davidd's A Doll A Day 2019

[davidd]

6 November – A Doll A Day 2019

Nellie (Smart Doll Kanata) fills in for Carly on yet another I'm-Not-Really-Feelin'-It-Today kind of day. With only 55 days remaining in the year, it's too late to give up now.

[Elfy]

So is Nelly the new Carly?

[werepuppy]

Nellie seems to be in a right mood as well

[Lejays17]

Her glasses are cute.

[neon_jellyfish]

Very moody!

She's so pretty. You could post just her for the rest of the challenge and no one would complain.

[davidd]

Camera frustration: four different cameras, four crummy photos:

7 November – Camera Test with Pinky Street Figure

Panasonic Lumix TS30

Canon PowerShot D20

Fujifilm FinePix S1

Canon EOS 80D

The first three photos were taken from the exact same position with identical lighting. The fourth photo, taken with a full-size DSLR camera, was totally blurry and blown out the first time. And the second time. I tried three times to finally end up with the not-very-sharp image seen here.

I am extremely discouraged about photography right now. Years ago I purchased my first DSLR camera, a Canon EOS 20D. I pulled it out of the box, popped on the kit lens, took it outside, and snapped a half-dozen extremely crisp macro photos of the coins that I found in my pocket. Bright light, low light, high contrast light, that Canon DSLR could handle it all. I was very sad when it finally stopped working after many years of use and abuse.

Last year, after a long period of saving, I purchased the current equivalent of the EOS 20D, the EOS 80D (since superseded by the 90D). As the result of one thing and another, I've barely used it. Tonight was my first attempt to actually "take a picture" with the 80D. The blurry mess you see here in the fourth photo is the best of about a hundred snaps. I can't get the auto-focus to focus on the right spot (should be the eyes, but it keeps focusing on the hands. Even when the auto-focus points in the viewfinder indicate the focus is on the face, it is not). Some of the blur is probably from camera shake, but I never had issues with my previous DSLR under inadequate lighting. In fact, I ended up increasing the lighting for this photo compared to the other three.

I dunno, this may be the end of my Doll A Day. I'm about ready to throw the DSLR against the wall. 

Photo three, taken with a Sony "bridge camera," illustrates the problem I have always had with that camera, and why it has seen very little use: extreme contrast. Highlights are always overex-posed. In this photo, the ex-posure was manually reduced by 2/3 of a stop relative to the other cameras in this test, and the highlights are still blown out.

Photo two is probably the best of the bunch, taken with a little Canon PowerShot point-n-shoot camera that is six or eight years old. It does not perform very well under low-light conditions, but it may be the best I now have with which to work.

Photo one is the new Panasonic Lumix TS30, and illustrates the grainy, noisy, overly contrasty results that it produces. Focus is reasonably good, considering its other shortcomings, and it is comparatively easy to hold steady for less camera shake. But the image quality is sub-par.

Just for fun, here is a similar test from 2015. Two of the cameras are the same as today. They appear to have been performing better four years ago than they are today:

Panasomic Lumix TS5 – The Camera I Recently Dropped and Broke

Canon PowerShot D20 – Same Camera As Photo Two Above

Fujifilm FinePix S1 – Same Camera as Photo Three Above

Canon EOS 7D with 50mm Lens – Different Camera and Lens

Same Focal Length as Photo Four Above

[neon_jellyfish]

Don't give up yet! We're so close! Let the camera issue rest for a few days, just use the most comfortable one and post as many crappy snaps as you need, then try again.

I actually like the Canon EOS 80D one. If I could, I'd prefer to focus manually. If the camera seems to be heavy but you don't want to use tripod, you could try using monopod, it's more flexible. And maybe try to simply have fun with the camera, rather than perfect results.

Anyways, I'm rooting for you!

[werepuppy]

I have to agree with neon on the results of the Canon EOS 80D one here. And also on the trying to just have fun with it all. I mean, I know in comparison to yourself and many others on this forum? My attempts at photography are laughable really, but I just like the attempts. It can be sort of fun - when the subject isn't being a best - and I know I can only get better with time. Well, that's the theory.

