Sharpness Fuji

[Soesje89]

Hi!  I have been using the Fujifil Xt3 since last year.  When I look at another Fujfilm user, I have the idea that my photos could be even sharper.  I just can't get it done!  What am I doing wrong.  I should always have my focus area right.  Would it be necessary to calibrate my lens?  Who has experience with that?

Greets, Susan

[claude]

2 hours ago, Soesje89 said:

Hi!  I have been using the Fujifil Xt3 since last year.  When I look at another Fujfilm user, I have the idea that my photos could be even sharper.  I just can't get it done!  What am I doing wrong.  I should always have my focus area right.  Would it be necessary to calibrate my lens?  Who has experience with that?

Greets, Susan

It could be that your camera is set on manual focusing

[Herco]

Calibrating focus is not needed for mirrorless cameras. It is something that applies to DSLRs with a separate AF sensor. A mirrorless camera reads its focus of the image sensor. To check for malfunction of the camera it is best to make some test shots on a tripod. With both manual and auto focus shooting either a test card or a brick wall from at least 2-3m away. Ideally you can compare with your friends camera under similar circumstances.

Sharpness is the result of many factors. Applying good focus is of course the most important. That is something to practice. When you set the camera in S-AF mode select the smallest possible AF box that suits the subject and be careful where to aim for. Also be aware of the method of locking focus first and then recompose the image. If the subject is closeby (less than a few meters) that could lead to incorrect focus (Pythagorean theorem). Dor subjects further away it’s not that critical.

Other things to bear in mind is the lens (some are “sharper” than others), but also your “sharpness” setting in camera and in post production. Finally, contrasty images often seem sharper than more flat images.

[jerryy]

One thing to add to what Herco and claude are saying, be careful about confusing correct focus with apparent bad sharpness from low contrast. Even the most well focused, sharp images can look soft if the contrast is low. Use the image processing software to boost the contrast a bit and see what a difference that makes.

It used to be that folks would import images into PhotoShop and the first thing they would do is apply their secret sauce remedy of Unsharp Mask filter for all their images to make them look “sharper”. You can get the same effect by just using a bit of local contrast enhancement without needing to have the best focusing sharpest lens money can buy.

Of course, good lens technique does help. If you put your camera on a tripod and the images are not much different than the handheld one, try the image processing approach.