My friend Lloyd Chambers has recently released an excellent online book on how to make sharp images. Before you read any further, please understand that this portion of Lloyd's site is subscription-based and will cost you a few bucks to access. Details about subscribing can be found here: http://diglloyd.com
In this latest book entry, Lloyd delves into all aspects of the gear, lenses, capture process and the initial processing stages for generating a technically sharp image. Moreover, he goes into just enough of the science to clarify the barriers of optical physics working against this end, and explains it so a layman can understand it. None of this in itself is new information, but what Lloyd has accomplished is bringing it all together a single, easy-to-understand resource that delves into all aspects of laying down the ultimate image sharpness in your captures.
Here is an outline of the table of contents:
>All About Blur: Images can be unsharp for many different reasons
>Bokeh: How a lens blurs when out of focus is a Big Deal
>How To Get Peak Sharpness With Perfect Focus: Focusing is more complicated than it first appears
>How To Banish Blur Whether Handheld or Tripod: Using your camera’s mirror lockup, self timer, and Live View features
>Digital Sensor Technology: Digital capture technology is discrete, and not the same as film
>How to Test A Lens: How to verify a good sample and assess all aspects of lens performance
>Case Studies of Lenses: Examples of lens behavior, and comparison between lenses
>Depth of Field: Controlling the zone of sharp detail
>Diffraction: Getting peak performance from your lens
>Field Curvature: Zone of focus, not plane of focus
>Focus Shift and Spherical Aberration: Elusive sharpness, depending on aperture
>Understanding Modulation Transfer Function (MTF): Understanding resolution and contrast graphs
>Optical Behavior: Understanding the various optical aberrations and behaviors
>Choosing Equipment: How to choose a camera, lenses, and the other stuff that’s worthwhile
>Research — Handheld Shooting: Research into sharpness of handheld images with and without image stabilization
>Research — Tripods and Camera Technique: Stability of tripods and ballheads, controlling camera vibration, selecting equipment
Here is a link to the Book: http://makingsharpimages.com/
If you already are a subscriber to Lloyd's site and have read this book, please feel free to add your comments!
In this latest book entry, Lloyd delves into all aspects of the gear, lenses, capture process and the initial processing stages for generating a technically sharp image. Moreover, he goes into just enough of the science to clarify the barriers of optical physics working against this end, and explains it so a layman can understand it. None of this in itself is new information, but what Lloyd has accomplished is bringing it all together a single, easy-to-understand resource that delves into all aspects of laying down the ultimate image sharpness in your captures.
Here is an outline of the table of contents:
>All About Blur: Images can be unsharp for many different reasons
>Bokeh: How a lens blurs when out of focus is a Big Deal
>How To Get Peak Sharpness With Perfect Focus: Focusing is more complicated than it first appears
>How To Banish Blur Whether Handheld or Tripod: Using your camera’s mirror lockup, self timer, and Live View features
>Digital Sensor Technology: Digital capture technology is discrete, and not the same as film
>How to Test A Lens: How to verify a good sample and assess all aspects of lens performance
>Case Studies of Lenses: Examples of lens behavior, and comparison between lenses
>Depth of Field: Controlling the zone of sharp detail
>Diffraction: Getting peak performance from your lens
>Field Curvature: Zone of focus, not plane of focus
>Focus Shift and Spherical Aberration: Elusive sharpness, depending on aperture
>Understanding Modulation Transfer Function (MTF): Understanding resolution and contrast graphs
>Optical Behavior: Understanding the various optical aberrations and behaviors
>Choosing Equipment: How to choose a camera, lenses, and the other stuff that’s worthwhile
>Research — Handheld Shooting: Research into sharpness of handheld images with and without image stabilization
>Research — Tripods and Camera Technique: Stability of tripods and ballheads, controlling camera vibration, selecting equipment
Here is a link to the Book: http://makingsharpimages.com/
If you already are a subscriber to Lloyd's site and have read this book, please feel free to add your comments!