Using a Nikon D80 and a 50mm 1.8
Discussion
Just a quick (ish) one - I've been loaned a Nikon D80 and a 50mm 1.8 prime just to play with and see how I get on with a Prime, however, I appear to have turned in to a real 'tard when it comes to photography every time I used it.
Just about all photos I take with this camera and this lens aren't in focus - And that's at any aperture setting.
The camera focuses and then takes the photo, but none of them seem to be in focus. Is there something I'm likely to be doing wrong here?
Thanks
JTW
Just about all photos I take with this camera and this lens aren't in focus - And that's at any aperture setting.
The camera focuses and then takes the photo, but none of them seem to be in focus. Is there something I'm likely to be doing wrong here?
Thanks
JTW
In that photograph you've used f1.8 giving you a very narrow depth-of-field, meaning that even slight mis-focussing is noticeable. I think that is the main problem in that photo.
Additionally, 1/40th is quite a slow shutter speed to avoid camera shake and motion blur. You can see the book is very obviously motion-blurred and it may be that the girl was moving her head slightly as well.
You could have increased the sensitivity by a couple of stops (you used ISO 100) to help with both of those problems.
Additionally, 1/40th is quite a slow shutter speed to avoid camera shake and motion blur. You can see the book is very obviously motion-blurred and it may be that the girl was moving her head slightly as well.
You could have increased the sensitivity by a couple of stops (you used ISO 100) to help with both of those problems.
SamHH said:
In that photograph you've used f1.8 giving you a very narrow depth-of-field, meaning that even slight mis-focussing is noticeable. I think that is the main problem in that photo.
Additionally, 1/40th is quite a slow shutter speed to avoid camera shake and motion blur. You can see the book is very obviously motion-blurred and it may be that the girl was moving her head slightly as well.
You could have increased the sensitivity by a couple of stops (you used ISO 100) to help with both of those problems.
It's a 1.8 so I'm practicing, but point taken.Additionally, 1/40th is quite a slow shutter speed to avoid camera shake and motion blur. You can see the book is very obviously motion-blurred and it may be that the girl was moving her head slightly as well.
You could have increased the sensitivity by a couple of stops (you used ISO 100) to help with both of those problems.
1/40 was the auto speed but she was sat still-ish, apart from the book shake that is...
I'll dial in ISO400 to see if that helps - thanks
james_tigerwoods said:
It's a 1.8 so I'm practicing, but point taken.
1/40 was the auto speed but she was sat still-ish, apart from the book shake that is...
I'll dial in ISO400 to see if that helps - thanks
Maybe worth cranking it right up to 800 just to eliminate the possibility of camera shake all together. The images might be noisy but at least you'll know if you have a focussing issue. Maybe try a couple of shots manually focussed as well. 1.8 will give you a thin depth of field of course but you should still be able to achieve focus on what you want. A few controlled tests may be what is required just to eliminate the possibility of any hardware faults.1/40 was the auto speed but she was sat still-ish, apart from the book shake that is...
I'll dial in ISO400 to see if that helps - thanks
Fast lenses are more demanding on technique.
The usual sequence goes like this:
1) 'Wooo, I've got a f1.x lens! I'll set it to f1.x and all my shots will be brilliant because everybody says what a good lens it is.'
2) 'b
ks all my photos are out of focus'
3) 'I'll set it to f3.5 instead'
Been there myself
On a more serious note, fast lenses can sometimes exceed the ability of the camera's AF system and need to be calibrated. I doubt the D80 has this feature though.
The usual sequence goes like this:
1) 'Wooo, I've got a f1.x lens! I'll set it to f1.x and all my shots will be brilliant because everybody says what a good lens it is.'
2) 'b
ks all my photos are out of focus'3) 'I'll set it to f3.5 instead'
Been there myself
On a more serious note, fast lenses can sometimes exceed the ability of the camera's AF system and need to be calibrated. I doubt the D80 has this feature though.
Edited by Simpo Two on Friday 13th May 22:05
Simpo Two said:
Fast lenses are more demanding on technique.
The usual sequence goes like this:
1) 'Wooo, I've got a f1.x lens! I'll set it to f1.x and all my shots will be brilliant because everybody says what a good lens it is.'
2) 'bks all my photos are out of focus'
3) 'I'll set it to f3.5 instead'
Been there myself
On a more serious note, fast lenses can sometimes exceed the ability of the camera's AF system and need to be calibrated. I doubt the D80 has this feature though.
