When does your 50mm f/1.8 Sharpen up

[Dr_Jones]

Is the 5.6 neighborhood reasonable for this lens...or do i have a shitty copy?

I took a whole mess of shots at 2.2 -2.8 this weekend of my future nephews playing bball indoors (which is a nightmare because of the cycling lights) and very few pictures have anything sharp in them at all.

Just curious what everyones experiences are...i dont remember it being this bad?

[BMW F22]

Usually it's from about 2.0 or 2.2. If yours isn't sharp between 2.2-2.8 then something is wrong- maybe camera shake, narrow dof or defective lens.

[Dr_Jones]

hmmm...thats what i figured.

i have a few mixed in that are soft that are 70-200 f4. shutter speed is over 300 for all. maybe its just the fact that there was crap light...

[Derek Zoolander]

It's not an IS lens, so be careful of camera shake.

[Dr_Jones]

EF 50 1.8 II

Any other 40D shooters have experience with and without high iso noise reduction in the custom functions?

[merlinfe]

Here are a few I took with the 40D and 50mm 1:1.8 MII



and uno mas




If you go to DPReview they have a pretty good review of this lens. Its not the best but it is cheap. I don't feel bad about mounting this on my old Rebel XT and going to the beach or getting into a situation where I would shudder taking the 40D. As for noise, I guess that depends more on the lighting conditions than anything. If you're really really worried about noise you might be better off selling the 40d and getting a 7d. That thing is an ISO monster in comparison.

- Steve

[RedBarron]

I have a nikon but around 2.8 is super sharp.

[runrider]

Unless you're a seasoned photographer, it is most likely it is your own error, and not the lens. Post a shot at f/1.8 for us to see.
Possible user errors would be focus issues, like moving the camera after focusing, exceeding the macro focus distance, moving the focus ring accidentally after focus is achieved, etc. Not to mention shutter speed, cropping too tightly, expecting too much, etc.

[Dr_Jones]

obviously im a beginner but i do shoot about 600 shots a week, am aware of MFD (this shot was certainly outside of it) and handhold a 400 for wildlife all the time (with somewhat decent results). Also its impossible to hit the focus ring on this lens.

AF center point is all i use. Its right on him...i checked and it hits him right below the chin.

[BMW F22]

Try putting it on a table or a tripod and shoot something. If you have a remote trigger then use that. Otherwise just put it on the timer mode to avoid camera shake. Also try manual as well as automatic focus. If it comes out blurry still then there's something wrong with the lens/camera.

IMO, it might be the aperture instead of the equipment. If you are too far away from the subject, big aperture won't work that well. Try using a smaller aperture (bigger number) and see. Either that or try shooting the same object at different distances.

[runrider]

shutter speed? iso?

[1013mm]

at around 4 its sharp.

[Dr_Jones]

500 and 1/250th so low enough and fast enough

[runrider]

I'm thinking he must have moved after you focused. Try taking a shot of a still target same distance away, from a tripod, and post. If it is still as blurry as this one, I'll blame the lens. I'm expecting it will clear up.

[PNF]

50 f1.8II isnt exactly te sharpest lens around anyway, besides, there are too many factors why the image isnt sharp, on top of your camera shake/object movement. maybe higher ISO and thus shutte speed? put out a external flash?

usually, at f2 to f4, it should be pretty fairly sharp.

its a pretty cheap lens and the build quality, glass quality isnt exactly top notch..

[runrider]

Sure its not an L lens, but it should be a LOT sharper than the posted example.

I'd bet dollars to donuts that the kid moved in the time between focus lock and shutter release. Def not motion blur here. 1/250 should be about fast enough - wouldnt give quite this much motion blur.

The other thing that it could be is a Front or back focusing lens, which would need factory re-calibration... but like I said, I think the kid moved after focus was acheived.

OP: Try using Servo focus mode for the next basketball game, and only release shutter when your active focus point is directly on top of the part of the subject you want to be in focus, E.G. his eyes. This lens/camera combo might struggle to keep focus up with a basketball player.

[remmib]

Yes, it's a focus issue, the f/1.8 has a pretty slow focus. It's sharp when it's get the focus right though.
This is one of the reasons I've got the f/1.4 instead.

[Dr_Jones]

Thanks guys...Appreciate the feedback.

[runrider]

He could have the fastest USM focus motor in the world... wouldnt help much if he uses it in the wrong mode!

[Dr_Jones]

Thanks...servo it is next time. why didnt i think of that

[Andrew@ET]

Mine came into day so far soo good but some of the pics arent as sharp as i would of liked. Ill keep playing around with it.

[mogarbage]

...after a 3 finger 2 cube single malt scotch