Sharpness DA L 18-55

Hello

Wondering what peoples experience is with this lens. I struggle at times to get a viewable level of sharpness out of this lens - see pics from weekend below:


18mm - 8.0ap 1/90 100iso


35mm - 8.0 1/250 100iso

Yet with my 50-200 I don't seem to have as much trouble (granted its one pic coming towards me)


180mm - 8.0 1/250 100iso

Cant afford a replacement (if I could possibly 17-70 Sigma).

Is there a technique I am missing with this lens?

Cheers
Greg

All I can say is that at these image sizes they look sharp but that might be a different story with a larger version.

Your posted photos look fine for sharpness.
However, you would increase your number of sharp photos by increasing the ISO and using a faster shutter speed.

both shots look fine to me but of course it's difficult to judge at this size.

Presumably these guys are moving at some speed, in that case if you want to freeze the action (as opposed to showing speed through controled motion blur) I'd boost the ISO to 200 or even 400 and try and get the shutter speed up around 1/1000th.

I have and use an 18-55mm lens and it's amazingly good. I keep trying to justify buying a "better" lens like the 16-45mm but in the end fail because the "better" lenses aren't much (any?) sharper than the kit at f8 and beyond.

You should definitely be able to get "a viewable level of sharpness" from any of the Pentax kit lenses by f8.

Andrew

If you aren't pixel peeping and you're not printing A3 then keep saving. I did a field test today and posted the results and the difference is only minor.

Cheers for the reassurance. I think I am mistaking sharpness and the motion blur. I should use a faster shutter speed next time.

Funny I have just set up a new LED 24 screen. What a difference to my old 19 CRT! Much easier for viewing images, now just need to sort out the colours a touch.

Gonna keep saving for a 90mm macro and stick with these lenses. The environment as above is probably not somewhere you wanna take mega bucks of equipment (Kites and the likes cost enough!). Anyone know of companies where you can hire pentax lenses? See a few for Canon/Nikon.

Cheers
Greg

Greg don't throw away your CRT though, use it as second monitor as proof because CRT often show photos better then TFT screen (I don't think you've a LED screen because they cost over a thousand pound if not several and aren't available for consumers at 24inch yet :wink

I believe SRS lends out lenses.

heres some.
http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=led+monitor


http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001I45U1G/ref=asc_df_B001I45U1G629792?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=7974&creativeASIN=B001I45U1G


http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/12927921/Acer-S243HLBMII-24-Widescreen-LED-LCD-Mon...

Looking again, you're dealing with movement across the frame. There will be a certain amount of blur from this. have you tried tracking/panning with the movement so the background is moving and blurred rather than the object? Its tricky but used in sports/action (so I read!!!!).

Those aren't LED displays, they are TFT/LCD that use LEDs as back-lighting.

This a led display link
And this the price link
Just in case you didn't notice that's an 11 inch screen, I don't want to think how much a 24 inch screen would cost

Yeah Anvh right - LED backlit Benq. Cheap display but for my other comp uses I needed more desktop space. Yet to get a vid card with DVI to support a second monitor. As you say, worth keeping the 19inch, or getting one of those Samsung TN screens when I sort it out.

Hell I'd much rather be out on the water and someone else snapping away. Weather at the mo has other ideas!

Great shots Smeg, I love the B&W very much, there is a nice contrast in it.

As for the Monitor TN screens aren't good with colours you want to look at PVS or IPS screens, the more expensive Samsung screen have PVA and Eizo and others use them and HP, Dell and Sony I believe use IPS but I can wrong.

For the money the HP LP2475w seems to be a very good screen for photographers link

Ohh not my images, im in front if it. Would be chuffed if they were.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mei_wenti/