11 replies to this topic

[Sdavis2012]

Hey everyone, I'm a fairly new member as well as new to photography and editing. I just came back from a trip to Costa Rica where I brought my new D5500. I predominately used my 18-140mm nikon lens for the versatility. I got some really cool photos, however, I began uploading them onto my computer and realized that they don't seem very sharp when you zoom in on photos. Im not sure if it was the techniques I used or what caused this. Anyways, I want to make my photos sharper somehow and I tried using picasa to "sharpen" them but was still disappointed. Can anyone give me some advice? Here are a few examples of what I mean.

 

[TBonz]

First, welcome to the site!  Lots of friendly folks here who are happy to help...

 

Can you provide additional info such as the mode you were shooting in (Program, Aperture or Shutter Priority, Manual)?  I don't use Picasa, but most photo editors will be able to show you the settings when the image was taken - ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed.  All of that info can help us figure out what may have occurred to cause the issue...

 

That said, there appear to be some areas which are sharp in each image which to me indicates your issue may be the aperture and / or the focus point.  For example, the front left of the car is in focus as are the sunglasses on the lady.  Those were likely the focus points that the camera chose to focus on when the image was taken.  When you focus, the camera generally will light up a square in the viewfinder that tells you where the camera has focused.  First suggestion would be to make sure that point is where you want it to focus before taking the photo.  You can control the # of focus points in the menu and some situations may be better served by reducing the # of focus points.

 

There are three settings as mentioned above, ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed that combine to create an image.  The ISO controls how sensitive the sensor is to light.  The higher the ISO, the less light is required to capture the image, but it will introduce more grain in the image.  The shutter speed controls how long the sensor is exposed to light and can be used to both stop or introduce motion in an image - for example, freezing the motion of the waterfall with a fast shutter speed or blurring the movement of the waterfall with a slower shutter speed.  The aperture controls the depth of field in the image.  The depth of field is the range (front to back) in the image that appears in focus.  The wider the aperture (smaller number) the less depth of field will be available in the image.  That allows the photographer to get more DOF on photos like landscapes where they may want most of the image in focus and less DOF in something like a portrait where they may only want the subject to be in focus.  Your photo of rocks above is a good example of DOF as it shows the range of the image that is in focus fairly clearly with the foreground and background blurred.

 

These three settings are tied together to create a correctly exposed image.  In Program mode, the camera makes all these decisions for the photographer.  In Aperture Priority, the photographer sets the desired aperture and allows the camera to make the other decisions.  In Shutter Priority, the photographer sets the desired shutter speed and allows the camera to make the other decisions.  In Manual, the photographer controls both aperture and shutter.  ISO is set in the menu and can be specifically set or Auto-ISO set to allow the camera to change the ISO based on the other settings the photographer uses.

 

Hope that helps...

[Nikonite]

I can't speak specifically to the D5500, but my D7100 has a setting called "Picture control" that adjusts for sharpness in the camera. That's if you're not using AUTO and applies to jpegs only. Try using shutter mode and then look for Picture Control under settings. It was probably greyed out if you looked while under AUTO. Once under settings adjust the Sharpness value to your liking. I moved my Sharpness setting from the factory mid level to 9. I've read where Nikon jpegs are soft when compared to the competition. I agree. You should be able to achieve the below level of sharpness. I took the picture of Mount McKinley from 40 miles away in Shutter priority mode. It's the jpeg straight out of the camera with no post processing. In post processing the raw photo it got even better.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Sdavis2012]

First, welcome to the site!  Lots of friendly folks here who are happy to help...

 

Can you provide additional info such as the mode you were shooting in (Program, Aperture or Shutter Priority, Manual)?  I don't use Picasa, but most photo editors will be able to show you the settings when the image was taken - ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed.  All of that info can help us figure out what may have occurred to cause the issue...

