Newb Questions - Don't Laugh!

So I am new to the DSLR world. I purchased a Canon t1i, the kit lens, and a 50mm f/1.8 that everyone raves about over on the picture thread. Tried to take some pictures with it, and they came out ok, but not as good as everyone else's. I am sure it's user error, so I was wondering about the following things.

1) What setting is ideal for getting sharp photos? I have mine on the "Manual Av" setting, which seems to do mostly automatic but allows me to play with the f/stuff. Does everyone use Automatic, or is that laughable?

2) Do you use the manual focus, or always let it auto-focus? If it auto-focuses, it seems I can't get as close to the subject as I might like. Some of the shots on the 50mm thread seem to be very close of pets, people, etc. Is this done by cropping, or is there some trick I am missing?

3) Can you only get extremely sharp photos in bright, natural light? Or is there some trick I am missing as well. I've made the plunge, now I need you guys to help me swim!

thanks for viewing this.

Okay. Without seeing the images you dont like its hard to tell you what to fix and how to fix it but here are a few thoughts. There is no ideal setting for sharp photos. What works best is based on the conditions you are shooting in. Av setting works fine, unless you are in too dark a room and your shutter speed drops below your ability to handhold and your sharpness goes away. If you have access to a decent library read a book called "understanding exposure" by Bryan Peterson. that will help.

Manual focus is pretty useless in 50 1.8 Stick with auto. You may be getting too close with it (cant tell without looking at a sample). I dont know your focusing technique, but start by switching over to using only the center focus point, center it over what you want to be sharp, depress the shutter halfway until it focuses, hold it that way and recompose and trigger the shutter.

Bright light makes getting good photos easier. Because you arent working in any extremes. In low light you probably are working with your lens nearly wide open, and you are using slow shutter speeds both take a toll on sharpness (or have the potential too).

orangekayak wrote in post #9343724
1) What setting is ideal for getting sharp photos? I have mine on the "Manual Av" setting, which seems to do mostly automatic but allows me to play with the f/stuff. Does everyone use Automatic, or is that laughable?

I never use Auto or Program. BTW, Av is not really a manual setting...more of a semi-auto setting...you set the aperture and ISO and the camera sets the shutter speed. In Av mode the sharpest images will be achieved between f/8 and f/16 but f/11-f/16 is the sharpest range. And of course use the lowest ISO possible.

It depends on what you're doing. AF is fine for most situations. I use a single focus point for most of my work so I'm assured of focusing on what I want to focus on instead of the camera choosing. I use MF when AF is not possible (low light and/or low contrast at the focal point). I also use MF for macro shots in conjunction with live view zoomed in 10x.

You can get sharp focus in any light. Just focus with AF or MF.

You also need to keep in mind depth of field which is the range of acceptable sharpness. The rule of thumb is that 1/3 of this range is in front of the focal point and 2/3 behind. This range depends on many factors...mainly f-stop, focal length, and camera-to-subject distance. I won't get into the details here.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the insight! I want to be able to do this right. I've linked some photos on my flickr account. These are three I took this morning in decent light. I will also upload some that suck, just to be fair

http://www.flickr.com/​photos/46294138@N07/

orangekayak wrote in post #9343932
Thanks for the insight! I want to be able to do this right. I've linked some photos on my flickr account. These are three I took this morning in decent light. I will also upload some that suck, just to be fair

http://www.flickr.com/​photos/46294138@N07/

Dont link, post!!

I took a look at your shots, and I think you may be confusing shallow depth of field with sharpness. In each of the shots, at least part of the subject is in sharp focus, but the shallow depth of field doesnt allow the whole subject to be sharp. Instead of f1.8 try a similar shot at F8. Obviously this requires more light so you may not be able to do it handheld or a the very least would require you to raise the ISO.

Thanks... I think you are right. I will try some with it more at f/8. And I will post the photos instead of linking them. This is my first go-round here at the site. You guys are great, and super responsive!

-steven

Photo sharpness seems to be a function of many things - focus, depth of field, shutter speed and yes, light. Lighting can help define the edges and make your photo appear sharper.

I almost always use autofocus. Sometimes focus/recompose, sometimes by moving the focus spot.

I generally keep my camera on Av. I select the aperture I want to use, then keep an eye on the shutter speed. If the shutter speed is too slow, then I'll either up the ISO, open the aperture or light the scene better.

Addressing the auto focus again - I try to aim my focus point at an area of "change" in the photo. The auto focus system will perform much better if you aim it at a point where there is high contrast, versus a monochrome area.

Lonnie wrote in post #9344115
Photo sharpness seems to be a function of many things - focus, depth of field, shutter speed and yes, light. Lighting can help define the edges and make your photo appear sharper.

I almost always use autofocus. Sometimes focus/recompose, sometimes by moving the focus spot.

I generally keep my camera on Av. I select the aperture I want to use, then keep an eye on the shutter speed. If the shutter speed is too slow, then I'll either up the ISO, open the aperture or light the scene better.

Addressing the auto focus again - I try to aim my focus point at an area of "change" in the photo. The auto focus system will perform much better if you aim it at a point where there is high contrast, versus a monochrome area.

Now that's interesting. Thanks so much for the tips

I was about to say... i dont think you could get any sharper on some of those. I know what you are saying but I don't think it's the sharpness. Most Photographers have a handfull of gadgets and photoshop to achieve the looks they get. Tripod, Light diffusers, reflectors, etc the list could go on. Focus more on the lighting and it will probably give you what you are looking for.

Forgot to mention, minimum focus distance (MFD) for the 50/1.8 is listed as 17.7 inches. Any closer than that and your camera will be out of focus for sure.

Any lens takes a bit of time to get used to. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the 1.8's sweet spot is at about f4, but as i'm getting on a bit now i don't know if we can rely on my memory...

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the feedback. I'm loving the camera and lens!