How to shoot a crisp clear photos with Canon EOS 400D?

Question

I am a new user of this camera and most of the pictures that I took are clear but not crisp clear.. specially close ups.. just wonder what setting do I set or computer programs I should use to alter the sharpness of the images? thanks

Answer 1

Shoot at a higher Fstop like F 16 or F22 and a class in photography may be your answer. You can have a photo with very little saturation but have it sharp as h**l.

Getting sharp photos has to do with choice of F Stop there are a lot of other variable as well but start with aperture choice.. I would start at the min and shoot the same subject through all the F Stops and then you will know you lenes sweet spot.

Answer 2

I think the clue to your question is "especially close up"..   I am guessing here without seeing one of your photos. Can you please upload it to http://www.flickr.com

The depth of field (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_fi... ) is shallow the closer the subject is to the camera.

Are you saying one thing (that you focused on) is sharp, and the rest of the photo is blurry? Like this ?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pook...

or this?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pook...

but taken at the same place, with a smaller aperture, the depth of field is much greater, so the background is not so blurry, like this (same subjects)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_pook...

If this is what you meant, read up on DOF (link provided above).

The other answers are not wrong, but this occurred to me and it is just my opinion.

p.s. Yes, Canon "L" lenses are sharper. Look at some of the shots http://www.flickr.com/little_pooky (each is marked)

Answer 3

I second Carmen.  You're gonna have to know how to use your camera in manual mode to get the pictures you want.  I'm not saying you have to shoot in manual mode all the time, but understanding manual mode gives you a really good understanding of what all the other modes on your camera are doing.  Taking a photography class will be very helpful for you.

As mentioned you can use a program like Photoshop to sharpen your images some, using the Smart Sharpen filter or Unsharp Mask.  You can also shoot RAW and use Digital Photo Professional if you don't have Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom to sharpen before you convert your RAW file to a JPG.

You mentioned close ups...  How close are you getting with your close ups?  Your lens has a minimum focusing distance.  Most macro work is done with the camera on a tripod and the lens stopped down to an aperture of f/16 or smaller.  If outside, shoot when there is no wind blowing.  Using a shutter release cable or remote helps as well as using Mirror Lockup.

Sharpness is also a factor in the lens.  L series lenses are typically designed to be super sharp and have good color rendition.  They have elements in them to correct for things that the regular lens don't correct for.  What you need to do is find the sweet spot for your lenses.  Typically this is going to be somewhere around f/8 + or - one stop. As mentioned, pick a scene, put your camera in Av mode, and shoot it multiple times, changing the aperture.  You might have to put your camera on a tripod, depending on how much light you have.

Check to make sure you're focusing on what you think you're focusing on.  You could be focusing wrong and not notice it.

Finally check your ISO isn't cranked up higher than it needs to be.  I've found myself having the camera set at ISO 800 for inside and then having to go outside in bright light where ISO 100 is perfectly fine.  You're lack of crispness maybe coming from too high of an ISO.

Answer 4

Well, if you just got it, the image quality is set to normal as factory default, go into the menu, and change the image quality to fine, and you'll get more crisp image. Oh, and if the images still aren't to your satisfaction, you should use a well known photo editor like " Photoshop " used by the professional photographers, and you can have fun with your photos. Change the image size to " Large " too, if you plan on being able to print pictures

Answer 5

Why don't you use its operation manual? If you don't have it, you can download it for free from their web site.

Answer 6

There are a few factors:

1) use a fixed focal length lens (like 50mm), fixed lens always give sharper image than zoom lens.

2) use larger f/stop (well, not entirely true, but it does give u larger depth range), and it can force to use longer exposure time, that can give u better details.

3) use the ISO as low as your camera can go.

4) use tripod and shutter release.  if u don't have shutter release, u can use timer instead.

5) if autofocus doesn't do the job, use manual focus

6) get a high pixel camera

7) save it as RAW

hope this help