Ok now....

[crystalb]

I always have trouble getting clear pics, and I followed some advice about trying to shoot with a tripod and timer...

These are the results.
Center AF point on eye
He could have moved abit so I included a still shot.
These are taken with a lower apeture and shutterspeed, but that should not have mattered with the still shot. I will try again when I can get the lighting a bit better.

Any insight will be appreciated

[Mad Aussie]

Definitely try with stronger lighting Crystal. It can make a huge difference especially with your auto focus which looks for contrast to get a fix and focus. Try to get an f-stop of around f8 if possible also as it's likely to be sharper than wider apertures.

[crystalb]

Here we go


this was taken at F8, 1/100 and ISO 400 the focus was on the orange dude's left eye...



Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

[Marko]

What lens did you use and at what focal length?

Agree with MA - the lighting is too dim here on the boy. Try another test. Take the boy OUTSIDE and focus on his eye with a fast shutter speed. EXCEED the focal length rule by at least 2 stops. Meaning if you use a 50mm shoot the shot at 1/200 or faster. If you use a 200mm lens shoot it at 1/800 or faster.

TRUCK SHOT
The orange eye is not tack sharp.
Now what I want to see is that exact same shot in the same light shot at 1/200 and 1/400 always on a tripod, shutter triggered in the exact same way.

Thx - Marko

[crystalb]

First 2 were with the 50mm and 3rd was with the 18-55 @55mm.
The truck pics were taken with 18-55mm @55mm as well.
All were done with tripod and timer.


I had used my flash for the first 2 truck shots, and seeing as my flash only will go to 1/200 I couldn't get the same light for the 1/400 shot so I will take it outside and do all three pics again. I'll drag the kid out too.
Here is the 1/200 shot anyway...

[Marko]

Ok - based on the info given shutter speed does not look like the issue here. On a tripod, these should all be sharp. they are not. They are being triggered by the timer so shake at these speeds is not your doing.

How is your eyesight in general? - I ask this because we are talking about 2 different lenses now. The chance of both lenses being off are very very small.

What may be happening is that you cannot see if indeed the shot is in sharp sharp focus in your viewfinder. This can happen when you use slower lenses and/or when the scene is dim like in the first 2 shots. Now that I know shutter speed is not the cause...I'd bet that this is the problem. take a look at shot 2 of the truck. You say you focused on the orange dude's eye...and yet the green eye on the other figure is sharper. To me this suggests you simply missed the focus....likely because fine focus in dimmer light is hard.

New test

Take the boy or the truck outside where it should be much easier to see if the eye is in sharp focus. Same test as above. On a tripod with a timer (or cable release). CONFIRM with us that indeed you focused on the eyeball and that the eyeball looked sharp in the viewfinder. For the boy, make sure the shutterspeed is at least 1/125. For the truck it does not matter.

Try one shot autofocusing and one shot manual...... I'd bet the results you will show us now will be considerably sharper.

PLEASE ALSO CONFIRM THAT EACH OF THESE SHOTS WAS LESS THAN 250K BEFORE YOU UPLOADED THEM.

Hope that helps - Marko

[crystalb]

I've had glasses for years, had my eyes tested about 2 years ago now....

All these pics were taken with autofocus.


I will do the next test and report back

[Mad Aussie]

Can you upload any of these to another source? As Marko eluded to, if the image is bigger than 250kb the website compresses the image a little when you attach it here. This often results in a lessening of the sharpness.

[Mad Aussie]

I was just looking in your flickr album and although your photos are a bit small to see great detail in, they do appear to be sharp.

Your Flamingo shot for instance. Does that look sharp up close?

[crystalb]

I made sure that I had these pics under 250k and even downloaded IrfanView....(they look just as bad on my comp. before uploading)

Yes the flamingo is quiet sharp, it was taken when my camera was just under a month old and I have to admit it was on full auto at the time.

I have yet to do the New Test, it was cloudy today therefore it was dark earlier than normal.