Completely confused with todays pics

Jacos · 04-12-2010, 10:14 AM

I have just been to the park this evening and taken about 20 pics. Upon returning home i find that they are all awful!
No sharpness,all washed out etc etc. This is the best of the bunch. I shot in raw and jpeg.I cant see any point in doing any pp with the raw becuase the image is just terrible. Can anyone offer any opinion as to why it is so blown out and not sharp.
Camera settings...............
1.kit lens 18-55
focallength 18mm
shuter speed 1/160
Ap F11
cap mode landscape
multi metering
iso 200
single AF.- i foucuse on my wife
sharpness 1.
Here is the image

and 100 crop

JeffJS · 04-12-2010, 10:39 AM

I don't see anything to back this up but I'm thinking it may be that your camera grabbed a focus point other than your wife.

As for the exposure, I tend to prefer spot metering to gain better control over what is properly exposed. Some find it too difficult to use though. You might try stepping away from the scene modes and going full manual to get your exposures right.

Jacos · 04-12-2010, 10:47 AM

The problem is that i had it on centre focus and aimed straight at my wife.
I took lots of pics on P mode and they were all the same.
When i had my Olympius e600 and panasonic gf-1 i found i was blown away with the photos. I sold them though becuase i was persuaded to get the K-x from all the good reviews.
Last night i took some really nice hand held lowlight portraits which i was impressed with but after these pics today i am rapidly loosing faith in the camera.
I hope once i pop on th e50mm AF 1.4 tomorrow i will have a fresh start with the K-x.

krypticide · 04-12-2010, 10:47 AM

DOF should be pretty high at f/11 and 18mm. I would say that you probably are seeing diffraction effects at such a small aperture. Try f/8 next time and see what happens.

vize · 04-12-2010, 11:55 AM

Maybe the mirror slap issue that some people are seeing. I am just putting it out there.

Ira · 04-12-2010, 12:30 PM

Did you know that the Hand icon has to appear before Shake reduction actually takes effect?

And that hitting the shutter before you see that hand can screw you up?

bymy141 · 04-12-2010, 12:45 PM

I think you are right and wrong.

Yes the picture is not sharp to me as well, but no you are wrong on RAW PP, it is just the thing to do if you like sharp pictures.

Looking at the details of the picture, for instance the bench right of the tree in the background of the crop, or the small branches just above the head of the wife, I think that it is not far from what is probably "as good as it gets" with a kit lens.
You can see some sort of label on the back of the bench, which is a rather small detail...

If you suffer from some mirror slab, it is not a lot. I do not see the blur in the same way as others have shown with their MS problems.

The small aperture on a relative long distance to the subject more or less rules out focus errors I guess.
To be sure, you could do a FF BF check with an open aperture and a test sheet.

The sharpness of the picture is not strong. It does not look crisp.
Perhaps you should try to improve clarity and sharpness in post processing at see what happens. Lightroom is very good at that. Try try the clarity slider.

This "issue" is an thing common experienced by many users new DSLR's.
Sharpness is done in translating the raw image to jpeg. It is a camera setting as well. You'll find that all raw images are "soft".

Perhaps this is your first DSLR?

- Bert

Hemi345 · 04-12-2010, 01:03 PM

Did you focus then recompose? If not, the center AF would have been up in the tree (just out of view in your crop).

It might be helpful to see a crop of the tree above your wife to see if it is in focus. That would confirm the focus picked part of the tree that was closer to you or, if you focused on your wife and recomposed the shot, that the camera could be front focusing a bit.

matth · 04-12-2010, 01:10 PM

Why is this photo taken with lens stopped down to F11 while the best sharpness you can get at about F5,6-8? After that it's getting worst due to diffraction. With 18mm stopped down to F11 FF or BF is not an issue. Beside of that consider that this is a DSLR camera. Basic sharpening is low comparing to any sort of compact cameras which give often really over-sharpen images. They sure look crisp, but there are awful things going on the edges because of that.

**rparmar** · 04-12-2010, 01:28 PM

I don't think f/11 is going to degrade things much over f/8. That difference is likely invisible.

But consider that you are cropping in a fair amount and then saying it is not sharp. That is always the case... the more you crop the more visible the problems are. I would fill the lens with the subject you want. Frame in-camera.

matth · 04-12-2010, 01:35 PM

It will be visible on 100% crop

Kit lens is not really as good to deliver razor sharp images from 12MPx on its wide end no matter what F you choose.

