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Topic: Ebay photos of steel guitars |
C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 22 Oct 2003 5:00 pm |
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I wonder why sooooo many pictures on ebay steel guitars are clearly OUT of focus. I find this very odd.
Has anyone else ever noticed this? I find it incredible that something as easy as to adjust as the focus lens on a camera should render so many pictures quite afar from optimum focus,
carl
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 22 Oct 2003 5:36 pm
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I think it has to do with the low quality cameras alot of casual sellers use. I'm sure there are some people out there who do take out of focus pictures to fool buyers, but I think alot of folks just don't sell on Ebay enough to justify buying a high dollar camera.
About a year ago a friend of mine had a 1960 Fender Deluxe 8 he wanted to sell on Ebay. The guitar was in excellent shape with a beautiful brown tolex case and strong legs, it had hardly been played.
But when I saw the guitar on Ebay, the photo's where awful. If I hadn't of known the seller and personally seen the guitar earlier that day, I would of assumed it was someone trying to pass off a junker. Nobody bid above $500.00 for the guitar, and this was when they where going for around $1000.00 last year. It didn't meet the reserve, and nobody won it.
When I asked him later why the photo's looked so bad, he said he had used a disposable camera, and scanned the pictures onto his computer. He didn't even use a digital camera!
He ended up selling it for $600.00 to a local guy. |
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 22 Oct 2003 5:42 pm
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Carl, most cameras today have auto focus. This does not mean that they focus perfectly on the subject each time. Sometimes they may focus on either the background or foreground.
All consumer type cameras (point & shoot) have auto exposure. Depending on the the setting that the system chooses, the depth of field (area in focus) may be limited.
Sometimes people get in too close and it is beyond that camera's range for an in focus close up shot. A macro mode or lens is needed for a sharp image.
When using a flash, the sensor may read the pre flash reflected from an area that is not the main point of focus, or the intensity(actually, the duration) of the flash may not be sufficient in relation to the distance between the subject and the camera.
A photo may be in focus, but have large grain ( when shooting film), or noise (when shooting digital) which may appear to be out of focus.
Maybe the seller wants to hide imperfections and flaws in what they are selling.
I hope this answers your question as you have answered soooo many of mine in your posts and threads.
[This message was edited by HowardR on 23 October 2003 at 09:50 AM.] |
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Jeff Au Hoy
From:
Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Posted 22 Oct 2003 7:41 pm
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...
Last edited by Jeff Au Hoy on 17 Jan 2018 1:10 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Steve Pacholl
From:
Minneapolis
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Posted 30 Oct 2003 10:04 am
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| I think some part of the out of focus problem is that so many people just don't know how to focus a manual focus SLR. In recent years I have really seen a lot of this. Such a problem I bought a auto/manual focus SLR for use when someone else is taking a picture of me with other musicians. The same is true of not properly composing the picture in the frame. I see it on Ebay and again when I ask someone to take my photo. Little head shot in a big frame. |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 30 Oct 2003 11:20 am
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mega dittos Steve,
There is a big difference between out of focus and lack of detail. While the uniformed tends to meld the two together, they are quite different; and easly differentiated if one looks closely.
The first is always a result of the lens being poorly focused; for what ever reason. The second has to do with the quality of the lense, camera, film and the exposure both during the shot and development and final printing; PLUS the amount of enlargement used, if any.
Any IN focus picture will lose detail the larger one makes the picture. But there is nothing that can be done for a picture that is out of focus even if one makes the picture smaller.
NASA and the hubble telescope proved this beyond any shadow of a doubt. They have access to the finest brains and equipment in the world, and they simply could not correct and out of focus lens (after the fact). ONLY when they repaired it, were they able to see things clearly.
The problem of out of focus in most cases, is simply that. IE, the lense was improperly set. This is the case on many Ebay "for sale" items. NO excuse for it.
Centering, framing and sizing of pictures also is a result of the person taking the picture. One of the first things in photography 101 is how to do centering, framing and sizing when taking shots.
In the end, it is MORE the picture taker; than the picture maker; that determines focus and all other things that can be pleasing, or non pleasing to the viewer.
My thoughts anyway,
carl |
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