[Dynasty]

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Here is the rest of the set.

East Village Bike Tour - a set on Flickr

I just picked up the camera today and was playing around with it. I feel as if I am doing something wrong, because I am not getting the clarity or focus I would like. All of these shots seem a bit off, no? Any suggestions on technique?

Thanks!

[tackyat.2]

From what it looks like the apparent lack of sharpness is caused by two factors:

1. Relatively shallow depth of field
2. Slow shutter speed

To help the first, use a smaller aperture. This will have the additional benefit of increasing lens sharpness. I suggest f2 or f2.4 for the FA 50mm.
Nailing focus is also important in such situations, or else the subject will be blurry.

To help the second, increase the ISO. You will have to determine for yourself what you think is an acceptable amount of noise.

[Dynasty]

Awesome, thanks for the advice.

I figured the low aperture was part of the issue. But I always shoot in AV mode, so the shutter speed is selected for me. Do you think this is not the best technique? If I shoot in manual, I usually struggle determining what is a smart shutter speed...

[tackyat.2]

Roughly 1/(focal length) is a good shutter speed. You can go about a stop slower, but your technique becomes the limiting factor the lower the shutter speed.

To use this rule of thumb, you can set your camera to TAv mode and set the shutter speed and aperture to want to use and then let the camera choose the ISO.

Of course, in the right conditions, you should use the fastest shutter speed within reason to avoid subject blurring, if you want that.
It really all depends on your preferences.

[AussieTrev]

If you want slow shutter but sharpness grab the tripod. I've been using it a lot more since my shoulder operation and this resulted in sharper photos with slower shutter speeds, wider DoF and lower ISO, all combine for sharper results.

[Gregory_51]

Hello
As stated above shallow dof at f1.4 and slow shutter speed are causing problems. Bumping up the ISO to 3200 would give you 1 stop more and allow a faster shutter speed or smaller aperture and deal with noise in pp. The lighting on the street is a problem with all the different light sources and requires a lot of work in pp to correct. A tripod would allow the most choices and steadiness but are cumbersome and not always practical especially on a downtown street. I would suggest looking into a good monopod. They are light , portable and quick. I put a ball head on mine with a quick release plate to allow total flexibility. Sometimes if a post or bench etc is available I brace it against that and it makes it even steadier.