**Lowell Goudge** · 04-12-2010, 02:00 PM

if I look at the inset, aside from the fact that the resolution is approaching the limits of the enlargement, what are you worried about?

I see several areas that could lead to problems,
- Matrix metering will potentially blow out the small (relitive) area of white,
- You say you focused on your wife, but she is not central to the image, which sensor were you using? You may not be focused on your wife.
- at F11 and 18mm defraction around the aperture could certainly come into play, you would be much better cutting back to F8 and increasing shutter speed, Note that when you consider shutter speed and blurr or shake, the 1/fl rule is only good for the equivelent of a 4x6 print of the entire frame, not a blow up of 5-10% of the total area

the bottom line is that resolution, especially of the sensor is not infinite and you will not have a sharp image of something that is using only 5-10% of the total sensor area.

Jacos · 04-12-2010, 02:14 PM

Originally posted by Ira

Did you know that the Hand icon has to appear before Shake reduction actually takes effect?

And that hitting the shutter before you see that hand can screw you up?

I think this might be a factor in some of my pics.
I will try again tomorrow.

Thanks for all the advice.
I dont know why but i feel the K-x is not performing well in any of the scene modes compared to all the other dslr that i have tried.
I know dslr is not just about scene modes but my previous olympus e600 and panasonic GF-1 the pictures just popped out of the camera.
Maybe the default settings for jpeg are just to soft compared to ther cameras.
I did not expect to have to go to so much effort to get a half decent picture with this Camera.
I am also now paranoid becuase i have a white one and all this mirror slap stuff is now making me think the camera is screwed.

**rparmar** · 04-12-2010, 03:02 PM

Originally posted by matth

Kit lens is not really as good to deliver razor sharp images from 12MPx on its wide end no matter what F you choose.

I don't doubt that. In fact, that's why I went to the DA16-45. But that's a different issue. I doubt you could tell which of two shots were at f/8 and which were at f/11. I know I couldn't!

Tuner571 · 04-12-2010, 03:20 PM

Maybe with that slow shutter speed you moved a little bit which induced a blurry image. Next time either bump up your ISO or open your aperture to 5.6 for a faster shutter speed.

04-12-2010, 10:14 AM	#1
Jacos Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 29	Completely confused with todays pics I have just been to the park this evening and taken about 20 pics. Upon returning home i find that they are all awful! No sharpness,all washed out etc etc. This is the best of the bunch. I shot in raw and jpeg.I cant see any point in doing any pp with the raw becuase the image is just terrible. Can anyone offer any opinion as to why it is so blown out and not sharp. Camera settings............... 1.kit lens 18-55 focallength 18mm shuter speed 1/160 Ap F11 cap mode landscape multi metering iso 200 single AF.- i foucuse on my wife sharpness 1. Here is the image and 100 crop

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04-12-2010, 10:39 AM	#2
JeffJS Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Michigan, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,484	I don't see anything to back this up but I'm thinking it may be that your camera grabbed a focus point other than your wife. As for the exposure, I tend to prefer spot metering to gain better control over what is properly exposed. Some find it too difficult to use though. You might try stepping away from the scene modes and going full manual to get your exposures right.

04-12-2010, 10:47 AM	#3
Jacos Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 29 Original Poster	The problem is that i had it on centre focus and aimed straight at my wife. I took lots of pics on P mode and they were all the same. When i had my Olympius e600 and panasonic gf-1 i found i was blown away with the photos. I sold them though becuase i was persuaded to get the K-x from all the good reviews. Last night i took some really nice hand held lowlight portraits which i was impressed with but after these pics today i am rapidly loosing faith in the camera. I hope once i pop on th e50mm AF 1.4 tomorrow i will have a fresh start with the K-x.

04-12-2010, 10:47 AM	#4
krypticide Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,079	DOF should be pretty high at f/11 and 18mm. I would say that you probably are seeing diffraction effects at such a small aperture. Try f/8 next time and see what happens.

04-12-2010, 11:55 AM	#5
vize Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 45	Maybe the mirror slap issue that some people are seeing. I am just putting it out there.

04-12-2010, 12:30 PM	#6
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	Did you know that the Hand icon has to appear before Shake reduction actually takes effect? And that hitting the shutter before you see that hand can screw you up?

