Cool Passion. I'm not sure why its called that. The photo grabs my attention, but I can't explain why. Something about the contrast of the structure at the top of the photo. Adriac Home. He calls it "Thick Walls". I like mediteranian photos. There is something about the crispness of the blue and white often found there. Bucolic Country Scene. Lovely shades of brown. So rich. Girl with Umbrella. Karenika had had some lovely little ones featured on her blog lately. View from a Backyard. A meloncholly scene with a delicate touch both sweet and bitter. Portait of a Woman. It seems as though she doesn't know the camera is there. Front door in the moonlight. The colors are beautiful and saturated.
Cool Passion. I'm not sure why its called that. The photo grabs my attention, but I can't explain why. Something about the contrast of the structure at the top of the photo. Adriac Home. He calls it "Thick Walls". I like mediteranian photos. There is something about the crispness of the blue and white often found there. Bucolic Country Scene. Lovely shades of brown. So rich. Girl with Umbrella. Karenika had had some lovely little ones featured on her blog lately. View from a Backyard. A meloncholly scene with a delicate touch both sweet and bitter. Portait of a Woman. It seems as though she doesn't know the camera is there. Front door in the moonlight. The colors are beautiful and saturated.
Cool Passion. I'm not sure why its called that. The photo grabs my attention, but I can't explain why. Something about the contrast of the structure at the top of the photo. Adriac Home. He calls it "Thick Walls". I like mediteranian photos. There is something about the crispness of the blue and white often found there. Bucolic Country Scene. Lovely shades of brown. So rich. Girl with Umbrella. Karenika had had some lovely little ones featured on her blog lately. View from a Backyard. A meloncholly scene with a delicate touch both sweet and bitter. Portait of a Woman. It seems as though she doesn't know the camera is there. Front door in the moonlight. The colors are beautiful and saturated.
I have a problem with blurry photos, and I've been searching around the net doing research on why. Having spent a good four to six months evaluating different reasons and doing a bit of experimentation, I'd like to share a bit of what I learned.
Sharpness is one of the big key points most photographers look at when evaluating quality. If you shoot digital, as I do, there are a number of different reasons why you could be having issues with blurry or soft images. Those issues fall into three basic categories, User Error, Equipment Quality, and Rounding Errors in Digital Processing.
User Error
The most common problem is user error. Motion blur is hard to eradicate, especially when most people are shooting in less than optimal conditions the majority of the time. You can help this problem by buying fast lenses (i.e. lenses with wide maximum aperatures) and lenses with Image Stabalization. You can also use a tripod, and if sharpness is an extremely important factor, use a timer (to prevent your hand from causing camera shake when you press the button) and mirror lockup (to prevent shake from the mirror when it slaps up to allow the photo to be taken).
Equipment Quality and Limitations
The second most common issue is equipment quality, which often plays into the hands of user error. Lens manufacture varies from lens to lens and from brand to brand. You should make the mistake of thinking that since Canon glass is usually better than Sigma, that all Canon lenses will outperfom all Sigma lenses. To give an example, the Sigma F/1.8 20mm prime is equal to if not better than the Canon F/2.8 20mm prime. Before buying a lens, try to find a review that details how a lens performs at each f/stop and if its a zoom, at various focal lengths.
You see, most lenses perform poorly when wide open, i.e. stopped completely down. Also, most zoom lenses suffer some degradation in sharpness and rarely compete well with a prime (i.e. a fixed focal length lens). In fact, the longer the focal range on a zoom lens, the more likely the upper end of the range will be soft. Its difficult to maintain a sharp focus throughout the zoom range, so usually one end of the range will suffer, and if the lens is cheap or poorly constructed, both ends will suffer. Most lenses perfom best when the aperature is in the middle, and if its a zoom, the focal lenth is somewhere in the middle also.