I've been practicing today and I've decided that if I use the D80 all day tomorrow at the wedding, I'll go nuts so I'll take it with the 1.8 and my D40 with an 18-70. The OH might be less than chuffed if I go with 2 cameras though The usual sequence goes like this:
1) 'Wooo, I've got a f1.x lens! I'll set it to f1.x and all my shots will be brilliant because everybody says what a good lens it is.'
2) 'b
ks all my photos are out of focus'3) 'I'll set it to f3.5 instead'
Been there myself
On a more serious note, fast lenses can sometimes exceed the ability of the camera's AF system and need to be calibrated. I doubt the D80 has this feature though.
I'm getting better results at 2.2 and 400ISO and faster shutter, but I think I'd end up spending most of the day pissing about and NOT drinking the free booze!
james_tigerwoods said:
I'm getting better results at 2.2 and 400ISO and faster shutter, but I think I'd end up spending most of the day pissing about and NOT drinking the free booze!
The old rule of reciprocals still applies - if your focal length is 50mm then aim for a shutter speed of 1/50th second or faster. You should be getting faster shutter speeds at f1.8 than you did at f3.5 so if you held it steady enough before then you can do better now. Hold the camera properly and steadily and squeeze not snatch. Of course if you can't get a usable shutter speed at your desired aperture then increase ISO or use flash.First the 50/1.8's arnt at their sharpest wide open. f2.2 or f2.5 is usualy a lot better.
2nd Focus may not be that accurate, many bodies now allow you to fine tune this. You can do some tests, either with a focus test chart (download and print) or just someting you can tell the exact point of focus (staggered AA batteries etc).
3rd Shutter speed, as said if the subject moves then it'll be soft. 1/40th isnt enough, try even using the onboard flash to freeze stuff, may not be pretty but will show you sharp. NOTE its much much much easier to remove noise than fix motion blur!
4th Technique. At f1.8 DOF is very shallow if the subject is closeish. If you focus and recompose the subject WILL be out of focus, use a focus point ON the subject and dont move the camera.
2nd Focus may not be that accurate, many bodies now allow you to fine tune this. You can do some tests, either with a focus test chart (download and print) or just someting you can tell the exact point of focus (staggered AA batteries etc).
3rd Shutter speed, as said if the subject moves then it'll be soft. 1/40th isnt enough, try even using the onboard flash to freeze stuff, may not be pretty but will show you sharp. NOTE its much much much easier to remove noise than fix motion blur!
4th Technique. At f1.8 DOF is very shallow if the subject is closeish. If you focus and recompose the subject WILL be out of focus, use a focus point ON the subject and dont move the camera.
Simpo Two said:
Fast lenses are more demanding on technique.
The usual sequence goes like this:
1) 'Wooo, I've got a f1.x lens! I'll set it to f1.x and all my shots will be brilliant because everybody says what a good lens it is.'
2) 'bks all my photos are out of focus'
3) 'I'll set it to f3.5 instead'
Been there myself
Not just me then!!!The usual sequence goes like this:
1) 'Wooo, I've got a f1.x lens! I'll set it to f1.x and all my shots will be brilliant because everybody says what a good lens it is.'
2) 'b
ks all my photos are out of focus'3) 'I'll set it to f3.5 instead'
Been there myself
I'll be honest, when I picked up the D80 first, I couldn't change the focal points no matter what I did - I had to ask a friend who used to have a D80, at which point he took it from me, clicked the lock button and handed it back.
Git
I didn't really use the D80 in the end as I just couldn't get on with the camera and decided I wanted to take photos at the wedding instead of fannying about.
Edit - I think I need to spend more time with this lens just to learn how to use it and not, as above, crank it to 1.8 and expect perfection. Rookie mistake there.
Git
I didn't really use the D80 in the end as I just couldn't get on with the camera and decided I wanted to take photos at the wedding instead of fannying about.
Edit - I think I need to spend more time with this lens just to learn how to use it and not, as above, crank it to 1.8 and expect perfection. Rookie mistake there.
Edited by james_tigerwoods on Monday 16th May 17:33
james_tigerwoods said:
I'll be honest, when I picked up the D80 first, I couldn't change the focal points no matter what I did - I had to ask a friend who used to have a D80, at which point he took it from me, clicked the lock button and handed it back.
same here, thats why I mentioned it!!I've got a D80 and have never really been stunned by the sharpness of the photos, either with the 18-135 kit lens or the nifty 50mm that I bought to try and improve things. Even with large DoF images still don't seem anywhere near as sharp as I see people taking with other (probably more expensive) cameras.
50mm/f1.8 Nikon. Disappointed with results - am I right?
I remain
50mm/f1.8 Nikon. Disappointed with results - am I right?
I remain
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