You're already better than me, you're just having difficulty right now. Take a break, post crappy ones that are your learning, and just... have fun if it's possible.

[davidd]

I actually like the Canon EOS 80D one. If I could, I'd prefer to focus manually. If the camera seems to be heavy but you don't want to use tripod, you could try using monopod, it's more flexible. 

I have to agree with neon on the results of the Canon EOS 80D one here. 

The EOS 80D probably has potential. I looked at the EXIF data on several photos from the EOS and the other cameras. The ex-posure times were long, longer than I ex-pected, and much longer than can be reliably hand-held. That accounts for some of the blur. I also did some reading about the EOS lenses that I have. I'm accustomed to working close... because, y'know, dolls are tiny... and the lens I was trying to use does not focus closer than 30cm/12in. I might look in to an extension tube, which would be less ex-pensive than investing in a macro lens.

I achieved somewhat better results using a different lens:

8 November – A Doll A Day 2019

Canon EOS 80D with 18-55mm kit lens

(and a little bit of post-production tinkering)

Also, I found a pre-owned version of the Panasonic Lumix TS5 pocket camera that I broke on a used camera website for a good price. Supposedly it is in "Excellent+" condition, so I placed an order. I wish I had seen it a couple of weeks ago before I bought the TS30. Oh well. That's what I get for being impatient.

[neon_jellyfish]

This one looks great! I love the atmosphere.

I'm glad you're not giving uo and congrats on finding the Lumix!

[werepuppy]

This one has a great vibe to it - pleased you found the camera

[davidd]

9 November – Lost Safari Pary

Deep in the labyrinthine catacombs beneath a long-forgotten Central American ruin, Carly encounters a relic from an earlier, ill-fated ex-pedition, the famous Lost Safari Party helmed by noted 1920s ex-plorer Chas. Thatcher (or, @charlesthatcheradv on Instagram).

[Elfy]

No matter what happens, Carly never loses her sense of humour.

[Alliecat]

Hmmm.
I like the EOS colour balance best on the first set, but can see it's a bit soft.  What f-stop are you using?
I almost always use manual focus on the dolls and look for the 'beep'.  The figure is probably too small for the autofocus to hit properly.  I usually shoot quite a few photos and check the focus on each to get what I'm after.  I see you mention struggling with the autofocus so I assume there is some reason you're not on manual?

I had to dig back through my Pentax Forum posts when I was struggling with the 'new' K-x that wasn't sharp; someone offered this advice for testing if the focus is in the right place.

First you want to know if your AF system is front focusing, back focusing or just frustratingly inconsistent. I think this is easier with boring methodical test photos because you can set up the test so the point of focus is much more visible. ...
Set the K-x so it only uses the center focus point. The K-x doesn't have a lot of points but you want to know which point the camera is using. Set the lens aperture to the lowest f number. That's to make the depth of field as small as possible, to make the point of focus more obvious. A tripod helps a lot for repeatable results. The color temperature of the lighting will affect results somewhat - you want lighting that's similar to what your real shots will use. Daylight is better because it eliminates potential problems with fluorescent flicker or other artificial light quirks.
Then you need a target for the AF system to focus on. That should be a high contrast detailed subject. I like to use newspaper text shot at an angle, so the top of the page tilts away from the top of the image. It's got contrast so the AF system locks on to it in a predictable place. It's got small detail. The angle means that only one line of text is the right distance away from the AF sensor. I can remember the line that was in the center of the frame when I look at the photo later. ...
The newspaper text will undereose but that doesn't matter a lot. Adjust if it bothers you. You can raise ISO to get a faster shutter speed to eliminate camera movement problems, but it is better to use a tripod if your shots have so much noise that the point of focus is less obvious. If you use a tripod, use the two second delay on the camera, which automatically disables SR. ... Try to set up your test so that you are fairly close to your test subject.
You should be able to get some test images where you can say for sure that the camera should have focused exactly HERE and see where the focus really was. If it's off, then maybe further tests to see if it's off at certain distances, one particular lens, certain light, inconsistently off or whatever. A measurement of how much it's off will help if you try to adjust the AF system.

