wlaidlaw Posted April 23, 2007 Share #1 Posted April 23, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have just been doing a print off a photo I took with the Elmar-M 90mm on the M8. It is a fairly recent lens with a serial number of 3890339. The photo would have been taken about f5.6. I have done a 60% crop and printed at A3+ size (329 x 483mm). I have to say that while pleasant from a distance, the shot is a bit on the soft side. There are a lot of things in the photo at different distances, so I can tell it is a not a focus issue, Where I expected it to be at its sharpest, it is. Am I just pushing the envelope too far with a 60% crop and an A3+ print with this lens? I tried allowing the print menu to upsize and also the alternative route of upsizing in Photoshop (bi-cubic) and then printing at the actual size but this did not appear to make any difference. I am using an HP Photosmart Pro B9180 printer. I have just taken a couple of test shots from my patio with the E90, cropped and printed at A3+ and they are also just a tad soft. Any thoughts anyone? Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 Hi wlaidlaw, Take a look here Is the Elmar-M 90mm on the soft side on the M8?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
boilerdoc Posted April 23, 2007 Share #2 Posted April 23, 2007 I doubt it is the lens! Probably pushing the envelope a little with the crop and A3. Try sharpening in PS. You did not mention that, and every print can benefit from some USM. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted April 23, 2007 Share #3 Posted April 23, 2007 Hi Wilson, I also use the Elmar 90, serial number 3975208, and have also been having problems to get a sharp image. In my case it can be traced to backfocus. I'm attaching an image of the focus test sheet, showing about 40% of the original image. As you can see at the 12 to 14mm mark, this lens is tack sharp. One thing that I did have in the past, when extending the lens, there seems to be some or other stop at about 2mm from being fully extended. Just turn the lens a little to the left or the right while gently pulling at the same time. It normaly comes out all the way then. In that "semi-extended" condition, you get very soft images. Hope this helps. Andreas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 23, 2007 Share #4 Posted April 23, 2007 At f 5.6 it should not be soft - period. Now we get in the realm of speculation: mini camera shake? something with the lens? post-processing problem? whatever. Let us know if this problem arises on all your shots. From your post I feel it is camera shake. With the sensor crop and the 60% crop you are in the equivalent FOV of about a 250 mm lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share #5 Posted April 23, 2007 At f 5.6 it should not be soft - period. Now we get in the realm of speculation: mini camera shake? something with the lens? post-processing problem? whatever. Let us know if this problem arises on all your shots. From your post I feel it is camera shake. With the sensor crop and the 60% crop you are in the equivalent FOV of about a 250 mm lens. Jaap, I think you are right and it is camera shake. I checked the EXIF on the shot that particularly concerned me and it was only 1/125. I know I don't have very steady hands, so maybe I just need to go open perhaps two more stops and get the shutter speed up a bit. I will do some tests tomorrow on and off a tripod (it is a big heavy Manfrotto 190, so no shake on that) to see if I can pin down that it is what we think. Andreas, This is the Elmar-M f2.8 not the collapsible one. I will print out a focus test sheet to check back focus but, as I mentioned on my original post, the point of sharpest focus was correct. Thanks for help and suggestions. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted April 23, 2007 Hi Wilson, I also use the Elmar 90, serial number 3975208, and have also been having problems to get a sharp image. In my case it can be traced to backfocus. I'm attaching an image of the focus test sheet, showing about 40% of the original image. As you can see at the 12 to 14mm mark, this lens is tack sharp. One thing that I did have in the past, when extending the lens, there seems to be some or other stop at about 2mm from being fully extended. Just turn the lens a little to the left or the right while gently pulling at the same time. It normaly comes out all the way then. In that "semi-extended" condition, you get very soft images. Hope this helps. Andreas Andreas, Here is a test from the Elmar-M 90/2.8. Taken at f2.8 at 1200mm. Focus looks fine and on the assumption that DOF should be 2/3 in front and 1/3 behind, it might actually be front focusing by about 4mm. I think this is acceptable. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted April 24, 2007 Share #7 Posted April 24, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi Wilson, Looks tack sharp to me. Regarding your original post, possibly as Jaap has mentioned above, mini camera shake. Andreas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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