I need some help I have what I would consider as an ample camera all be it out dated now a Canon 10D I don't have a lot of cash so the the types of glass I can use is very limited would love to have an IS lens but can't afford that.
Here is my issue in order to obtain sharper images I need a faster shutter speed the f stop is limited due to the glass 5.6 can't go lower to allow more light so I boost the ISO once that gets up to 800 + nosie starts to become a problem. I use Noise Ninja as a noise reducer it helps some what but it can also soften the image back down again. If I use a lower iso and lower shutter speed I get good exposure but soft images I have tried a monopod tripod and handheld even used a bean bag to steady the camera. Any tips or suggestions would be welcome thankyou Peter
Peter: There seems to be a missing variable. If you shoot a non-moving subject at low ISO with your camera stabilized on a tripod, you should be getting sharp images. (I will assume that you use a cable release and mirror lockup) My first thought is that your lens is producing soft images, but you say there are sharp, but noisy, at high ISO. I have to say that you have me stumped as well. Regards.
To me it sounds as if there just simply isn't enough light. There is going to be a proper exposure for a given scene that is some combination of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. If you need a faster shutter speed, as you said, you have to raise the ISO or open the aperture.
If you're at the limits of what is usable for your equipment, then the shot is impossible to take without using different equipment, or adding more light (like a flash).
And, as with exposure and pretty much everything else in photography, Noise Ninja is a trade-off - sharpness for noise.
What are the conditions you're trying to take the photo in? What's the photo of?
Peter, if you post an example of a soft image, with the technical data, we'll be able to help you much more effectively. As it is we're just casting about in the dark.
here is my situation I have an invalid wife of whom I have to take care of I love to use my camera but we are strapped for cash in that area I use my camera to capture the wild life that I can attract around our home due to the in ability to to travel any where If I need more light I have to trade iso and noise for exposure if I let the the camera set the shutter and I set the iso and f stop I get a slower shutter speed and a softer image guess what I am looking for is at least a happy medium I don't expect to get super sharp images with the glass I have but a little more focus would be good
To answer your question you need to be more specific - ie focal length, shutter speed, tripod type. I have successfully shot wildlife with a 6.3mm 500 lens at 1/50 sec and ISO 800 and produced images that were well exposed and could be blown up to 24x36 - yes there was a little noise, but on a Nikon D200, the noise closely resembles film grain and the image quality is not unacceptable. The key on exposing at higher ISO is to make sure you avoid underexposure as much as possible - the noise really builds up quickly in the shadow areas.
I use a 3 series Gitzo tripod and either a Manfrotto gimbal head or an Arca Swiss Z1 ball head, both of which are very stable. The tripod is at the upper limit of stiffness for such a focal length, but with careful technique, I get a large percentage of sharply focused images.
I think you are going to have to experiment. Get a sheet of graph paper or a shooting target - a newspaper will do in a pinch. Stabilize the camera with a good tripod; in a pinch, a clamp and a sawhorse will do. Take photos of the graph paper from a fixed distance, say, ten feet, at a wide range of ISO setting, shutter speeds and f-stops in low light. Keep notes. Then do a comparison to see what's sharp and what isn't, and what's noisy and what isn't. View the shots at full size. The exercise will usually tell you what works and what doesn't, and it doesn't cost anything but time.
Discussion
6 repliesHere is my issue in order to obtain sharper images I need a faster shutter speed the f stop is limited due to the glass 5.6 can't go lower to allow more light so I boost the ISO once that gets up to 800 + nosie starts to become a problem. I use Noise Ninja as a noise reducer it helps some what but it can also soften the image back down again. If I use a lower iso and lower shutter speed I get good exposure but soft images I have tried a monopod tripod and handheld even used a bean bag to steady the camera. Any tips or suggestions would be welcome thankyou Peter
If you're at the limits of what is usable for your equipment, then the shot is impossible to take without using different equipment, or adding more light (like a flash).
And, as with exposure and pretty much everything else in photography, Noise Ninja is a trade-off - sharpness for noise.
What are the conditions you're trying to take the photo in? What's the photo of?
I use a 3 series Gitzo tripod and either a Manfrotto gimbal head or an Arca Swiss Z1 ball head, both of which are very stable. The tripod is at the upper limit of stiffness for such a focal length, but with careful technique, I get a large percentage of sharply focused images.