focused?

[ajrobertson]

<p>Ok so I get the idea of DOF, soooo... if i focus on a subject 5 feet away, 12mm at f22 everything from about 1 foot away to infinity should technically be in focus.<br>

So if my pics seem a little soft, it could be the lens, the matching of the lens to body (mis-calibration), motion blur, atmospheric interference (mist steam dust etc)</p>

<p>I use a tripod, timer, and some pics seem soft and some are better than others. So if i havent changed anything between 1 pic to the next, how could the clarity of the exposures be different?ANy ideas would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>cheers,<br>

AJ</p>

<p> </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>At f/22 with smaller format films or most digital sensors, add diffraction to the list of possible factors that may compromise the impression of ultimate sharpness.</p>

<p>And with digital, add the complexity of sharpening during the editing process, possibly among the most difficult skills to master.</p>

[ajrobertson]

<p>So maybe f16 or less and a nd filter? I was stopped down so as not to overexpose. I do shoot in Raw; can you point me in the direction of a good sharpening tutorial? </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>For sharpening tips, study <a href="../digital-darkroom-forum/00UZQR"><strong>this tutorial</strong> </a> . Pay attention to the relevant info from Patrick Lavoie, Andrew Rodney and others. Try to ignore the off topic digressions and anti-digital rants. The basic info is very good.</p>

[nathangardner]

<p>It seems soft most likely b/c when you stop all the way down, you lose sharpness. The sharpest f-stop or "sweet spot" of a lens is usually about 2 stops down from max aperture, so on an f/4 the sweet spot would be around f/8, but will look great give or take a stop. With wide angles you can still get infinite DOF with an aperture of f/8 or 11. You may want to stop down to f/11 or 16 if you're using a longer lens, like 85mm or more. I try to avoid f/22.</p>

[ben_goren]

<p>andrew,</p>

 

<p>If your goal is ultimate sharpness, hyperfocal technique isn’t the appropriate tool.

Sometimes infinity focus works much better; sometimes, some other technique.</p>

 

<p>If your camera has live view, that’s by far the best. Hold down the Depth of Field Preview

button while in live view, and you can manually adjust both aperture and focus as you zoom in and out to

get the absolute best possible setting for that combination of scene, camera, and lens. Ideally, use

remote live view on a laptop.</p>

 

<p>If you don’t have live view, you can use the DoF button through the viewfinder and check

the image review. It works, but it’s slower, more cumbersome, and not <em>quite</em> as

effective.</p>

 

<p>Cheers,</p>

 

<p>b&</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>Were you already at maximum shutter speed? Is this why you needed to stop down? Were you already using a slow film or minimum ISO? These would also likely improve sharpness.</p>

<p>Whether hyperfocal/zone focusing is best or not can depend on your subject. There's only one distance of sharpest focus--everything else is in varying degrees of out-of-focus. Also, the depth-of-field calculations usually assume a certain degree of quality for a given type of output--don't guarantee perfect sharpness throughout the range. If there's nothing in close range that needs focusing on, you might focus further than hyperfocal would suggest, possibly even at or close to infinity.</p>

[nathan_meador]

<p>I agree with Andrew, my first thought is f22 is too small for crisp images, and you should try faster shutter, lower iso before going to such a high aperture.</p>