Alright, I’m back! Sorry for the delay everyone, it’s been an extremely busy couple of days!
Here’s my sample picture. Taken with the Sigma 56mm at 1/160s, f/1.4 and ISO 320.
In the past, I’ve been able to take pictures like this and crop in a decent amount - maybe ~20% or so - to where it’s clear where my kid is in the group. But cropping in here I find it to look less sharp much quicker than I’m used to.
Hard to tell! It looks quite good on my display. I can't say it's bad or it's good. That says something about our issues. 😂
Thanks for posting, this is a good start. I downloaded and looked at the image in DxO PhotoLab 6, and it looks pretty good to me, without knowing how the image was processed. There is a little bit of noise, normal for this sensor at the pixel level at ISO 320. The image is fairly sharp, about what I'd expect for the Siggy 50mm f1.4 used wide open. Stopping down one or two stops you'd see better sharpness, wide open this lens isn't as razor sharp as the EF-M 32mm f1.4, but it's not far off.
I like to sharpen a bit more that the image is sharpened using DxO when processing RAW images. Is this an out-of-camera jpg, and if so, what picture image settings for sharpness were used in-camera? If it is is a processed jpg from RAW, what software did you use and what, if any, lens corrections and sharpening were applied?
This was taken RAW, but I just transferred to my phone to post here using the Canon Camera Connect app. I’m not sure what kind of settings the app may be applying at transfer, but it looks very similar here compared to when viewing on the camera. I’m expecting is likely using the picture style set in camera? The in camera picture style is Faithful, with sharpness settings like this -
Sharpness strength of 0
Sharpness fineness of 1
Sharpness threshold of 1
Many thanks for posting this. I know what you mean about being crazy busy!
I think there are a number of factors at work here. Number one is that this is basically a vanilla jpeg (output) shot in the Faithful picture style, with not only Zero Sharpening applied, but also Contrast set to -2 (keeping in mind that Contrast is a component of sharpness too). The White Balance is also way off, and that will affect the perception of sharpness as well. I do think you have a workable image here (esp since you still have the original RAW). It just needs some more TLC.
Like Larry and others here, I very highly recommend DxO Photolab 6 (and its Deep Prime XD) in order to get the very most out of your RAW photos. It's powerful stuff, so you have to be careful to apply it judiciously or else you'll create entirely new problems for yourself. ;-)
Also at work here is the jump from Canon's 24 MP sensor to the new 32 MP sensor. It's a tough transition. I remember almost gagging at my first picture sets! Wondering, like you, if I had in fact made the right move. The good news is that it just takes a while to get used to the new output, and moreso the fact that the new images need to be treated Entirely Differently than the old ones. Once you get a good workflow established, you'll start to see these images as the new (and improved) normal. And yes, I just went through the same painful process a couple of years ago with my (45 MP) R5!
A couple of other notes: 1. Keep your shutter speeds up when shooting people performing activities. This will help with camera shake as well. You have plenty of leeway with the ISO here (esp when using a good RAW converter). 2. Shoot bursts. Not only will you get more poses to choose from, but there is always one frame that is sharper than the others. In fact I call this "Poor Man's Image Stabilization." You can easily gain a stop (BTW I always use the back LCD for composing with my M6ii in "diaper mode" :-) ). 3. Stopping down the aperture will increase sharpness a bit, and also provide more depth of field (you only have 7 feet of DOF to work with in your shot). 4. Using Back Button AF (in Servo) + Spot AF will help to keep what you want in focus. Shooting like this, the M6ii produces close to a 100% in-focus keeper rate for me with some of the toughest subjects on the planet.
So see what you can apply to your current technique and workflow. I think you have a good combo here. It just needs some further TLC. Happy shooting!
J&H
Thanks for all the pointers R2, er, I mean, J&H! 😉 There’s definitely a learning curve to the higher resolution, even though one might think it should be “plug and play.” Wondering a couple of things -
1- I never quite know how to handle the white balance in indoor gyms like this. Typically I get it in the ballpark in camera for what it looked like to my eye and just tweak a little in post. Whenever I try to get it technically correct, I end up getting way off and then just undoing all my edits for color. I’m definitely open to pointers to improve here! FYI my style is to keep some of the “ambience” (not sure it can really be called that in a gym 😂) so that it doesn’t look totally different than to people’s eyes.
