Focus Q

heyfredyourhat

Premium Member
I have a hard time getting a macro shot in focus...Are there any tricks or toold i can use to help out...Oh i use a canon xti.

It happened today actually when i was was taking some macros of some of my zoas, the only thing i have been doing to compensate is taking a ton of extra pictures. In the view finder they look good, and on the screen they look good, its only when i open the file up on a computer that i can notice it.
 
If you're shooting something that isn't moving and you're using a tripod, try manually focusing. What f-stop (aperture number) are you at? you may want to increase that number as well to increase your depth of field. If you don't have a tripod, the manually focusing may be a little difficult. What lens are you using and how far is the subject from the lens?
 
If your having a problem with taking pictures, and you want us to tell you what you are doing wrong...ALWAYS post examples!

Several causes of your problem come to mind:
A) Your aperture isn't wide enough resulting in a slow shutter speed. You obviously aren't a very good tripod so I would suggest you buy a decant one.

B) Your Aperture is too wide and only a sliver of what your focusing on is actually in focus. Something to the effect of...

-infinity to -1 inch of focus point is out of focus, -1 inch of focus point to +1 inch of focus point is in focus, +1 inch of focus point to +infinity is out of focus.
(I'm graphing calculus problems while browsing the forums so I'm just in that frame of mind. On a side note I am having a little trouble simplifying a derivative so if an algebra guru sees this in the next day or so please IGM me.)

C) Well lets just see your examples before we go further.
 
I use a tripod, objects aren't moving, manually focus everything...F-stops vary but I usually use 5.6 when I can iso as low as possible shutter speeds all different depending on what I am after...

The problem I am having is that I cant see well enough in the viewfinder to see if I am getting the smallest parts in focus or not...
As far as pictures go, just imagine a blurry picture, but here is the worst one from yesterday, and I can retake a million of them, I just thought there was a better way!
NuclearGreens.jpg
 
Is the camera capable of taking a sharp photo outside of the tank? Are you shutting all the pumps off? It appears that your shutter speed is only 0.2 seconds. That is awful slow. Get that up higher if you can. Bump up that iso to 400 or even more if you need to. If there is the slightest movement it will come out blurry. There is nothing in that photo that is in focus, so it leads me to believe that you are getting camera shake. Are you manually pressing the shutter with your finger? If so, then i suggest setting the camera on timer mode and allowing the cameras timing mechanism to trigger the shutter. Also, when you take a picture make sure that you are as close to perpendicular with the tanks glass. If you are at an angle, things will distort slightly.
 
I use a remote almost 100% of the time, I should use higher iso to get shutter speed up, but I don't want noise. It may be distorted a bit.

I thought there was something out there that would make it easier to see in the viewfinder if it is focus or not.

heres another that I am happy with
GreenPinkZoas.jpg
 
I really don't think its a focus issue. That second photo you posted uses a higher ISO and a faster shutter speed. I think that is why it is sharper. I usually don't worry about noise until i get up to around 800 or so unless i'm planning on cropping significantly or making large prints. Even then, you could run the photos through a noise processing software that would virtually get rid of it.
 
How can u tell the exif data or whatever it is called on my shots?

Tripod is a cheap one, and yes manual focus almost always for frags in my tank
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13488343#post13488343 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heyfredyourhat
How can u tell the exif data or whatever it is called on my shots?

Tripod is a cheap one, and yes manual focus almost always for frags in my tank

I use a firefox browser and i added a plugin called exif viewer. I just right click on the photo and select "view exif data" and it shows up.
 
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