Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 21 to 40 of 43

Thread: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

  1. #21
    New Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    massachusetts
    Posts
    5
    Real Name
    Don Christian

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    One other thing, I have a Cannon 50D I get sharp images, even in RAW, but I use adobe lightroom Because I shoot everything in RAW, RAW like the neg, and I always have RAW but here is something you can do if you don't want to spend time adjusting your images,, and yes I shoot RAW but some times I shoot in both at the same time, you can have your camera set to save your pictures you take in both RAW and JPEG... the JPEG will have better contrast and so on, so you don't have to go and adjust that later, I always adjust my images to my liking not let the camera do everything for me. I do some times save both in RAW & JPEG because some times I really want 1 or 2 of them pictures really quick with out having to go edit them..
    The Cannon 50D takes sharp images, you probably should have your Lens checked out and maybe the camera body too, maybe it needs a good cleaning?
    maybe there is a reason your getting slight soft pictures could be a lot of reason you didn't realize could be there was wind that interacted with your shot,. so here is another thing you can try,
    Cannon has a great feature to eliminate the need for a mechanical first shutter curtain by using “a unique high-speed scanning and electronic reset system that accurately mimics the... high-speed mechanical shutter operation.

    It synchronizes with the mechanical 2nd-curtain shutter to obtain a slit exposure.”
    In addition, the way live-view has been incorporated in these camera bodies the exposure can be initiated while in “live-view” without any mirror motion.
    As a result, an exposure can begin with absolutely no mechanical movement at all, and thus no vibration.

    The exposure is concluded by the closing of the mechanical second shutter curtain.
    After the exposure there will be some mechanical movement in the camera but this obviously can not effect the exposure (with the possible exception of a continuous “burst” of successive pictures).
    When you taking a picture like that mountain use the LIVE VIEW for this reason to get best possible steady shot you can get.
    With a shot like that you need to take advantage of everything you can to get the best possible picture.
    And when taking a shot like that I try to do it on a day with the least wind, wind is a natural enemy of landscape photography with slow shutter speeds, it can destroy your shots with movement and shifts, they can be crazy amounts of movement that you cant see or notice even looking at your camera up close, what I do is I zoom into an object far away like that mountain, then turn on LIVE VIEW, then I use the live view screen zoom, this is not the zoon for the lens it's a zoom for your live view screen, it has 2 zooms the first one is 5X the distance then the next is 10X the distance, when you got it zoomed in all the way look at the screen see if the picture on the screen is moving, while zoomed like this the slightest hair movement will show up before your eyes, I once found out a problem with my tripod failing by doing this the dam picture was shifting back and forth as if some one was slightly moving the camera a micro or 2 left to right and up and down. and I was about 2 feet away from the camera nothing touching it.
    check your tripod, make sure it's not allowing your camera to move so slightly As if I was on a boat, this type of movement can ruin a good distance shot,

    the mount head on your tripod could be failing.
    get a real good tripod one that is all metal no plastic mounts plastic moves the camera never sits 100% on the tripod and can cause movement,
    this is a good way to test to see if you got camera movement, if you getting movement on the tripod try putting it on a solid taple and be on a sturdy floor so there is not movement then see if your still getting any movement off the tripod on a solid object like a table or brick wall or something where there should be no possible movement..

    Cheers

    Donny

    As if I was on a boat, this type of movement can ruin a good distance shot,





    Quote Originally Posted by GrumpyDiver View Post
    Two things to remember Phil - the camera settings (those not affecting the metering mode or focus point selection), i.e. white balance, contrast, etc. have NO impact on your RAW file; it is simply what your sensor recorded. If you shoot jpeg; the camera will add sharpening, contrast, etc. to the image.

    As this is a RAW image, no in-camera sharpening occurs; and of course your camera will deliver a slightly soft image, thanks to the AA filter. If shooting RAW, some degree of sharpening in post-processing is required.
    Last edited by Donny1963; 21st August 2015 at 01:25 AM.

  2. #22
    Moderator Dave Humphries's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Windsor, Berks, UK
    Posts
    16,737
    Real Name
    Dave Humphries :)

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Hi Phil,

    Some good advice above by various others, but you said ...

    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Atkin View Post
    Also that the above were converted to JPEG using PS Elements and default settings.
    I wonder what your default settings in ACR in PS Elements are?