In general, the faster a lens is the sharper it will be, because you will have more light to shoot with and will have less motion blur. Also, with faster lenses, you can afford to stop up the aperature and shoot comfortably, thus coming closer to the sweet spot (the sharpest point in your lenses configuration).
Rounding Errors and Digital Image Processing
Lastly, if you are shooting digital, you have one more issue to deal with, and that is the effect rounding errors have on digital image processing. Digital photographs convey sharpness by what they call acutance, which is the level of contrast between two pixels. The more contrast between two pixels the sharper it will appear. The problem with digital is that when the image gets tranlated from analog to bits, light values are rounded off causing a subtle softening of contrast between the individual pixels. All digital images should be sharpened in post production. In fact, most cameras apply sharpening to images right after they are taken, but often the amount of sharpening isn't enough. If you shoot RAW, then no sharpening is applied in camera and you must do so in post production.
My problem is I have a Sigma 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. Its a nice lens for hobby type work, but produces soft images from about 200-300, regardless of how still my camera is and how much light I have. Because its relatively slow, I am often forced to shoot with the lens wide open, making my shots even worse.
What's my solution? Well, my Sigma 28-300 cost me about $300 dollars. I'm going to eventually replace it with three lenses. A Sigma 20mm f/1.8 prime, a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom, and a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS zoom. That will cost me roughly $3000.00. *grin* hoy... I should have picked up a cheaper hobby...
I have a problem with blurry photos, and I've been searching around the net doing research on why. Having spent a good four to six months evaluating different reasons and doing a bit of experimentation, I'd like to share a bit of what I learned.
Sharpness is one of the big key points most photographers look at when evaluating quality. If you shoot digital, as I do, there are a number of different reasons why you could be having issues with blurry or soft images. Those issues fall into three basic categories, User Error, Equipment Quality, and Rounding Errors in Digital Processing.
User Error
The most common problem is user error. Motion blur is hard to eradicate, especially when most people are shooting in less than optimal conditions the majority of the time. You can help this problem by buying fast lenses (i.e. lenses with wide maximum aperatures) and lenses with Image Stabalization. You can also use a tripod, and if sharpness is an extremely important factor, use a timer (to prevent your hand from causing camera shake when you press the button) and mirror lockup (to prevent shake from the mirror when it slaps up to allow the photo to be taken).
Equipment Quality and Limitations
The second most common issue is equipment quality, which often plays into the hands of user error. Lens manufacture varies from lens to lens and from brand to brand. You should make the mistake of thinking that since Canon glass is usually better than Sigma, that all Canon lenses will outperfom all Sigma lenses. To give an example, the Sigma F/1.8 20mm prime is equal to if not better than the Canon F/2.8 20mm prime. Before buying a lens, try to find a review that details how a lens performs at each f/stop and if its a zoom, at various focal lengths.
You see, most lenses perform poorly when wide open, i.e. stopped completely down. Also, most zoom lenses suffer some degradation in sharpness and rarely compete well with a prime (i.e. a fixed focal length lens). In fact, the longer the focal range on a zoom lens, the more likely the upper end of the range will be soft. Its difficult to maintain a sharp focus throughout the zoom range, so usually one end of the range will suffer, and if the lens is cheap or poorly constructed, both ends will suffer. Most lenses perfom best when the aperature is in the middle, and if its a zoom, the focal lenth is somewhere in the middle also.
In general, the faster a lens is the sharper it will be, because you will have more light to shoot with and will have less motion blur. Also, with faster lenses, you can afford to stop up the aperature and shoot comfortably, thus coming closer to the sweet spot (the sharpest point in your lenses configuration).
Rounding Errors and Digital Image Processing
Lastly, if you are shooting digital, you have one more issue to deal with, and that is the effect rounding errors have on digital image processing. Digital photographs convey sharpness by what they call acutance, which is the level of contrast between two pixels. The more contrast between two pixels the sharper it will appear. The problem with digital is that when the image gets tranlated from analog to bits, light values are rounded off causing a subtle softening of contrast between the individual pixels. All digital images should be sharpened in post production. In fact, most cameras apply sharpening to images right after they are taken, but often the amount of sharpening isn't enough. If you shoot RAW, then no sharpening is applied in camera and you must do so in post production.
