D200 and soft images.

I am about ready to try out a new D200, but I have a question. It seems as thought I see a fair amount of threads here about soft images. Often advice is given suggestion that it may be the photographers technique causing this. My question is this. Is it really that hard to get a good sharp picture while hand holding the D200? I have some digital experience using a Olympus 2100 and before that a Minolta X700 film camera. I have always thought I held them pretty steady.
Anywasy I would appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks,
Lon

Please take a look at here:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1021&thread=18369354
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léo ...



http://www.imagesofworlds.com/

Most of the softness that you see at forums is due to inadequate shooting techniques as opposed to camera problem.

One more thing to remember is that D200 (like D2X) has a stronger anti-aliasing filter compared to some other DSLRs. So, you will have to apply a little stronger USM as part of your post processing.

--
Speed is significant and interesting but accuracy is downright fascinating
http://www.pbase.com/pradipta

Proper camera holding techinques is an aquired skill. Some people take longer to learn it than others, and some just don't get it at all. Some of us have troubles because our old hands just shake, and for us a tripod is a necessity. In any case, I must say that the new VR lenses are worth the extra expense. The greatly improve your sharpness due to image blur, but some people incorrectly leave the VR on while the camera is on a tripod.

My experience with the students I have is that images that are not sharp due to motion is ALWAYS "Operator Error" and NEVER "Equipment Problem". Don't worry about the D200, it can out perform all of us.

is only as good as you are.

Practice good techinique and you'll be A-ok.

I use a tripod and a monopod quite often, they're great helpful tools.

Also, I adjust the ISO and Aperature to get me shutterspeeds above 200 when hand holding, if at all possible.

I'm a coffee drinker

lrtrees said:

I am about ready to try out a new D200, but I have a question. It
seems as thought I see a fair amount of threads here about soft
images. Often advice is given suggestion that it may be the
photographers technique causing this. My question is this. Is it
really that hard to get a good sharp picture while hand holding the
D200? I have some digital experience using a Olympus 2100 and
before that a Minolta X700 film camera. I have always thought I
held them pretty steady.
Anywasy I would appreciate your suggestions.

Click to expand...

Many folks claim that higher MP cameras tend to be a little bit pickier about the effects of camera shake than others. There's probably some truth to that but it's getting down to splitting hairs. In any case as long as you avoid undue vibration with longer exposures getting good sharpness isn't difficult at all.

You will need to run some USM to get the most out of whatever sharpness the camera/lens can deliver. Also, viewing D200 and other higher MP images at 100% on a monitor can be extremely unforgiving. At first blush, things like softeness and noise will just jump out at you making you wonder just how bad of a lemon you got stuck with. Later when you go print some of these files at their proper dot pitch you'll see things shape up quite nicely, after which you can relax.



--
Tom Young
http://www.pbase.com/tyoung/

leolo said:

Please take a look at here:

Click to expand...

Leo, the d200 is a more difficult camera than the d70. Because of its high resolution sensor, it's more prone to camera shake, and will reveal all of the defects in poorly designed lenses. If you're not prepared to improve your technique and provide the camera with high quality glass, I'd advise you to return it while you can.

--
Warm regards, Uncle Frank
FCAS Founder, Hummingbird Hunter, Egret Stalker
Dilettante Appassionato
Galleries at http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank

Photec said:

Proper camera holding techinques is an aquired skill. Some people
take longer to learn it than others, and some just don't get it at
all. Some of us have troubles because our old hands just shake, and
for us a tripod is a necessity.

Click to expand...

I'm now 58 years old. After 40+ years holding cameras, sometimes at very slow shutter speeds, I find that I shake like a leaf when holding my Sigma 100-300 f/4 EX. It weighs about 4 pounds, and I'm afraid it has become impossible to hand-hold it any more without shaking.

God bless VR, God bless monopods!

--
=~ AAK - http://www.aakatz.com
=~ Author of the H-Series White Paper
=~ http://www.aakatz.com/h1whitepaper

It's a treat to find you over here! When did you get into the dslr end of things? I see some Paddy's Day pics with the d200, so it must be several months.

So how do you like lugging around the heavy gear, and working without DOF?

--
Warm regards, Uncle Frank
FCAS Founder, Hummingbird Hunter, Egret Stalker
Dilettante Appassionato
Galleries at http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank

This can also be an actual focusing problem with any specific D200. The D70 apparently went through a round of bad focus problems, but mine focused very well. My new D200 had a front-focus problem. I sent it off to Nikon and they adjusted the mirror angle. It has been very sharp after that adjustment.

I love the D200. Incredible piece of gear.

leolo, that was one of the posts that made me ask the question. I do NOT want to purchase a camera that I cannot control.

My brother in law has the Canon 20D and his pictures a sharp. I have looked at the 30D, but just like the feel of the Nikon much better. I am guessing though that one would also have to be careful with the 30D. Not that much difference in resolution.
I will likely get the 50/1.8 and the 18-200vr lens to start out.

Thanks for the replies!
Lon

I've been practicing the camera holding technique ever since I got my 1st SLR. I have to say, the slowest I can go down to is 1/30. But I met a wedding photographer the other day. He told me he could go lower than that. So, I am wondering how I improve my camera holding techniques. (I am coffee drinker also)
Any inputs are welcome.

