Canon 1D with unsharp images

Hello all...

I've recently aquired a Canon 1D which I think is a great camera,

except for a problem with some of the images i've taken with it.

 

When I view thew images at 100% in either Windows Picture Viewer or

Canon DPP, some of the images seem unsharp, almost blurry as if its

out of focus. They look ok when viewing at the standard screen size

but at 100% is where the blurriness stands out. Like I said before,

its not on all images but probably on most.

 

I know this is a bit of a vague question but has anyone else had

these type of problems & how did you overcome them?

 

Thanks to all who reply...

Hi,

Unlikely as they were with shutter speeds around the 1/60th to 1/250th mark.

 

I was going to do some experiments this weekend when I have the chance with different shutter speeds, settings, etc.

 

But since I cant do these tests until the weekend I wanted to know before hand if anyone had any blurriness or unsharpness problems..

1/60 shutter speed does not guarantee sharp results (especially when viewing at 100%). Use a tripod and focus carefully (manual), set aperture to F8 (Av mode). Those test images should be as sharp as the camera is capable of producing. Apply some unsharp mask and then review the images at 100%.

Why would you be reviewing the images at 100%? Do you go up to paintings or framed photos on a wall and examine them with a magnifying glass?<p>

 

Unless youre planning to do a 100% crop from your photo (for what reason I do not know) or were printing at some huge size, I wouldnt worry too much about it looking blurry at 100%, which most likely comes from hand-holding, even at 1/125, you move a lot more than you think. If the photo is to your liking at the appropiate viewing area, then all is well. If you want sharper results, do what Kenneth said and use a tripod and manual focus etc.

Other than pilot error (missed focus when I got lazy and left the AF to pick the sensor, or thought a tripod was good enough and decided to turn off IS) images from my 1D have all been as sharp as a digital camera can be. As long as I don't compare them to film images I'm happy as a clam.

<i>"I know this is a bit of a vague question . . . . "</i> <p>

It sure is. You will get more detailed, useful advice if you post a couple of images that illustrate the problem. Including the EXIF data for each shot will help, too.

Your monitor is 72dpi, or thereabouts, a print would be 300dpi (or thereabouts). So, you're effectively looking at a 416% image, not a 100%. How does it look printed?

what type of lenses do you have. This plays a critical role in sharpness. Zooms maybe sharp, but primes are sharpest..

I recently was amazed by the level of details and sharpness on a photo I took using 85mm f/1.8 lens on EOS 3 at home using Multiblitz strobes (flash duration probably around 1/5000). I'm certain next time I should definetely use some soft-filter or people will be depressed looking at every detail of the skin. Then I compared it with few other portraits I've made outdoor with the same lens and same film and developer, this time no flash, shutter speed around 1/300-1/400. This comparisson nearly made me to cry because now I have seen what sharp picture looks like with my camera, my lenses and my film processing. Difference in sharpness is significant. Should practice again hold steady some heavy-weight books just like when I excercised in biatlon (or how you call that sport in english). Now compare it with 1/60-1/125 shutter speeds you were using.

 

So at the end it's most likely not camera or lenses but the technique you use.

Shooting at 1/60 - 1/250, handheld, can produce sharp shots, but it depends on the focal length. Were you using a telephoto lens? If so, those speeds are not all that fast. Did your lens have IS?

 

Did the person you 'acquired' the camera from have problems with focus? I don't know of many focus problems associated with the 1D, but who knows.

 

More info on the shots, settings, equipment, technique, would be helpful....