I did a quick search and didn't see this as a topic discussion. Although this is such a basic simple topic I suspect it is much more complex than it appears. I would like to know what do you think is the real secret (or at least one of them) to really having very sharp clear images. Is it the lens, is it having a super expensive camera, is it using a tri/mono pod, is it the right settings, a special filter, just simply having a sharp focal point, post processing....etc.
What do you believe really makes the difference to having those crisp clear sharp photos. I know it is not the goal for every photo but when it is the goal what do you do?
My camera has a magnifier button on it where I can zoom in 14x to get the focus on a regular shot. So I can see how crisp a zoomed in finished product will be, and I use that feature a lot. So I also use a lot of cropping in processing.
I would like to find a tripod for this camera - haven't yet lugged out any of the old tripods out of the garage to see if any will fit. This morning I sat on the ground and put the camera on my knee to steady it, and will use other stable surfaces if they are available. I think that's important. Apparently this camera has some kind of a delay feature, where you click the shutter button, but the shutter delays to avoid wobbling the camera during the shot. Still learning how to work it.
I will sometimes do post processing to sharpen a photo. Unless I'm doing crazy fun processing though, I don't use so much that it looks processed.
I accept the limitations of my current equipment. Hopefully one day, I can get another lens that will help me with better macro shots. But until then I do what I can with what I have.
For me it's shooting in RAW, using a shutterspeed not exceeding the inverse of the aperture size, when possible using vibration reduction and using the unsharp mask in Photoshop Elements.
For me this usually applies to portraits. I'm best if I stop down a bit (my 50 at 1.4 is a tad soft), and really REALLY watch and catch my focal point. My kids are fast and half the time I've got a good lock but they've moved ever so slightly by the time the shutter snaps. I'm guilty of focusing and snapping too fast and just not being as accurate as I want to be a lot of the time. Also, not being afraid to bump ISO so I can keep shutter speed high enough, and being careful when I do a focus and recompose that I'm not essentially changing the distance to my focal point (or use selectable AF points).
I guess in summary it's a lot of camera settings and being diligent in what I'm doing. My new 90 is much sharper wide open than my 50, though, so there's some of that component too.
@sharritta Oops, made a mistake. Meant inverse of the focal length! Meaning: for a 50mm, shooting not slower than 1/50 sec. For a 100mm shooting not slower than 1/100 sec. This rule of thumb works fine for me, not having to steady a hand.
@deeganp Nothing in particular - my husband and I were having a discussion about how some photos he sees are crystal clear, this got me thinking about really getting those sharp clear photos and since I'm trying to learn I don't want to take anything for granted but find out what other photographers say so I can learn - that's all
The most important thing for clarity is the simplest. Clean lens, clean mirror, and clean filter. Film cameras can have great clarity depending on glass and the film iso so it is not just a digital issue.
My list. Tripod, prime lens, two stops down from wide open, lack of vibration' understanding sharpening and how to apply it. I am still pursuing and learning about the last two.
I've recently learned that your camera has a sweet spot, so to speak. For example, if taking a landscape shot or a shot of the moon, rather than trying to open up the aperture for more light, use a tripod and try an F8.0 setting. I have the same problem you are describing. I've looked back at some of my photos and found the F8 setting seems to give me a little crisper image. Of course, sometimes my problem is my own shakiness or very slight movement. And I agree with Hubregt Visser, to avoid the possible handshake, make sure your shutter speed is greater than the inverse of your focal length. Hope I'm helping.
I've been struggling and pondering this exact question. Thanks for posting it. These are topics well worth discussing. Every post above has value in the equation and are excellent and right-on. The one thing I know to be true is that if your "glass" (the lens) is not good enough, then there is not much you can do with that image. Now, what is "good enough" can be debated. But, without something clear to begin with, you're dead. The prime aperture and the no shaking and the perfect focus all have to be there too. A great lens won't make poor focus or hand shake better. On the other hand, perfect focus and no shake won't make poor glass take a good image.
I am a bit surprised that no one has brought full-size sensor into the discussion.
@myhrhelper you will only get on screen super extra monster killer sharpness (the kind you see in fine art print) using a full frame. All crop sensor will degrade the image a little bit (on most cases, this is a thing you will only see if you work a lot with full frame images – this is barely perceptive).
