help on sharpness (2)

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padang
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p.1 #1 · help on sharpness (2)

Hi,

I was looking at the shot below , and thought at first is was back-focused:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

full-size :http://www.flickr.com/photos/14916911@N00/2815791269/sizes/o/

The hair look much sharper then the right eye.

But here is the same shot with a more shallow aperture of f/5.6 instead of f/8.0:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

full-size :http://www.flickr.com/photos/14916911@N00/2816638104/sizes/o/

Now the hair is more blur, while the eye still has the same sharpness. I thus concluded that the focus was correct in the first shot, but the lighting was actually giving a better impression of shaprness to the hair. The eye beeing in a shadowed zone, less contrast make some details to be lost and seems les sharp.

Thoughts ?

Thanks !

Sep 03, 2008 at 05:39 PM

Kaden K.
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p.1 #2 · help on sharpness (2)

Padang don't obsess over sharpness. That will not necessarily lead you to better
images. I suggest you move your digital camera to manual and believe you me
when I tell you that only then will you have full control over the process... or
better yet you can sell your digital camera and get a swanky film rangefinder.

A couple Leica or Hasselblad lenses will do the trick too.

Lets see - is this sharp enough?

2008 © Kaden K.

Edited on Sep 04, 2008 at 01:59 AM

Sep 04, 2008 at 01:52 AM

Scott Stoness
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p.1 #3 · help on sharpness (2)

Padang - taking a picture of a child is not a good reference for sharpness. Most cameras focus when 1/2 pressed. Between the time of half pressed and fully pressed, the child (or you) will move and change and you will be focussed elsewhere.

I agree with Kaden - the focus is good and I would not fuss over it much unless it really is a problem.

But if you do - get a still reference point with constant lighting to test it with.

Sep 04, 2008 at 04:32 AM

Hendrik

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p.1 #4 · help on sharpness (2)

The focus sensor will look for the best contrast and is bigger than the focus brackets suggest. The hair has more contrast and chances are that the focus sensor therefore took this for the focus adjustment. It’s not backfocussing, but a difficult subject.

Sep 05, 2008 at 06:32 PM


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