MicrostockGroup

Microstock Photography Forum - General => Newbie Discussion => Topic started by: charlottemarie on January 24, 2011, 01:28

Title: Professional kit for a microstock pro!
Post by: charlottemarie on January 24, 2011, 01:28

Hi, giving microstock a go, spent a fair amount on kit in the last week, but my images at 100% crop don't seem sharp enough to me :S. Using a Sigma 10-20. My tamron 90mm macro seems pretty sharp, as does my Nikkon 18-55, but the sigma doesn't at all. I find myself for every single shot using tripod, mirror lock up, remote, and then trying to use the sweet spot of the lens and focus a third into the scene. Very time consuming and could never hand hold. I'm very new to RAW however, and I'm not sure what my in camera settings should be, but what do the pro's use to get those super sharp results? I imagine they spend a lot of money? Anyone suggest an extremeley sharp wide angle lens for Nikon fit?

I feel so held back as until I sort this issue out I can't really shoot.

Thanks!

Title: Re: Professional kit for a microstock pro!
Post by: traveler1116 on January 24, 2011, 02:33

Tripod or studio lighting, shoot around f7 for sharpest results.

Title: Re: Professional kit for a microstock pro!
Post by: basti on January 24, 2011, 03:04

Good choice is Nikkor 10-24 (some refer it to be even tack sharper then Nikkor 12-24 DX). The ultimate lens is Nikkor 14-24/2,8 - probably best UWA zoom. To get pretty sharp results keep f6,3-9 - you can test each lens for the best aperture (some at f7, some at f9 etc.) but the difference between f6,3 and f9 is usually very small and most lenses deliver good results.

Sigma 10-20 isnt the sharpest lens and you cant expect it to be as sharp as macro lens like Tamron 90. The other thing is that Sigma lenses usually have pretty different quality piece to piece = you better go into the shop and try 3-4 pieces and choose the best one. Buying Sigma from eshop = hit or miss.

RAW is usually visibly less sharp then JPEG - RAWs are not so heavily processed with firmware, all agencies say not to sharpen your pictures but if you dont, they will reject it. I usually need to push contrast and sharpness while processing RAW to get proper results. My acceptance is aprox. 80% across big 4 = seems it works pretty good ;)

Title: Re: Professional kit for a microstock pro!
Post by: charlottemarie on January 24, 2011, 14:46

Thanks very much! Will look into those lenses, the Nikon 10-24 seems rather affordable.