    When I used to use it, I discovered it was quite easy to inadvertently overwrite the original defaults with the results of processing applied to one image, then have that (unnoticed) applied to all future images passing through, especially the settings on the other tabs.

    I just wonder whether something in them is being applied which is softening the RAWs?
    In particular, I avoid using the Noise Reduction in ACR, as it can have that effect (I've turned mine down to zero - and saved that as my preset - along with the lens profile and CA corrections being on, which should fix your issue with the 50mm).

    Just a thought, hope it helps, Dave

  3. #23
    DanK's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    8,625
    Real Name
    Dan

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Donny--

    Welcome to CIC. Can you please add your real name and location to your profile? We use real names here, and locations can help people give better responses.

    Thanks for posting the information about Canon's "silent mode" live-view shooting. I have had 3 Canon bodies with this feature and never realized that it had an impact on vibration. I found a very interesting test of it here. The images are 100% crops at 50x magnification, so I can't imagine that it has relevance to most photography, but it's worth knowing about for high-magnification macro work.

    However, for the OP's questions, I don't think this is relevant. One can get sharp photos like the first of Phil's examples hand-holding a 50D. I think there is either a problem with the equipment or with technique. Manfred showed that the landscape can be improved in PP. I am puzzled by the other shots, but at this small size, one can't see much. However, the fact that Phil got similar results with two different lenses suggests that the lenses are not the issue.

  4. #24

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    6,956
    Real Name
    Ted

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Humphries View Post
    I wonder what your default settings in ACR in PS Elements are?
    In Elements 6, it was: amount 25, radius 1, detail 0, masking 0.

    Can't imagine it would change. Been a while and those might not be his saved settings.

    2cts,

  5. #25
    William W's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Sraylya
    Posts
    4,935
    Real Name
    William (call me Bill)

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Atkin View Post
    I'm dissatisfied with the images I'm getting from my 50D. They often aren't as sharp or vivid as I would like. I don't know whether I'm being unreasonable in my expectations or whether there's something wrong with my kit. The mountain scene illustrates my problem. It doesn't do the original justice, and there was plenty of light. It was shot with an EF-S 15-85 at f7.1, 1/125s, ISO100.
    Plus -

    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Atkin View Post
    . . . I have three images of the mountain scene and in each case the chosen autofocus point was on the mountain. . . . The mountain scene was handheld with stabilizer; I have three shots and they are very similar in terms of sharpness.

    I concur with Allan, that lack of acceptable DEPTH OF FIELD this is most likely the major issue re Lack of Sharpness, with that shot.

    Note that the EXIF interrogation reveals that the lens reported Subject Distance = 16m.

    Whilst in theory that will give you Far Limit DoF = ∞, that infinity point will be much softer than the Plane of Sharp Focus at 16 meters from the camera.

    The question which arises from that EXIF report in respect of your statement which I quoted (underlined and bold section) is:

    1. What Focus Point did you manually set - or was the camera set to Automatic Focus Point Selection?

    *

    Secondly:

    1/125s is too slow to rule out any Subject Movement Blur (due to wind etc) – obviously the Mountain is not vibrating because of wind, but the middle ground grass might be moving - I am not stating that grass is moving due to wind, I am saying it is possible.

    *

    Thirdly:

    > the scene appears to be lit by unencumbered direct sunlight which appears to be high; slightly to camera right and in slightly in-front of the Lens

    > it is a ZOOM LENS at it is widest Focal Length

    > the typical EV of that scene would to be EV = 15, ergo the typical exposure for highlights: F/16 @ 1/100 @ ISO100, but the shot was pulled at F/7.1 @ 1/125s @ ISO100, that being about 2 Stops overexposed for the Highlights. Typically we would pull a shot only 1 Stop overexposed in a scene of side-lit sun.

    > there is the appearance of a milky white translucent film, over the image

    Taking all the above into account it is becoming very easy to conclude that the image is suffering from VEILING FLARE.

    Veiling Flare is caused by stray light bouncing around inside the lens (and/or off the rear of a Filter) and usually presents as a lack of contrast especially MID TONE CONTRAST and a perceived lack of ACUTANCE (The Edge Sharpness of Subjects within the scene), which is sometimes misinterpreted for SOFT FOCUS.

    In bad cases there can be a Milky White Translucent film, appear over the Image.

