It may be my imagination but I don't think so. It seems that my pics are not near the quality they used to be. I checked my settings and they are the same. Im shooting in S mode at 1/1000 and the sharpness is just not there. Any help? Here is an example. The settings should come up with a right click I think. I shoot in TIFF but post in JPG.
5060 pics looking like crap!
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I don't see your settings, but as a guess I'd say that the camera is giving you a wide open aperture and that is causing things to look a little soft. Also, shooting down on a subject won't help as the subject tends to blend in a little with the background 
Why 1/1000? Maybe try something slower, but still fast enough to freeze most action and check out f4.5 or 6.3 or so and see what happens.
Also, why TIFF rather than RAW? Enquiring minds want to know!
Why 1/1000? Maybe try something slower, but still fast enough to freeze most action and check out f4.5 or 6.3 or so and see what happens.
Also, why TIFF rather than RAW? Enquiring minds want to know!
alcina:I don't see your settings, but as a guess I'd say that the camera is giving you a wide open aperture and that is causing things to look a little soft. Also, shooting down on a subject won't help as the subject tends to blend in a little with the background
Why 1/1000? Maybe try something slower, but still fast enough to freeze most action and check out f4.5 or 6.3 or so and see what happens.
Also, why TIFF rather than RAW? Enquiring minds want to know!
Pretty much everything that Alcina said...
I tend to use manual mode and set my aperature at 5.0 to 8.0 depending on the subject (WA vs. macro). I adjust my shutter speed to match my aperature and shoot for an exposure reading of about -2 to -3 in the upper right hand corner of the LCD screen (I shoot the 5050 but assume the 5060 is the same). One of the photographers I admire told me early on....get close, shoot up and then get closer.
The only reason I can guess that you are shooting TIFF is because your software won't convert RAW. If that is true, consider getting Photoshop Elements 3 (or better yet, CS). If your software can convert RAW, I suggest that you use it. I have been able to save some photos because of the ability to adjust exposure.
You might also look at Peter Schulz's site for recommended settings for the 5060. There is a link on my web site in the Resources for Photographers section.
I guess I just started with TIFF. Seems someone on here told me this? OK, Go to RAW. In S mode the aperature is auto and in A mode speed is auto if I understand my camera right. I started slower and moved up the shutter speed trying to get sharper pics of moving critters. Is this wrong?...I do try NOT to shoot down but it was just a good example of my problem...I guess the info is just on my camera, it didn't seem to transfer with the pic?
Wildcard:
There are two basic considerations - if you increase the shutter speed, you need to open up the lens more (i.e. lower f/stop) - all else being equal. If you do this, then your depth of field (the range at which objects are in focus) decreases. If you then close the lens a bit (higher f/stop), your depth of field increases, but you have to slow your shutter speed. The trick is to find the proper balance (and to get to the right distance from your subject to be in focus). You can play around with your lighting if using a strobe - that can allow you to both increase the shutter speed and close the lens a bit.
RonFrank
Contributor
One thing I notice is visable noise. I notice that the C5050 an auto ISO feature. Not sure if you are using this, but what ISO setting R U using? The color seems off as well, and I'm wondering if the image is underexposed, and then adjusted. That can also increase noise.
Do you use the histogram to judge your exposure when you shoot? If not, do so.
Even higher end PnS digital camera's don't do great at higher ISO's vs. their DSLR cousins that are very usable up to ISO's over 1000.
There is NO WAY you need a shutter speed of 1/1000 to stop action or to prevent blur that can result in handholding this camera, even if fully zoomed. 1/200 should be enough to get the job done, and even that maybe overkill.
The price you may pay in using a high shutter speed is increased ISO which results in noise, decreased DOF, and underexposure which can result in noise when the brightness is increased in software.
To give you a baseline, professional sports photographers use shutter speeds of 1/1000 to stop motorcycles in action. Any fish moving that fast is going to be out of the range of you camera long before the slow AF can lock focus, and you'd be able to pull the trigger.
Filling the frame more with the subject will help provide better focus which should result in sharper images. When focusing on any living subject, the eyes should be the focus point. A slightly blurry image of an animal with sharp focus on the eyes is acceptable in most cases. A sharp image of the rear end of some creature with the eyes OOF, is going to look wrong, and not be a keeper.
Ron
Do you use the histogram to judge your exposure when you shoot? If not, do so.
Even higher end PnS digital camera's don't do great at higher ISO's vs. their DSLR cousins that are very usable up to ISO's over 1000.
There is NO WAY you need a shutter speed of 1/1000 to stop action or to prevent blur that can result in handholding this camera, even if fully zoomed. 1/200 should be enough to get the job done, and even that maybe overkill.
The price you may pay in using a high shutter speed is increased ISO which results in noise, decreased DOF, and underexposure which can result in noise when the brightness is increased in software.
To give you a baseline, professional sports photographers use shutter speeds of 1/1000 to stop motorcycles in action. Any fish moving that fast is going to be out of the range of you camera long before the slow AF can lock focus, and you'd be able to pull the trigger.
Filling the frame more with the subject will help provide better focus which should result in sharper images. When focusing on any living subject, the eyes should be the focus point. A slightly blurry image of an animal with sharp focus on the eyes is acceptable in most cases. A sharp image of the rear end of some creature with the eyes OOF, is going to look wrong, and not be a keeper.
Ron
Wildcard:
As always y'all provide some great info. Let me try again this weekend with slower speeds in RAW and see what happens....I have read ten books on digi photo and photoshop but the realy good info comes from here. Thanks one and all. Please keep the input coming.
RonFrank:
Ron,
Good thought on the ISO. I hadn't even thought of that. I always shoot at ISO 64 (the lowest on the 5050).
RonFrank
Contributor
Wildcard:
When digital camera's shoot, they record what is called the EXIF information as part of the file. How this information is stored is based on the manufacture. This informtion can be transferred with the file upon download, however depending upon how you download the file, the information may not get downloaded. Most software that comes with the camera to download images should perserve the EXIF info.
EXIF info can also be lost when files are edited, or uploaded to a server for viewing. This is based on the software capabilities. In lower end editing software EXIF info is often lost when the file is converted to jpg. This maybe an option setting that one can control in the software. So long story short, your EXIF info is NOT just available with the original image, but can be lost.
As to TIFF, that is a VERY slow output format, and TIFF files are HUGE even if they only contain 8 bits of information (unlike RAW which is a 12-16 bit format). There are also some potential problems using TIFF in that like a RAW image, the camera settings that were used when shooting (like sharpening) may not be perserved. This would depend on how you are downloading the image.
If you have Adobe CS, shoot RAW, and use that. If not, unfortunately the OLY RAW editor is about useless as supplied with the camera software. However OLY did come out with software when they releaed the E1 that is MUCH better. This is not free however unless one purchases the E1, so if you want to take advantage of the OLY product, you will have to purchase it.
Ron
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