why are some images sharp and others not

i'm shooting my artwork with an fz30. settings are extra fine jpg, iso
80 etc etc,,, and i tried to set everything thing else i could to get
the best sharpness.

1...with ZOOM + MF, i am able to focus on the weave of the canvas(as
seen through enlarged focus assist window which i have set to full
screen)....very nice and sharp, about as sharp as i can get it. "P" is
set for exposure.

2...i zoom out to get the whole painting.....and shoot

3...i place the other paintings up and shoot. i don't change anything
on the camera, except zooming in or out to accomodate a different size
canvas.

4..the result,,,,,, two paintings are sharp, one is ok, one is not,
imo. in fact the least sharp image is really unacceptable at the normal
image size. it is most definitely a soft image.

the point being,,,SHOULDN'T THEY ALL BE FOCUSED THE SAME AT LEAST??? or
do i have to focus on each painting seperately(doesn't seem right to
me),,,or is there a better way to do what i'm doing.

You might need to focus after you zoom out.

--
Joan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joan-in-manly

wrote in message
ups.com...
: i'm shooting my artwork with an fz30. settings are extra fine jpg,
iso
: 80 etc etc,,, and i tried to set everything thing else i could to
get
: the best sharpness.
:
: 1...with ZOOM + MF, i am able to focus on the weave of the
canvas(as
: seen through enlarged focus assist window which i have set to full
: screen)....very nice and sharp, about as sharp as i can get it. "P"
is
: set for exposure.
:
: 2...i zoom out to get the whole painting.....and shoot
:
: 3...i place the other paintings up and shoot. i don't change
anything
: on the camera, except zooming in or out to accomodate a different
size
: canvas.
:
: 4..the result,,,,,, two paintings are sharp, one is ok, one is not,
: imo. in fact the least sharp image is really unacceptable at the
normal
: image size. it is most definitely a soft image.
:
: the point being,,,SHOULDN'T THEY ALL BE FOCUSED THE SAME AT LEAST???
or
: do i have to focus on each painting seperately(doesn't seem right to
: me),,,or is there a better way to do what i'm doing.
:

wrote:
[]
the point being,,,SHOULDN'T THEY ALL BE FOCUSED THE SAME AT LEAST???
or do i have to focus on each painting seperately(doesn't seem right
to me),,,or is there a better way to do what i'm doing.

I can't speak specifically for the FZ30, but with many lenses today, there
is no need to keep the focus constant while zooming, as the focus is
automatic. I would therefore suggest that you do your focussing at the
actualy zoom level you intend to use.

Yes, I would hope that once manual focus was set, it should stay the same,
but it may not do so if you switch the camera off or allow it to time out.
Try focussing each time.

Cheers,
David

On 17 Aug 2006 05:16:15 -0700, wrote:

i'm shooting my artwork with an fz30. settings are extra fine jpg, iso
80 etc etc,,, and i tried to set everything thing else i could to get
the best sharpness.

1...with ZOOM + MF, i am able to focus on the weave of the canvas(as
seen through enlarged focus assist window which i have set to full
screen)....very nice and sharp, about as sharp as i can get it. "P" is
set for exposure.

2...i zoom out to get the whole painting.....and shoot
Some lenses seem to undergo a slight focus shift when the zoom setting
is changed. Could it be that the degree of unsharpness you are seeing
is a function of how far you've had to shift the zoom after setting
focus.

I'd say you need to try doing the focus setting while at the zoom
setting you'll use for making the shot.

wrote in message
ups.com...
i'm shooting my artwork with an fz30. settings are extra fine jpg, iso
80 etc etc,,, and i tried to set everything thing else i could to get
the best sharpness.


Hi.

I am a little surprised, (very little), that the advocate for the absolute
superiority of this camera, has not contributed any usefull hints about how
you should be using it to obtain the quality you need.

If you change the Zoom setting the lens will need to be re focussed, each
and every time.