Also, each lens has their own sweet sharpness spot. Usually at f4.
So there is always a way to achieve better results with what you also have. And carefully focusing in manual focus, zooming in to fine tune it and use a tripod to avoid shake will also get you better results.
For me a flash can work miracles in macro & portraits. As Gabriel stated above finding your lens sweet spot (usually a couple stops from wide open) can help produce some great results. Proper shooting techniques to help reduce camera shake and shutter speed depending on subject. Good Luck!
@gabrielklee I've definitely noticed this to be true since I upgraded. I only have one full frame lens, but it is hands down worlds apart from working with my other camera (DX).
@gabrielklee This comment intrigues me and I wonder what is the reason behind your observation. Given that sharpness drops off as you go from the centre to the edge of the lens I would have though other things being equal that you are more likely to get edge to edge sharpness with a cropped apc-c or dx sensor. So clearly other things are not equal which leads me to think along the lines of stronger AA filters and noise control because of the small photosite on the cropped sensor as being the difference. It would be interesting to see a comparison between a Nikon D7100 an a Nikon D800E as these both are not affected by a AA filter.
I forgot to add use the lowest ISO on or above the base ISO to help insure sharp pictures and if you are using VR/OC/VC/IS then turn it off on a tripod. With the Nikon D800 I also use live view as this reduces the amount of vibration from the mirror ging up and down.
I also read about channeling your breathing. I work with a Canon that has a double click, and your method of drawing air in and out are important. It affects your entire body.
Hold the camera properly, left hand under the lens as support. Elbows pressed in to your sides.
Plant your feet firmly, one slightly in front of the other. Exhale, hold it and press the shutter all the way down. It's just the same as is taught with target shooting. Except for extremely close macros, tripods and remote shutter releases and such in "normal" light conditions are not necessary if you just control your body. Just don't go tense, and inhaling and holding your breath as some advise is really a disaster waiting to happen.
These are the "big" ones, and you see many amateur photographers violating them all the time!
Now for camera stuff, but only after you are sure the two paragraphs above are under control.
VR or IS lenses are fine to stop camera shake, three or even four stops longer than the "rule" for safe hand holding mentined above. But it won't do you any good for "subject shake" like shooting flowers or foliage in the wind. You just have to up the shutter speed for that, and as a last resort, the ISO. It works best for me if I am panning action to turn off VR/IS altogether.
Careful focus. Except for extreme macros, Auto Focus is fine in modern cameras, just ensure you have the focus point EXACTLY where you want it. The principle of "hyperfocal distance" (mentioned above) is important when you want focus depth very deep with a faster aperture (something like less than f/7) often associated with narrower DoF. The DoF will be 1/3 in front of the prime focus point and 2/3 behind it. It is, actually, a waste of Focus Depth to lazily "focus to infinity" except with apertures of the order of f/16 or higher.
Remove (actually remediate) the digital noise in post processing, but don't overdo the correction or the edges will soften. Noise reduction is really a form of "blurring" the problems away, not removal or magic reconstruction. So keep your ISO as low as you can when shooting to try yo keep excessive noise out of the image to start with. It should be the last of the three exposure parameters to be compromised. Look for oportunities to re-sharpen after you first deal with noise. It's a delicate balancing act of "sharp" versus "clean." Noise is in EVERY digital image out of the camera, even the best, even at ISO 100. This is just a matter of physics and analog signal amplification. Magnify your image 200% or 300% in the editor, and look for it on edges or in large areas of uniform color and brightness. Blue sky is a classic place to see it.
In Photoshop CS6 and Camera Raw 7.0, you can actually select (paint) the areas where you want to apply noise correction, or different degrees of noise correction, so you don't have to make global compromises to sharpness with this process.
A lot of words here, sorry. But the first two are where you'll get the bang for the buck - control your body and support the camera. Lens and camera have very little to do with 95% of the issue for "normal" shooting. Really! IMO and in my experience. Good shooting!
@davidgnc i was refering only to the sensor interpolation. More megabytes also deliver sharper images in the end. Cropped sensor pictures usually show some artifacts when viewed on 100% magnification.
