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This started as a joke, because one of the most popularly asked question to me was- why are my images not sharp? There are so many factors that could affect the sharpness of your images, and I have said numerous times that there are possibly 43 reasons! Little did I know, after I actually listed them down, yes, there are indeed 43 reasons (and probably more) why you are not getting sharp images from your Micro Four Thirds camera. This list has been sitting with me for a while now, and I thought it would be fun to make it into a video!

1) Image Stabilization was OFF

2) Manual Focus switched accidentally

3) AF target area at the wrong spot

4) Diffraction

5) Flare/Backlit

6) Fingerprint on lens front element

7) Fingerprint on image sensor (yikes!)

8) Shutter speed too slow (camera shake)

9) Weird excessive hand movements when clicking the shutter (see video for better explanation)

10) Art filter used, especially soft filter

11) Noise Reduction filter set too high

12) Image resolution setting set to JPEG Small 

13) Subject motion

14) Too much coffee

15) Shutter shock 

16) Fungus growing inside the lens

17) Water inside the lens

18) Air pollution/haze - legit problem in Malaysia recently. 

19) Flat, dull lighting

20) Not close enough, subject appearing too small 

21) Full time AF on, screwing up focus lock

22) Face Detect AF failures

23) Front or back focusing due to lens inaccuracy

24) Cheap filters on lens

25) Image Stabilization unit faulty

26) Lens faulty - cannot focus on infinity

27) Focus limiter switch

28) Too high expectation from the kit lenses

29) Differing definition of sharpness

30) Shooting discipline not applied on the field

31) Sharpness is a bourgeois concept

32) Shooting through glass or any other material

33) Shooting single-handedly, handling large camera + body combo

34) Using cheap tripod - wobbly, rattly, non-steady

35) Wrong Image Stabilization mode

36) Outdated center focus and recompose method

37) Shooting close up, high magnification shot

38) Poor post-processing techniques

39) Using lens converters (tele converter, macro converter, wide angle converter, etc)

40) Burst sequential shooting H setting with C-AF (does not work)

41) Digital teleconverter is ON

42) Firmware not updated (AF & IS compatibility issues can happen with newer products)

43) Ground movement 

That is one long, exhaustive list! Of course I am not expecting anyone to remember everything, the list is not supposed to be a reference or guide, but hey, you gotta admit those are real, possible reasons and I have seen all of them happen in real life before. 

We just do the best we can and put in extra effort to ensure to get the best result while shooting, that is enough! No need to stress over every single one of the list, but hey, I am not kidding when I mentioned it would be difficult for me to pin-point what went wrong if you asked me why your image is not sharp!