numerous Raw vs Jpeg thread discussions here so I won't elaborate much further there. I do however recommend searching around for Raw vs Jpeg discussion on your own so you can weigh the pros and cons yourself to decide which is best for you..

If you are shooting Raw and have not applied any sharpening, or the default in the software is 0 then your pictures will probably look softer than expected.
If on the other hand you're shooting jpeg then it will matter which picture style you use, or how you have customized your own.
In your manual it will describe each picture style and how sharpening, contrast etc are all applied.
Color space will matter as well, and with that you need to also consider your computer monitor and if it is properly calibrated or not. That alone can make a world of difference whether you shoot Jpeg or Raw.

BTW, what software are you using to view your images?

Wow, thanks alot already for the guidance.

I've been shooting in RAW, and using LR3 to process. I don't really use anything else to process at this point since I'm in love with the ease and speed of using LR3. To view I sometimes use the picasa viewer, or windows picture viewer. I do play with sharpening sometimes, but in most cases it doesn't do alot to help, other than add noise. I didn't know that the in-camera picture styles did nothing to the RAW shots. So I can pretty much ignore those presets then.

Lenses I'd been using are nifty fifty, 18-55 IS kit lens, 70-210 f4 (oldie), and tamron 24-135 (another oldie, but seems to give sharpest results). I have a tamron 28-75 f2.8 ordered, and I'm very interested to see how that works out, because many of the shots I see of that lens paired with the 450D look stunningly sharp.

If you are shooting Raw and have Lightroom 3, you have all the tools to create whatever you want. You need to learn to use them.

Really, properly exposed Raw files and Lightroom are all you need. Your equipment in camera and lenses is just fine. Any failure to live up to your expectations is the result of your own decision making, and can be fixed by learning to make the proper choices when you capture your pictures, and then when you process the Raw files.

Lightroom makes a lot of things easy, but there are a lot of other things that aren't just going to pop out at you. Learn how to use presets or create your own custom presets for the various adjustments. You will also find that LR has Camera Profiles similar to Picture Styles like those in your camera. You can find them in Camera Calibration within the Develop module.
http://tv.adobe.com/sh​ow/learn-lightroom-3/

tkerr wrote in post #12434781
Lightroom makes a lot of things easy, but there are a lot of other things that aren't just going to pop out at you. Learn how to use presets or create your own custom presets for the various adjustments. You will also find that LR has Camera Profiles similar to Picture Styles like those in your camera. You can find them in Camera Calibration within the Develop module.
http://tv.adobe.com/sh​ow/learn-lightroom-3/

Right, I'm getting pretty familiar with Lightroom. It's absolutely awesome for processing RAW files. I feel like I'm cheating compared to the days of film processing. Color, Exposure, white balance, temperature and all the other stuff you can do with it are just fantastic, but it doesn't do that much to help with sharpness. Or maybe I just haven't learned how to do it right yet.

I just tend to think that the image coming out of the camera should be sharper. Or like someone said earlier, maybe my monitor isn't calibrated right. Doesn't make sense to me, though, that I can look at other people's pictures hosted on the internet that have been converted to Jpeg, compressed and resized, and yet they look crystal sharp.

Funny, I've been saying the same thing about my photos for the past few months. Seems that everything is kinda soft or blurry. I did take some shots at the Boston Marathon last month that actuall look pretty good, and I was using a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 with a pretty fast shutter speed, but it seems like the pictures I take with a Tamron 17-35 or a Canon 28-135 are pretty messy. I have tried a few different software programs, but still can't seem to get my hands around them. I should just stick with one and learn it, but it's hard to pick one that suits me.

I am also thinking it might be my camera. I have a 50D that I bought used here, and maybe it just needs some maintenance. Not suremif anyone has ever heard of Mid State Camera Repair, but I just found out about it, everyone loves their work, and they are only 20 minutes from me!! They say they can perform routine maintenance on my camera for $35. Can't beat that with a stick!!

I'll just keep trying and hopefully I will get better....

Ken

Buford wrote in post #12433429
Lenses I'd been using are nifty fifty, 18-55 IS kit lens, 70-210 f4 (oldie), and tamron 24-135 (another oldie, but seems to give sharpest results). I have a tamron 28-75 f2.8 ordered, and I'm very interested to see how that works out, because many of the shots I see of that lens paired with the 450D look stunningly sharp.

Those lenses are capable of very sharp images. Any failure to produce sharp pictures with at least some of them is either faulty technique, or a bad camera body.

Do some testing. Make sure your technique is perfect (all the lenses, F8, tripod, cable release, shutter at least 1/125, contrasty subject, live view focus, then auto focus, then manual focus, examine images at 50% to 75%; shoot Jpeg if you want set to "standard" style if sharpness is what you are testing); if the problem persists, it is the body.

At least some of your test pictures should be sharp. Which ones are they? Monitor calibration is not a sharpness issue.

kenjancef wrote in post #12436426
I am also thinking it might be my camera. I have a 50D that I bought used here, and maybe it just needs some maintenance.

Ken

If you are using Auto Focus you might just need to set the AF Microadjustment for each lens that you use.
First read this article
http://www.canonrumors​.com …-is-soft-and-other-myths/

Then move onto these
http://blog.willshootp​hotography.com/2008/10​/canon-50d-af-mi.html

This link has a Interference pattern Gif (moiré target) file you can download that will help you adjust the AF for your lenses.
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk …s3_af_micoadjus​tment.html

Sorry, not all camera bodies have AF Microadjustment abilities, The 50D does, but I don't think the 450D that the OP uses does.

I spent almost 3 hours one night a few weeks ago trying Microadjustment, I couldn't get it for the life of me! I still have 2 test pattern JPG's on my desktop, not wanting to delete them in case I get the nerve to try it again. I just couldn't do it. I will follow your links and see if they help, which I'm sure they would, if I could get my head around it..

Thanks for the help, and links. I will see what I can do.


Ken

Shoot in Raw mode and Manual mode as much as possible.

If you shoot in JPEG mode, then your Picture styles are baked into the JPEG and can't be unbaked.

tkerr wrote in post #12436593
If you are using Auto Focus you might just need to set the AF Microadjustment for each lens that you use.
First read this article
http://www.canonrumors​.com …-is-soft-and-other-myths/

Then move onto these
http://blog.willshootp​hotography.com/2008/10​/canon-50d-af-mi.html

This link has a Interference pattern Gif (moiré target) file you can download that will help you adjust the AF for your lenses.
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk …s3_af_micoadjus​tment.html

Sorry, not all camera bodies have AF Microadjustment abilities, The 50D does, but I don't think the 450D that the OP uses does.

No, no MFA on 450D.