fuzzy, soft pics with a 510

Hello All,

I am an old photog turned pro in 1956. I have used many film cameras such as Graphex, Hassleblad, Bronica, Cannon, Olympus, Nikkor and others. I retired some years ago.

I have been using a Kodak EasyShare DX7630 (stop laughing) for the past few years. I tired of shooting a toy and ordered an Olympus 510 with the standard 14-42mm lens.

I am not getting sharp pictures! They are far les sharp than the lil' Kodak's

I set it up on a tripod and shot indoor shots at "Auto". These were not sharp. Switched to manual focus and the results were the same. Set a DIN of 100 and used various f stops in the the "Aperture Priority" mode. Still no joy.

I also tried the "longer" lens I ordered with it and the results were the same.

I hope one of you can advise me what the problem is.

Thanks,
Roy

Welcome to Photography Review. Did you have a question? Also please post a Welcome in View Finder so all can welcome you.

This is a sample of the pics I am getting. The focus is the center of the yellow level.

Roy

Hmm...interesting. The attached image was a little small so I can't really tell how "soft" it is. Resized so small, it honestly doesn't look too bad. Any chance of a full size image, or larger size crop of the area in focus, preferably with aperture, shutter, or manual mode? And maybe at a higher f-stop?

I took a quick look at your exif info, and nothing looks too out of the ordinary. Maybe someone else will catch something. Although I would suggest shooting in SHQ instead of HQ, and turning your noise filter to low or off.

Er....hm...how to explain. Right, well, I don't mean to be obnoxious here but with all those years of experience in various camera systems..did you make sure that the focusing distance of the lens is equal to the distance by which you took the photographs of the level and the table? If you go in too close, even a bit, you can lose clarity. Try looking up the minimum focusing dist. of the lens you are using and then measuring how far back you need to go with a tape.

The sensor on the e-510 is not equivalent at all to anything by 35 mm standards, just to add but you likely already knew that.

Try this; zoom in and focus on the centre of the level. Then with the focus locked, zoom out and see what happens after you take your photo zoomed out.

i would try albots suggestions. i didnt look at the exif, but if you are shooting with some of the defaulted settings that is most likely the problem. the noise reduction will really soften you up and the lower quality jpeg conversion couldnt be helping either.

here is the best thing for all new e-510 users to do:
read through these two links...

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e510-sett.html
and
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/43/e500-using.html

the second article is based on the e-500 but a lot of whats in there carries over.

Thanks All!

I will digest the links and study the suggestions tomorrow.

Albot976 - I rather shoot another test following some of the suggestions than post a crop of this one. The next pic I post will be a 230kb slice of the point focused on. I should have thought of that . . . .

Kajuah - The distance was about 4 feet. The lens at the 14mm zoom. I should think that distance would be past the minimum close focus distance. Thanks for the reminder though.

xwingkiller - I appreciate those links. I did only a quick look, but, looks like a world of info. Likely will be printing those out.

Thanks for the quick responses.

Roy

This is manually focused on the center of the pen. Distance about 3 feet. The image is soft.

I did go to SHQ and turn the noise filter off.

See the next post for autofocus.

Roy

This is the wrong image and I do not know how to remove it (edit)

This autofocus. The center of the pen was selected.

Note that the image is more in focus on the closer print on the paper. I would think this means the autofocus is wrong.

The red dot lit in the center dot and the autofocus white dot was visible in the display. This was repeated in 2 other frames of the same shot.

Roy

You must have been editing your post when I looked but now I see your question. But here are a couple of tips.
First if you are shooting manual check your diaptor on the left side of the finder. Your eye site could be a little off. This is actually how I found out I needed glasses 20 years ago. All of my pictures were coming back from the lab out of focus.
Also if shooting AF. If you press the shutter button half way and the camera focuses and then you move slightly forward or backwards before pressing for exposure the camera will miss focus, unless you are using continuos focus mode. Mostly for sports and moving targets. You also have to watch which focusing points hits focus. With three on the 510 and shooting close objects like this the left or right point my acheive focus first and miss center of the marker. The red light in the finder that blinks when the camera beeps is your focus point.
The E3 has 11 points and I really have to watch what I am doing. When focusing on close objects like this camera focus can be all over the place. I think when the E3 first came out there were a lot of growing pains with photogs that were not use to such a complex focus system. But I hope this helps. I have been working a bunch of overtime and I hope I am making since. Thanks for your post and I hope we all helped.