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I would like to find a tripod for this camera - haven't yet lugged out any of the old tripods out of the garage to see if any will fit. This morning I sat on the ground and put the camera on my knee to steady it, and will use other stable surfaces if they are available. I think that's important. Apparently this camera has some kind of a delay feature, where you click the shutter button, but the shutter delays to avoid wobbling the camera during the shot. Still learning how to work it.
I will sometimes do post processing to sharpen a photo. Unless I'm doing crazy fun processing though, I don't use so much that it looks processed.
I accept the limitations of my current equipment. Hopefully one day, I can get another lens that will help me with better macro shots. But until then I do what I can with what I have.
I guess in summary it's a lot of camera settings and being diligent in what I'm doing. My new 90 is much sharper wide open than my 50, though, so there's some of that component too.
I am a bit surprised that no one has brought full-size sensor into the discussion.
Also, each lens has their own sweet sharpness spot. Usually at f4.
So there is always a way to achieve better results with what you also have. And carefully focusing in manual focus, zooming in to fine tune it and use a tripod to avoid shake will also get you better results.
I forgot to add use the lowest ISO on or above the base ISO to help insure sharp pictures and if you are using VR/OC/VC/IS then turn it off on a tripod. With the Nikon D800 I also use live view as this reduces the amount of vibration from the mirror ging up and down.
There is an awful lot of information out there on the internet. Understanding depth of field which depends on how far you are from your subject, your aperture and the focal length of your lens is crucial. Understanding Hyperfocal distance can help an awful lot when you are trying to get a good sharp landscape photo.
If you're trying for a macro shot a tripod, a remote and mirror lock-up can make all the difference.
Horses for courses.
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
http://www.dofmaster.com/charts.html
http://www.dofmaster.com/hyperfocal.html
@myhrhelper
Plant your feet firmly, one slightly in front of the other. Exhale, hold it and press the shutter all the way down. It's just the same as is taught with target shooting. Except for extremely close macros, tripods and remote shutter releases and such in "normal" light conditions are not necessary if you just control your body. Just don't go tense, and inhaling and holding your breath as some advise is really a disaster waiting to happen.
These are the "big" ones, and you see many amateur photographers violating them all the time!
Now for camera stuff, but only after you are sure the two paragraphs above are under control.
VR or IS lenses are fine to stop camera shake, three or even four stops longer than the "rule" for safe hand holding mentined above. But it won't do you any good for "subject shake" like shooting flowers or foliage in the wind. You just have to up the shutter speed for that, and as a last resort, the ISO. It works best for me if I am panning action to turn off VR/IS altogether.
Careful focus. Except for extreme macros, Auto Focus is fine in modern cameras, just ensure you have the focus point EXACTLY where you want it. The principle of "hyperfocal distance" (mentioned above) is important when you want focus depth very deep with a faster aperture (something like less than f/7) often associated with narrower DoF. The DoF will be 1/3 in front of the prime focus point and 2/3 behind it. It is, actually, a waste of Focus Depth to lazily "focus to infinity" except with apertures of the order of f/16 or higher.
Remove (actually remediate) the digital noise in post processing, but don't overdo the correction or the edges will soften. Noise reduction is really a form of "blurring" the problems away, not removal or magic reconstruction. So keep your ISO as low as you can when shooting to try yo keep excessive noise out of the image to start with. It should be the last of the three exposure parameters to be compromised. Look for oportunities to re-sharpen after you first deal with noise. It's a delicate balancing act of "sharp" versus "clean." Noise is in EVERY digital image out of the camera, even the best, even at ISO 100. This is just a matter of physics and analog signal amplification. Magnify your image 200% or 300% in the editor, and look for it on edges or in large areas of uniform color and brightness. Blue sky is a classic place to see it.
In Photoshop CS6 and Camera Raw 7.0, you can actually select (paint) the areas where you want to apply noise correction, or different degrees of noise correction, so you don't have to make global compromises to sharpness with this process.
A lot of words here, sorry. But the first two are where you'll get the bang for the buck - control your body and support the camera. Lens and camera have very little to do with 95% of the issue for "normal" shooting. Really! IMO and in my experience. Good shooting!