Picture soft at f1.8 for 50mm prime

Whowillbe · 15th May 2005

Hi people

I know that lenses produce softer images when wide open. But I find that the image I got at f1.8 is too soft to be acceptable... is this normal???

Anyway I want to post the images for you guys to see. How do I do that???

nickmak · 15th May 2005

Originally Posted by Whowillbe

Hi people

I know that lenses produce softer images when wide open. But I find that the image I got at f1.8 is too soft to be acceptable... is this normal???

Anyway I want to post the images for you guys to see. How do I do that???

Firstly, the 50mm f1.8 is a cheap alternative to its more expensive f1.4 brother (I own the f1.8) and the f1.4 is also soft at f1.4. It is normal for that lens to be soft wide open and its DOF is so shallow at that level very little of the picture will be in focus.

To post images, put in a [IMG]___________________.jpg[\IMG] (Fill in the blank with your link.)

n0d3 · 15th May 2005

Its normal for this lens to be soft when wide open as Nick has mentioned. Its tack sharp at around f4 and above.

ricohflex · 15th May 2005

the leica summicron f2 50mm is not soft at f2.

fw007 · 15th May 2005

well if u want to be strict about it, no lens is soft. they're all made of hard metal.

erwinx · 15th May 2005

the quality of 50 f/1.8 varies from sample to sample since its a cheap lens and the QC isn't really that strict, if you get a good sample, it will be pretty ok at f/2 and very sharp at f/2.8.

i was lucky to get a good sample of a 50 f/1.8...

Stoned · 15th May 2005

I'm quite sure Nickmak got a bad copy of the 50/1.4 too. I definitely got better than average sharpness from the 50/1.4 i used even when wide open. It does get sharper at f2 but not by much.

nickmak · 15th May 2005

Originally Posted by Stoned

I'm quite sure Nickmak got a bad copy of the 50/1.4 too. I definitely got better than average sharpness from the 50/1.4 i used even when wide open. It does get sharper at f2 but not by much.

I don't own the f1.4 version. I have the f1.8. lol... For my f1.8 it is soft around f1.8 but it is still acceptable.

Belle&Sebastain · 15th May 2005

Originally Posted by nickmak

I don't own the f1.4 version. I have the f1.8. lol... For my f1.8 it is soft around f1.8 but it is still acceptable.

both my copies, 1.8 or 1.4 is not soft at their widest, lucky i guess

jsbn · 15th May 2005

Originally Posted by Whowillbe

Hi people

I know that lenses produce softer images when wide open. But I find that the image I got at f1.8 is too soft to be acceptable... is this normal???

Anyway I want to post the images for you guys to see. How do I do that???

Erm... f/1.8 50mm tack sharp images?

I dun expect really sharp images with a wide open lens... Except for Ls?

Stoned · 15th May 2005

Let me list 5 non-Ls with wide open sharpness

50/1.4
85/1.8
135/2.8
50/2.5
35/2

Kickass lenses, but non-L

moos blues · 16th May 2005

you want a sharp 50mm? 50mm 2.5 macro. THATS sharp, used open or not, =) it's twice the price of 1.8 in the 2nd hand market, and 2 times less than a 1.4.... but it's

varf · 16th May 2005

Originally Posted by moos blues

you want a sharp 50mm? 50mm 2.5 macro. THATS sharp, used open or not, =) it's twice the price of 1.8 in the 2nd hand market, and 2 times less than a 1.4.... but it's

i can second that.

this test photo was taken at f/2.5, iso200 with the 50mm f/2.5 macro:

this is a 100% crop from the original:

erwinx · 16th May 2005

Originally Posted by varf

i can second that.

this test photo was taken at f/2.5, iso200 with the 50mm f/2.5 macro:
this is a 100% crop from the original:

looks about the same as my 50 mm f/1.8 at f/2.8.

nightwolf75 · 16th May 2005

ermm... folks. without any pics from Whowillbe, isn't it a moot point to talk abt which lens is sharper/sharpest?

as nickmak (btw, where the heck are u, nick??), at f1.8 the DOF of the 50mm/f1.8 is very very shallow. however, pls dun mistaken it for softness (2 different matters). this question has been discussed b4 in the past, without a conclusion IIRC.

btw, moos blues & varf - a macro lens is designed to be sharp. the optics inside ur 50mm macro are very very different from 50mm/1.8 or 50/1.4, IIRC from the lens book. so, not a really fair comparison. a few of us had a very interesting discussion on sat during petf69's shoot abt the merits and pitfalls of shooting people with a macro lens.

Reflection · 16th May 2005

Yeah...i think there's some serious confusion here regarding soft/DOF.

megaweb · 16th May 2005

@f1.8 , DOF is shallow.

