Sharpness

[TokyoM1ke]

Hi,

 

I have the following picture (along with a few others) and wanted to get an idea of whether it is likely to be sufficiently sharp/in focus etc. I took it with a 135mm lens stopped right down to get some motion into the water.  Anyway, thoughts appreciated.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qtmd6ken9unv55e/20140816-L1003762.jpg?dl=0

 

Edited out link as it doesn't seem to work, sorry.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[Bill Brooks]

Water blur great, paddle blur great, rock blur great. Wonderful sense of motion. However the face should be sharp. I don't think it is. It is a balancing act between the different areas of the image.

[TokyoM1ke]

In my heart of hearts, that was probably my thinking as well - hence why I asked the question. Maybe it was the impossible shot from that point of view - perhaps 1/45 instead of 1/30 with the ISO up... or maybe the face is out of focus.  DoF is paper thin on that lens (made in 1962), even at f/22 (I think it was that) and handheld with a viewfinder is... challenging. Anyway, enough excuses, I shall move on to the next one! Thanks Bill - advice from second set of eyes greatly appreciated.

 

 

That said, I should probably give up on these canoe shots... but do you think that this one is any better?

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/arjxxk6g5c7gzhw/20140816-L1003761.jpg?dl=0

 

Might be better if I call it a day and don't get a QC fail because I've fallen for my own photographs and can't take an objective view.

 

I'll probably look at them again in a few months and wonder why I even bothered asking about them.

 

Last one I'll ask about - promise!

[M.Chapman]

In my opinion the first isn't sharp enough. The second is better, especially if downsized to 3600 x 2400, but I'd say it's still marginal and probably not worth a risking a QC fail for.

[John Mitchell]

First one looks too fuzzy to me. I too would try downsizing the second one. It can make a big difference with some images, I find.

[John Allison J]

i like both images but I wouldn't risk them with QC

Best Wishes

John

[Bill Brooks]

First one is a more interesting image. Next time I would use a higher shutter speed, and F8 because F22 will be soft due to diffraction. Track the face using a focus mark on the camera view screen as a reference. If the subject and camera move fast enough, and you track the face properly, you should get an overall bur with the face sharp.

[pavel]

IMO if the features of the face are sharp at 100% crop it would be good enough for submition, however if you have the focus on the other part and you try to get some motion blur would be ok.Again it is personal judgment.

For me number one is not sharp enough, number is getting there but still not enough.

[TokyoM1ke]

I hear a consistent theme here, thank you all... this will not be contributing to my first QC fail!

 

Point taken Bill - I need to do some test shots with different f/stops. Too keen to get out there and give it a go. Sickening thing is that it might not have taken much to have got it right - 1 or 2 stops wider open, ISO down to 320 (minimum on camera) from 640 and 1/45 instead of 1/30... oh well. DoF is still a major challenge. 

 

http://www.maudric.com/blog/a-50-year-old-lens/

 

I do think that I'll need some ND filters for really sunny days.