04-12-2010, 12:45 PM	#7
bymy141 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,563	I think you are right and wrong. Yes the picture is not sharp to me as well, but no you are wrong on RAW PP, it is just the thing to do if you like sharp pictures. Looking at the details of the picture, for instance the bench right of the tree in the background of the crop, or the small branches just above the head of the wife, I think that it is not far from what is probably "as good as it gets" with a kit lens. You can see some sort of label on the back of the bench, which is a rather small detail... If you suffer from some mirror slab, it is not a lot. I do not see the blur in the same way as others have shown with their MS problems. The small aperture on a relative long distance to the subject more or less rules out focus errors I guess. To be sure, you could do a FF BF check with an open aperture and a test sheet. The sharpness of the picture is not strong. It does not look crisp. Perhaps you should try to improve clarity and sharpness in post processing at see what happens. Lightroom is very good at that. Try try the clarity slider. This "issue" is an thing common experienced by many users new DSLR's. Sharpness is done in translating the raw image to jpeg. It is a camera setting as well. You'll find that all raw images are "soft". Perhaps this is your first DSLR? - Bert

04-12-2010, 01:03 PM	#8
Hemi345 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Colorado Posts: 127	Did you focus then recompose? If not, the center AF would have been up in the tree (just out of view in your crop). It might be helpful to see a crop of the tree above your wife to see if it is in focus. That would confirm the focus picked part of the tree that was closer to you or, if you focused on your wife and recomposed the shot, that the camera could be front focusing a bit.

04-12-2010, 01:10 PM	#9
matth Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Poznan, Poland Photos: Albums Posts: 34	Why is this photo taken with lens stopped down to F11 while the best sharpness you can get at about F5,6-8? After that it's getting worst due to diffraction. With 18mm stopped down to F11 FF or BF is not an issue. Beside of that consider that this is a DSLR camera. Basic sharpening is low comparing to any sort of compact cameras which give often really over-sharpen images. They sure look crisp, but there are awful things going on the edges because of that.

04-12-2010, 01:28 PM	#10
rparmar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,823	I don't think f/11 is going to degrade things much over f/8. That difference is likely invisible. But consider that you are cropping in a fair amount and then saying it is not sharp. That is always the case... the more you crop the more visible the problems are. I would fill the lens with the subject you want. Frame in-camera.

04-12-2010, 01:35 PM	#11
matth Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Poznan, Poland Photos: Albums Posts: 34	It will be visible on 100% crop Kit lens is not really as good to deliver razor sharp images from 12MPx on its wide end no matter what F you choose.

04-12-2010, 02:00 PM	#12
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,891	if I look at the inset, aside from the fact that the resolution is approaching the limits of the enlargement, what are you worried about? I see several areas that could lead to problems, - Matrix metering will potentially blow out the small (relitive) area of white, - You say you focused on your wife, but she is not central to the image, which sensor were you using? You may not be focused on your wife. - at F11 and 18mm defraction around the aperture could certainly come into play, you would be much better cutting back to F8 and increasing shutter speed, Note that when you consider shutter speed and blurr or shake, the 1/fl rule is only good for the equivelent of a 4x6 print of the entire frame, not a blow up of 5-10% of the total area the bottom line is that resolution, especially of the sensor is not infinite and you will not have a sharp image of something that is using only 5-10% of the total sensor area.

04-12-2010, 02:14 PM	#13
Jacos Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 29 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ira Did you know that the Hand icon has to appear before Shake reduction actually takes effect? And that hitting the shutter before you see that hand can screw you up? I think this might be a factor in some of my pics. I will try again tomorrow. Thanks for all the advice. I dont know why but i feel the K-x is not performing well in any of the scene modes compared to all the other dslr that i have tried. I know dslr is not just about scene modes but my previous olympus e600 and panasonic GF-1 the pictures just popped out of the camera. Maybe the default settings for jpeg are just to soft compared to ther cameras. I did not expect to have to go to so much effort to get a half decent picture with this Camera. I am also now paranoid becuase i have a white one and all this mirror slap stuff is now making me think the camera is screwed.

04-12-2010, 03:02 PM	#14
rparmar Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,823	Originally posted by matth Kit lens is not really as good to deliver razor sharp images from 12MPx on its wide end no matter what F you choose. I don't doubt that. In fact, that's why I went to the DA16-45. But that's a different issue. I doubt you could tell which of two shots were at f/8 and which were at f/11. I know I couldn't!

04-12-2010, 03:20 PM	#15
Tuner571 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ohio Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,549	Maybe with that slow shutter speed you moved a little bit which induced a blurry image. Next time either bump up your ISO or open your aperture to 5.6 for a faster shutter speed.