Are you using a Sturdy Tripod?

Are you using some sort of remote release or delayed action?

Are you and everyone else in the room staying still, before and during the
exposure?

If not then there will be a very strong possibility of Camera Shake, as well
as your poor focus.

You are aware, I hope, that there will be some optimum settings of the lens,
for both Zoom and Aperture.

You should be using those settings and moving the camera to get the correct
framing, and adjusting the shutter speed to get that optimum aperture.

You will also, of course, not be using the full frame, because any lens
faults will be more evident at the edges.


Roy G

You didn't say whether you are using a tripod. A tripod does two
things. I) makes sure the distance from camera to picture remains the
same (assuming the new painting is set in exactly the same spot. 2)
eliminates motion blur, which can look much like defocus. If you are
shooting indoors, this can result in somewhat slow shutter speed which
makes motion blur more of a problem. By motion blur I do not mean
movement of subject, but of the camera- even a slight tilting motion
will blur the image unless the shutter speed is very fast.


wrote:
i'm shooting my artwork with an fz30. settings are extra fine jpg, iso
80 etc etc,,, and i tried to set everything thing else i could to get
the best sharpness.

1...with ZOOM + MF, i am able to focus on the weave of the canvas(as
seen through enlarged focus assist window which i have set to full
screen)....very nice and sharp, about as sharp as i can get it. "P" is
set for exposure.

2...i zoom out to get the whole painting.....and shoot

3...i place the other paintings up and shoot. i don't change anything
on the camera, except zooming in or out to accomodate a different size
canvas.

4..the result,,,,,, two paintings are sharp, one is ok, one is not,
imo. in fact the least sharp image is really unacceptable at the normal
image size. it is most definitely a soft image.

the point being,,,SHOULDN'T THEY ALL BE FOCUSED THE SAME AT LEAST??? or
do i have to focus on each painting seperately(doesn't seem right to
me),,,or is there a better way to do what i'm doing.

Two things spring to mind....

First, not all zooms retain focus through their zoom range...

Second, are all the paintings mounted the same and exactly the same distance
from the camera?
With a longish lens and available light you may be using a wide aperture -
this will give very little depth of field. Half an inch out will make a
difference here.
Use a solid tripod, a small aperture (f11 ish) and a cable release...

Best to focus on each picture individually - are you sure the autofocus is
off?

Guy

wrote in message
ups.com...
i'm shooting my artwork with an fz30. settings are extra fine jpg, iso
80 etc etc,,, and i tried to set everything thing else i could to get
the best sharpness.

1...with ZOOM + MF, i am able to focus on the weave of the canvas(as
seen through enlarged focus assist window which i have set to full
screen)....very nice and sharp, about as sharp as i can get it. "P" is
set for exposure.

2...i zoom out to get the whole painting.....and shoot

3...i place the other paintings up and shoot. i don't change anything
on the camera, except zooming in or out to accomodate a different size
canvas.

4..the result,,,,,, two paintings are sharp, one is ok, one is not,
imo. in fact the least sharp image is really unacceptable at the normal
image size. it is most definitely a soft image.

the point being,,,SHOULDN'T THEY ALL BE FOCUSED THE SAME AT LEAST??? or
do i have to focus on each painting seperately(doesn't seem right to
me),,,or is there a better way to do what i'm doing.

wrote:
the point being,,,SHOULDN'T THEY ALL BE FOCUSED THE SAME AT LEAST??? or
do i have to focus on each painting seperately(doesn't seem right to
me),,,or is there a better way to do what i'm doing.

Unless you paintings are precisely positioned the same each
time, you need to precisely focus each time. Precision
placement is probably not as easy as precision focus, so go for
the latter.

Other things can help too, but I'm not familiar with your camera,
so some of this may or may not be possible.