How do I delete posts? I have 2 that are messed up.

At any rate this is the correct picture for autofocus

This autofocus. The center of the pen was selected.

Note that the image is more in focus on the closer print on the paper. I would think this means the autofocus is wrong.

The red dot lit in the center dot and the autofocus white dot was visible in the display. This was repeated in 2 other frames of the same shot.

Roy

Greg - Yep, trying to fix a bad post.

I set the diopter. I wear glasses and always have to adjust diopter adjustments (when they are available).

I had the camera on a tripod for these shots to eliminate the human wiggle. I think there may be something wrong with the camera.

Thanks for the pointers.

Roy

It could be the camera Roy. I would make sure by trying a different lens. It certainly sounds like you know your stuff. Sorry if I get to elementary, I never know.LOL. Keep us updated....
It looks here like the camera focus was bottom of the paper? Have you tried outside in stronger light?

Try a higher ISO, Fstop and turn the IS on. Just to see? Your data shows you were at 1/30sec at 3.5 iso 100. Try 800iso and turn on the IS. Set white balance for incandecance.

Will give it a try tomorrow. I really should try to get some sleep now.

Thanks,
Roy

the other thing too is that if you are on a tripod, indoors(no weather), and slightly longer exposures, it could be the image stabilisation that is throwing it off.

I think his IS is turned off already so that's not it. The minimum focusing distance for the 14-42 is less than a foot so I don't think that's it either.

Roy, I'm not sure if you're doing this already but try using a 2 second delay or remote shutter release on your next test shots. With a 1/30s exposure, there is a slight chance that hitting the shutter button is causing enough of a vibration even on the tripod to introduce some motion blur, especially when photographing in relatively tight quarters. What mode are you shooting btw?

Also, this won't fix the problem but I believe the firmware on your 14-42 needs to be updated.

Looking at the new picture, I agree that it looks like the camera focused on something closer to the camera than the pen. Assuming the AF point was on the pen and the camera confirmed it, it very well might be a problem with the camera...

To All;

I just got off the phone with Cameta.

Cameta camera not only offered to exchange my E-510 body for a new replacement E-510 body, they are accommodating me with a spare battery and extended warranty at an extraordinary reasonable price.

I hope this clears up all my problems and I can shoot sharp pictures.

Thanks for all your responses and I will let you know what happens with the new body.

A little joke for you -
After taking vitamins, I told my wife, "I feel like a new man"
She replied, "So do I"

Roy

Hello All,

My replacement body arrived yesterday and it is a HUGE improvement!

I have a new question:

How do I import the RAW (they are tagged ORF) files into Paint Shop Pro Photo X2?

Thanks,
Roy

You don't, they are not supported.

I got this response back from them....

Quote:

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As of the moment, the raw files of Olympus E-510 is not yet supported by PSP X2. We do not information on when will there be a release of a patch for the support of Olympus E-510 raw files. Please check the website for updates on when will there be a release of a patch.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further questions.

Kind regards,

Edgar
Corel Customer Support

---

Develop in Master first...

Cheers, Don

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roy Walton

Hello All,

My replacement body arrived yesterday and it is a HUGE improvement!

I have a new question:

How do I import the RAW (they are tagged ORF) files into Paint Shop Pro Photo X2?

Thanks,
Roy

---

Unfortunately PSPP X2 doesn't support E510 RAW files at this time :mad2:

Arghhh !!!!!!

Now I'm curious to see some shots with the new body.

erikzen -

Here is a section from the "full size" image.

This was shot as an "Auto" picture.

I find that the RAW images are much sharper

Roy

Here are two more. I have explored the settings and am close to getting the 510 tuned to my way of shooting.

These are cropped frames.

Roy