Help with wide angle lens with out of focus photos

[donoreo]

I will mention again trying the newspaper taped to the wall, bright light and a tripod. Your test photos are not good test photos.

[polarmagnus]

Originally Posted by donoreo

I will mention again trying the newspaper taped to the wall, bright light and a tripod. Your test photos are not good test photos.

I'll do this when I can.

[polarmagnus]

Originally Posted by canoman

Reading your initial thread,you do not give much info. You say "in the evening" so I am assuming you where indoors. Being a super wide angle things looked far away so you enlarged the shot on your PC, now the shot will not look sharp.Your last thread you are asking the impossible. If it was possible we would all have 10-20 F1.4 lens.

Erm..... no..... I was outdoors.

[greenwing]

Originally Posted by jet_kit

Frankly, I wouldn't send it to Sigma on the basis of what you've got here.

Pretty much what I said a couple of weeks ago. I still think there's room for improvement in technique both in use of the lens and postprocessing of shots.

Lose the UV filter. There's a possibility that it's not adversely affecting the lens' performace very much, but it's a certainty that it's not improving it at all.

Chris

[polarmagnus]

I've just bought the UV filter, so it'll stay on the lens instead of me wasting my money. Also I don't want it scratched.

Since I may not have time to do the newspaper thing. Please can anyone give me some techniques on what to use when I'm in Duror, Scotland ?

[jet_kit]

Originally Posted by jet_kit

Mark's advice is good.
There's a commonly held belief that you don't have to be careful with camera shake/focus with wide angles.
Not so. Whilst it's true to say that the effect is more pronounced the longer the focal length, you still have to watch yourself and continue to obey the rules; Stable platform, tripod, beanbag, or yourself with elbows tucked in, camera properly supported, feet apart, shutter pressed gently, not stabbed etc. etc.
If you're going to have another go tomorrow, try an experiment and arrange a bunch of stuff with good sharp edges on a line leading away from the camera. Select one item about halfway down (not more than 0.5M) to focus on @ f3.5 and check that the focus is not long or short. It is unusual for this to happen, but it's not unknown. It may be necessary to send it back to Sigma for collimation.
Amateur Photographer magazine published a little gadget to check your focus. If you try their website I'm pretty sure it'll still be there somewhere.

Here's a repeat of my tips from the beginning of this thread.

[polarmagnus]

Thought I was going to Scotland this Saturday. But I'm not. I'm getting confused with the days.

[donoreo]

Originally Posted by polarmagnus

Thought I was going to Scotland this Saturday. But I'm not. I'm getting confused with the days.

Good thing you remembered before you left, that could be awkward

[polarmagnus]

Originally Posted by donoreo

Good thing you remembered before you left, that could be awkward

Yep that's true. But I wouldn't be driving up there, my dad will be

[greenwing]

I can just imagine you sitting in the back of the car saying "are we there yet dad" for a week

Seriously, I can