Using DSLR LCD to check 100% crop?


ursuladeux

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Jan 5, 2009
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Hi all

I seem to always have a problem of getting sharp shots, they look ok on my LCD, but when I got home and view the picture on my computer, the image was actually not sharp.

Anyone knows if
1) its possible to check the 100% crop for sharpness just using the DSLR's LCD?
2) Does a better LCD resolution enable me to do the check for 100% crop better?

I am currently using a canon 450D.

Thanks!
 

I always do. But remember that a camera LCD increases sharpness and contrast. What you see on your PC is more accurate.

But for the cameras i use they're generally the same - if it's sharp on the LCD it's sharp on my PC.
 

Hi all

I seem to always have a problem of getting sharp shots, they look ok on my LCD, but when I got home and view the picture on my computer, the image was actually not sharp.

Anyone knows if
1) its possible to check the 100% crop for sharpness just using the DSLR's LCD?
2) Does a better LCD resolution enable me to do the check for 100% crop better?

I am currently using a canon 450D.

Thanks!

Yeah you can check for sharpness on the review screen by zooming in. why not?
However when you say it looks sharp on lcd but not on your computer, it could be because your camera is showing your a 'PP-ed' version (with some sharpening applied), whilst you may be importing the RAW file into your PC, which may not look so sharp. But once you apply sharpening on the RAW file, it should be the same, or even sharper than what you see on your LCD :)
 

My opinion is that you would need to know what to look out for to check for sharpness on your camera Lcd. Like zoom in to look for shake, in focus etc. Usually, view at 100% would be softer than not zooming in. It's still more accurate on the bigger monitor screen.

r u looking at jpg on monitor straight out of cam?
 

Yeah you can check for sharpness on the review screen by zooming in. why not?
However when you say it looks sharp on lcd but not on your computer, it could be because your camera is showing your a 'PP-ed' version (with some sharpening applied), whilst you may be importing the RAW file into your PC, which may not look so sharp. But once you apply sharpening on the RAW file, it should be the same, or even sharper than what you see on your LCD :)

oh.. i never apply sharpening in my PC.. thats why.. :p
 

My opinion is that you would need to know what to look out for to check for sharpness on your camera Lcd. Like zoom in to look for shake, in focus etc. Usually, view at 100% would be softer than not zooming in. It's still more accurate on the bigger monitor screen.

r u looking at jpg on monitor straight out of cam?

i am looking at RAW straight out of camera
 

Can i branch off into a next question?

How do you guys take good and sharp handheld pictures..any tips to share.. sometimes really can't find any place/rock to rest my camera on..haha..


My RAW pics are mostly blur at 100% crop... so sad, especially for vacation photos.
Somehow I tend to have shaky hands.. especially since the camera gets heavier and heavier after long hours of walking and carrying it around.. ;p
 

i am looking at RAW straight out of camera

what you are looking at on the LCD is not the RAW image but with some editing already done to it.
If you don't believe me, you can adjust the WB and then shoot again. Colour of the image will change, although theoretically there should be no difference if it's a RAW (exactly what the sensor captures) file, am I right?
 

Can i branch off into a next question?

How do you guys take good and sharp handheld pictures..any tips to share.. sometimes really can't find any place/rock to rest my camera on..haha..


My RAW pics are mostly blur at 100% crop... so sad, especially for vacation photos.
Somehow I tend to have shaky hands.. especially since the camera gets heavier and heavier after long hours of walking and carrying it around.. ;p

a common rule of thumb to mitigate blur due to hand-shake is to have the shutter speed at approx 1/focal length.
i.e. if your focal length is 100mm, you require a shutter speed of 1/100s or preferably even faster.

Things that will be helpful
1) Good technique
2) some kind of stabilisation (eg. Canon IS lenses)
3) use of tripod or monopod
 

what you are looking at on the LCD is not the RAW image but with some editing already done to it.
If you don't believe me, you can adjust the WB and then shoot again. Colour of the image will change, although theoretically there should be no difference if it's a RAW (exactly what the sensor captures) file, am I right?

Bro, I don't know but you are mostly correct as always...haha..

TS, you have to know that on LCD preview, you are looking at jpg file processed by your digic III processor with the settings you set on cam. Raw files usually discard all these settings if you are using a software that doesn't read all these settings. Raw is usually dull in colour and soft if you convert straight to jpg w/o sharpening, saturation boost etc on the software that don't read your settings.
 

a common rule of thumb to mitigate blur due to hand-shake is to have the shutter speed at approx 1/focal length.
i.e. if your focal length is 100mm, you require a shutter speed of 1/100s or preferably even faster.

:thumbsup:

TS: If you can't hit your the desired shutter speed, you may want to increase your ISO.
 

