cant get sharp pics with k3

LoneWolf · 01-19-2015, 10:10 AM

Originally posted by zmohie

Hi folks it has been with me about 9 months..k3 is a fantastic tool. it exceds my skills. I have had many k mounts cameras/2 k5s2+k200+k01+k5+k3/ and many lenses so iam familiar with pentax cameras but as the title speak i still get some blured pics. i do with k3 what i used to do with the others cameras. i need some experiences to get the best output of the camera. some settings or techniques or any thing could help to control this power tool.
thanks.

Found this in the USA K3 Thread, which appears to emphasise some of the points made in previous entries in this thread.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/282441-k3-concerns-resolved-completely.html

stevebrot · 01-19-2015, 10:23 AM

Here is a set of bullet points:

Higher resolution has higher potential for disappointing results when pixel peeping. For perspective, down-sample your image to 16Mpx and compare to your K-5 IIs.
Your K-3 does not make your good lenses bad. They will perform as well or better at 24 Mpx as at 16 Mpx.
Missed focus is missed focus
Camera motion is camera motion

I went directly from a K10D to the K-3, but was pre-warned regarding the demands that the sensor would make on my technique. As a result, I was very happy with my results from frame one. To be honest, all of this is nothing new. I used to shoot Technical Pan back in the film days and it was well-known that the film required extra attention to technique to extract the full benefit of the media.

Edit: I was not going to say anything about noise (opens huge can of worms), but thought it good to at least mention the value of giving attention to noise reduction in PP if shooting above ISO 800. A little effort with the computer will pay a huge dividend on the final result.

Steve

jayman_1975 · 01-19-2015, 10:47 AM

I found that my first images with my new k3 were not tack sharp until I turned off high ISO NR in the menu options. They are actually pretty good even if it's set to MED but if left on "auto" it is way too aggressive and results in blurry images. Incidentally.....MED NR doesn't eliminate much noise anyways so I elect to leave it off completely.

mee · 01-19-2015, 10:55 AM

ISO 3200 (as in the example image) might also eat into the sharpness a bit..

pete-tarmigan · 01-19-2015, 01:50 PM

Originally posted by zmohie

Thanks to all
here is one and when back to home Iwill share more

The foreground looks sharp (closest part of the shirt). The lens seems to be focussed on that area.

**beachgardener** · 01-19-2015, 02:09 PM

31mm @ f2.8 1/80s ISO 3200 it appears to be, have a look at the hair top right of image, the focus seems to be somewhere between the ear and forehead, might be back focus.

**Bruce Clark** · 01-19-2015, 04:35 PM

Very sound comments so far on this thread, which I hope the OP will absorb and learn from, I know I have learnt a lot from this forum. Yet I still manage to produce a great number of less than ideal images. One tendency I have and which is not mentioned here is that I sometimes focus on a point say the eyes and then something moves slightly. It could be me shifting body stance slightly, it could be the subject moving. (a common event with animals and small children) In any event the focal distance set by the camera is no longer valid at the instant the shutter is pressed. The effect will be more pronounced at wide open apertures with close subjects creating a very shallow depth of field..

Solutions, singly or in combination

1 Use tripod. Ungainly sometimes but eliminates camera motion.
2 Use flash.
3 Adjust exposure. Smaller aperture, faster shutter speed, higher ISO.
4 Take many shots in the hope that one will be spot on. (Sadly it is often the shot in perfect focus that has the child with his eyes closed.)
5 Take more photos.

dfp771 · 01-19-2015, 05:04 PM

If you are getting images that are not as sharp as they should be for a 24 MP sensor, check out this review of the K-3:

You Tube

It is noted here as well as in dprreview that the "default" noise reduction of the K-3 may be too aggressive. This would cause images that are not sharp.

stevebrot · 01-19-2015, 05:06 PM

Originally posted by jayman_1975

I found that my first images with my new k3 were not tack sharp until I turned off high ISO NR in the menu options.

This has not been my experience when shooting in RAW. In that case, there is some difference in detail retention, but it is negligible and barely visible in full resolution crop. I presented my results in this thread:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/282200-k-3-high-iso-noise-...-pictures.html

Steve

stevebrot · 01-19-2015, 05:09 PM

Originally posted by dfp771

If you are getting images that are not as sharp as they should be for a 24 MP sensor, check out this review of the K-3:
Pentax K-3: REDEMPTION - YouTube

It is noted here as well as in dprreview that the "default" noise reduction of the K-3 may be too aggressive. This would cause images that are not sharp.

