On Sun, Jul 21, 2013 at 2:32 PM, Aahz Maruch <[email protected]> wrote: > On Tue, Jul 16, 2013, Bruce Walker wrote: >> On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 3:43 PM, Aahz Maruch <[email protected]> wrote: >>> On Tue, Jul 16, 2013, Bruce Walker wrote: >>>> >>>> Zos, eyebrows are my litmus test for system sharpness. Get a well-lit >>>> headshot of somebody and examine their eyebrows. You should clearly >>>> see the individual hairs. Any time I handhold to get such a shot the >>>> eyebrows are invariably a gaussian smear. You cannot do clean >>>> retouching of such images. >>>> >>>> I can show you a 100% crop of my model's eyebrows from the last beauty >>>> shots I took using a tripod with my K20D and DA* 50-135. Clear, sharp, >>>> detailed. I defy you to get that clarity handheld, no matter the >>>> shutter speed. >>> >>> Let's make sure we're testing the same thing. What percent of frame >>> should the person's head be? Any other requirements? >> >> You want this to be scientific? This is The Internet. :-) > > Not necessarily "scientific", but at least evidence-based. ;-) > >> Well, the shot I have In Support of Tripod Use is this recent one: >> >> http://flic.kr/p/f2Kebj >> >> Obviously head fills the frame, landscape. Camera was about 8-9 feet >> away, 135mm at F8.0, ISO 200. >> >> Here's a 100% crop of her right eyebrow and eyelashes: >> >> https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2254722/PDML/BMW_8026-crop.tif >> >> It's an 8-bit TIFF, exported from the original RAW shot in Lightroom >> 4. Lr's default zeroed settings except WB: flash and the default RAW >> sharpening of 25. > > This is a sucky shot, but hopefully enough to disprove your point. Nikon > P7100 (10MP), mirror selfie, arm braced on door frame, 61mm (35mm/e), ISO > 100, 1/25s. Converted from RAW in Preview.app (essentially no editing). > > http://rule6.info/photos/critique/eyebrow/eyebrow_headshot.jpg > http://rule6.info/photos/critique/eyebrow/eyebrow.tiff > > A better and/or newer camera with a higher shutter speed and better > lighting would certainly improve things, as would tighter composition.
Yes, that's really nice and sharp brows, but you cheated there. By bracing yourself on the door you've improvised a tripod with two legs and a doorframe. ;-) Handheld is handheld ... -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