You want adjust lighting and shutter speed to allow using the
optimum f/stop of your lense. Generally that will be about f/8.
Some lenses will also be sharp at f/5.6, and some might even be
at f/11 too. But the farther down you stop, the less critical
the focus is! Hence while f/5.6 might well be as sharp as the
lense gets, at f/8 or even f/11 the depth of field is greater
and therefore things like edges (where the lense exhibits
curvature of field) will likely be in better focus.

Obviously the benefits, and the specifics, vary from one lense
to another. Hence try shooting a few at f/5.6, some at f/8.0,
and some at f/11 and see if it makes a difference.

Another point is that if you happen to be using shutter speeds
that end up down in the 1/10 to 2 second range, your images are
more suseptable to vibration from the shutter mechanism of the
camera. Once again, this is very specific to your particular
setup, and you may or may not actually see or be able to control
any effects.

Whatever, solid tripods are wonderful things! (On that note I
might add that if you do a lot of this, investing in an old
Majestic tripod might be well worth your trouble. They are not
suitable for backpacking, and hence old ones sell relatively for
peanuts.)

--
Floyd L. Davidson http://www.apaflo.com/floyd_davidson
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)

On 17 Aug 2006 05:16:15 -0700, wrote:

i'm shooting my artwork with an fz30. settings are extra fine jpg, iso
80 etc etc,,, and i tried to set everything thing else i could to get
the best sharpness.

1...with ZOOM + MF, i am able to focus on the weave of the canvas(as
seen through enlarged focus assist window which i have set to full
screen)....very nice and sharp, about as sharp as i can get it. "P" is
set for exposure.

2...i zoom out to get the whole painting.....and shoot

3...i place the other paintings up and shoot. i don't change anything
on the camera, except zooming in or out to accomodate a different size
canvas.

4..the result,,,,,, two paintings are sharp, one is ok, one is not,
imo. in fact the least sharp image is really unacceptable at the normal
image size. it is most definitely a soft image.

the point being,,,SHOULDN'T THEY ALL BE FOCUSED THE SAME AT LEAST??? or
do i have to focus on each painting seperately(doesn't seem right to
me),,,or is there a better way to do what i'm doing.

Not really.
There's a difference between true zoom lenses and varifocal lenses.
A tru zoom will act as you expect; set the focus, and zooming won't
affect the focus.
A varizoom lens, though, will change focus as you zoom. Many 'zoom'
lenses today, especially in P&S cameras, are really varifocal lenses,
and autofocus is supposed to do the focusing chores for you. But, when
you use manual focus, you'll need to refocus after zooming.
Hope this helps.
--
Bill Funk
replace "g" with "a"

On 17 Aug 2006 05:16:15 -0700
wrote:

i'm shooting my artwork with an fz30. settings are extra fine jpg, iso
80 etc etc,,, and i tried to set everything thing else i could to get
the best sharpness.

1...with ZOOM + MF, i am able to focus on the weave of the canvas(as
seen through enlarged focus assist window which i have set to full
screen)....very nice and sharp, about as sharp as i can get it. "P" is
set for exposure.

2...i zoom out to get the whole painting.....and shoot

From page 33 of the manual: "If you use the zoom function after focusing
on the subject, focus on the subject again."

The FZ30 lens is not parfocal. Changing the zoom throws the focus off.

3...i place the other paintings up and shoot. i don't change anything
on the camera, except zooming in or out to accomodate a different
size canvas.

4..the result,,,,,, two paintings are sharp, one is ok, one is not,
imo. in fact the least sharp image is really unacceptable at the
normal image size. it is most definitely a soft image.

the point being,,,SHOULDN'T THEY ALL BE FOCUSED THE SAME AT LEAST???
or do i have to focus on each painting seperately(doesn't seem right
to me),,,or is there a better way to do what i'm doing.

A better way? You mean other than hiring a pro? :-)

You didn't mention lighting. I've experimented with shooting paintings
and have had a devil of a time getting the color balance right.

Paul Allen