See my note above. There may be a difference for JPEG shooters, but for RAW, any improvement in detail from turning the NR off is damn hard to see. I did my comparison images down to ISO 800 (the cut-off point) and concluded that disabling resulted in no improvement in image quality overall.

Steve

stevebrot · 01-19-2015, 05:12 PM

Originally posted by mee

ISO 3200 (as in the example image) might also eat into the sharpness a bit..

Ya think

Steve

stevebrot · 01-19-2015, 05:17 PM

Originally posted by jayman_1975

if left on "auto" it is way too aggressive

BTW..."Auto" at ISO 1600 sets the NR to "weak" (lowest setting). I believe it is off entirely at ISO below 800.

Steve

Murfy · 01-19-2015, 09:05 PM

I had great photos when I first got my camera, like wow this is freakin amazing detail, then they got soft. I realized it was a setting I had, so I turned it off. Noise reduction maybe? Had great pictures again, but now soft again. I think I am going to do a factory reset and then change a setting a week at a time and see if I can figure out the culprit. Its got to be a setting, since I got consistently great photos for a time period in different exposures, even with high iso I was impressed. I need to write everything down. I am sure I am making menu changes and then forgetting everything I do.

zmohie · 01-20-2015, 04:09 AM

Lots of great information. Thanks to all of you friends. I will read every thread tow times and keep it in mind. I also will try some settings you have mentioned and share the result. Thanks again to the best pentax community.

---------- Post added 01-20-2015 at 04:45 AM ----------

Direct camera output..noise reduction off.

jayman_1975 · 01-20-2015, 08:13 AM

Originally posted by zmohie

Lots of great information. Thanks to all of you friends. I will read every thread tow times and keep it in mind. I also will try some settings you have mentioned and share the result. Thanks again to the best pentax community.

---------- Post added 01-20-2015 at 04:45 AM ----------

Direct camera output..noise reduction off.

That doesn't look right. You have high ISO NR off? Or low shutter speed NR off?

01-19-2015, 10:23 AM	#17
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Here is a set of bullet points: Higher resolution has higher potential for disappointing results when pixel peeping. For perspective, down-sample your image to 16Mpx and compare to your K-5 IIs. Your K-3 does not make your good lenses bad. They will perform as well or better at 24 Mpx as at 16 Mpx. Missed focus is missed focus Camera motion is camera motion I went directly from a K10D to the K-3, but was pre-warned regarding the demands that the sensor would make on my technique. As a result, I was very happy with my results from frame one. To be honest, all of this is nothing new. I used to shoot Technical Pan back in the film days and it was well-known that the film required extra attention to technique to extract the full benefit of the media. Edit: I was not going to say anything about noise (opens huge can of worms), but thought it good to at least mention the value of giving attention to noise reduction in PP if shooting above ISO 800. A little effort with the computer will pay a huge dividend on the final result. Steve

01-19-2015, 05:06 PM	#24
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by jayman_1975 I found that my first images with my new k3 were not tack sharp until I turned off high ISO NR in the menu options. This has not been my experience when shooting in RAW. In that case, there is some difference in detail retention, but it is negligible and barely visible in full resolution crop. I presented my results in this thread: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/282200-k-3-high-iso-noise-...-pictures.html Steve Last edited by stevebrot; 01-19-2015 at 05:13 PM.

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01-19-2015, 10:10 AM	#16
LoneWolf Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 141	Originally posted by zmohie Hi folks it has been with me about 9 months..k3 is a fantastic tool. it exceds my skills. I have had many k mounts cameras/2 k5s2+k200+k01+k5+k3/ and many lenses so iam familiar with pentax cameras but as the title speak i still get some blured pics. i do with k3 what i used to do with the others cameras. i need some experiences to get the best output of the camera. some settings or techniques or any thing could help to control this power tool. thanks. Found this in the USA K3 Thread, which appears to emphasise some of the points made in previous entries in this thread. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/172-pentax-k-3/282441-k3-concerns-resolved-completely.html

01-19-2015, 10:47 AM	#18
jayman_1975 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 385	I found that my first images with my new k3 were not tack sharp until I turned off high ISO NR in the menu options. They are actually pretty good even if it's set to MED but if left on "auto" it is way too aggressive and results in blurry images. Incidentally.....MED NR doesn't eliminate much noise anyways so I elect to leave it off completely.

