Help with the sharpness of my images from my Canon 40D

“i am aware that this can also be done in photoshop”

The image that comes straight from the camera is inherently un-sharp. You can tweak the sharpness setting once when shooting JPEGs and any time you want when shooting in RAW mode but leave the sharpening to the very last stage of your work flow.

Maverick 11

I have had similar problems with my (admittedly lower-spec) EOS350D, which I initially put down to use of budget-built “kit” lenses from my older EOS350 35mm kit. However, based on other comments on threads on here I started tweaking a couple of my soft shots using the “sharpen” function on some fairly basic image-editting software that came bundled with my old Fuji S5600 digicam. The improvement is quite marked on shots taken with the EOS350D, so I guess a better package such as Photoshop would be even better.

Of course, a decent lens and half-decent light will give me an even better starting point.

Paul F

Paul F

Thanks Paul

I have been using centre for my focusing point…i must admit i am new to DSLR photography but some of the points you guys have given me are excellent and soon as the weather improves a bit i will get out there and give them a try…again thanks to all that replied keep up the good work guys really appreciate the help

You’re more than welcome. Let us know how you get on!

Paul

I’m not sure spot metering will help as you’ll only expose for a very small part of the scene (or aircraft) you’re trying to shoot. I accidentally took 3 or 4 shots in spot when I bought my 30D and the results were frankly disgusting and un-usable. Shame, as I was shooting a Qatar A330 departing MAN in stunning light at the time!

Maverick_11… Which focus mode and point are you using? Certain areas of your shots seem to be more in focus than others, which could possibly point to inappropriate use of focussing modes.

Paulbarry quite rightly points out the 1/focal length guide for shutter speed which is always very useful to bear in mind when shooting hand held, although I can see no reason why you shouldn’t get reasonably sharp shots in the conditions the shots you’ve posted were taken in. The Easyjet shot was taken at ISO 1000 (which does seem rather high) and f5.6 giving a shutter speed of 1/800, so in theory at least part of your shot should be sharp. Bear in mind though that depth of field gets shallower the higher the focal length so if you focus on, for example, the front of the aircraft at 250mm and f5.6 you’ll probably find the tail is out of focus. If I find I can’t get a good enough shutter speed without dropping below f7.1 it’s usually time to go to the pub!

Maybe check your focus point (I always use centre for standard aviation shooting and one-shot focussing mode) and try keep your f/stop as high as possible while still giving you a shutter speed at least equal to your focal length.

Paul

Thanks Paul

I have been using centre for my focusing point…i must admit i am new to DSLR photography but some of the points you guys have given me are excellent and soon as the weather improves a bit i will get out there and give them a try…again thanks to all that replied keep up the good work guys really appreciate the help

Just to add to my earlier post here – I agree 100% with the comments made about the f stop. Even at f8 I have found that the depth of field with a long zoom can sometimes leave part of a large aircraft slightly out of focus, particularly at 3/4 view.

Using a single AF point and spot metering will concentrate the exposure on the centre section exposing the aircraft and not the background/sky.

There is the facility to view which AF points were selected in Canon’s Zoombrowser program.

ISO 1000 is roughly three stops over ISO 100, so that would give you something like 1/250 at f8, which should have been good enough. (An IS lens will give another two stops on top of that.)
Not forgetting that the extreme ends of a lens may not be the best as far as image quality goes.

I agree with what has been said before 1/shutter.

Also remember the 100-400 is a great lens in daylight but can be rather poor in low light. I use a 1D or 30D with the 100-400 and on a dark day I’ll be in the pub like Paul 😉

How about trying spot metering in Tv mode?

I’m not sure spot metering will help as you’ll only expose for a very small part of the scene (or aircraft) you’re trying to shoot. I accidentally took 3 or 4 shots in spot when I bought my 30D and the results were frankly disgusting and un-usable. Shame, as I was shooting a Qatar A330 departing MAN in stunning light at the time!

Maverick_11… Which focus mode and point are you using? Certain areas of your shots seem to be more in focus than others, which could possibly point to inappropriate use of focussing modes.

Paulbarry quite rightly points out the 1/focal length guide for shutter speed which is always very useful to bear in mind when shooting hand held, although I can see no reason why you shouldn’t get reasonably sharp shots in the conditions the shots you’ve posted were taken in. The Easyjet shot was taken at ISO 1000 (which does seem rather high) and f5.6 giving a shutter speed of 1/800, so in theory at least part of your shot should be sharp. Bear in mind though that depth of field gets shallower the higher the focal length so if you focus on, for example, the front of the aircraft at 250mm and f5.6 you’ll probably find the tail is out of focus. If I find I can’t get a good enough shutter speed without dropping below f7.1 it’s usually time to go to the pub!

Maybe check your focus point (I always use centre for standard aviation shooting and one-shot focussing mode) and try keep your f/stop as high as possible while still giving you a shutter speed at least equal to your focal length.

Paul

“i am aware that this can also be done in photoshop”

The image that comes straight from the camera is inherently un-sharp. You can tweak the sharpness setting once when shooting JPEGs and any time you want when shooting in RAW mode but leave the sharpening to the very last stage of your work flow.

The shooting conditions definitely do not help although your 40D is supposed to be good at 400 ISO that gives you a two stop advantage over 100 ISO.
How about trying spot metering in Tv mode?

Hi

I just had a quick look. I think that the main problem is shooting in poor light. Basically, the better the light, then the better the picture.

Looking at the last pic, 1/60th sec, 180 f length and 320 iso – will always give you a ‘poor’ picture.

My two rules are –
Keep the iso as low as possible – the higher the iso then the more noise there is in the picture – ie the picture is less sharp.
Try to keep the shutter speed at least as high as the f length – ie at 250 mm use 1/250th sec speed, at 100mm use 1/100th sec speed and so on. Otherwise you are likely to lose sharpness, even with IS.

So for a sharp picture, you really needed something like 1/250th sec, 180 f length and 100 iso. You will usually be able to do this in good light, but not in poor light.

If you have to compromise, then at least keep your shutter speed at 1/250th and use a high iso – but recognise that you will not be getting a great picture.

As I say, you really need good light conditions. Especially as you are using a long zoom with a highish f stop. I find that dslrs are more demanding than film slrs in this respect.

Regards

Paul

The first thing that strikes me is the shutter speeed is 1/80th, which is far slower than would be ideal for a focal length of 210mm. I know the 100-400 has IS, but that isn’t going to give you sharp images in all circumstances by any means.

Any chance you could post a couple more examples, but larger? Full size would be ideal.

Paul

Thanks…i also used a high ISO…heres a couple more pics hope the size is ok

The first thing that strikes me is the shutter speeed is 1/80th, which is far slower than would be ideal for a focal length of 210mm. I know the 100-400 has IS, but that isn’t going to give you sharp images in all circumstances by any means.

Any chance you could post a couple more examples, but larger? Full size would be ideal.

Paul