 

That said, there appear to be some areas which are sharp in each image which to me indicates your issue may be the aperture and / or the focus point.  For example, the front left of the car is in focus as are the sunglasses on the lady.  Those were likely the focus points that the camera chose to focus on when the image was taken.  When you focus, the camera generally will light up a square in the viewfinder that tells you where the camera has focused.  First suggestion would be to make sure that point is where you want it to focus before taking the photo.  You can control the # of focus points in the menu and some situations may be better served by reducing the # of focus points.

 

There are three settings as mentioned above, ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed that combine to create an image.  The ISO controls how sensitive the sensor is to light.  The higher the ISO, the less light is required to capture the image, but it will introduce more grain in the image.  The shutter speed controls how long the sensor is exposed to light and can be used to both stop or introduce motion in an image - for example, freezing the motion of the waterfall with a fast shutter speed or blurring the movement of the waterfall with a slower shutter speed.  The aperture controls the depth of field in the image.  The depth of field is the range (front to back) in the image that appears in focus.  The wider the aperture (smaller number) the less depth of field will be available in the image.  That allows the photographer to get more DOF on photos like landscapes where they may want most of the image in focus and less DOF in something like a portrait where they may only want the subject to be in focus.  Your photo of rocks above is a good example of DOF as it shows the range of the image that is in focus fairly clearly with the foreground and background blurred.

 

These three settings are tied together to create a correctly exposed image.  In Program mode, the camera makes all these decisions for the photographer.  In Aperture Priority, the photographer sets the desired aperture and allows the camera to make the other decisions.  In Shutter Priority, the photographer sets the desired shutter speed and allows the camera to make the other decisions.  In Manual, the photographer controls both aperture and shutter.  ISO is set in the menu and can be specifically set or Auto-ISO set to allow the camera to change the ISO based on the other settings the photographer uses.

 

Hope that helps...

Thank you for the response. All though I am fairly new still, I have done a lot of reading and research on the info you mentioned. All of my photos were taken in manual mode. 

This is the info for the pictures in order:

1. ISO 100, 112mm, f/5.6, 1/125

2. ISO 160, 116mm, f/5.6, 1/125

3. ISO 100, 27mm, f/5, 1/80

4. IS0 100, 48mm, f/4.5, 1/125

 

As far as focal points go, when I autofocus the camera sets up 1-5 little red and black boxes that appear to be the focus points, however I'm not sure how to switch from one box to another in order to get my exact focus point. 

I can't speak specifically to the D5500, but my D7100 has a setting called "Picture control" that adjusts for sharpness in the camera. That's if you're not using AUTO and applies to jpegs only. Try using shutter mode and then look for Picture Control under settings. It was probably greyed out if you looked while under AUTO. Once under settings adjust the Sharpness value to your liking. I moved my Sharpness setting from the factory mid level to 9. I've read where Nikon jpegs are soft when compared to the competition. I agree. You should be able to achieve the below level of sharpness. I took the picture of Mount McKinley from 40 miles away in Shutter priority mode. It's the jpeg straight out of the camera with no post processing. In post processing the raw photo it got even better.

That is a nice picture man! Thanks for the info, Im gonna check into that in a little while. What post process website or app do you use?

[Nikonite]

I use DxO Optics Pro 10. At least with my setup the specifically tailored algorithms for camera body and lens really shows.   

[OTRTexan]

You can move your focal point around if you are using single point focus. If you use any of the multi point ones, the camera tries to guess where the best place is. With single point, you can move the point with the arrow pad. It will recenter by pushing the middle button.

[Nikonite]

You can also move the 9 cluster around with the arrow pad. I don't think I've tried the 21 and higher focus clusters?

[Brian]

I would use a higher ISO setting to get a faster shutter speed. In "film days" the rule of thumb was to use a shutter speed that was about the same as the focal length for a 35mm camera. Nikon DX cameras need to boost that old rule by 1.5x. With digital and the ability to pixel-peep, add another 2x to the rule. Try keeping the shutter speed faster than 1/250th and preferably 1/500th for these kinds of shots.

 

The focus looks good on them- so that is not the issue. Using the "clarity slider" in lightroom, ~10%- probably what I would try.