01-19-2015, 10:55 AM	#19
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	ISO 3200 (as in the example image) might also eat into the sharpness a bit..

01-19-2015, 01:50 PM	#20
pete-tarmigan Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Conception Bay South, New-fun-land Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,272	Originally posted by zmohie Thanks to all here is one and when back to home Iwill share more The foreground looks sharp (closest part of the shirt). The lens seems to be focussed on that area.

01-19-2015, 02:09 PM	#21
beachgardener Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,842	31mm @ f2.8 1/80s ISO 3200 it appears to be, have a look at the hair top right of image, the focus seems to be somewhere between the ear and forehead, might be back focus.

01-19-2015, 04:35 PM	#22
Bruce Clark Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ocean Grove, Victoria Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,458	Very sound comments so far on this thread, which I hope the OP will absorb and learn from, I know I have learnt a lot from this forum. Yet I still manage to produce a great number of less than ideal images. One tendency I have and which is not mentioned here is that I sometimes focus on a point say the eyes and then something moves slightly. It could be me shifting body stance slightly, it could be the subject moving. (a common event with animals and small children) In any event the focal distance set by the camera is no longer valid at the instant the shutter is pressed. The effect will be more pronounced at wide open apertures with close subjects creating a very shallow depth of field.. Solutions, singly or in combination 1 Use tripod. Ungainly sometimes but eliminates camera motion. 2 Use flash. 3 Adjust exposure. Smaller aperture, faster shutter speed, higher ISO. 4 Take many shots in the hope that one will be spot on. (Sadly it is often the shot in perfect focus that has the child with his eyes closed.) 5 Take more photos.

01-19-2015, 05:09 PM	#25
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by dfp771 If you are getting images that are not as sharp as they should be for a 24 MP sensor, check out this review of the K-3: Pentax K-3: REDEMPTION - YouTube It is noted here as well as in dprreview that the "default" noise reduction of the K-3 may be too aggressive. This would cause images that are not sharp. See my note above. There may be a difference for JPEG shooters, but for RAW, any improvement in detail from turning the NR off is damn hard to see. I did my comparison images down to ISO 800 (the cut-off point) and concluded that disabling resulted in no improvement in image quality overall. Steve

01-19-2015, 05:12 PM	#26
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by mee ISO 3200 (as in the example image) might also eat into the sharpness a bit.. Ya think Steve

01-19-2015, 05:17 PM	#27
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by jayman_1975 if left on "auto" it is way too aggressive BTW..."Auto" at ISO 1600 sets the NR to "weak" (lowest setting). I believe it is off entirely at ISO below 800. Steve

01-19-2015, 09:05 PM	#28
Murfy Veteran Member Join Date: May 2014 Photos: Gallery Posts: 803	I had great photos when I first got my camera, like wow this is freakin amazing detail, then they got soft. I realized it was a setting I had, so I turned it off. Noise reduction maybe? Had great pictures again, but now soft again. I think I am going to do a factory reset and then change a setting a week at a time and see if I can figure out the culprit. Its got to be a setting, since I got consistently great photos for a time period in different exposures, even with high iso I was impressed. I need to write everything down. I am sure I am making menu changes and then forgetting everything I do.

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01-20-2015, 04:09 AM	#29
zmohie Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: egypt Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 435 Original Poster	Lots of great information. Thanks to all of you friends. I will read every thread tow times and keep it in mind. I also will try some settings you have mentioned and share the result. Thanks again to the best pentax community. ---------- Post added 01-20-2015 at 04:45 AM ---------- Direct camera output..noise reduction off.

01-20-2015, 08:13 AM	#30
jayman_1975 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 385	Originally posted by zmohie Lots of great information. Thanks to all of you friends. I will read every thread tow times and keep it in mind. I also will try some settings you have mentioned and share the result. Thanks again to the best pentax community. ---------- Post added 01-20-2015 at 04:45 AM ---------- Direct camera output..noise reduction off. That doesn't look right. You have high ISO NR off? Or low shutter speed NR off?