Camera, lens or operator?

Hi Guys,

I'm sure someone can give me an idea about what's going on here. I have a T1i, and the Canon EF-S 18-200 lens - and I'm not really happy about the sharpness I'm seeing.

Here's an example sunrise from last weekend: first, the whole picture, no PP other than sized down to 600 wide from the original 4752 X 3168, shot at 1/15th, f9.0, ISO 100 :

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

Any filter?
What's your tripod?

Not really sure here, but could this be caused by not correctly focusing to infinity? Also, what focal length did you use?

The glass will make a difference. As for these shots, the first one will be soft because of what it is and the light you have. The second, that is haze, and that is normal. Rent a 24mm prime and a 24-70 l zoom if you can, take those out, and I think you will be sold on glass.

You certainly seem to be peeping deep enough that things like your choice of tripod and glass will play into the equation. Even wind can be an issue, especially with a rebel. This will be magnified by a long-ish lens without a tripod mount.

The cheapest route for you to make the leap to L is the 17-40 f/4 L. It's an amazing landscape lens that delivers some crazy-sharp images. Careful, though, because you'll likely find yourself addicted. In fact, the 17-40 was one of my first L's, and look what happened to me!

Btw clouds are moving more quickly than you think. Get your shutter speed up.

S.Horton wrote in post #11759431
Btw clouds are moving more quickly than you think. Get your shutter speed up.

Good point. f/8 at ISO 200-400 would be helpful with minimal noise.

i'll vote for the smaller/closer aperature (setting one end to infinity) and/or better stabilization, while keeping the ISO at the least noisiest.

This lens is not particularly sharp, especially away from the fame center. Also, at aperture ratios larger than f:8, diffraction effects start degrading the resolution. For this lens, the optimal resolution is reached around f:5.6-8. Check this review:

http://www.photozone.d​e …anon_18200_3556​is?start=1

To eliminate AF issues, try to take a shot using LiveView and either "slow AF", or manual focusing. Also, if you are using long focal length (>100mm), you might improve the sharpness by using the "mirror lockup on" feature of your camera (of course, using a tripod).

Noise can be eliminated. Motion blur cannot. There is always a trade. If noise bothers you, try two things. First, send for prints and see if you care after that. Big prints. Like 24 wide. Second, get noise reduction into your post processing, starting with the features in the modern Camera Raw versions. If you really want to control noise in post, get Noiseware or similar software.

was focal length already mentioned? if not, i would bet you might be shooting at 200mm or something far.

The first one looks like camera shake to me. The 2nd one focus to infiniti, so close subjects appear blurry.

This particular lens is not known for razor sharp, but from what I have seen, it is not too bad. I for one don't recommand 17-40L on crop body. There are better optic lens for less money or more features.

Wow - Lots of responses - thanks all!

xarqi, the daylight shot (from October) has a cheap UV filter (Promaster?), the recent sunrise has a much better B&W multi-coated ultraclear protection filter.

I have a Rocketfish carbon-fiber tripod with a Manfrotto 322RC2 head - not exotic, but pretty steady (and heavy - not for backpacking!)

The sunrise was shot at 35mm, the daylight rim view at 20mm. I do shoot at the other end a lot, but not this time..

I do understand getting the shutter speed up - I realized the clouds are blurred from motion as soon as you mentioned it & I thought about it - while they don't move perceptibly, frames just seconds apart show definite change - a good clue I should have paid attention to. So I need to move the ISO up and use a faster shutter speed for sure. That might mitigate the wind, etc. motion issues. (and yes, it was windy at sunrise) I do use the 2-second delay feature so my fat-fingering doesn't lead to shake..

I use Lightroom, and I really like the de-noise tools in it - I didn't use it on these pictures because I didn't want to muddy the water regarding resolution.

Thanks Again - you've given me much food for thought!

The issue might be lens/camera combo.

15MP on a APS-C is still pretty dense and the 18-200 isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer (of lens in the bag if you get my analogy). The denser the sensor the harder it is on lenses.

Are those crops at 100% or past 100%? Any image past 100% will look unsharp.

In general, I wouldn't worry too much how a photo looks super cropped. As long as it looks fine at the size you want to print (or display on your computer) then it is ok

18-200 lens -> I'd suspect the lens is the culprit.
Allround lenses will always have a weakness and will never be a real substitute for several lenses over the same focal lenght.