Can i branch off into a next question?

How do you guys take good and sharp handheld pictures..any tips to share.. sometimes really can't find any place/rock to rest my camera on..haha..


My RAW pics are mostly blur at 100% crop... so sad, especially for vacation photos.
Somehow I tend to have shaky hands.. especially since the camera gets heavier and heavier after long hours of walking and carrying it around.. ;p

Besides using faster shutter speed. A few other tips. Works for me, not laws or rules.

shooting procedure
1. compose picture. breath in. breath out. before your next breath intake. count 1, 2 press shutter on count 3.
2. test pressing shutter such that the camera doesn't shake (something about isolating your finger muscles or your finger positioning)
3. shoot with both eyes open. closing one eye only will cause facial muscles in tension and shakes your camera (if you are placing your eye right on the view finder)
4. (definitely helpful) Take more shots. Easier to get at least one sharp copy. :p (provided you don't shake like hell)

find lamp post, pillars, tree trunks to lean your body against.
 

hehe, another is if you have gone through the army, you should have handed weapon, it is the same as how you shoot with your rifle. Breath-in and hold your breath and shoot.
 

ursuladeux, last time I face the same issues as you. Looks fine on the screen but not good on the monitor screen.

Basically the 450D lcd is only 3" and 230k dots.

If u take a not-that-sharp picture and shrink it to >50% of its pixel on the pc, the picture look better. Same analogy on the camera lcd.

As stated above, practice good handling techniques and correct settings.

Trust ur skills, then if the picture looks sharp when zoomed in on the camera lcd, then it should not be a problem on the pc.
 

1 advise ....... TURN OFF your image stabilization , OIS, anti-shake etc etc etc ...... with all this stabilization crap..... there is a danger of even forgetting how to hold our cameras steady .......
 

what you are looking at on the LCD is not the RAW image but with some editing already done to it.
If you don't believe me, you can adjust the WB and then shoot again. Colour of the image will change, although theoretically there should be no difference if it's a RAW (exactly what the sensor captures) file, am I right?

do you mean to say that viewing image on the LCD when zoom in all the way = 100% crop...
mine D7K cannot... must zoom out 2 times on the zoom button to see the sharpness...
when zoom in all the way.. surely is pixelated one...
also, the raw gives sharpest image (without picture control added)...
jpg mostly got picture control...
so with picture control out put by cam in jpg..
most or all the time the picture will not be sharper than raw..
raw is the sharpest with view on lcd...
 

do you mean to say that viewing image on the LCD when zoom in all the way = 100% crop...
mine D7K cannot... must zoom out 2 times on the zoom button to see the sharpness...
when zoom in all the way.. surely is pixelated one...
also, the raw gives sharpest image (without picture control added)...
jpg mostly got picture control...
so with picture control out put by cam in jpg..
most or all the time the picture will not be sharper than raw..
raw is the sharpest with view on lcd...

No, my point was simply that the image review as shown on the camera's LCD is not a true representation of the RAW file captured by the sensor. What you are seeing on the camera is essentially the JPG as processed by the camera (with sharpness added, etc).

My point was in response to TS asking how come the picture appears sharp on the camera LCD, but seems softer when the RAW file is viewed on the PC monitor.
I suppose there are other possible reasons. This is the first one I could think of.

As to how many % the screen can zoom in, I never really bothered to find out that number. Don't think this type of information helps my photography in any way :)
 

IIRC the 2nd last zoom = 100% crop. Not sure if it is still the same with newer camera bodies.
 

Last edited:
ed9119 said:
1 advise ....... TURN OFF your image stabilization , OIS, anti-shake etc etc etc ...... with all this stabilization crap..... there is a danger of even forgetting how to hold our cameras steady .......

Uh, yeah, technology is bad. Please dump all your handphones lest you forget how to do smoke signals, dump your computers so you don't forget how to write, and dump all your cars so you don't forget how to walk.

Jokes aside, stabilization makes life better for photographers, if you have it on your camera, what's with not using technology?
 

1 advise ....... TURN OFF your image stabilization , OIS, anti-shake etc etc etc ...... with all this stabilization crap..... there is a danger of even forgetting how to hold our cameras steady .......

Uh, yeah, technology is bad. Please dump all your handphones lest you forget how to do smoke signals, dump your computers so you don't forget how to write, and dump all your cars so you don't forget how to walk.

Jokes aside, stabilization makes life better for photographers, if you have it on your camera, what's with not using technology?

honestly, i seen a few shot even with VR, OS anti shake or what so ever, its still have some blurring,

guess what ED says has some truth, u need to know proper technique than thats when VR OS or what so ever helps it further.....