I am restless and discontented at this stage

[mindfulness]

Question is - what do you want to capture?

The helpful many who have tried PP'ing your pic for you are doing so based on what they feel are positive enhancements to your picture, and their attempts are to show you what can be done after taking them.

Is Zaren's PP'ed picture a possible representation of the white tiger? Definitely so. And so are the rest.

Instead of telling them that their representation are wrong or not what you had in mind, it would be more constructive to see the difference and acknowledge the improvements or possibilities.

I appreciate all who have attempted to postproduce versions from the original. It is not a question of wrong or not; I just wanted to say that the reality is different from the effect of postproduction. It is not meant to be a criticism on my part.

I thanked all for your time to show samples of postproduction versions.

 

[mindfulness]

The longer the zoom....the poorer the quality is going to be. This days I prefer primes if you want quality. A 50F1.8 will beat 28-300L hands down in terms of quality even thought 28-300 is a L lens.

Maybe for my next shooting outing, will use the tripod. Any tips on how to use the tripod with the camera and zoom lens?

 

[weixing]

Hi,

Maybe for my next shooting outing, will use the tripod. Any tips on how to use the tripod with the camera and zoom lens?

Why wait for next outing?? You can always try to shoot anything at home when you are free to test and learn how to use the lens and camera... The advantage of DSLR is that it's don't cost you anything to shoot as long as you don't print and IMHO, is the best way to learn how to handle and use how your lens and DSLR.

Anyway, make sure you don't set all the AF points active (which is by default) as the camera won't know where you want to focus on and probably will not focus on the area you want, so select the center point as the AF point as this is the most sensitivity focusing point. Make sure you are on one shot AF mode. On the IS and if the shutter speed is too slow, pop up your built-in flash or use a higher ISO.

Happy shooting.

Have a nice day.

 

[alexj]

might i suggest what everyone has been suggesting to just push the usage of your existing gear to its limits.

tripod shots often tend to work towards a slower shooting pace. nothing good or bad / right or wrong. lugging around a tripod and a long lens tend to be tiring and may put off people who are just starting to come to dslr from a pns or prosumer cam.

with that in mind, if you feel up to it, by all means go out and shoot with a tripod. if your lens IS system is not tripod sensing, remember to turn it off. if your lens is heavy, try to mount it on a lens tripod collar so the weight (centre of gravity) is more distributed. know what you want to shoot or you'll lug the tripod more than use it. often times, you'll be camping about rather than getting spur of the moment shots; unless the moment can wait for you to setup your tripod and prep. if you're doing long exposure shots, you might consider mirror-lockup, and either cable release or timer function.

as for sharpness, there's just too much on the subject to cover. from equipment ((sensor type, sensor resolution and pixel pitch?, in-camera enhancements, lens resolving power, lens characteristics like fringing, image centre to side resolution, etc...)) to techniques ((choice of iso, aperture, shutter speed, handholding techniques, proper tripod w/camera usage, getting the 'right' exposure, scene contrast, etc)).

in itself, 'sharpness' is just one part of many for a image thinking/ making process.

 

[Alex chong]

Ya. Just shoot anything in the house. Use ISO100, place the camera on a tripod or table top if you don't have a tripod. Set to mirror lock up and 2 sec timer. Shoot an object with texts like a perfume box or something. This is basically to test if your camera and lens is sharp. Then move on to shoot stuff hand held and set aperture and shutter speed accordingly. Aim for around 1/200 sec or higher speed to eliminate handshake.

The good thing with DSLR is that you can check your images after its taken. You can re-shoot if not sharp and change some of the variables like shutter speed to get better result. All else fails, CSC is your safest bet.

 

[icelava]

thanks for the WB tip .. what if the object is faraway say under a shade which lighting condition is not the same as where you are, the white cardboard test works?

i am unsure if that can work out well. i have not tried long distance captures with custom WB (which is almost always outdoors); i only used custom white card when the subject and myself are under the same lighting environment (indoors). However, ever since switching to Raw mode, i have been enjoying greater flexibility in trying out different WB settings after snapping the pics. That saves me from using white card.

 

[mindfulness]

a recently taken macro shot with 18-55mm lens

 

[jeremyteocx]

a recently taken macro shot with 18-55mm lens

is this cropped at 100% view?

 

[twisted illusion]

hi Mod Clown
Here are the specs and settings of this pic:

Camera Canon 500D with EFS 55-250mm F4 -5.6
Shutter Priority AE
shutter speed: 1/125
aperture: 5.6
exposure compensation: - 1/3
ISO speed: 500
Auto ISO speed: ON
focal length: 154.0mm
white balance mode: cloudy

I downloaded the full image size to photobucket

i see part of the leave is more sharp than the tiger... guess the focus selection pt might be not correct... u can use ur zoom browser to see where r u actually focusing at... u got to play more, shot more, to realise more... kits r really good lens to start things off...

 

[twisted illusion]

Hmm ... let's not get into that debate, because there are exemplarary photographers in all camps, and just like religion and politics, and sex even, there will never be an 'answer' to satisfy everyone.

I do know, however, of some self-proclaimed 'artists' or 'artistic-photographers' who simply are too lazy or for various reasons, not able to grasp or master the technicalities.