    Veiling Flare can be exacerbated by:

    Using a Zoom Lens instead of Prime Lens
    Using an inefficient or no Lens Hood
    Using a Filter on the Lens
    Using a larger rather than a Smaller Aperture
    Using a wider rather than narrower Lens
    Using the wider FL on a Zoom Lens rather than the Telephoto FL of a Zoom Lens

    *

    The possibility of Veiling Flare causing the appearance of lack of sharpness, does not exclude the possibility that Atmospheric Haze is also causing the appearance of lack of sharpness.

    Lack of acutance can be addressed to a large extent by correct Post Production Sharpening.

    WW

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Dunedin New Zealand
    Posts
    2,697
    Real Name
    J stands for John

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    I find this thread mildly interesting as it duplicates a similar thread over in Photonet where the camera is a Canon 5D ... what is it about these Canon cameras or the people who buy them

    Edit To paraphase what I wrote at PN " People who want sharp and vivid images SOOC should get themselves a P&S camera until they learn how to use their DSLRs which are alleged to make them PROs"
    Last edited by jcuknz; 24th August 2015 at 03:28 AM.

  7. #27
    William W's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Sraylya
    Posts
    4,935
    Real Name
    William (call me Bill)

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    A frustrating issue with the other conversation that John mentions, is, the Original Poster over there has not responded to any questions asked of him/her: that has not been the situation here, though.

    WW

  8. #28
    New Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    massachusetts
    Posts
    5
    Real Name
    Don Christian

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    The other thing you might want to check is also your PICTURE STYLE.
    They are a few settings for Picture Style, such as STANDARD, LANDSCAPE, FAITHFUL.
    Now, you should be using Standard or Landscape, never use FAITHFUL, I know people say that FAITHFUL
    is 0 0 0 0 across the board but the first digit is important and that is sharpness, you don't want to set
    your sharpness to 0 for any reason, that is not enough sharpness.
    standard is set to 3, landscape 4.
    so if your doing landscape and your using FAITHFUL Picture Style, then you are getting a sharpness problem
    for sure..

    Hope this helps as well..

    Donny

  9. #29
    New Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    massachusetts
    Posts
    5
    Real Name
    Don Christian

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Alright

  10. #30
    New Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    massachusetts
    Posts
    5
    Real Name
    Don Christian

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    They are so many factors that can cause problems, for one thing in landscape photography or any photography for that matter, there is always noise in lens's, for instance getting a Sigma or Canon 24-70 2.8 lens will give you far more shaper images then using a Sigma 18-200 3.5-6.3 , and there is a reason the 24-70 lens cost $2,000.00 rather then the 18-200 costing only $400.00 to $500.00.. If you truly want the best sharpest images you can possibly get you want a fast lens, something that will hold up in far distance, the further you go in your shots, the more brake down in quality you get..
    I've tested all types of lens's..
    the Sigma 18-200 3.5-6.3 is a good all around lens, how ever not very good in any commercial type work there is just simply to much noise and lack in sharpness.
    the 24-70 2.8 is one of the best lens that most professionals have in their collection of lens, because it holds up in quality and sharpness, but your going to pay for it too..
    Another thing to remember there is a difference in what you get for a lens depending on your camera body, for instance.
    if your using a Canon full camera body such as the Canon EOS 5DS or the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, you vs the canon 50D
    if your using the Sigma 24-70 2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III your getting the full specs of the lens.
    However if your using the canon 50D then your not really getting 24-70 2.8 because of the crop facor.
    you need to multiply 24 X 1.6 which = 38.4 then do the same of the other number 70 X 1.6 = 112 then multiply 2.8 X 1.6 so if your using a 24-70 lens on a canon 50D your getting a 38.4-112 lense 4.4 lowest aperture not 2.8 unless your using it on a full frame camera, the camera companies never mention that , it's almost like false specs, because your not really getting what they say the lens is if your not using a full frame camera.
    A lot of people are not aware of this, so if your using a canon 50D on a 18-200 3.5 to 6.3 then your getting horrible quality think about it on a 50d it's a 28.8 - 320, 5.6 to 10.08 aperture and if your lens is lowest aperture is 5.6 wide open that is crap..
    Hope this helps..
    Donny

  11. #31
    New Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    massachusetts
    Posts
    5
    Real Name
    Don Christian

