I have an 85mm 1.8 lens and I am taking pictures...
They are very blurred...
Can anyone help me with this problem?
I try to fill the frame and therefore have to get close and
can't get a clear photo
I have included on example...
Any help would be appreciated!!!!


Thanks,
blemaire

What aperture are you using. To fill the frame and have it all clear you need to (now here is where I get confused) I think an aperture over 7 maybe even alot higher

The answer is depth of field (DOF). Say you are shooting at f 5.6 with your 85mm with a Canon 20D, Nikon D80... and your subject is at 5 feet. Everything that is not within one tenth of an inch before or behind where you have focussed will be more or less blurred.
Many DOF calculators on the web, I just googled one:
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

Depth of field is greater if with apertures like f11 - f16, and extremely limited with f1.8.
I'll try to find links to good tutorials about DOF, I don't remember if there has been one in the Newsletters?

edit:
Here is one tutorial:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutori ... -field.htm

I tried to look at the exif data on your image and there is none.

If the 85mm lens is fixed or no zoom, follow suzi's advice - I usually find that f8-f11 is usually the ticket, but the higher f number you use, the smaller the opening of the lens and the greater the depth of field.

You may need to shoot on either Manual or Av (Aperture Priority) to achieve this. The Av setting is one used by Canon, Pentax and I believe Nikon as well as others.

The other thing that really has an impact on depth of field (DOF) is the zoom if you are using a zoomable lens. My Canon has a 17-85 lens and If I want to maximize the DOF I set the lens somewhere between 17 and 30 - i,e, a wide angle lens - and a high f stop - f8.0-f16. Under these conditions the image is usually completely in focus.

John, I think a 85mm f 1.8 cannot be a zoom. It's an excellent portrait lens... because it can offer a very shallow depth of field to blur the background. Another factor is the accuracy of your focussing. Generally, with such large aperture, autofocus will be precise... but you may need to choose a 'spot' focus mode targeting the eyes.
Yours are excellent advice. Choosing such a fix focal lens is a challenge.

Michel,

Ah.

My first job back in the dark ages was in a camera department in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. I remember the 85m lens being sold as a portrait lens for exactly those reasons - and for solving problems with perspective (usually demonstrated by a vast expanse of a nose).

If this is that type of lens, it may be the wrong thing to use for the type of photography currently being pursued.

John, I know...
I have still a Takumar (Pentax) 85mm f 1.8 (42mm thread) dated 1968-1970, just before the introduction of the 'supermulticoating'. It was a jewel by that time. I even tried to use it on my 20D with an adaptor, but I need to mask some contacts with tape and I don't like that. With digital, it would be equivalent to a 135mm. Anyway I shoot mostly wide angle.

Bernell... make sure your aperture is what is suggested. 8-11. Put your camera on Aperture mode. This will pick the correct shutter speed for your exposure. Remember... the quality of your images will allow you to crop as needed. You don't have to work so hard to fill the frame. The hardest thing I had getting used to when my 85 was new was that I had to get so far back to get my image in focus.

but if your aperture is set right and you are in focus... you will get some amazing images with that lens. I also found that having to get so far away from my subject allowed me to use the little flash on the camera instead of my big flash and still getting a good image.

Do let us see the next tries of the new baby. Is it a girl or boy?

Thanks all of you for all the advice, I will certainly give all of these suggestions a try,
Baby and family coming home tomorrow, and it is a beautiful baby girl....I will post more
after I try the tips and thanks MichelB for the links.
blemaire

Another thing to make sure of is to not get inside the minimum focusing distance of the lens. Other than that, I agree with the others that you need to open up your aperture if you want to take a shot that close and get everything in focus.

Congratulations!!!