What the Heck am I Doing Wrong?
At the risk of making people angry … we didn’t go to visit my parents this weekend. Instead, I had to work yesterday morning, and then Donna and I spent the rest of the weekend doing stuff together, which is something we haven’t been able to do for quite a while. Today, we went up to Conowingo Dam to photograph the Bald Eagles that hang out there. Obviously, the picture above is not a Bald Eagle.
To the right, is an immature Bald Eagle. It wasn’t the best day up at the dam. There were only a few birds to photograph, and most of them weren’t being terribly active — especially after the people fishing on the river moved their boats into the area where the Eagles were trying to feed.
Anyway, I’m still suffering from sharpness issues. Sure, the pictures look fine on the web site, but, full-size on my monitor, or printed out, everything is really soft, except for “close-up” subjects. I just don’t quite get it. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. And, it’s really frustrating.
[UPDATE] I should probably mention that I’m perfectly happy with the macro shot of the Mantis, which was also taken with the 70-200 and an extension tube. The things works great when I’m in close. It’s when I’m shooting distant subjects that it seems to fall apart on me.
Post Revisions:
- 15 September, 2008 @ 9:57 [Autosave] by Geren
- 14 September, 2008 @ 19:42 by Geren
Well, the mantis is one hell of a shot.
I’m trying to find the focus point on that other image, but I just can’t. There’s no one point that seems really in focus, which is odd. What’s the tech details there?
Thanks, Rob.
Tech details on the eagle shot: Canon 40D, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS w/Canon 2X converter “II”, at 400mm. ISO 1250, 1/400 @ f/16. Lower ISOs aren’t significantly different, so I don’t think that’s the problem. This is the same issue I’ve been on about for months.It just seems the further away the subject, the less likely it is to be correctly focused.
What I really don’t get is that I have images made with this same combination, using the same techniques, similar settings, etc., that are spot on.
I’ve been meaning to get down to Penn and see if any of the guys there have any thoughts … but just haven’t had the time. Maybe tomorrow night…
Were you panning with the eagle shot, or was it taken stationary?
In this case, panning. However, the issues I’m having don’t seem to discriminate. It doesn’t seem to matter if I’m panning or stationary, on tripod or off, IS on or off. I’ve even tried Donna’s copy of the lens! The only thing I haven’t tried yet (I don’t think), is using Donna’s 40D instead of mine. I have used my XTi body, though. Same inconsistency.
I don’t think it’s me, though. When I use Donna’s 70-300, I get much more consistent results.
I had a similar problem recently with Gimp. I couldn’t understand why my pictures were fuzzy. Then I found there was a nested menu which ‘optimised’ the pictures for me. Which I didn’t want. Most annoying.
The Mantis photo is great. What was the Mantis on. I don’t see anything green such as a plant..
The Mantis is on the trunk lid of a silver Ford Focus.
Geren. After looking at your settings I think you might be shooting alittle on the slow side. Try setting your camera at f4 or 5.6. You also might want to bring the iso down some to knock out some noise.
By opening up the f stop it will increase your shutter speed (you are at 400 on this shot). Check my settings. I’m usually above a 1000 in shutter speed………………hope this helps.
One more thing I noticed. You are shooting “shutter priority” and this is giving you the “slow” speed. I shoot “manually on everything thing except “focus’…………try it…….it might work.
Thanks, Thom, I’ll try that next time I’m out there. That said … I’ve been fighting this for some time, and have been having the same problem, no matter what the shutter speed, ISO, aperture — it doesn’t matter. Subjects that are close to mid-distance are razor sharp. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess whether the subject will be in focus or not.
I have a couple of ideas I’m going to try this weekend, and, there’s one other iteration of tests I have yet to run. I’ll be sure to post the results.