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    also about the crop factor how it works, full 35mm full frame is 1.0 which means if your lens is 28-70 then you multiply 1.0 to the numbers which is the same lol, but the lower the frame size then that is the number you want to multiply it by for instance
    the ASP-H (Canon) is 1.29 size the APS-C (Nikon DX, pantax, sony is 1.50
    the APS-C(canon) is 1.62 the FOVEON (Sigma) s 1.73 For thirds system is 2.0 CX(Nikon) 2.70 and so on
    so what ever frame size your camera is you multiply it by that number so if your using a 50MM lens and 1.4 Aperture on a canon 50D you do it like this 50 X 1.6 =80 1.4 X 1.6 = 2.24 so that lens on a canon 50D is a 80MM 2.2 lens on that camera.
    try it if you can take a picture with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III then take the same picture same mm with a canon 50D and you will see the for your self you will notice the Canon EOS 5D Mark III picture will show more open , more wide shot.
    that's because in digital camera's they crop factor differs, before when you was using film it was all the same 35mm.
    if you want True 35mm you need to get a full frame camera body, which is double the price other smaller frame digital camera's.
    so people think when they go buy a Canon 50D or a 70D they are getting a digital 35mm camera, and they are NOT!!
    you need to get one that is full 35mm framed, and I believe they all start at about $1,000.00 and go up.

  12. #32
    William W's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Sraylya
    Posts
    4,935
    Real Name
    William (call me Bill)

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    They are so many factors that can cause problems
    I agree: there are.

    But considering that the Original Question was posted more than two years ago; the Original Poster has not returned since his last comment on this conversation (2nd August 2013); and in the absence of the OP returning to inform us that the EXIF DATA was intentionally adjusted, then, it is probably safe to conclude the fact that the Lens was Focused at 16m plays the major part in the mountains being in Soft Focus.

    WW

  13. #33

    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    4,511
    Real Name
    wm c boyer

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    A couple of things not particularly relevant to the OP's post having to do with camera movement
    and other things that may be of interest that I've noticed shooting tethered in studio.
    Tether that gear, zoom in to 200% and watch that image float around on your monitor...
    there is never zero subject movement even if it's only a couple of pixels.

    Test yourself...take an image of something that has a razor sharp, clearly defined edge...
    on a good day my edges will be 3-5 pixels wide...granted part of that is lens quality and has no
    effect at all on print quality.

    As Manfred so astutely exhibited...most of the OP's problems were PP related.

  14. #34

    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    amsterdam, netherlands
    Posts
    3,182
    Real Name
    George

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Quote Originally Posted by Donny1963 View Post
    if your using the Sigma 24-70 2.8 lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III your getting the full specs of the lens.
    However if your using the canon 50D then your not really getting 24-70 2.8 because of the crop facor.
    you need to multiply 24 X 1.6 which = 38.4 then do the same of the other number 70 X 1.6 = 112 then multiply 2.8 X 1.6 so if your using a 24-70 lens on a canon 50D your getting a 38.4-112 lense 4.4 lowest aperture not 2.8 unless your using it on a full frame camera, the camera companies never mention that , it's almost like false specs, because your not really getting what they say the lens is if your not using a full frame camera.
    A lot of people are not aware of this, so if your using a canon 50D on a 18-200 3.5 to 6.3 then your getting horrible quality think about it on a 50d it's a 28.8 - 320, 5.6 to 10.08 aperture and if your lens is lowest aperture is 5.6 wide open that is crap..
    Hope this helps..
    Donny
    The f-number is independent from the sensor-size. What is changing, is the CoC. And that is based on a A4 print: a smaller sensor has to be enlarged more for that print. Viewing on the screen at by example 100% will make no difference.

    George

  15. #35
    New Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    7

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    The tread started without the most important information, what lens(es) were used. Later Donny puts some lenses in a response. The 50D should be capable of making sharp pictures, but don't use a travel zoom. i have one, with vr, but no way I get an image sharp. Not on the 18 mm, not on the 200 mm, and nowhere in between. To get the sharpest pictures, you really should us a prime. I'm not sure the 50D has a possibility to fine tune the AF, like in the newer DSLRs, but sometimes that helps. Don't start fine tuning any camera, unless you read everything about it. Like what kind of target to use and what the minimum distance should be, and so on and so on.
    I bought a FF zoom lens with my DX camera some years ago. 24-85 and I barely got great real sharp pictures. But since I use it on a FF camera I love this lens because the pictures are really sharp now. My thought to use the FF lens on a DX camera was not my brightest idea. Before investing lots of money in a lens, tested as very good, check out how it performs on your body, on a site like DxO.

