Why are my Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 photos not as sharp as expected on a Nikon D5000?
Asked 1/29/2013
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I used a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 on a Nikon D5000 for a poorly lit nightclub shoot in tight spaces. Some images look good, but many are softer than I expected. I shot wide open at f/2.8 because I needed as much light as possible. Is shallow depth of field at 11-16mm and f/2.8 likely the main reason, or are there other causes I should check?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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Yes, shooting at f/2.8 will generally produce not-as-sharp images, both because of shallow depth of field and because it's hard to produce sharp images with a wide aperture — most lenses reach peak sharpness stopped down a bit.
High ISO in the darkness will tend towards increased noise (and perhaps you have noise reduction enabled, which will reduce sharpness). And of course, long shutter speeds mean motion blur, both from camera shake and from the motion of your subjects. Nightclubs are dark even at f/2.8.
And, finally, that particular lens is not renowned for sharpness — not that it's bad, but that's what you get from a $600 fast ultrawide zoom.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
13y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Shallow depth of field is probably not the main issue here. At 11mm, depth of field is usually very large, even at f/2.8, unless you are extremely close to the subject.
More likely causes are:
- shooting wide open, where many lenses are a bit softer than when stopped down
- low light forcing higher ISO, which adds noise and can make images look less sharp, especially with noise reduction
- slow shutter speeds causing motion blur from camera shake or subject movement
- focus errors, especially in dark scenes
- being too close for the lens’s minimum focus distance
The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 is a useful fast ultra-wide, but it is not especially known for maximum sharpness wide open.
To improve results, check that focus is landing where you expect, keep shutter speed high enough for movement, watch ISO and noise reduction, and stop down a little when lighting allows. A depth-of-field calculator can also help show how much of the scene should be in focus at these focal lengths.
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