is it the lens, is it me,?
could someone please help me! i have been struggling with this for awhile. at first i thought it was me, but i think i'm doing everything right so why are my pictures still soft and not sharp when blown up to 100%. here's an example from today's session.
http://www.mycreativeclicks.com/Client-Sessions/Ana/IMG3171-copy/1060362561_w8jy3-X3.jpg hopefully you can pull the histogram up, but it looks like a good exposure to me, my shutter was 160, i had my ext.flash on, av was 6.3, and iso320, what is causing this? i know my lens 28-135mm is not an L lens but shouldn't it at least be sharp.
or is it ME?
thanks for your help
http://www.mycreativeclicks.com/Client-Sessions/Ana/IMG3171-copy/1060362561_w8jy3-X3.jpg hopefully you can pull the histogram up, but it looks like a good exposure to me, my shutter was 160, i had my ext.flash on, av was 6.3, and iso320, what is causing this? i know my lens 28-135mm is not an L lens but shouldn't it at least be sharp.
or is it ME?
thanks for your help
0
Comments
If you look at the wood grain just behind her, it looks sharp.
So if you didn't move, your camera and lens is backfocusing.
If you have a camera that has a micro adjust feature, you should be able to make this combo work.
Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
Did you use a single AF point, and did you choose it precisely, without moving the camera afterward? You cannot AF and then shift your camera direction without causing mis-focusing. If you allow the camera to choose an AF point it will usually choose straight high contrast lines over softer, more organic borders. I did not see in your profile what body you are using., but the exif data in your photo says a Cannon 50D. It should be capable of better accuracy in focus than this, and it can be AF adjusted to help compensate - IF, and ONLY IF, the mis-focusing is being done by the camera and not due to poor AF technique.
Put your camera on a tripod, and focus at a sharp precise target without moving the camera and see if you can duplicate this mis focusing?
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Thanks for your response, I did use single AF point. I have read all the back and forth about single vs. multi point, I'm still not sure which one is better. All I know is that when I've tried multi point shooting the camera typically doesn't choose the right points the first time. Seems as if it takes a lot longer to shoot with multi because I am inspecting and rejecting points.
Do you feel this way too? I know from my camera's red point in viewfinder that I did focus on her eyes, though whether I moved is a mystery. Its likely I suppose.
Also I am using a 50D. One more question could the lens be causing the problem. I recently upgraded from a RebelXTi and felt the same way using my 28-135mm.
If this is a backfocus problem, which it looks like, then micro-adjustment should take care of it, at least with Canon lenses.
When I first got my 50D, I had a Sigma 18-125 that just wouldn't focus properly. I tried micro adjustment and it didn't work on that particular lens (I think the lens is just too soft for the 50D, though its softness was less noticeable on my old Digital Rebel 300D), but it did work perfectly when I got a new Canon EF-S 18-200. The micro adjustment process is not terribly difficult and only takes about 10 minutes.
I used this tutorial:
http://blog.willshootphotography.com/2008/10/canon-50d-af-mi.html