sharper pictures

7/28/2019 Sharper Pictures

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How do I get sharper pictures?Whether it's front-to-back sharpness or depth of field effects, discoverthe camera settings and techniques you need for optimum definition

S calpel-sharp picturesaren't just the result ofholding the camera steadywhen you take a picture (althoughthat plays a significant part).Your choice of shutter speed andaperture, the quality of the lensand how accurately it's focused,and the amount of sharpeningthat's applied - either in-cameraor with software- all contribu teto the sharpness of your images.

Supporting the camera whileyou take a shot is key though.The rule of thumb fo r hand held

shooting is to make sure that theshutter speed is equivalent to orfaster than the focal length of the

lens, expressed as 1/focallength. So ifyou're shooting with a 100mm lens youshould be able to get sharp shots at 1/100sec or faster; switch to a 20mm wide-anglelens and you should get away with 1/20 sec

This rule only holds for full-frame D-SLRssuch as the EOS 5D. Because the sensors inthe majority of Canon D-SLRs are smallerthan full-frame, the angle of view (what thelens 'sees') is narrower- and consequently,the effects of camera shake are magnified.As a result, the exposure needs to beshorter, so by multiplying the focal length byx1.6 (the sensor 's 'crop factor'), you get thefull-frame equivalent focal length that canbe used to work out the safe shutter speed.For instance, a 50 mm lens effectivelybecomes an 80mm focal length on a 600D(50mm x 1.6), meaning that you shouldn'tlet the minimum shutter speed drop below1/80 sec for handheld shots.No great shakes


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What it takes to get a sharp picture

the difference between a sharp pictureand a soft one, it can't work miracles.The shutter speed still needs to be fastenough to freeze the movement of anactive subject. When light levels dropand shutter speeds get slower, you'llneed a tripod to keep the camera solid.And even when there's plenty of light,a tripod enables you to use low ISOsettings for smooth, noise-free shots,

aperture affects the depth of field inan image: the more of this there is, themore of an image from front to back willappear sharp. Narrow apertures (withhigh f-numbers such as f/16 and f/22),create greater depth of field, while wideapertures (with low values such as f/2.8and f/4) offer a shallower depth of field.

Dialling in a lens's narrowest aper turesetting doesn't lead to the sharpest

1 Aperture 3 SupportNarrow apertures enable A sturdy tripod and headyoutoincreasethe will provide a stable basedepth of field in an image for the camera.- press the Depth ofField preview button to 4 150check what 's sharp. Low ISOs give the most

detail-rich pictures, but2 Focus you may need to up theWith landscapes, focus ISO in order to usearound a third of the way smaller apertures and/into the scene in order to or faster shutter speeds.maximise front-to-backsharpness. Use Live 5 ContrastView to magnify an area, High-contrast subjectsand then fine-tune with and scenes look sharpermanual focus. than low-contras t ones.

"Dialling in a lens'snarrowest aperturesetting doesn't lead


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Steady asshe goesAlthough you might be capable of gettingacceptably sharp images when shooting with yourcamera handheld at fairly fast shutter speeds, it 'sonly by zooming in to view

them at 100% on yourcamera's LCD screen oryour computer (when it's toolate to re-shoot of course)that you can really see ifthey're bitingly sharp. We'veshot th is sequence toillustrate the difference arock-solid tripod makes.

, Tripod techniqueEven shots that are taken with the aid of a tripodcan appear soft if the tripod's not set up andadjusted correctly. For a start, you should avoidraising the centre column where possible -thisessentially turns the tripod into a less substantialmonopod. Ideally, you should raise the camera toyour eye level by extending the legs alone. Oncethe camera is locked on the tripod and you'reready to take the shot, you shouldn't touch it .Instead, fire the shutter using the camera's

Mirror lockupDisablei Enable OFFv

Reduce camera shake causedby mirror shocklmi!JHelpMirror lock-upThis usually a Custom Function ,although it 's found in the mainshooting menu on the SD Mk Ill.

Accuratefocus pointGetting the right parts of a picturein focus is essential to creating anoverall impression of sharpness.Focus is critical when you'rephotographing close-ups wheredepth of field (the area thatappears sharp) can be measuredin millimetres, or when you're using


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spot' of sharpness for a lens is usually inthe aperture mid-range, around f/8-f/11.

Naturally, pin-sharp pictures canonly be captured if a lens is focused withprecision. it's faster to use the camera'sautofocus system to get things crispthan to rely on manual focusing, thoughyou'll need to select the autofocus modethat's appropriate to the subject orscene you're photographing. For staticsubjects. choose One-Shot AF- this willonly let you take a shot when a part ofthe image is detected to be in focus.

to AI Servo AF, which continuouslyadjusts the focus as the subject moves.

You also need to make sure theautofocus system picks out the part ofthe scene that you want to be in focus.To do this, you'll need to highlight thearea using one of the AF points in theviewfinder. it's better to do this yourselfrather than letting the camera pick thepoint(s) of focus. as it will often latch onto the closest thing to the camera; ifyou're taking a portrait, this may meanall the detail of your subject's nose is

of

Generally, pr ime lenses(ones with a fixed focallength) deliver sharperimages than zooms,with macro lensesparticular ly well-tunedto bring ou t the finestdetails. To get the bestfrom any lens though,try to select aperturesfrom the middle of therange and avoid placingthe subject too close tothe edge of the frame,as a lens is sharpertowards it s centre thanat the edges.

No tripod? Try bracing your lens againsta solid object fo r sharper images thanyou'd ge t by handholding

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