I purchased a Canon EOS 888 QD, in Hong Kong a while back. I have a Optomet UMC UV 52mm filter on it. I'm told that my pictures aren't coming out as clear & Sharpe as they should be. Could it be the filter? In the FAQ I see no ref to this make of camra. Does this mean its not a very good version?

Thank you, Best Regards, Ben Merckling

-- Benjamin Merckling (benn@ksc.th.com), December 01, 1999

Answers

You were "told that my pictures aren't coming out as clear & Sharpe as they should be." So, how do they look to you?

If there really is a problem it would be easy to find out if it is the filter. Just take it off and shoot a roll. But it probably isn't. UV filters don't usually cause sharpness problems, and the UMC stands for multi-coating, I believe, so lens flare is probably not a big problem either.

There may be something wrong with your lens. As I recall, Canon usually sold these with a 38-76mm zoom. It's cheap, but is capable of taking decent photos. I believe this camera is the Asian version of the EOS 5000. It's one step down from the Rebel/1000/500/300 Series, which means that it's the bottom of the line. It's not sold in the USA.

Unsharpness could be caused by really bad film, really bad processing, really bad lenses or just bad technique. Try changing each until it gets better. Make sure you are using a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake blurr. 1/90 sec. or faster should work for the standard lens if you hold steady.

-- Jim Strutz (jimstrutz@juno.com), December 02, 1999.