Nifty Fifty 1.8

DigitalDon wrote in post #15712373
I still think something is wrong with my camera, Still flat, unfocused, can see in focus around the base, looks like the flowers would have the same in focus as the base.

I was 44 to 45 inches away from the flowers...

Exposure 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture f/3.2
Focal Length 50 mm ...

Nothing wrong with the camera. You simply need more practice. 44 inches at f3.2 with that lens...is a very shallow depth of field. I don't recommend this lens for close ups but if want to be close then at lease stop down and back up a little. And it's still underexposed so add some light or slower shutter.

And ........ my copy of the nifty fifty has a variation in focus that makes it inappropriate for pixel peeping. You get what you pay for.

Thanks to all of you for your help, the pearly gates of color and clarity opened up with the hooking my desktop monitor to my laptop, I'm in another world now, maybe with the 21" monitor I will be able to PP a little better than with the 15"
I noticed on the 15" vrs the 21" (both calibrated) the 15 screen looked like it had been subject to years of cigarette smoke ( don't smoke in the house) and the 21 is so bright and clear that I may have to turn down the brightness some.

I took some pictures yesterday and ran them through Lightroom on the 15" monitor, will redo them with the 21 and see if they look any better, then I will post some of them.

Thanks again, I really appreciate all the help
Don

PhotosGuy wrote in post #15714132
It's good that you ran a test. Most lenses are sharpest about 2-3X (f-stops) stopped down from wide open. After that, diffraction will start to degrade the image as you get up toward f/16.
Why not use Manual mode? It might have reminded you that there was no reason to use ISO 400?
This is what I might have used for exposure: Need an exposure crutch? keeping in mind that it's a starting point depending on what's going on in the image.

More: ETTR HAMSTTR
A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator

And here's something else to think about: Negative Lighting – a simple technique that makes a big difference!

Thanks PhotosGuy
Thanks for the hard work and time you put into making it easier for people like me to understand. I like the way you provide pictures, links and your simple explanations of the SUBJECT . Most of the time there are so many links in a message that I think well maybe I need to check the link first for it to make better sense, but usually they all lead to the Circle of Confusion, I'm confused enough and don't neeed the rocket science of photography and I end up lost in cyber space and forget what I was looking for in the first place from clicking on links. Your links are there but it's not like you are saying read this link first.

Thanks
Don