1st shots using my new Canon 350D

[wyerd]

I've just return from holiday in Greece and I thought that I'd post a few shots using my new Canon 350D with a EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. It's the first time I've used a DSLR and I welcome any comments.

Cheers,
Dave.

[mjw123]

Maybe try some image sharpening software - failing that an FZ20 or Oly 770 :-)

Seriously though it seems a couple are not as sharp as they could be so maybe you didn't apply the foucs lock properly. I noticed this in the first and last pics.

Like all new cameras it can take a while to get familiar with all the features / techniques.

[dejongj]

It's a good start! Lots of scope, like most of us, to improve. I think they have meaning to you and the other holidayers, but don't tell much of a story when sharing with people who weren't there...But as you say, they are holiday snaps...

Now all the fun starts in learnig the camera, post processing, composition etc...

[technofan]

Dave,

Please don't think I am being rude, I'm just a little concerned for you as some of those shots look out of focus(I hope your kit is working properly is what I am trying to say). I have the same model lens and a 350D and it takes pin sharp pictures (I have also just bought my camera and I am by no means an expert). I also had an FZ20 it was a great camera.

[Radiohead]

Some of them do look very soft, more so than Id have expected even without any USM applied.

[RobertP]

Those pictures still have the exif info. There is no way the first and last pictures should be that soft f13 1/50th ... f32 1/25th - motion blur is possible but it does not look like that. What software reduced the size? did that make them soft or are the originals soft too?
The flower is nice - f5.6 1/400th

[tomson]

Theres definitely something up with those - have you tried any test shot with your camera?

Heres a straight-from-the-camera snap taken the other week on my 350 (just resized, saved out as a 70% jpeg):

[wyerd]

Thanks for the replies guys. They are resized in picture manager to get them to the 120K limit to post. Looking at tomson's, they are soft in comparison & so are the originals. Is this due to having a filter on the lens? I used a circular polarizer on shots 1,2,3 & 5 - the others had a skylight 1b. Are these necessary on DSLR cameras?

How do I test the camera & lens to find out if it's focus properly? I'm really worried now as it's over 1 grand’s worth of kit!

[RobertP]

There are focus test sheets you can print and point the camera at to check focus. Just search google. Those test for exact focus at a point and show if your camera is out - but the errors are like 1/2" off the mark... not a general blur.

The easiest thing first is to just try some test shots with and without your filters to see if they are the cause. It does look like a soft focus filter! - if the camera was just focusing in the wrong place then something would be in focus in the shot even if the subject was not.

UV filters on my lenses cause no problems.

[c75mitch]

I had a UV filter on my 100- 400 which screwed up the focusing, I took 100's of test shots trying to find out what the problem was on and off the tripod. After a few posts on a photo forum someone suggested removing the filter, I did this and every pic was pin sharp, I could not belive the difference it made.

Like RobertP said take a few test shots, set the camera up on a tripod and take the same pic with and without the filter

goodluck

[Peakoverload]

Looking at the 1st and last shots I dont think its a problem with auto focus as there is nothing in the frame that is in focus. If auto focus had locked to the wrong part of the frame something would be in focus. Also as the subjects in these shots are stationary it cant be motion blur and it doesnt look like camera shake either as this would produce 'ghosting lines'. Therefore I can only assume that you either had the camera in manual focus (check the switch on the lens) or you bought a very cheap polariser filter that has very poor optics and is causing your camera to focus incorrectly. My first port of call would be to check that AF switch on the lens then as others have suggested, chuck the camera on a tripod but the camera in AV and select an aperture of f/11 (most lenses are sharpest around this aperture). Now take a test shot of something stationary with the filter on and again without. Now repeat for your largest aperture e.g. f/4 and again for your smallest aperture e.g. f/22. This will show if your filters have any abberations that could cause problems at all apertures.

[wyerd]

Cheers guys. The Auto Focus button was on. I've d/l a focus test sheet and I'll give it a try over the weekend. Hopefully it's due to the filters - I thought Hoya were a good make?

[nobackwheel]

but does it have the focus ring at the end of the lens? If so, when you turned the polarizer you may have nudged the focus ring by accident??

[wyerd]

The focus ring on the EF-S 17-85mm is at the camera body end.

[dejongj]

Do you have access to different software than picturemanager...I seriously dislike that application, especially for resizing and compression I don't think it does a good job at all...