Is the lack of sharpness my fault, or my camera/lens?

eichert12eichert12 Registered Users Posts: 100 Major grins
edited November 4, 2007 in Cameras
I've recently been out shooting a couple of my brothers football games and been very disappointed with the sharpness of the images. While some of the shots I know I botched, there are many others that seem to be properly focused on the subject that I was after, however, they lack the crispness and sharpness that I would expect from my equipment. I have a Canon Rebel XTi, and shot the game using my 24-105mm 4L lens. Considering I'm shooting with an L lens I'd expect much better results. Most of the shots where taken with the lens wide open which I suppose could be part of my problem, but after reading this thread [1] I'm wondering if there is either something I could be doing wrong, or if there is something wrong with my lens and/or camera.

What's the best way to determine what the problem is? Do people have a standard subject they shoot to evaluate the sharpness of their lenses? How can I figure out if my lens is less sharp than it should be?

[1] http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=75438

Cheers,
Steve

Comments

  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2007
    Post some pictures. Best would be to link to the original. Provide the EXIF data, so we can see what you're doing. You'll get lots of useful feedback. deal.gif
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  • eichert12eichert12 Registered Users Posts: 100 Major grins
    edited November 3, 2007
    I'll go through and see if I can find a shot that illustrates the problem that I'm seeing. None of the pictures jumped out as a good example when I just ran through the photos. Some of the photos where taken by my wife with the "program mode", and some were taking at a higher ISO 400 which could be having some impact?

    Do you have any recommendations on the type of shot to pick out? The entire gallery is at:
    http://eichert.smugmug.com/gallery/3767746

    I certainly don't expect you to comb through the gallery, so I'll run through them tomorrow morning when I'm not falling asleep and see if I can find a good one to get feedback on. :)

    Thanks,
    Steve
  • kini62kini62 Registered Users Posts: 441 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2007
    I've looked at your gallery. And from the shots that aren't heavy crops, or are not cropped at all, most look OK.

    Some are a little soft. I get the same thing or used to a little more with my 30d. My 40D seems a little better if focus accuracy and reliability.

    Try and shoot a stationary object at low iso in good light or with a flash. Refocus and take several shots. Then check sharpness.

    If it's still not sharp your camera or lens may need to be adjusted.

    Gene
  • eichert12eichert12 Registered Users Posts: 100 Major grins
    edited November 4, 2007
    Thanks for taking a look Gene! As I went through the photos in that gallery last night looking for a shot, I couldn't find any that jumped out. I guess it's been more of an overall feeling lately. As my wife was looking over my shoulder last night I asked her if she felt that some of the pictures we've taken lately haven't been as sharp as she would expect, and she had the same general feeling as I did, which was that they definitely seemed to be lacking sharpness.

    I was planning on trying to setup a stationary object in good lighting as you suggested and shooting it with both my 50 1.4 and the 24-105 4 and comparing sharpness. I'm guessing the lenses will vary regarding what aperature will give the best sharpness so if anyone has any experience with both the 50 1.4 and 24-105 4 and could offer some advice on what aperature's to shoot at for comparing sharpness I'd really appreciate it.

    Thanks,
    Steve
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