Try to test some shots in auto and manual focus

varf · 16th May 2005

Originally Posted by nightwolf75

btw, moos blues & varf - a macro lens is designed to be sharp. the optics inside ur 50mm macro are very very different from 50mm/1.8 or 50/1.4, IIRC from the lens book. so, not a really fair comparison. a few of us had a very interesting discussion on sat during petf69's shoot abt the merits and pitfalls of shooting people with a macro lens.

personally i'd include the f/2.5 macro in the comparison list simply because of its fairly reasonable pricing compared with the f/1.4, and decent sharpness wide open. i'm guessing that pitfalls for people photography would probably include sharp != flattering and slow AF 'hunting' (presuming you AF) due to the range of focal distance?

i apologize if the posted image seems to emphasize DOF at f/2.5 instead of its sharpness, as unfortunately i don't have a sample f/2.5 image handy that shows how sharp it is without the exaggerated shallow depth-of-field effect.

Zplus · 16th May 2005

50mm f1.8 should be pretty sharp wide open... but DOF is very very narrow at f1.8. Check if you have any front and back focus....

Whowillbe · 16th May 2005

Guys, thanks for all the advice...

Here are the pictures... notice the speaker cover... I took the picture at the minimum focusing distance.

f1.8
[IMG]http://gallery.punggol.org/album48/IMG_0372.jpg[\IMG]

f2.8

[IMG]http://gallery.punggol.org/album48/IMG_0373.jpg[\IMG]

15th May 2005	#1
Whowillbe Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 259	Picture soft at f1.8 for 50mm prime Hi people I know that lenses produce softer images when wide open. But I find that the image I got at f1.8 is too soft to be acceptable... is this normal??? Anyway I want to post the images for you guys to see. How do I do that???

15th May 2005	#4
ricohflex Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: sing Posts: 1,535	soft the leica summicron f2 50mm is not soft at f2.

15th May 2005	#7
Stoned Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Changi Posts: 4,376	I'm quite sure Nickmak got a bad copy of the 50/1.4 too. I definitely got better than average sharpness from the 50/1.4 i used even when wide open. It does get sharper at f2 but not by much. __________________ My Personal Folio (of random events and things)

15th May 2005	#11
Stoned Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Changi Posts: 4,376	Let me list 5 non-Ls with wide open sharpness 50/1.4 85/1.8 135/2.8 50/2.5 35/2 Kickass lenses, but non-L __________________ My Personal Folio (of random events and things)

16th May 2005	#15
nightwolf75 Moderator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: in bet MORE diaper changes... Posts: 14,564	ermm... folks. without any pics from Whowillbe, isn't it a moot point to talk abt which lens is sharper/sharpest? as nickmak (btw, where the heck are u, nick??), at f1.8 the DOF of the 50mm/f1.8 is very very shallow. however, pls dun mistaken it for softness (2 different matters). this question has been discussed b4 in the past, without a conclusion IIRC. btw, moos blues & varf - a macro lens is designed to be sharp. the optics inside ur 50mm macro are very very different from 50mm/1.8 or 50/1.4, IIRC from the lens book. so, not a really fair comparison. a few of us had a very interesting discussion on sat during petf69's shoot abt the merits and pitfalls of shooting people with a macro lens. __________________ When did ignorance become a point of view? - Dilbert budget AD/ROM shooter, anyone?

15th May 2005	#3
n0d3 Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,494	Its normal for this lens to be soft when wide open as Nick has mentioned. Its tack sharp at around f4 and above.

15th May 2005	#5
fw007 Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Jurong Posts: 443	well if u want to be strict about it, no lens is soft. they're all made of hard metal.

15th May 2005	#6
erwinx Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,492	the quality of 50 f/1.8 varies from sample to sample since its a cheap lens and the QC isn't really that strict, if you get a good sample, it will be pretty ok at f/2 and very sharp at f/2.8. i was lucky to get a good sample of a 50 f/1.8...

16th May 2005	#12
moos blues Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Pasir ris Posts: 681	you want a sharp 50mm? 50mm 2.5 macro. THATS sharp, used open or not, =) it's twice the price of 1.8 in the 2nd hand market, and 2 times less than a 1.4.... but it's

16th May 2005	#16
Reflection Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Cowtown Posts: 1,129	Yeah...i think there's some serious confusion here regarding soft/DOF.

16th May 2005	#17
megaweb Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: East Posts: 8,106	@f1.8 , DOF is shallow. Try to test some shots in auto and manual focus __________________ See my Photo Gallery at the Clubsnap \| Pbase

16th May 2005	#19
Zplus Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Some equitorial, tropical isla Posts: 2,353	50mm f1.8 should be pretty sharp wide open... but DOF is very very narrow at f1.8. Check if you have any front and back focus....