Do I have the shakes?

[bernie_eccle]

First the equipment :-
D70 with 70-300mm f/4-f/5.6 G lens.
Not had the camera long and the lens was second hand off eBay but only 3 months old (have Jessops receipt)
Trouble is that I seem to be having a real problem taking really sharp pictures with it. I appreciate that with poor light conditions I will probably struggle without a tripod.
Anyway here is an example taken today to show you what I mean



This was taken at 1/160th F7.1 and 200mm. This was using shutter priorty


The next one, which is fine (focus wise) was taken using exactly the same settings other than focal length of 210mm



It therefore leads me to think that either the AF isn't working properly or that I am getting a bit of a shake. I thought that at 1/160th I would be fine.
What do you think?

[beano500]

Conventional wisdom says inverse of focal length.

Given the smaller sensor size I'd consider including the 1.5 factor.

So for 200mm give it 1/300 min. For 1/300 give it 1/500 min.

Consider investing in tripod and monopod....

If it's any consolation some of my attempts have been dire

[ThatPhilBrettGuy]

Send a full sized image by e-mail via my profile and I'll have a look. Hard to say from the small image.

[trackdemon]

2nd one actually looks OK to me, as mentioned the generally accepted wisdom is that shutter speed should be same as - or faster than - focal length for proper sharpness. Bearing in mind the multiplication factor (nearly x1.6 focal length or 320mm in this case) your talking 1/320 or thereabouts shutter speed for proper clarity, of course this may compromise depth of field too much so you may end up ramping up the ISO and hoping it doesn't amplify any noise too much. Solution:

More light (Basically shoot on a brighter day! ;0)

or

The classic tripod / remote shutter solution

I think the short answer to your question is that yes, there could be a degree of camera shake in image 1 but without seeing a full size original its difficult to say whether the problem is that, or poor AF - certainly the cheap 2/hd 70-300 I bought has poor AF on occasion.

[poah]

beano500 said:

Conventional wisdom says inverse of focal length. Given the smaller sensor size I'd consider including the 1.5 factor. So for 200mm give it 1/300 min. For 1/300 give it 1/500 min. Consider investing in tripod and monopod.... If it's any consolation some of my attempts have been dire

you sure about 1/300 min lol

[beano500]

Doh - well spotted!

I meant "for 300mm give it 1/500"!

Been a long day!



Doesn't mean you can't get away with slower - but I usually find it a bit hit and miss. I'm always trying something silly like a 20mm at about 1/10 - then wondering why it doesn't work!!

[bernie_eccle]

Guys
Many thanks for the prompt responses. I wasn't aware of the x1.5 factor, but this does make sense as I have looked at others I have taken which I have used a faster shutter speed and they seem fine.
I was quite please with the clarity of the second and perhaps the difference was that I was steadying my stance against a fence for that one.
Thanks for the offer of checking out the full size pic, but don't worry. I think you have all confirmed that it is down to too slow a shutter speed.
I do have a tripod, but I haven't used it since buying my DSLR. It was last used more than 10 years ago with a film SLR. I was young then and didn't take time to learn so am enjoying learning now - mainly by using this forum

[simpo two]

Hi Bernie,
I too noticed an increase in camera-shake when going from F70 to D70. That 1.5x makes a difference.
However, camera-shake is usually distinguishable from poor focus by a degree of smearing; ie the soft focus is not even but has some direction to it; the direction the camera was moving in.
Pic 1 doesn't seem to be sharp anywhere: if it was an AF problem I'd exect to see a sharp area either behind or in front of the subject, which I don't. Pic 2 looks fine.
Try a higher shutter speed and go for the 'marksman' technique of slow exhale and gentle shutter release, and see how you get on.

[bilko2]

Now thats a proper tractor
Try and find out if he sells eggs cos those chickens realy are free range.

[beano500]

bilko2 said:

Now thats a proper tractor Try and find out if he sells eggs cos those chickens realy are free range.

Either the tractor or the hens are cartoon ones, though. Notice how he's driven over them, causing those deep ruts, but that they've "popped" back up into shape again....

[te51cle]

I spent ages trying to work out why my photos were often soft some years ago. I finally worked out it was due to camera shake even though I was using the traditionally prescribed method of using a shutter speed that was the reciprocal of the lens length. At the camera club I noticed that the more successful photographers were the fatter ones and concluded that I was more likely to be blown about in the breeze than they were and so should use higher shutter speeds. Not sure if that's absolutely correct but it amuses me !

Nowadays I always try to give about an extra stop in shutter speed e.g. for a 28mm focal length I use 1/60th of a second shutter speed and for 135mm I use 1/250th.