  16. #36

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    6,956
    Real Name
    Ted

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    I'm revisiting this thread because I noticed that the two target images have a slant edge at the top of the 'U' in FOCUS. I have a program QuickMTF which can measure slant edges and tell us how sharp the image is.

    the 15-85mm:

    Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    the 50mm:

    Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Both images are really soft; an edge 10-90% rise around 3px is too large and casts doubt on the test, sad to say. Putting that in other way, if that's truly the best those lenses and/or the camera can do, I'd toss them in the trash (dustbin).

    By comparison, have a look at this, an APS-C DSLR with a 17-50mm kit zoom on it:

    Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    The rise is obviously better (steeper) and in fact is quite close to the best possible. Not to mention the MTF curve above which promises micro-detail par excellence in any shot made with that lens properly focused.

    Compare that with the 50mm MTF curve below:

    Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    An MTF50 of 0.15px is, quite frankly, pathetic. There has to be something not quite right in the original post because it's really hard to believe it's the camera, although brown stuff happens; and even harder to believe that two different lens could be that bad !!

    I'm stumped [edit] but no big deal because, as said later, this is a really old thread
    Last edited by xpatUSA; 30th September 2015 at 12:39 AM. Reason: finally got the zoom right, duh

  17. #37
    William W's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Sraylya
    Posts
    4,935
    Real Name
    William (call me Bill)

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Quote Originally Posted by xpatUSA View Post
    I'm revisiting this thread because I noticed that the two target images have a slant edge at the top of the 'U' in FOCUS. I have a program QuickMTF which can measure slant edges and tell us how sharp the image is. . . .
    Both images are really soft; an edge 10-90% rise around 3px is too large and casts doubt on the test, sad to say. Putting that in other way, if that's truly the best those lenses and/or the camera can do, I'd toss them in the trash (dustbin).
    . . .
    There has to be something not quite right in the original post because it's really hard to believe it's the camera, although brown stuff happens; and even harder to believe that two different lens could be that bad !!

    I'm stumped
    Both of those test shots were pulled at 1/13th second.

    The OP says:
    ”The camera was mounted solidly on a tripod with the stabilizer off. The slow shutter actually means that any contribution to blur from camera motion is a less significant fraction of the whole exposure.”
    That is an erroneous conclusion.
    > Maybe on a tripod and no Mirror Up? (right dead bang in the Tv region for vibration).
    > Maybe on a tripod and no remote release? Camera movement casued by fingers on shutter release will still cause blur which appears as OoF.
    > The test page could be moving.

    There are too many variables and the OP is long gone.

    Also the Mountain and the test shots are two separate entities, although the OP co-relates them that too is fault finding mechanism which is NOT prefaced on logic. The causes of both may be different, and probably is based upon the Subject Distance revealed in the EXIF of the Mountain shot

    WW

  18. #38
    William W's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Sraylya
    Posts
    4,935
    Real Name
    William (call me Bill)

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Quote Originally Posted by Harrie View Post
    . . . To get the sharpest pictures, you really should us a prime. . .
    I disagree with that advice.

    WW

  19. #39
    DanK's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    8,625
    Real Name
    Dan

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Quote Originally Posted by William W View Post
    I disagree with that advice.

    WW
    Beat me to it. The OP used a 15-85, which is a good lens. (I had one for several years.) I also disagree with the statement that a lens designed for FF will not produce sharp images if mounted on a crop sensor camera. A given crop may or may not less capable of rendering sharp images, but that is independent of the lens; the sharpness of the image projected by the lens isn't determined by what you point it at. However, the OP hasn't been back in ages, so it's probably a moot point.

  20. #40

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    6,956
    Real Name
    Ted

    Re: Canon 50D doesn't seem sharp

    Quote Originally Posted by William W View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by xpatUSA
    Both images are really soft . . .
    . . .
    There has to be something not quite right in the original post because it's really hard to believe it's the camera, although brown stuff happens; and even harder to believe that two different lens could be that bad !!

    I'm stumped
    Both of those test shots were pulled at 1/13th second.
    And, for completeness, my test shot was pulled at 1/25th second.

    There are too many variables and the OP is long gone.
    Now I did miss that, Bill, needn't have wasted my time, eh?

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •