Why Isn't My Canon 7D Sharp?
Why Isn't My Canon 7D Sharp?
I just spent $2000 on the “best” APS camera and it's not sharp. Is it bad focus? Is it a bad sensor? What did Canon screw up? Not really.
- The current price of the Canon 7D is significantly less than $2000, in Canada. I was one of the first
sucker pioneer in Canada and paid the full price. I needed the camera then.
- Sharpness is a very complicated phenomenon that is both related to the physics and the optical perception.
The Canon 7D is the DSLR camera with the highest pixel density.
If Canon used the 7D sensor and placed it in a full frame camera, the sensor would be a whopping 29 megapixels.
Sharpness
Sharpness is an optical illusion. A 100% black photo, like a photo taken with the lens cap on, is 100% unsharp. It's the same with a 100% white photo. The photo doesn't “feel” sharp.
The sharpness is felt and appreciated when there is a contrast between the light and the dark. The higher the density, the higher the precision and the higher the graduation between the light and the dark. The lower the impression of sharpness. The more pixels, the lower the impression of sharpness. So a 12 megapixels camera will feel sharper than an 18 megapixels camera.
Sharpness will also depend on the photo, the light and the subject. Side lighted photos will feel sharper than front or backlit photos. Photos of fog also look soft and feel flat.
Most camera manufacturers, including Canon, provide sharpening by the camera. It's almost always done for the JPEGs. For the RAW files, the camera places a marker in file of what it would like the sharpening to be done by the software like DPP or Lightroom…. The problem is that not all software do apply the sharpening indicated by the camera or even apply it in the same manner.
My Lightroom Settings for my Canon 7D
Lightroom: Sharpening Settings For My Canon 7D
These numbers are my starting point and usually stay that way about ½ of the time.
Amount 70 Radius 1.0 Detail 25
I will usually go up in the details, and lower the radius to 0.5
Tags: Canon | Canon 7D | Lightroom | Lightroom-How-To | Technical
Why Isn't My Canon 7D Sharp?
I just spent $2000 on the “best” APS camera and it's not sharp. Is it bad focus? Is it a bad sensor? What did Canon screw up? Not really.
- The current price of the Canon 7D is significantly less than $2000, in Canada. I was one of the first
suckerpioneer in Canada and paid the full price. I needed the camera then. - Sharpness is a very complicated phenomenon that is both related to the physics and the optical perception.
The Canon 7D is the DSLR camera with the highest pixel density.
If Canon used the 7D sensor and placed it in a full frame camera, the sensor would be a whopping 29 megapixels.
Sharpness
Sharpness is an optical illusion. A 100% black photo, like a photo taken with the lens cap on, is 100% unsharp. It's the same with a 100% white photo. The photo doesn't “feel” sharp.
The sharpness is felt and appreciated when there is a contrast between the light and the dark. The higher the density, the higher the precision and the higher the graduation between the light and the dark. The lower the impression of sharpness. The more pixels, the lower the impression of sharpness. So a 12 megapixels camera will feel sharper than an 18 megapixels camera.
Sharpness will also depend on the photo, the light and the subject. Side lighted photos will feel sharper than front or backlit photos. Photos of fog also look soft and feel flat.
Most camera manufacturers, including Canon, provide sharpening by the camera. It's almost always done for the JPEGs. For the RAW files, the camera places a marker in file of what it would like the sharpening to be done by the software like DPP or Lightroom…. The problem is that not all software do apply the sharpening indicated by the camera or even apply it in the same manner.
My Lightroom Settings for my Canon 7D
Lightroom: Sharpening Settings For My Canon 7D
These numbers are my starting point and usually stay that way about ½ of the time.
| Amount | 70 |
| Radius | 1.0 |
| Detail | 25 |
I will usually go up in the details, and lower the radius to 0.5
Tags: Canon | Canon 7D | Lightroom | Lightroom-How-To | Technical
