Digital photography for dummies
Are you planning to buy a digital camera? Do you already have a digital camera? If both answers are yes then this basic tips andJan 31, 2008 | 4 comments | View Post
Image sharpness 101
sandro | Jan 25, 2010 | 0 comments
Are your photos lacking sharpness? Do they come out blurry? Did you spend hard earned cash on a new SLR camera, only to discover that your old compact outperforms it in sharpness?
Well, if this sounds like your case, don’t worry you are not alone! I had similar experience years ago when I bought my first digital SLR body.
I remember, going back home from one of my first photo shootings, all happy and excited. I had 300D back then, an upgrade from Kodak dx4900 compact. I also remember a shocking discovery, that 90% of photos I shot that day were crap! Absolutely all of them lacked sharpness that I was used to see in the magazines, even worth, most of them were exhibiting considerable motion blur.
But this isn’t a worst part of the story… I did that shooting for a friend, who needed portfolio for her work – as much as I was shocked from my crappy photos, it was nothing compared to shame I felt for letting my friend down. (I was an ignorant kid; I thought I had experience and knowledge to handle any photography job).
Photos were so bad; I decided that my camera had auto focus problems… Contrary to my beliefs though, I discovered that photographer was at fault, not the camera.
I learned a lesson that day; expensive gear doesn’t make up for the lack of skills!
Since then, many years have passed. I gained experience as a photographer, and today I feel like I can help you out.
This is the first post out of the series I will be writing about image sharpness; camera / lens focusing problems and possible solutions. Although in my experience it was lack of skills, there can be cases when equipment is misbehaving. I will deal with both issues: faulty equipment as a reason for degraded image quality, and common photographer mistakes that result in blurry photos.
Topic Breakdown
1. Lens: Diagnosing AutoFocus Problems
(If AF is not behaving well, it can lead to degraded image quality and loss of sharpness).
2. Digital camera settings for sharper photos
(Configuring camera settings can improve image sharpness).
3. Tips to improve image sharpness
(Shutter speed, ISO, Motion blur, Photographer can be a major contributor to loss of sharpness in images. This article covers most of the common photographer errors).
4. Auto Focus micro adjustment tutorial
(Solution to front-focus back-focus problems. Greatly improves sharpness).
Follow through these topics and you will learn how different parts of equation (camera, lens, user) interact to produce sharp images.
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I advise you to stay tuned; I will be sharing wealth of useful information on these topics. You can subscribe by e-mail or RSS. Alternatively you can follow me on facebook or twitter.
Filed Under: Photography Tips
