Help my camera seems to be lying

[Bub-les]

My camera seems to be lying to me. When I'm out taking photos I check things on the LCD as much as possible but very very often when I get home and look at the same photos on the computer screen the majority if not all are out of focus! It doesn't matter whether I use auto, center weighted, or manual the results are the same.
I used to have a Fugi Finepix 602 I rarely had much trouble with the focus but since I moved up to DSLR Sony alpha 100, the majority of my photos are not crisp at all!!
Presumably its me but what am I doing wrong!
Take a look at this one

I came home yesterday thinking I'd taken a really good photo but then I viewed it on the computer and its no good. Focus is out again!
Help I'm going on holiday shortly and I must admit I'm really tempted to leave the camera at home!
Barbara

[pressld2]

Hi Barbara,

I'm not sure that this is out of focus. Normally when the focus has missed the subject you can see an area of the picture either in front of or behind the subject that is in focus. This looks more like camera shake to me as there is the same degree of blur across the whole frame.

Can you tell us the shutter speed and focal length? I'm at work at the moment and therefore cannot use an EXIF viewer (not authorised software). Also, did you use a tripod/monopod?

Dave P.

[Bub-les]

OK checked the exif - probable camera shake in fact after looking at the exif I was hoping for way too much!!
speed 1/100 ..... not fast enough
f13
ISO 200 ........ not high enough
lens 500mm at max with x2 converter!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guess I'll have to wait for better light to get this to work properly!
Yes I did use a monopod.
Barbara

[pressld2]

Yep, that confirms it

The normal rule for setting your shutter speed is to use the reciprocal of the focal length. So with a 200mm lens you should use a shutter speed of 1/200th or faster, with 500mm you should use at least 1/500th and so on. You can get away with slower speeds if your lens has IS, if you're using a support or if your hand-holding technique is very good.

500mm with a 2x converter means 1/1000th of a second or perhaps a bit slower as you were using a monopod.

By upping the ISO to 400 and opening the aperture to it's max (which I'm guessing is f6.3) you would have got up to around 1/800th to 1/1000th of a second.

My default setting when using a long lens is to put the camera in aperture priority mode and open the aperture fully. That way I know I'm getting the fastest possible shutter speed for the available light. Only in very bright conditions do I consider using smaller apertures.

Dave P.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Yep, that confirms it

The normal rule for setting your shutter speed is to use the reciprocal of the focal length. So with a 200mm lens you should use a shutter speed of 1/200th or faster, with 500mm you should use at least 1/500th and so on. You can get away with slower speeds if your lens has IS, if you're using a support or if your hand-holding technique is very good.

500mm with a 2x converter means 1/1000th of a second or perhaps a bit slower as you were using a monopod.

By upping the ISO to 400 and opening the aperture to it's max (which I'm guessing is f6.3) you would have got up to around 1/800th to 1/1000th of a second.

My default setting when using a long lens is to put the camera in aperture priority mode and open the aperture fully. That way I know I'm getting the fastest possible shutter speed for the available light. Only in very bright conditions do I consider using smaller apertures.

Dave P.

pictures also often look sharper on the lcd as the image is much smaller - while the lcd is good for judging exposure it isnt much cop for judging sharpness (unless a pic is really blurred.)

as to your pic i agree with dave about the cause and cure - but i would add that with a f5.6 500mm lens and a 2xtc a wide open appertuere wil still only get you f11 (because apperture if halved by using the tc ) , I am assuming it isnt a pro spec f2.8 or f4 500mm. AF will also not work well with this set up

Over all I would suggest that your best bet is to work on your field craft and try to get closer to your target and then use the 500 lens without the tc with apperture set to f5.6 to maximise the available light.

[Bub-les]

Thanks for the advise. I will put the converter away and only take it out when there is some exceptional light.
There's no way short of scuba diving that I could have got any closer to those ducks! Maybe I'll try it with the tripod and see if that's any better.
Anyway I did manage to get recognisable photos of 5 different types of bird so now I've got to get better ones ie good enough for the Gallery!
Just got to remember to set the right speed for the lens!!!!
All that aside I do find that I'm either making too many mistakes when taking the photo or its a difference in how the camera handles the photo as there were definitely more keepers when I had the Fuji or is that related to size and resolution?

Barbara

[GME]

You could also try zooming right in on your LCD to see if it is in focus a little easier. If the full shot is in small view on the LCD it will be really hard to spot focus issues as mentioned above. I often zoom right in on the LCD if it looks ok at first. I particularly check the eye if it is a bird to try and make sure I have that spot on.
The DSLR, particulary if using a long zoom, will need to be spot on when you are focusing due to DOF issues you were likely not to have experienced with the Fuji if it was a compact. You will be able to get better images when you do get it right though with the backround out of focus helping to highlight your main subject. You will likely have got more keepers from your Fuji than your DSLR while you are learning how to use it best, but undoubtedly will get much better images in the long run when you get the hang of your new camera

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by eeyore

but i would add that with a f5.6 500mm lens and a 2xtc a wide open appertuere wil still only get you f11 (because apperture if halved by using the tc )

Doh! Forgot that! In my defence, I don't own a teleconverter (other than a really cheap and nasty old manual one) so I never have to remember about the light loss when using one.

Thanks for picking it up Pete!

Dave P.

[big bill]

Definately camera shake nothing sharp in the pic never use ?try to take a pic if the speed is slower than the lens you are using myself alweays use a tripod if not monopod but thats due to teh shake due to age

[RichBrew]

Barbara:

Before condemning the x2 converter (which make, by the way?), it would be prudent to conduct tests with the lens/camera assembly locked down as rigid as possible. I say this, as I'm not entirely convinced the resultant image is due to camera movement at the moment of exposure: the tell-tale double image is not evident at high contrast areas such as the wing feathers. Apart from the slow shutter speed you used, I suspect the lens and TC combination as being the major contributer to the poor image quality you are getting with this setup.
Is your 500mm lens a prime or zoom? Zoom lenses are rarely happy with converters beyond x1.7, and a x2 will degrade image quality to some extent with the best optics available from any manufacturer.

RichBrew