My problem is I have a Sigma 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. Its a nice lens for hobby type work, but produces soft images from about 200-300, regardless of how still my camera is and how much light I have. Because its relatively slow, I am often forced to shoot with the lens wide open, making my shots even worse.
What's my solution? Well, my Sigma 28-300 cost me about $300 dollars. I'm going to eventually replace it with three lenses. A Sigma 20mm f/1.8 prime, a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom, and a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS zoom. That will cost me roughly $3000.00. *grin* hoy... I should have picked up a cheaper hobby...
I have a problem with blurry photos, and I've been searching around the net doing research on why. Having spent a good four to six months evaluating different reasons and doing a bit of experimentation, I'd like to share a bit of what I learned.
Sharpness is one of the big key points most photographers look at when evaluating quality. If you shoot digital, as I do, there are a number of different reasons why you could be having issues with blurry or soft images. Those issues fall into three basic categories, User Error, Equipment Quality, and Rounding Errors in Digital Processing.
User Error
The most common problem is user error. Motion blur is hard to eradicate, especially when most people are shooting in less than optimal conditions the majority of the time. You can help this problem by buying fast lenses (i.e. lenses with wide maximum aperatures) and lenses with Image Stabalization. You can also use a tripod, and if sharpness is an extremely important factor, use a timer (to prevent your hand from causing camera shake when you press the button) and mirror lockup (to prevent shake from the mirror when it slaps up to allow the photo to be taken).
Equipment Quality and Limitations
The second most common issue is equipment quality, which often plays into the hands of user error. Lens manufacture varies from lens to lens and from brand to brand. You should make the mistake of thinking that since Canon glass is usually better than Sigma, that all Canon lenses will outperfom all Sigma lenses. To give an example, the Sigma F/1.8 20mm prime is equal to if not better than the Canon F/2.8 20mm prime. Before buying a lens, try to find a review that details how a lens performs at each f/stop and if its a zoom, at various focal lengths.
You see, most lenses perform poorly when wide open, i.e. stopped completely down. Also, most zoom lenses suffer some degradation in sharpness and rarely compete well with a prime (i.e. a fixed focal length lens). In fact, the longer the focal range on a zoom lens, the more likely the upper end of the range will be soft. Its difficult to maintain a sharp focus throughout the zoom range, so usually one end of the range will suffer, and if the lens is cheap or poorly constructed, both ends will suffer. Most lenses perfom best when the aperature is in the middle, and if its a zoom, the focal lenth is somewhere in the middle also.
In general, the faster a lens is the sharper it will be, because you will have more light to shoot with and will have less motion blur. Also, with faster lenses, you can afford to stop up the aperature and shoot comfortably, thus coming closer to the sweet spot (the sharpest point in your lenses configuration).
Rounding Errors and Digital Image Processing
Lastly, if you are shooting digital, you have one more issue to deal with, and that is the effect rounding errors have on digital image processing. Digital photographs convey sharpness by what they call acutance, which is the level of contrast between two pixels. The more contrast between two pixels the sharper it will appear. The problem with digital is that when the image gets tranlated from analog to bits, light values are rounded off causing a subtle softening of contrast between the individual pixels. All digital images should be sharpened in post production. In fact, most cameras apply sharpening to images right after they are taken, but often the amount of sharpening isn't enough. If you shoot RAW, then no sharpening is applied in camera and you must do so in post production.
My problem is I have a Sigma 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. Its a nice lens for hobby type work, but produces soft images from about 200-300, regardless of how still my camera is and how much light I have. Because its relatively slow, I am often forced to shoot with the lens wide open, making my shots even worse.