But, I'm not sure how to "adjust the AF system" and have to admit that I didn't get round to trying this... life and stuff... and ended up just using the 50mm for almost all my doll photos, & it can be quite sharp.

Do you have "shake reduction" and is it turned on?  I think that can cause some blur...?  And you've learned about the minimum focus for the DSLR lens...  Surely there is something good on eBay for a decent used price.  And if you have long ex'posure times, of course tripod.  The rule I always go by is don't hand-hold at slower than 1/focal length.  So for a 200mm lens I'd want a tripod for slower than 1/200.  Which of course would vary depending on how steady one's hands are, but that's a standard thing.  From the days of [ahem] "real photography with film"

Don't give up!  Your pix are fun and entertaining.  On small computer screens, the imperfections you see may not always show as much.  I know that doesn't help when you're trying to take the best possible photo.  I was pretty frustrated with the K-x at first too.  The kit lens was a lot of the problem.
Hopefully your new Lumix will be better!

And Carly is super cute and cheerful as always

[davidd]

Hmmm.
I like the EOS colour balance best on the first set, but can see it's a bit soft.  What f-stop are you using?
I almost always use manual focus on the dolls....

Thank you for sharing that article excerpt. I like the idea of using an angled wall o' text as a focus test! I think I shall try that. (Perhaps I shall use a page from an encyclopædia; because, yes, I, too, still own a set!)

I purchased a very detailed after-market book on using the Canon EOS 80D. The camera offers a focus compensation setting if the lens has an issue with back-focus or front-focus, but I have not yet read that chapter. The camera is supposedly "smart enough" to learn each lens it is paired with and to automatically compensate. It will also compensate for barrel distortion at wide angles. Again, I have not read that chapter, either.

Part of the issue is that I have become accustomed to using one particular point-n-shoot camera almost exclusively for the past three or four years. I've forgotten everything I knew about shooting with a DSLR, and I have not yet mastered the quirks of the other small cameras I have at my disposal.

Speaking of "disposal," the new Lumix TS30 is on its way back to Amazon. And... I found a pre-owned TS5, like the one I dropped and broke, on a used camera site online that is graded "Excellent Plus" condition and was available for the same price as the camera I'm returning. So that one is on the way.

Also on the way is an extension tube (again, pre-owned but excellent) that will allow the lenses I have for the Canon EOS to focus closer. The not-quite-sharp Pinky photo was taken with a 50mm lens (at f/2.0 I believe). But the 50mm will only focus to 12 inches, so extreme close-up shots of tiny figures like Pinkys are not an option. The extension tube should address the focus issue, although at the cost of a couple of stops. The "Thrifty Fifty" is one of Canon's most highly regarded lenses for its combination of low price and high performance, so it should produce good images. As you say, the color rendition is nice, as is the handling of the gradation of tonal values.

Camera shake was definitely an issue. Looking back through the EXIF data, the fastest ex-posure time was 1/30 on most of the photos with most of the cameras, and I was shooting hand-held. I know perfectly well that it is next to impossible to hold a camera steady at ex-posures longer than 1/30, and it is even more difficult to avoid motion blur when working with small subjects at short distances. So my own laziness and impatience was a contributing factor to the poor photos.

After the photo-shoot, I was eventually able, through a combination of reading and random button-pushing, to set the Canon EOS to single-point focus, which is what I am accustomed to using when shooting toys and dolls. I like to select my own focus point (eyes, on figures that have eyes, usually), and I know enough about the effect of f-stop on depth of field to work from there. Multi-point focus is fine for landscapes or active subjects, but it doesn't lend itself to doll and toy photography.

I should try this eksperiment again in decent light while using a tripod. Well, except for the TS30; that thing was junk and it's on its way back to Amazon and I'm glad to see it go.

Thank you for taking the time to look at the photos, think about the concerns I raised, and offer suggestions. Now I'm feeling kind of excited about trying the focus point exercise and running another camera comparison test.

(Today's Carly pic was snapped with an iPad, which doesn't have a very good camera - it's not as good as the one in the iPhone - but it offers lots of filter apps. When all else fails, layer on the filters with a trowel!)