Canon 1000d OR Rebel XS depth of field sharpness problem: EFS 18-55mm IS

[j3d]

Hi,

I am trying to take photos with as much depth of field as possible. I have a need for a nice sharp image for a
photomontage project of this kind of gravel rocky terrain:

Please take a look at this 5Mb jpg image:
http://www.graphics3d.plus.com/stones/stones.jpg

Do you think it is possible to get sharper images with this lens over the depth of field that covers the gravel
stone path in the foreground with this camera body and lens or is this as sharp as it will get with this zoom
lens? Can you point me at any examples?

This I think was taken with 100iso at F29 with at 250th of a second exposure in manual mode of the camera with image stableisation. The camera was on a lightweight tripod. I wasn't using a cable release. The camera didn't have a hood. Have just bought this Canon 1000d in the UK (called Rebel XS in some places) with the stanadard EFS 18-55mm IS zoom lens. I was shooting towards the sun too fit in the with the lighting required with my photomontage.
Thanks for any advice.

[jomike]

Yes it is possible to get sharper than this. Read here noting the bit about diffraction at apertures over f/11 and also be sure to click on the hyperfocal link.

[paulyoung666]

is it my eyes or is it oof everywhere

[jomike]

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

is it my eyes or is it oof everywhere

Probably diffraction softening due to using f/29.

[paulyoung666]

Ahh right thanks

[RobDickinson]

j3d look up diffraction limits and also hyperfocal distance too.

[j3d]

Thanks for the all the advice.
With these: manual focus (focusing on the gravel nearer but in line with the red car.) turned of IS. Used 2second self-timer delay with Mirror lockup. Was at 28mm on the zoom. If you save it to your hard drive and right click it, properties, summary tab this shows most of the settings.

Borrowed a heavyweight tripod instead of my lightweight one (windy place) I pressed down on the base of the legs of the tripod this seemed to help. Otherwise movement could be detected on the onscreen display when a distant object was magnified to get the focus.

Have got it sharper than stones.jpg at f29. The camera is pointed slightly downwards as the path goes downhill. I haven't applied any sharpening to the image on my PC but in camera the "Picture Style is set to "Standard" "The image looks vivid, sharp, and crisp. This is a general-purpose
Picture Style suitable for most scenes."

With 293: f8 sharpest
http://www.graphics3d.plus.com/stones/IMG_0293.JPG
With 294: f11 a bit less sharp
http://www.graphics3d.plus.com/stones/IMG_0295.JPG
With 296: f14 less sharp
http://www.graphics3d.plus.com/stones/IMG_0296.JPG
with 297: f22 less sharper still
http://www.graphics3d.plus.com/stones/IMG_0297.JPG

It loses a little focus in the near foreground. Presumably if I moved the zoom to 18mm instead of the 28mm then more would be in focus.

Thanks again for the help

[paulyoung666]

f8 deffo looks better , your other 3 images dont show though

[=adrian=]

Also you could put that picture through Canon's Digital Photo Professional (it should came with your 1000d) and there is a Sharpness slider (I think you should shoot RAW though). I read somewhere that there is this 'issue' with canon's that they have default sharpness set on the lowest. I did set it to +7 on mine and pictures look better (it is especially easy to notice with kit lens (18-55 IS), not that much with my 70-200L which is very sharp anyway).

Hope that helps.

[RobDickinson]

Yeah by default canons jpg's are pretty conservative, which isnt an 'issue' unless you dont realise.

You cant remove sharpening once added but can always add more.

And you need differing levels depending on output.