Photo sharpness

3 years 5 months ago #698361 by meganhaderphotography
I'm on my 2nd Nikon camera that has 24 megapixels and I shoot RAW so I can do more editing. I've got a weird question though.  I was going through some older photos trying to find different entries for some contests and I kept coming across photos that at full size, 4,000 by 6,000 pixels approximately, are not tack sharp, bordering on blurry with some.  However, at half the size or even a little smaller, they look nice and sharp.  When aiming for taking sharp photos, should I worry if they aren't tack sharp at the full size of 24 megapixels? And are professional photographers able to get their photos tack sharp at the full megapixel size? The reason I ask this is whenever you watch a pros videos on YouTube their photos always look perfect but they don't show you them at their full megapixel size so it's hard to know if they were perfect to begin with or if they became perfect after editing. Thanks for the advice!


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3 years 5 months ago - 3 years 5 months ago #698364 by Nikon Shooter
This shot, taken this week when I was just having a break at the marsh,
was capture with a D850 + 600 mm ƒ4 combo. The resolution is 8256
x 5504 px. It is the full RAW with Auto WB and just the DRL (Dynamic
Range Levels = black and white points settings) applied.

***The two red oval are confirming that it is always the same file and
at what enlargement it is viewed.

Before crop, viewed to fit the working window of the app on my screen.



Once cropped to my intent and fit to the app's screen yields this:



Seen at 100% : 300 ppi



Seen at 200% : 150 ppi



Seen at 300%



Seen at 400% : 75 ppi. This is +/- the resolution of billboards meant to
be seen yards and yards away… ultimately, that's really what counts.


Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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3 years 5 months ago - 3 years 5 months ago #698374 by Piechura
Yeah, I usually find that if you've done everything right, they should be sharp fully zoomed in. There might be all sorts of reasons why not though. Slow shutter speed, unsteady hands, not using the lens' sharpest aperture (or focal length for a zoom). One time I took a picture of a building I photographed a few times before and noticed that it wasn't sharp fully zoomed in, and realised I was shooting at f22, which apparently reduces sharpness (which is presumably why landscape photographers stack their focus at something like f8 rather than going for a really narrow aperture).


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3 years 5 months ago #698376 by Nikon Shooter

Piechura wrote: y… which apparently reduces sharpness…


Correct.

ƒ 22 will increase the DoF but the critical sharpness
will be loss through diffraction.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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3 years 5 months ago - 3 years 5 months ago #698384 by Ozzie_Traveller
G'day NS

A most impressive series of enlargements  :thumbsup:

Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

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3 years 5 months ago #698393 by db3348
Wow NS,  amazing images .


Photo Comments
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3 years 5 months ago #698402 by Nikon Shooter
Greetings down under and thank you gentlemen! :P

Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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3 years 5 months ago #698448 by Nikon Shooter

meganhaderphotography wrote: When aiming for taking sharp photos, should I worry if they aren't tack sharp at the full size of 24 megapixels?


Tack sharp is possible — whatever the resolution — and
should be reached.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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3 years 4 months ago #700688 by Esseff

Nikon Shooter wrote: This shot, taken this week when I was just having a break at the marsh,
was capture with a D850 + 600 mm ƒ4 combo. The resolution is 8256
x 5504 px. It is the full RAW with Auto WB and just the DRL (Dynamic
Range Levels = black and white points settings) applied.

***The two red oval are confirming that it is always the same file and
at what enlargement it is viewed.


Nikon Shooter, was this shot using a tripod? Maybe a silly question but I'm basically still a beginner so... curious.


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3 years 4 months ago #700702 by Nikon Shooter

Esseff wrote: Nikon Shooter, was this shot using a tripod? Maybe a silly question but I'm basically still a beginner so... curious.


Ooooh yes!
A 4section CF series 5 with gimbal on levelling plate,
the darn thing is too heavy to hand shoot with it.

A student took this during a mentoring session…


Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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3 years 4 months ago #700712 by Khelm
the lens is holding the camera?  How does this not cause any issues?  The camera and battery pack aren't exactly light.  I've only used primes so I have never even thought about it/researched this before


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3 years 4 months ago #700715 by Nikon Shooter
This lens IS a prime!

The pro body of magnesium alloy is well capable of supporting
its own weight but wouldn't dare suspend that lens to it.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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3 years 4 months ago #700730 by Khelm

Nikon Shooter wrote: This lens IS a prime!.


:blink: :blink: :blink:  Oh!  


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3 years 4 months ago #700739 by Nikon Shooter
Yes, it is. The definition of a prime lens is having a fixed
focal length vs zoom lens.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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3 years 4 months ago #700764 by Esseff

Nikon Shooter wrote:

Esseff wrote: Nikon Shooter, was this shot using a tripod? Maybe a silly question but I'm basically still a beginner so... curious.


Ooooh yes!
A 4section CF series 5 with gimbal on levelling plate,
the darn thing is too heavy to hand shoot with it.

A student took this during a mentoring session…


Very nice. I never used a tripod before and only bought my first one about three months ago. I thought I'd buy a cheapie off ebay just to see how useful it is. And yes it is useful, although my one has plastic mounting brackets to hold the camera, so not very stable. Kinda regret not spending more on a better quality one.

Also, I like how your tripod can float on water. So light. Must be a dream for hikes.  ;)


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