What's my solution? Well, my Sigma 28-300 cost me about $300 dollars. I'm going to eventually replace it with three lenses. A Sigma 20mm f/1.8 prime, a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom, and a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS zoom. That will cost me roughly $3000.00. *grin* hoy... I should have picked up a cheaper hobby...
Ronald Reagan was our 40th President. I was too young to really know him during his office, but I am profoundly grateful for what he did for our country. Goodbye Mr. President.
Ronald Reagan was our 40th President. I was too young to really know him during his office, but I am profoundly grateful for what he did for our country. Goodbye Mr. President.
Ronald Reagan was our 40th President. I was too young to really know him during his office, but I am profoundly grateful for what he did for our country. Goodbye Mr. President.
Abstract Rust Coloring on a Stone Wall. I'm really enjoying this series of shots from sun drenched locations. Go Karenika. Öland, Sweden. This scene reminds me of Africa. Rich blue skies, vibrant greens, and that cool tree there off to the right. HakySac. I used to be big into that. Doe Eyed Trio. More heartachingly beautiful soft focus photos from David Nightingale.
Abstract Rust Coloring on a Stone Wall. I'm really enjoying this series of shots from sun drenched locations. Go Karenika. Öland, Sweden. This scene reminds me of Africa. Rich blue skies, vibrant greens, and that cool tree there off to the right. HakySac. I used to be big into that. Doe Eyed Trio. More heartachingly beautiful soft focus photos from David Nightingale.
In small moments I sit in my bedroom window Thinking about how the world is so small How in the matter of a single still moment The choice that you make could alter it all
What if while praying in the garden that night Jesus had spoken My will and not Thine Had He refused to keep going without fight To die on the cross as our sacrifice
Life is ordered by the small choices we make The simple things that we do every day Such choices determine the big steps we take So remember small moments in work and in play
In small moments I sit in my bedroom window Thinking about how the world is so small How in the matter of a single still moment The choice that you make could alter it all
What if while praying in the garden that night Jesus had spoken My will and not Thine Had He refused to keep going without fight To die on the cross as our sacrifice
Life is ordered by the small choices we make The simple things that we do every day Such choices determine the big steps we take So remember small moments in work and in play
In small moments I sit in my bedroom window Thinking about how the world is so small How in the matter of a single still moment The choice that you make could alter it all
What if while praying in the garden that night Jesus had spoken My will and not Thine Had He refused to keep going without fight To die on the cross as our sacrifice
Life is ordered by the small choices we make The simple things that we do every day Such choices determine the big steps we take So remember small moments in work and in play
Feather soft thy pillow make To cradle tender till you wake The gentle curve of thy sweet head And rest ye peaceful on thy bed And all thy dreams so gentle be Until the dawn will waken thee
Feather soft thy pillow make To cradle tender till you wake The gentle curve of thy sweet head And rest ye peaceful on thy bed And all thy dreams so gentle be Until the dawn will waken thee
I was doing some figuring today, and since I started walljm.com two years ago, I have written 593 posts, posted 381 photos, composed 108 poems, and created 7 wallpapers. Not bad, if I don't say so myself.
I was doing some figuring today, and since I started walljm.com two years ago, I have written 593 posts, posted 381 photos, composed 108 poems, and created 7 wallpapers. Not bad, if I don't say so myself.
I was doing some figuring today, and since I started walljm.com two years ago, I have written 593 posts, posted 381 photos, composed 108 poems, and created 7 wallpapers. Not bad, if I don't say so myself.
My name is Jason Wall. I live in Saint Louis, where I work for a large company doing web development. I photograph for fun and shoot weddings for profit. I write poetry when I feel like it, and post my opinions here on the blog. For more about me check out the About page.
My 43 Things My 43 Places
A dynamic Bible application I built using AJAX technologies that features the KJV, Strongs Concordance, Robinson's Morphilogical Analysis Codes, and Cross References (compiled from Strongs). AJAX Bible
