Please comment

[protocoder]

Hi Experts,

I am learning the photography. I have canon EOS elite kiss (Rebel) with lens 58 mm (28-105mm). I have probably taken this picture with AV-DEP. Auto Focus and clicked this picture. I see that picture is not sharp at all though I have taken this picture with tripod.

000033.jpg
1. When I zoom, I am not able to read the text, which I would have read if I had taken even in VGA digital
2. How better can I take this picture.

Regards and Thanks
-- A

[Nikonfan]

Hi Anand and welcome to the forum! I'm in Texas where this forum began and it's really cool to see all the new members from all over the globe.

First, let me encourage you to turn the time stamp off. The EXIF data is technical information that is recorded for every photo you take and will include the date.

Now for your quest, the photo actually is sharp. It's just that the focus is on the rocks, not the sign you are trying to read. Notice how the rocks below the sign are sharp and in focus. The good news is that this is easy to correct.

I am going to assume that you are using autofocus and not manually focusing. Your camera has auto focus points. You simply need to make sure the focus point is over that sign when you halfway depress the shutter release button. That will focus the lense on the sign. If you are still unsure there is a lot of information on here about using focus points.

[protocoder]

Hi Nikonfan, Thank you very much for the warm welcome and encouraging words. Sure the focus was mountains you are right in this picture. Ok that answers my doubts. Thank you. Unfortunately I carry the old canon film SLR. Please let me know if the advise is good for film camera as well.
I will read some information here so that I can learn bit more. Cheers Anand

[Nikonfan]

My apologies, I didn't realize it was a film camera. In that case, you won't have EXIF data that tells you when the photo was taken. So I can see why you had the time stamp on, though I still think you should take it off haha.

I am a Nikon guy so not super familiar with all of the Canon models. However, your camera very wall may still have autofocus points. If so then yes, the advice still holds true.

One other thing I didn't mention earlier because I didn't want to make my reply to long, is depth of field. This would effect how much of your photo is in focus. For example, you could have a shallow depth of field where the mountains were in focus but the sign was completely out of focus. To achieve that use a large aperture (small F stop number). Or if you wanted both the mountains and the sign in focus use a small aperture (large F stop number) such as F22. You would certainly need a tripod if doing that.

If you are manually focusing then the issue is probably just a matter of technique.

[BRosePhoto]

I had a Canon Rebel film camera years ago and it didn't have multiple or selectable focus points. You would need to move the center focus/metering area over the sign, focus, and then re-compose the shot. The trick is that you would have to continue to hold the button half-way down while doing that or flip the autofocus switch on the lens to manual before taking the shot (so the camera wouldn't try to focus again).

Also agree with the earlier poster that you want to check your f-stop. The scene looks quite overcast and, depending on your film speed, may not allow a very large f-stop (and thereby a deeper depth of field). The A-dep setting will try to provide the greatest depth of field, but if you don't have a lot of light the f-stop will still say pretty low.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

[JohnT]

Unless NZ is on a slant, I recommend shooting with a level horizon.

[Rson]

Originally Posted by JohnT

Unless NZ is on a slant, I recommend shooting with a level horizon.

.....the world is round you know.....

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by Rson

.....the world is round you know.....

Touché. LOL

[protocoder]

Thank you Nikonfan,BRosePhoto,JohnT and Rson

Thank you for the first lessons. I want to understand what is f-stop, is this same as f/number. Canon Elite Kiss (Rebel) aperture settings with lens show the range between (3.5 to 22). Is it fair to assume these are f/number specific to my lens.
Assuming my assuptions are right:
If I were to use aperture priority as low as focus permits (3.5 in my camera), then mountains alone get the focus and if I were to set to max (22 in my camera) sign and mountains get focus. That's simple to remember.

May I clarify the following
1. The manual says, with Larger aperture (low F number) will blur the background. I wonder what is the background, when focus is the mountains.

2. The manual also talks about full and half stops, may I know what is full and half stops in the following (3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.6, 6.7, 8.0. 9.5, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22). How to recognize full and half stops and when to use what.

Thanks for the help.
Cheers

[protocoder]

Oops on digging furter I got the following answers
Full Stops:
1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, 64
Half Stops:
1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.7, 2, 2.4, 2.8, 3.3, 4, 4.8, 5.6, 6.7, 8, 9.5, 11, 13, 16, 19, 22
One Third Stops:
1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2, 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 3.2, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5.0, 5.6, 6.3, 7.1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22

Now I would have to figure out when to use what. Cheers

[SJHester]

Anarnd,

The larger the aperature (smaller number on the f/stop or f/number - they are the same) the more shallow the depth of field. so, if you focus on the foreground, the background would be out of focus, if you focus on the background the foreground would be out of focus and if you focus in the middle both the background and foreground will be out of focus. This is more enhanced by your proximaty or distance to the subject and the focal length of your lens.

If you use a smaller aperature (larger number) your exposure will take longer in the same light, but your depth of field will be longer (both the foreground and background should be in focus).

For some pictures like this having a larger depth of field makes the general scene more appealing. However for a shot of a single subject (flower, person, etc) often having a shallow depth of field will be better as the background being out of focus, draws your eye to the subject and does not distract from it.

Pressing the shutter halfway should cause the viewfinder to display the depth so you can see what your final shot will look like.

Bet this is just clear as mud

Welcome to the forum

[texkam]

Pixtus Photography Cheat Sheet

[protocoder]

Wov Thank you very much texkam and SJHester. Much appreciated, Time for taking some snaps now. Cheers.