2- any recommendations for better sharpness settings in the picture styles for the M6ii? I think I just winged it for them. I set the contrast to -2 mostly to see a flatter image in review to get a better sense of what shadow detail I’ve really got. I’m sure there could be a better way to do that too!
All this has me looking much closer at one of the EVF-DC2’s. I feel like my shots are much less stable when shooting just off the back screen, even though I try some things to be more stable that way.
All this has me looking much closer at one of the EVF-DC2’s. I feel like my shots are much less stable when shooting just off the back screen, even though I try some things to be more stable that way.
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I initially bought the ‘add on’ EVF just in case, for very bright days, but am keeping it in the camera all the time, could not recommend it enough. And, in my experience, it is more comfortable to use than the M50’s evf, you don’t touch the lcd with your nose as much.
Carry a folded sheet of "white" paper in your pocket, and then just set your Custom White Balance to it. You can also include it in a "test" shot beforehand and then later set your WB to it in Post. Voila!
I like the "Standard" Picture Style. It's a nice starting point for your editing software.
If you want a flatter image to view through the viewfinder, the EVF-DC1 is less contrasty than the DC2. The DC2 does have a slightly faster refresh rate tho.
Holler back with any other questions!
J&H
Hi R2, great to see you here!!! It's going to be hard to get used to the new name, but will be looking for your posts.
Late to this thread, sorry. I expect I'll be here a lot more from now on, though. My main advice echoes R2's (J&H). Use faster shutter speeds, and process with DXO. I shoot with the Sigma 56 on my M6II a lot. I always have the minimum shutter speed set to 1/250. Remember, this gives an equivalent FOV of 90mm on full frame, and doesn't have stabilization. The old rule of thumb of 1/focal length in full frame was designed for the film days, when we looked at much smaller outputs (usually between 6" X 4" and 10" X 8"). Now that we're peering at images at 100% magnification on screen, I find I need at least 1/ 2 X full frame equivalent focal length, and often faster, for shooting with unstabilized lenses. Also, practice a good steady handholding technique. I find that using a neck strap and pulling the camera away from my body can really help with stabilization. Or resting the camera on a surface, like a table. That's if I'm not using the EVF, which I usually only use for longer lenses (not the 56). That's all to combat camera shake. When shooting people, you also have the fact that they move, even when they're trying to stay still. So I usually try to keep at 1/250 or faster, even with stabilized lenses and/or bodies. Don't be afraid of using higher ISO settings to achieve those higher shutter speeds. The M6II does really well at high ISO, especially with DXO Deep Prime. I'm often between 3200 and 12,800 indoors, with no problems at all. Here's an example with the M6II and Sigma 56 at ISO 5000:
Hello,
I was just trying to find my way around this site as a new member from DPReview when I saw this thread.
The image you posted has a large amount of motion blur.
Here's an example of corrections applied by Topaz Sharpen, which flagged the motion blur problem. I also color corrected in Photoshop, using the sheet music in front of the two cellists as a gray scale reference. (The motion blur correction was a tad overdone, so there are some artifacts if you zoom higher than 100%)
Holding the camera out in front of you, it is almost impossible to avoid camera shake. At least with a camera held up to the eye, there is some additional stabilization against the face.
If you used a tripod, you would marvel at the sharpness the lens can deliver.
It's doubtful that shutter shock was involved, but in a camera with electronic shutter, take advantage of that any time you can.
As far as expecting to see any image quality difference going from 24 to 36 MP, that's a very modest increase in sensor size/resolution. It's practically impossible to discern differences between two such sensors, at usual viewing conditions, in terms of image quality, all other factors being equal (and hopefully ideal). You will see, however, the ability to enlarge the 36 MP image more than the 24 before significant loss of quality. But again, not by very much.
Good luck!
Rich
