What am I doing wrong!?!?!?

[kenw]

the in-camera sharpening will be in the settings under the menu.

[PhotoByLeal]

do you shot RAW or JPEG?
It might be easier for you to shoot RAW for the exposure and then sharpen in PS.... just a thought!

good luck!

[kwieringa]

definitely RAW :)

[lyncca]

Originally Posted by humminboid

I speak HERESY, but get off "full manual", and see how yor pixes improve! You spent all that money for those features. USE them, and find out what your camera will do for you! You will still need to tell it what you want and watch it till it does.

Seriously? There are times I shoot in aperture or shutter priority, but I find myself more and more in full manual to get the ambient light that I want. Since seeing the difference in quality (drastically improved), I rarely shoot on anything else unless I am at social event and drinking , and need to have less buttons to deal with :)

[Angelo]

After looking at the photo I think you're OK. It's just you need to sharpen it.
If you shoot in RAW you must sharpen a bit in the Post Processing.
Remember that if you raise the ISO you can get noise in the dark areas.
Something else to think about, if you increase the speed your lens (f-stop) will be more open and therefore you need to worry about the depth of field. Make sure all heads are on the same plane and parallel to the camera.
I have a 20D but haven't used in a long time. I do remember getting soft images in RAW, but once I sharpened all was well.
Hope this helps...

[toverman]

Which AF focus point are you using? I usually keep mine on the center point, so that I have control over where the focus is, focus and then recompose my shot.

I also use the AE lock button on the back for focusing rather than the shutter button (it's a custom function).

My 20D yields surprisingly sharp results with little fuss (RAW, converted using DPP and then processed in Photoshop). Have used only Canon lenses (lens snob alert!), but I promise I can still skillfully produce blurry, under- or overexposed images with my fancy pants equipment.

We're giving you a bunch of different reasons and answers, but it's up to you to see what will work!

[Brains]

You mentioned you're shooting RAW, but asked about where the in-camera sharpening options were. When in RAW, the "Picture Styles" settings (sharpening, coloring, contrast, etc.) are not in the picture. You'll need to do any and all sharpening in post.

[toverman]

^ And the 20D doesn't have the Picture Style settings, just the individual parameters.

[kwieringa]

So I did way better! I stood very still and made sure all was correct on settings and such...thank you all for your help!

Here is a recent image from today...(still figuring out how to add photos on here...)
http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...pictureid=2168

[humminboid]

See? We told you it would get better! Isn't it GOOD when things all of a sudden come together? Many happy returns. Now go out there and take some more pixes!