EOS 2000D Blurry pictures as compared to my old Samsung Galaxy S9 phone

[v3anders]

I just got the entry level 2000D in preparation for taking a photography class. I gave it a test drive. I see that the pictures are blurry and fuzzy compared to old phone, which has half the pixels. Is this normal? or do I have a defective camera?

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

I assume it is a typo, but the EXIF data says 2000D; you posted 4000D.

In P mode the camera should take very good images. But, modern smartphones are dealing in computerized photography, so they are doing a lot of processing to the image. Often that produces images that initially look great and are fine for Instagram and Facebook, but really aren't quality images that you would enlarge and place on your wall.

It's like the television wall in Best Buy or Wal-Mart. In the aisle the bright crisp model catches your eye, but look closely and its over-saturated  and  over sharpened. Tiring to the eyes in the long run.

The Landscape Picture Style favors smaller aperture for depth of field at the expense of a lower shutter speed since it assumes that the landscape is stationary. It also accentuates blues and greens since they are predominant colors in most landscapes.

Set the camera to Program mode and Standard Picture Style, Auto ISO, Evaluative Metering and One-Shot AF with a singe center focus point. Then go out and shoot. 

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

I did get the files this AM Valentin.

My assessment is that the statue images prior to file 348 show motion blur. In all cases the shutter speeds were at or below 1/focal length. You want to have the shutter speed to be equal or faster than 1/(2xfocal length). 

348 achieves that and the image is sharp. (FL=18; SS=1/40)

The field picture on the cellphone looks sharp, but most serious photographers will likely tell you it is over sharpened. Look at the halos around items like the power lines and even some of the grass blades. It's not realistic. But it depends on your use. If your end use is Instagram or Facebook posts (that's all my granddaughters use their images for) then it is fine and works. Even on a iPad it would look fine.

The rabbit was right on. 

No image is going to stand up to examining a small portion of the image. 

I don't think there is anything wrong with your camera, but Trevor's recommendation of trying a different lens is worth pursuing.

I also suggest you shoot in RAW and use the free Canon DPP software. DPP will utilize all the in-camera settings that the camera uses to create the JPEGs but you can more easily edit.

I mentioned in an earlier post (and it may have come across harsher than I intended) this camera may not be the best tool for your use case. I have friends who have switched from high end Canon cameras (5DIII and 7DII) to using iPhones for ease, weight reduction, and the amount of processing and customizing that can be achieved with apps. Their end use now is web posting and our camera club competitions with 1400x1050 pixels max.

[Tronhard · Accepted solution]

Hi again:
I just caught up on your interchange with John during my night.  He has given some well-considered and expressed analysis and advice.  I noticed one comment you made about the relative merits of the camera against a cell phone as regards aperture. 

The field picture on the cellphone looks sharp, but most serious photographers will likely tell you it is over sharpened. 

Yes, I was able to simulate what the cellphone did in post processing (test-244), but that is not the reason the cellphone picture is more in focus. It was able to take the picture at f/2.4, 1/593 and ISO-50, while the camera could only manage f/8, 1/80 and ISO-100.

Rather than send a lengthy explanation in this never-ending series of posts and replies, for mutual easy reference I am sending you an article I wrote that may explain why the numbers between your cell phone and the camera are so different and why all is not what it seems.

[v3anders]

I used the viewfinder for all the pictures. 

I am still not sure if I want to keep this camera... Certainly, do not want to spend more money to buy lenses. 

[Waddizzle]

The DSLR is not all that different from a musical instrument.  Just as you cannot pick up a guitar and instantly be an expert, you are not going to pick up a DSLR and instantly get great results.  There is a learning curve.

Buying a different camera will not make the learning curve go away.

[jrhoffman75]

I suspect you are just not going to be happy. Return it while you can. 

There is nothing wrong with cellphone photography. The best camera is the one you have with you and you are confident in using. 

[pxbradley1]

It seems to me that the original poster has been given a lot of advice and he/she is just not listening. Give up photography and buy a set of golf clubs. Your frustration level will not change but we won't hear about it.

[Tronhard]

I'm not sure that is helpful.  For myself, I appreciate that the OP is frustrated, but I am not ready to give up on them as long as they will help me to help them...

[pxbradley1]

Maybe not. But, you can't help someone that won't listen

[v3anders]

> Maybe not. But, you can't help someone that won't listen

What do you mean? Did you read the whole thread? I have been listening, answering all the questions and running all the experiments (except for tripod), that was asked of me.  So far, this camera takes OK pictures in AV mode when it is sunny, but when it is cloudy, early in the morning, it is not possible to set a high shutter speed (above 80) without incrementing the ISO to over 800.

[Tronhard]

Hi again:
I downloaded the images you shared and looked at them through Windows Photo program at 100% magnification.  Even before doing so, it was apparent that almost all of your statue images were not in focus, the only one really being acceptable was # 348.  Of the images of the golf course some were marginal, but there were a few acceptable ones - looking at the images, it seemed to me that those were taken in quite windy conditions, which adds another layer of complication to the evaluation process.
Do you know anyone who has a Canon EF or EF-S lens that you can try on your camera to take some images?  I am really trying to isolate the lens as an issue if I can to count it in or out of the issues.

[v3anders]

Thank you for taking the time to look at all the pictures and your valuable feedback. I am going to ask around, to see if anybody has a similar camera and will give it a try. 

Thanks again.

-Valentin

[Tronhard]

This thread structure makes it extremely hard to find the latest posts - even if I select newest first, the posts seem to be lost if they are posted as replies! ☹️  I have requested that Canon add an options for strict chronological order without nesting.  So, I may have missed your post, despite searching high and low...

I went out into my garden, between showers, and used the 600D with my 18-55 lens (no AF) to get a few shots as an example of what one should expect to get from a similar setup. 

My camera is set to landscape style,  but that does not impact sharpness significantly, so I think it's a fair match.  Here are some images SooC, shot hand-held, but reduced in size to post without thumbnails.

This first series is consistent, except for aperture, and you can see that the shutter speed changes accordingly. 

FL 55mm, f/8, 1/200sec, ISO-400
55mm, f/8, 1/200sec, ISO-400

FL 55mm, f/5.6, 1/400sec, ISO-400

FL 55mm, f/11, 1/100sec, ISO-400

This next series is just a couple of close-up shots:

FL 49mm, f/11, 1/40sec, ISO-400
 

FL 40mm, f/5, 1/80sec, ISO-400