Some produce very interesting work and that was what they intended, and for others, whatever super blur lah wrong colour casts etc etc etc I suspect were not a matter of deliberate design and plans, but random haphazardness.

Who are we to argue that their work has no artistic merit, or has artistic merit? Even art critics and connoisseurs fall into different camps, ideologies etc etc etc.

Similarly, many technically super slick works may tend to be repetitive and boring to other audiences. Look into any of the major mainstream editorials and so much fashion and advertising work look similar. If you've been around mainstream commercial photographers and know the behind closed doors chatter, .. oh well, if you know, you know.

What it boils down to is, I guess, a requirement to fufill different criteria for different purposes and target audiences. Try submitting a blurred, badly exposed photograph to a panel of salon masters and see that photo get rejected without as much as a second glance. Submit editorial work for Interview or some other alternative publication and if it's a technically perfect piece, it might just get hoo-harred as being void and soul-less and a product of mass-capatilism or whatever super vouge but vauge verbosity etc etc etc.

Anyways, I am a noob in these areas. As someone mentioned, 'I just too damn free!' :bsmilie:

equipment is never ending one... i came to realise that a blurr pic is better than no pic at all... anyway, 4R prints for me dnt need super sharp details...

 

[acerpic]

thanks, the pic looks better, what settings do you adjust? care to share eg what software, etc. Have you used Canon ex-zoom browser before?

I used CS3, add one more layer. Used Curve, level to tune the color. Used high pass sharpen. Also noticed ur pic got a bit backfocus issue, the leaves seems sharper ....

 

[mindfulness]

is this cropped at 100% view?

Yes cropped 100% view

 

[jeremyteocx]

Yes cropped 100% view

ah if so then i personally think its looks v sharp ...

 

[soons]

At f5.6 at maximum tele, this lens is really quite sharp.

 

[icelava]

You can also review what others are capturing using the EF-S 18-55mm lens.

http://www.pixel-peeper.com/lenses/?lens=25

 

[zaren]

You can also review what others are capturing using the EF-S 18-55mm lens.

http://www.pixel-peeper.com/lenses/?lens=25

unfortunately the 18-55 IS and 55-250 IS lenses are not included in that website. IIRC the newer IS versions should be sharper than the non IS 18-55 and the 55-200.

 

[mindfulness]

unfortunately the 18-55 IS and 55-250 IS lenses are not included in that website. IIRC the newer IS versions should be sharper than the non IS 18-55 and the 55-200.

Mine are IS versions, thanks

 

[mindfulness]

i see part of the leave is more sharp than the tiger... guess the focus selection pt might be not correct... u can use ur zoom browser to see where r u actually focusing at... u got to play more, shot more, to realise more... kits r really good lens to start things off...

some of the red dots of the focussing fall within the tiger's body and some outside .. does this mean I am out of focus? I normally use evaluative metering which has a few red dots in wider area in the view finder. I should ensure that all the red dots are within the subject for sharp picture?

Here is the screenshot showing the focus points. Please c n c, thanks

 

[Clown]

some of the red dots of the focussing fall within the tiger's body and some outside .. does this mean I am out of focus? I normally use evaluative metering which has a few red dots in wider area in the view finder. I should ensure that all the red dots are within the subject for sharp picture?

Here is the screenshot showing the focus points. Please c n c, thanks

ah that may be the problem. your AF mode should be set to CENTER instead of letting the camera decide. only 1 red dot should light up and it should be the middle one.
Metering and AF are two different things altogether. Metering is for exposure while AF is for.. well.. focus.
Canon AF for all other AF points exept the center isnt that trustable IMHO so just stick to the center dot and your pictures should turn out sharper where you want them.

Most of us will use the center to focus on the eyes of our subject, lock the focus with the AF lock button or half press shutter, then recompose the framing to get the shot.

 

[r0n1n]

When I first got my Dslr (Olympus e520) I took some sharp pictures but mostly blurred or oof pictures. I used to take very sharp pictures in my film camera days and I could do hand held even in slow shutter speed so Initially I thought I have aged since and either my eye sight or/and my nerve have since gave way. I was looking for all kinds of reasons, myself, wrong function settings, my lens being a kit lens, or my camera brand as I compared with my friends' C n N on those same shots. I even bought a Tripod and a Monopod to steady my shots and but then many more shots were still blurred. Finally I took the bravery to post my pictures in two forums, one I kena "hantam kau kau" of no standard and all kinds of insults but on the other a kind sifu immediately pointed out I may have front focusing problem by 20cm.

i had the same problem with you sir with my E-520. I just thought the problem is with me because of my shaky hands which is why I just can't get a really good image. But I asked a couple of friends to try out my gear and they too shot noticeable blur (or maybe oof). I also tried their gears, and I almost wanted to switch camp at that very instant :bigeyes:

So I thought my gear was the problem, but is it the lens or body? unfortunately, I'm the only Oly user in the group so I can't test other lens or body. I did my homework and then I got myself a zuiko high grade lens and I immediately saw the difference. Bottom line, kit lenses may be very good for some, but not for others.

good luck to TS and happy shooting