I suspect you mean well, but no one would be wise to click a link to a .zip file these days. There is no way of knowing what is in the file and you could be downloading bad stuff.
Better to post some crops in jpg form directly into your message or, if you need to show a ton of them to make the point, post them directly in a web page elsewhere.
Thanks.
Some general ideas about \"sharpness\" issues:
1. RAW files will not be all that sharp until you sharpen them in post. It is necessary, not optional, that you sharpen them. (In-camera jpgs are sharpened unless you specifically switch off the sharpening.)
2. At 100% magnification most photographs will not appear to be razor sharp - this is actually normal. With extraordinary care and the right lenses you can sometimes get photographs that actually appear rather (but not totally) sharp at 100% but this isn\'t the rule. However, these photographs will often make excellent prints at even some relatively large sizes. (A 5D2 image viewed at 100% on the screen is - depending on your monitor - the equivalent of looking very, very closely at a print that might be 4 or 5 feet wide.)
3. Speaking of which, do take the opportunity to closely view prints of that size some time. Try to visit a museum or gallery displaying fine photographic prints and I think you may discover that up close some very excellent prints are a bit less sharp than you might imagine.
4. If you think you have an equipment problem - and this is always at least a possibility - do some testing that eliminates other variables. Put the camera on a tripod, use mirror-lockup and a remote release, focus on a subject with good contrast and that is flat and parallel to the sensor. Try shooting it a varying focal lengths and apertures. A simply check for front/back focus is to let the lens AF, shoot a frame, switch AF off, and then manually focus a tiny bit closer for the next frame and a bit further for one more. (This is not the best test but it is useful.) If you can get good sharpness with these tests the issue is probably not your equipment.
5. Use some care in shooting. Pay attention to where the AF points fall and which ones light up. Be cautious about the focus/recompose technique if you shoot at very large apertures. Be aware that the large apertures - especially on longer focal lengths - can make perfect focus technique more critical since there is less margin for error with the narrower depth of field. Also be aware that at the largest apertures there will naturally be, in virtually all cases, some decrease in sharpness.
Dan
Dan
Nov 18, 2009 at 10:18 AM
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