Thanks,

AAK said:

Photec said:

Proper camera holding techinques is an aquired skill. Some people
take longer to learn it than others, and some just don't get it at
all. Some of us have troubles because our old hands just shake, and
for us a tripod is a necessity.

Click to expand...

I'm now 58 years old. After 40+ years holding cameras, sometimes at
very slow shutter speeds, I find that I shake like a leaf when
holding my Sigma 100-300 f/4 EX. It weighs about 4 pounds, and I'm
afraid it has become impossible to hand-hold it any more without
shaking.

God bless VR, God bless monopods!

--
=~ AAK - http://www.aakatz.com
=~ Author of the H-Series White Paper
=~ http://www.aakatz.com/h1whitepaper

Click to expand...

--
Michael

Took this over the weekend at the Paralympic world cup. Lens was the 70-200 VR with a spot of flash.

This was the first proper event I have covered using the D200 and I had mixed results. Its a totally different animal to my D70 and much less forgiving but if you persevere then the results are good. Not had any printed yet so have only viewed on the monitor.

For info I covered the following:
Wheelchair basketball (1 full day)
Cycling (1 full day)
Swimming (1 full day)
Athletics (2/3 day)
I used a mix of D200 and D70 with mainly 70-200 VR and 300 f2.8 AFS 1.

On avaerage I managed 550 shots per battery and that included quite a bit of in camera editing.
Both cameras were set to shoot RAW (D200 shooting compressed raw).

I used Preview Extractor to produce jpegs and this is what you can see below as the samples. NOTE: these samples have not been optimally processed from RAW.



and here is a 100% crop



--
Best Regards
Davey

Uncle Frank said:

Because of its high resolution sensor, it's more prone to camera shake, and will reveal all of the defects in poorly designed lenses.

Click to expand...

I don't buy this argument. It would be true IF you took advantage of the D200's higher resolution by viewing/enlarging your images that much larger. Lower resolution would only hide camera shake if it was very low.

I do think, given the comments on other threads about the need to fill the AF sensors with the subject, that using the large-area sensors may be risky.

If you persevere the results are BETTER! The D200 has better resolution, greater dynamic range and better color. The camera requires more care and effort than the D70. Furthermore, the camera operates faster and more easily. It's worth the effort . . .

Lon, I too used to have an Oly Uzi - it was a fun camera and the IS was a great feature. Then I stepped up to the Panasonic FZ30 last fall and used the heck out of the IS feature. Just this weekend I bought a D200. Although the testing I've accomplished in the couple days since I got it is limited, I'm very pleased with the sharpness. One thing I had to make an immediate adjustment to was the amount of care I use holding the D200. I'd become somewhat careless since the IS feature took care of things for me. (I don't have a Nikon VR yet - I plan to.) This is a terrific camera! I'm very impressed and very happy with the choice I made. I considered the 30D but after handling them both, it was an easy decision for me to make.

Good luck!
Doug
--
http://dougs.smugmug.com/

Murray Bowles said:

Murray Bowles said:

Because of its high resolution sensor, it's more prone to camera shake, and will reveal all of the defects in poorly designed lenses.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Murray Bowles said:

I don't buy this argument. It would be true IF you took advantage
of the D200's higher resolution by viewing/enlarging your images
that much larger. Lower resolution would only hide camera shake if
it was very low.

Click to expand...

Thom Hogan wrote a post that explained the technical reasons why high res cameras are more susceptible to camera shake, Murray. I'm sorry but I can't seem to find it.
--
Warm regards, Uncle Frank
FCAS Founder, Hummingbird Hunter, Egret Stalker
Dilettante Appassionato
Galleries at http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank

I would agree with Murray. Unless one is viewing at 100% magnification, there will be no difference of camera's susceptibiity to camera shake. At least that's what I have experience after moving to D2X from D70. As a matter of fact, percentage my handheld keepers have gone up because of the heavier camera.

--
Speed is significant and interesting but accuracy is downright fascinating
http://www.pbase.com/pradipta

http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/shortlens.html
http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/longlens.html

--
Speed is significant and interesting but accuracy is downright fascinating
http://www.pbase.com/pradipta

Lon,

Your OP says you owned the Olympus C-2100. I jumped from the C-2100, to a D100, to the D200 today. Having owned the GREAT UZI C-2100, you were blessed by the best camera of it's time. I still own my UZI, and it still takes great pictures for anything up to 8x10's. The D200 is technically a far superior camera, but it does take a lot more work to get the same consistant level of images that came straight from the old UZI. The stabilization system on the old UZI was fantastic, and I was hard pressed to have ANY poor images from that gem. The D-200, when used well, will outperform the UZI, but if you have an unsteady hand, it can produce a lot of fuzzy images. Even the VR system on the 70-200 is no match for the stabilization that was in that UZI.

As far as softness, the UZI has a lot more in-camera sharpening than the D200 has in normal mode. THis results in a first impression that the D-200 images are soft. Actually, if you leave the settings to default, the images will be slightly soft. This situation is good from a processing standpoint because you can always sharpen a slightly soft image, but you can't easily remove artifacts from an overly sharp image. If you want sharper images out of the camera, adjust the settings to maximum sharpening, and you will get great results.

Good luck on camera decision. I love my D-200, but I wouldn't give up my old UZI for anything.

Mark
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Photograph today for tomorrows memories