Was the T2i a mistake?

Just a note.. Most of the 'killer' shots you see on this forum are as a result of post processing and not because the superiority of the camera and or lens.

I have all my settings adjusted to be as neutral as possible... If I view a JPEG or RAW file right out of the camera, they aren't much to look at..

I adjust the contrast, sharpness, saturation etc. all in post processing. Then they look like something.

Also..

The EXIF data in most of your photos shows 400mm @ f/5.6.. If you're using an EF 100-400 lens, you probably want to get closer to f/9. On really distant shots, the lens is much sharper there.

I agree, they don't look pin sharp (although they do look much better once they've had some post processing done on them).

One problem is you're using your lens at 400mm but in some shots your shutter speed is only 1/50th of a second, 1/125 in another. That is way too slow and the softness of the images could be entirely due to the slow shutter speed.

A general rule of thumb is to have 1 divided by your focal length, so if you have a 400mm lens you should be using 1/400 as a bare minimum just to reduce camera shake. With a cropped sensor multiply that by at least 1.6, so 1/640 or so.

Are you using the centre-point focus point? Don't let the camera pick which focus point to use, just stick with the centre point for the most accurate and predictable focusing.

Finally, bear in mind the lens in question is slightly soft wide open at f/5.6, so you may want to consider stepping it down a stop or two if you have good light. Crank up your ISO a little.

Also, always sharpen your images for their intended output size. So, if you're printing, sharpen them so they look good at print resolution (if you do this expect them to look a bit awful on screen at 100% view).

If you've reduced them down to 1000 pixels or so, give them a sharpen and judge them at that resolution. Images almost always need sharpening once you've reduced them down.

Finally, some images look a bit washed out if you've not corrected the exposure. Shoot in RAW and make your midtones look like midtones, your blacks look like blacks and your whites look white. It'll make your images pop a lot more.

NothingRemains10 wrote in post #10660297
It seems I only have two focus types in the camera, manual, and 9 point auto select.

Something's not right. There are basically THREE "parameters" you need to decide on with regard to focusing.

First off, autofocus or manual focus. That's easy and I shouldn't have to explain that

Then there's the AF point selection. You basically can select ONE point, or use "All 9 Points" Unless you're in AI-Servo, you MUST select ONE point, or the camera will do it for you, and you probably won't like what the camera decided, and you can't complain about it after the fact.

Finally, there is the AF mode. Forget AI-Focus (that's a bad mode) So you have "Single Shot" and "AI Servo"

Single shot will stop focusing once the lock is achieved. AI Servo is a bit more complicated and your manual should explain it.

But that's it. AF Point Selection, AF/MF, Focus Mode.

JoYork wrote in post #10660674
One problem is you're using your lens at 400mm but in some shots your shutter speed is only 1/50th of a second, 1/125 in another. That is way too slow and the softness of the images could be entirely due to the slow shutter speed.
.

Good catch...If you upgrade to the 7D, you'll get the same soft images and you'll even be MORE pissed because your $1600 camera is now sucking, when before it was just your $800 camera that was sucking.

There's a LOT of things that have to come together just right to get that awesome shot. Your Rebel is perfectly capable, but YOU need to make sure all those things come together properly. Your shutter speed needs to be high enough, your focusing needs to be configured right, you need to do some post-processing, and finally (and perhaps the MOST important) you need to have good light

Please don't run out and buy a 7D until you start getting great shots with the Rebel. Shooting at 1/50s @ 400mm should be a no-brainer as to why your shots are coming out soft.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=905530

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=851641

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=862993

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=812672

You've only been shooting for ~8 months or so. Patience....Photograph​y is much like playing a musical instrument.

If you can't make a cheap pawn shop guitar sound decent, buying a Martin HD28 won't make a difference.

egordon99 wrote in post #10661064
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=905530

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=851641

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=862993

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=812672

You've only been shooting for ~8 months or so. Patience....Photograph​y is much like playing a musical instrument.

If you can't make a cheap pawn shop guitar sound decent, buying a Martin HD28 won't make a difference.

Great homework on your part, I thought of doing the same but was to lazy. It's good to see a young person so interested in getting "great" shots but is funny when you see the same person thinking it can be done just by picking up a DSLR and shooting.

I've taken tens of thousands of shots and maybe only but a few are post worthy, is just like you said, it's like playing a musical instrument, can't expect to sit on a piano for the first time a play it like Beethoven.

egordon99 wrote in post #10661049
Good catch...If you upgrade to the 7D, you'll get the same soft images and you'll even be MORE pissed because your $1600 camera is now sucking, when before it was just your $800 camera that was sucking.

lol, yes using the 1-4L on our 7D made SWMBO question whether it was her skills that were lacking, and me question whether it was the 7D that was at fault! The Sigma 150-500 produces (IMO) much better results than the 1-4L on the 7D with a bit of MA (and by extension the same should be true with the T2i).

Of course, the 1-4L is an absolute peach on the 1DIIN...!

Damn, this thread makes it sound like we should all be spending more time on Post than on taking photos. I wonder why so many of us are so fixated on lenses and cameras?

It would be nice if photos posted here always had a disclosure about how much PP was done. I'd like to know if I am just a bad photographer or need to spend more time in front of my PC fiddling around with curves and levels and stuff.

Shutter speed is very low on many images for the FL used,. (1/50 @ 400mm, 1/100 @ 275mm etc..)
Most shot wide open aperture, which means the lens is less sharp, and the depth of feild is very narrow with little in focus,.
Most @ ISO 100, thus your terribly low shutter speeds,..

Bump up your ISO enough to get 1/500 shutter speeds @ 400mm, and stop down to f/8 for the 100-400mm.

See what happens then, and worry about post processing once you've got the first part down

Star at ISO 400-800mm,. and watch that shutter speed.

Agreed, shutter rate 1/50 might be too slow for the sharpness you are going after

merlin2375 wrote in post #10660177
you need to read the manual.

Best advice ever.

enrigonz wrote in post #10660199
if you think the T2i is a mistake the 7D will be even a bigger mistake then, much more focusing points and much more of a learning curve....

^ This. ^

Your T2i is perfectly capable of great images. Spend some time learning it and practicing with it. Buying a "better" camera does not make one a better photographer.

Post-processing is part of getting a great image - but even if you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. If you don't start off with a good image, PP is just going to make a crappy image into a post-processed crappy image. Get it right in the camera, then put the finishing touches on it in PP.

mpix345.

I dread to think about the ratio of time spent shooting compared to time spent processing. I certainly spend a lot longer in front of the PC, but how much longer?

If I have a composition that works and got the exposure right enough to have a full range of tones, its not unusual for me to spend 2 or 3 hours tinkering in DPP and Photoshop on that one shot. I might have spent 30 minutes on scene thinking about the composition, setting up the tripod, moving it, moving it again, wandering around the subject to get the shot.

But thinking back to the days of darkrooms, it was very similar, except also dark, wet and smelly. I much prefer the PC.

bump up that iso or shoot in more light if you want to use 100 iso. shutter speed is way to slow for using a tele zoom on a crop. 1/50 of a sec at 400mm x1.6 crop?

dont blame the camera