Looking for design inspiration?   Browse our curated collections!

Return to Main Discussion Page
Discussion Quote Icon

Discussion

Main Menu | Search Discussions

Search Discussions
 
 

Mark Milar

9 Years Ago

Am I Crazy Or Are My Images Blurry?

Why are my images blurry even when mounted on a tripod (Manfrotto legs, alum.) with a Manfrotto 3030 Pan-tilt head? I also have between the head and the legs a Bubble level. Even if I tighten everything down I still end up with blurry images..Any one have answers? I am thinking about getting a carbon fiber set of legs and a better head, like an Arca-Swiss type. Any ideas?

UPDATE: this f/stop on this image was only 3.5 so I answered my own question...at least with this pic!

Reply Order

Post Reply
 

Joseph C Hinson

9 Years Ago

That one also looks dark to me.

 

John Crothers

9 Years Ago

Lock up the mirror and turn off image stabilization. Those two things get me sometimes.

 

Adam Mateo Fierro

9 Years Ago

Nice composition but definitely lacking sharpness. Are you manually focusing the lens to infinity?

And if you are shooting f/3.5 for more light, why not stop down and shoot multiple exposures to achieve the full dynamic range of the scene? Every lens is different but for someone like me who shoots with a wide angle 100% of the time, I shoot f/8 or f/11 for maximum sharpness.

 

Chuck De La Rosa

9 Years Ago

A couple of years ago I got a new camera body. I also started to get blurry shots about the same time. I thought it was the camera body. I tried my old body again, and realized that I can no longer shoot hand held as steady as I used to. After a lot of experimenting and missed photo ops, I ended up relearning a lot of what I thought I knew. It's all about technique. I shoot with a Manfrotto tripod and cheap Manfrotto ball head. I'd like to get a better tripod head, but there are things you can do...

Tie a rope or strap to the underside of the tripod mount. Pull it down with your foot when shooting to add a bit more stability. Avoid raising the center stalk if at all possible.

Do what john said, use mirror lockup. I'll add that with mirror lockup, you should use a remote shutter cable also. Mine is a cheap one from E-bay.

You'll have to experiment, but as Adam said, F/8 - F/11 are generally sweet spots for sharpness, especially APS-C size sensors. I can get some pretty sharp photos at f/7 (mine does 1/2 stops which is really handy).

There is a shortcut trick to focusing to infinity, AKA hyperfocal settings, that is to focus on a point 1/3 into the scene.

 

Joseph C Hinson

9 Years Ago

I may be getting close to not realistically hand holding shots with my 70 to 200 mm, unfortunately, especially when it is stretched out all the way.

 

Mary Armstrong

9 Years Ago

I am not a prof. photographer, but know some. It is not hard to get a blurry image if the camera is hand held. Use a tripod and use a remote shutter cable. Also shoot at several exposure settings so you can have a choice of the best one.

 

Jim Hughes

9 Years Ago

All good points, but it's easy to get hung up on sharpness at 100% and lose sight of when a photo is 'sharp enough' and will look fine when printed.

 

Roy Erickson

9 Years Ago

Always - when possible - and photographing art should certainly be possible - use a tripod. then whatever it is Chuck said. I've never gotten a good pic by locking up the mirror (but that's me).

 

Mary Lee Dereske

9 Years Ago

I think it may also help to have the plane of the sensor parallel to the plane of the artwork. Any tilt of the camera is going to affect your depth of field at lower f stops.

 

This discussion is closed.