[TBonz]

I agree that a higher shutter speed would be preferable, but I am not seeing camera shake (perhaps some "bird shake" in #1)...what I see is that all of those images were shot fairly wide open (4.5 to 5.6) so there is not much DOF to work with.  I'd suggest trying to find a spot where you can shoot a similar image to any of the above shots and where you have time to experiment.  Take notes or review your settings in post processing trying a variety of setting low to high ISO, low to fast shutter speed and wide open (4.5-5.6 on that lens I believe) to a small aperture (f22 I believe).  Take them from the same place with the same amount of zoom and the same focus point and you will get a better feel for how the setting impact your image and what you will want to do in certain situations.  I personally like the shot of the rocks and I think the lack of DOF makes it a better image...Given a choice, I'd probably want the lady and the waterfall both in focus which is a shot that calls out for a smaller aperture.  

 

As you get comfortable with how the settings interact and how they can help you, it gets much easier.  

[Merco_61]

I don't have that lens but from what I have seen, it isn't quite crisp wide open. I think you will see a difference if you stop down to around f/8 instead. Don't be afraid of raising the ISO either, it isn't a point-and-shoot. 

[richphotoworks]

     My son recently went to Costa Rica for his second trip, mainly to document reptiles. I can understand why your question in in the "Post-processing" catagory because you need to make your photos as best as possible without flying back to Costa Rica tomorrow! The replys and advice you received here are great and very useful. I'm new here too and also learning every day. I wanted to jump on here and welcome you and introduce myself along with a couple of thoughts for your situation.

My first thought is post-production on your shots. Hopefully you shoot in RAW but if not both your jpeg and raw files can be sharpened in Lightroom. Brian mentioned the clarity slider and that is probably your better choice in tools to help sharpen. My son got me using Lightroom last year so I am enjoying it and it's abilities,

Second is about your lens and possible best settings. I am pretty sure that your lens will sharpen up at f8. There are some lens testing results available on the net. I do more bird watching and photography which can be challenging due to the birds constant movements like fluttering, twitching, headmovements and of course flying. So getting sharp photos with very fast shutter speeds can be crazy hard especially in lower light conditions. I try to keep my lenses a couple of f stops smaller than wide open to allow a sharper image. Then allow the camera to select a variable range of ISO while my finger is on the shutter wheel so I can grab the fastest speed. Also sometimes I use HDR, bracketing and almost always getting a few shots per second.So as you and I encounter and practice numerous situations we grow our skill levels to meet each situations using the camera's abilities.

I use only prime lenses unless I have to use a zoom. Zooms are convienent especially for vacation and street photography but prime lenses get sharp shots.

Try Lightroom and have some fun in post!
 

[Ron]

I'm gonna second what Sportz said about focus points. Sometimes, often in fact, the camera will pick a focus point that's not appropriate for the subject. As an example... the picture you took of the young lady is really quite lovely. A beautiful portrait. However, the focus point seems to be her sunglasses rather than her eyes. Pictures of people will always look sharp as long as the eyes are sharp... even if most of the rest of the photo is soft. So, in this case, the fix is fairly easy. Just be sure to set your focus point on the eyes... specifically, the eye that's nearest to the camera if at all possible.

 

With the photos of the parrots you have a similar situation. Try focusing on the eyes of the nearest parrot... or the one you want to be the center of attention, and see if that helps. Unfortunately, birds don't respond to pleas to hold still as well as humans so it may take a few more tries to get what you want. 

 

The suggestions to stop down a bit are a good idea as well, especially for the car picture. But again, pay attention to where the camera is focusing. There is usually more depth of field behind the focus point than in front of it. So, focus forward and let depth of field take care of the rest. 

 

When shooting... if you have the time, look at your images on the camera monitor and zoom in on the area you want to be in focus. It's not perfect but it often helps to spot an out of focus area that looks OK with the monitor at it's normal viewing magnification.

 

I can also recommend Lightroom. This is a wonderful tool that no photographer should be without. It won't fix all your problems... if it's out of focus, it's still going to be out of focus, but it can go a long way towards helping to add crispness and drama to the otherwise mundane. 

 

--Ron