Camera Labs

Well for a good while i was thinking that my images were slightly soft looking and had been searching for solutions, trying micro-adjustments etc.

Well it might just be your monitor/laptop screen causing all the problems. Currently i'm using a macbook pro with a matt screen and a resolution of 1440 x 900 which all seemed very well, maybe i'm just used to the way it looked until it took some images to the Digital Suit for printing.

I loaded my images into a 24inch imac with high gloss resolution monitor and i was suddenly blown away with how sharp my images actually are, so maybe this is the problem with some of us, its not the camera or lenses but the actual screen you are using to view the images taken.

_________________
Mark Osborne
My life through an iPhone

There is a theory that apparent sharpness is higher when viewed at a higher contrast. Maybe that's a contributing factor?

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

I concur with Orsans findings, my images also look extremely sharp on my glossy screen, but dull and soft on my TFT flatbed. It could have to do with mative resolution scaling though.

_________________
I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Yep, I can confirm that. I have a recent 24" iMac and I have a macbook pro (the 13" one). The images look a lot sharper on my iMac than my macbook pro. The screen on my little mac is ok, but not great.

Just the other day, I thought that my images looked a little soft. Then I remembered to put on my contacts ...

_________________
PhilipGoh.com

lol!

_________________
Mark Osborne
My life through an iPhone

Haha, good one Philip!

An interesting finding though, and a good reason to invest in a good monitor some time...

- Bjorn -

_________________
Street and documentary photographer | Google+ | Twitter | Tumblr

Leica M9-P (my article on Camera Labs) | Leica D-Lux 5 | 50mm Summilux

It's all relative I think. After I've used a lens for some time, I get a feel of how sharp the shots should be. After that, I just end up comparing all the shots to this mental benchmark of mine so my screen doesn't really get in the way. What does bug me is the colour gamut and contrast.

_________________
Graham
Flickr

Make sure you always operate at native resolution as well.

_________________

yes, but how will your images be seen by others?

_________________
Mark Osborne
My life through an iPhone

So your images are still soft... lol!

IPS or S-PVA Matt TFT screens are the only thing you should be reviewing photos on Just Sayin'

Also, when viewing at normal resolution, the software you use to view them will re-size the image differently. AND the pixel density of your screen will also effect apparent sharpness when viewing anything other than at 1:1

We have 20 and 24 inch iMacs at college. The screens have been apparently been calibrated by hand (not using a tool) but they are GOD awful and WAY to contrasty. Black, dark grey, grey... are all black! I can't see any detail in deep blacks in my photos on them.

IBM make a nice laptop with a IPS panel, sure its probably 10KG or something mad like that, (and 10K's or G's in money haha)

_________________
Canon EOS 5DmkII + BG-E6 + Canon EOS 40D + BG-E2N + Canon EOS 33
Canon 17-40 F/4L USM + Canon 24-70 F/2.8L USM + Canon 28mm F/1.8 USM + Canon 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS + Canon 85mm F/1.8 USM
Canon Speedlite 580EX II + Canon Speedlite 540EZ + 2 x Nikon SB-80DX
Cactus V2s Wireless Trigger - 5 x Cactus V2s Wireless Reciever

MY FLICKR!

Dell have some nice ips monitors for under £200.

_________________
Mark Osborne
My life through an iPhone

Under £200...

_________________
Canon EOS 5DmkII + BG-E6 + Canon EOS 40D + BG-E2N + Canon EOS 33
Canon 17-40 F/4L USM + Canon 24-70 F/2.8L USM + Canon 28mm F/1.8 USM + Canon 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS + Canon 85mm F/1.8 USM
Canon Speedlite 580EX II + Canon Speedlite 540EZ + 2 x Nikon SB-80DX
Cactus V2s Wireless Trigger - 5 x Cactus V2s Wireless Reciever

MY FLICKR!

So does it mean I need a Better ips Monitors for better pictures output?

_________________
Soon.....

Well, it doesn't mean it will be sharper, its more colour accuracy. Things like pixel pitch, phase and stuff like that effect it. You have to set your monitor up to its optimal settings to ensure its at its best sharpness.

Also higher pixel densities will give an illusion of a sharper image, but will also show up ones that a blurry more easy.

_________________
Canon EOS 5DmkII + BG-E6 + Canon EOS 40D + BG-E2N + Canon EOS 33
Canon 17-40 F/4L USM + Canon 24-70 F/2.8L USM + Canon 28mm F/1.8 USM + Canon 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS + Canon 85mm F/1.8 USM
Canon Speedlite 580EX II + Canon Speedlite 540EZ + 2 x Nikon SB-80DX
Cactus V2s Wireless Trigger - 5 x Cactus V2s Wireless Reciever

MY FLICKR!