Photo not sharp-what am I doing wrong?

[Tusia]

I used tripod, 2 sec delay, fast shutter speed, but the photo is still not sharp enough. Am I I focusing wrong? Or do I have to Photoshop? Please help.



Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 14 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Did not fire
Lens Type: Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm F3.5-5.6

[inkista]

Two most likely culprits: aperture's wide enough to give a narrow DoF that keeps parts of the frame being out of focus, or too light of a tripod that's actually moving during the shot. I'd say try stopping down to f/8, lowering the iso to 100 and going for a longer exposure. Also, sharpening might not hurt.

[Raigoki]

also, since you're using olympus... it's better to turn on your noise reduction> set to high. (since your using tripod.) and inkista's right, pump up your aperture to f/8.0 which you will also have to drag your shutter speed to 4-10sec. (Depends)

*note, olympus is quite slow on autofocus when in dark situations. it's better to focus manually on this shot to get that sharp image. or, turn on the AF illuminator.

[kencaleno]

Added contrast and a light sharpening

[Tusia]

Originally Posted by Raigoki

also, since you're using olympus... it's better to turn on your noise reduction> set to high. (since your using tripod.) and inkista's right, pump up your aperture to f/8.0 which you will also have to drag your shutter speed to 4-10sec. (Depends)

*note, olympus is quite slow on autofocus when in dark situations. it's better to focus manually on this shot to get that sharp image. or, turn on the AF illuminator.

I only have my Oly for three weeks, but I already noticed that it tends to give me hard time in low light - I constantly have to find an object that it will agree to focus on.

I wonder if I made a mistake buying it - I had a Canon last year for a few months - it had it's quirks, but never a focusing problem. Neither has my Fujifilm.

Thank you for your advise - now I will have to wait for a rain to stop so I can implement it.

Really liked your web sites, buy the way

[Tusia]

Originally Posted by inkista

Two most likely culprits: aperture's wide enough to give a narrow DoF that keeps parts of the frame being out of focus, or too light of a tripod that's actually moving during the shot. I'd say try stopping down to f/8, lowering the iso to 100 and going for a longer exposure. Also, sharpening might not hurt.

Thank you very much for your advise. I will try it all when it stops raining and ask my son to teach me Photoshop

You have an amazing collection on Flickr. I especially likey the Kelp Forest and Red Jelly.

[PhotoPhix]

Originally Posted by Tusia

I used tripod, 2 sec delay, fast shutter speed, but the photo is still not sharp enough. Am I I focusing wrong? Or do I have to Photoshop? Please help.



Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 14 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Did not fire
Lens Type: Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm F3.5-5.6

Other than the slight oof issue, the 14mm setting tended to bring in the straight lines of the column on the right and the light posts. I would increase the iso a bit in these types of shot and fix it in PP or get a sturdier tripod.

Armando

Lens correction layer
unsharpen mask layer
sharpness layer
Drop shadow frame

[windrider86]

Make sure that if you are using a tripod that you turn your stabilizer options off

[Joyce Matthews]

I am curious. Why do you have to turn the stabilizer off if you use a tripod?

[PhotoPhix]

Originally Posted by Joyce Matthews

I am curious. Why do you have to turn the stabilizer off if you use a tripod?

Continuous over correction.


Armando