Sharpness on my D40

Hello,

I've had my d40 for about a week now and probably taken around 1000 photos, and I have been a bit disappointed with the sharpness in the pictures. I have been using the kit lens and more recently the 70-300mm VR, and both seem to have a softness in the pictures, unless I am shooting something indoors with the flash.

Here are some examples - these three were taken with the 70-300mm VR:







These two were taken with the kit lens:



On the second, I bumped up the sharpness in the custom settings to +2, and this gets where I would have expected this camera to start at. It's kind of hard to see the difference in these smaller versions of the pics though.



From these pictures, does it appear that my photos are indeed softer than they should be? I am shooting normally with Optimize Image set to normal and Jpg level of fine. Is it possible my camera is defective? The only time I seem to really get crisp detail is when I shoot indoors with the flash. Thanks.

There's no exif data so it's not possible to tell all your settings. The photographs have shallow DOF though and my guess is that both of the lenses used are going to be softer when opened right up. What results are you getting at smaller apertures?
--



http://www.mark-reed.co.uk

I have a D40 with kit lens and a couple of others lens and haven't noticed a lack of sharpness, but I suppose it depends on what you are comparing it to. Looking at the first and second picture they seemed reasonably sharp, but lacking in contrast. I did a quick automatic contrast adjustment in Paintshop Pro and it looked fine - I cannot embed the image to show unfortunately. I don't usually need to do PP on the D40 images, but the ones on dull days can be more difficult.

Having thought a bit more about your comments, I would suggest you try taking some more shots, say birds with the full 70-300 at full stretch in sunlight and look at the results and shutter speed. I have taken a lot of bird pictures with a Sony H5 + Teleconvertor giving 750mm equivalent (a little more than the 450 with the 70-300). I have found it virtually impossible to get really sharp images unless there is sunshine on the bird. The shutter speeds are 1/200 or faster. Below that there is camera shake giving slight bluring even with the camera's IS (equivalent to your VR lens). Hope this helps.

Sorry about that, here some of the pictures again with their exif data. I couldn't add it for all the pics because of the 6000 character limit in posting...



Filename : DSC_0050.JPG
JFIF_APP1 : Exif
Main Information
Make : NIKON CORPORATION
Model : NIKON D40
Orientation : left-hand side
XResolution : 300/1
YResolution : 300/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
Software : Ver.1.10
DateTime : 2007:05:20 18:36:01
YCbCrPositioning : co-sited
ExifInfoOffset : 216
Sub Information
ExposureTime : 1/400Sec
FNumber : F5.6
ExposureProgram : Program Normal
ISOSpeedRatings : 200
ExifVersion : 0221
DateTimeOriginal : 2007:05:20 18:36:01
DateTimeDigitized : 2007:05:20 18:36:00
ComponentConfiguration : YCbCr
CompressedBitsPerPixel : 4/1 (bit/pixel)
ExposureBiasValue : EV-0.3
MaxApertureValue : F5.7
MeteringMode : Division
LightSource : Unidentified
Flash : Not fired
FocalLength : 300.00(mm)
MakerNote : Nikon COOLPIX Format : 24858Bytes (Offset:860)
UserComment :
SubSecTime : 70
SubSecTimeOriginal : 70
SubSecTimeDigitized : 70
FlashPixVersion : 0100
ColorSpace : sRGB
ExifImageWidth : 3008
ExifImageHeight : 2000
ExifInteroperabilityOffset : 25710
SensingMethod : OneChipColorArea sensor
FileSource : DSC
SceneType : A directly photographed image
CFAPattern : 8 Bytes
CustomRendered : Normal process
ExposureMode : Auto
WhiteBalance : Auto
DigitalZoomRatio : 1/1
FocalLength(35mm) : 450(mm)
SceneCaptureType : Standard
GainControl : None
Contrast : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal
SubjectDistanceRange : Unknown
ExifR98
ExifR : R98
Version : 0100
Thumbnail Information
Compression : OLDJPEG
XResolution : 300/1
YResolution : 300/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
JPEGInterchangeFormat : 25848
JPEGInterchangeFormatLength : 8233
YCbCrPositioning : co-sited

for the second mocking bird pic:



Filename : DSC_0070.JPG
JFIF_APP1 : Exif
JFIF_APP1 : http
Main Information
Make : NIKON CORPORATION
Model : NIKON D40
Orientation : left-hand side
XResolution : 300/1
YResolution : 300/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
Software : Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0
DateTime : 2007:05:21 01:11:23
YCbCrPositioning : co-sited
ExifInfoOffset : 228
Sub Information
ExposureTime : 1/320Sec
FNumber : F5.6
ExposureProgram : Program Normal
ISOSpeedRatings : 200
ExifVersion : 0221
DateTimeOriginal : 2007:05:20 18:37:38
DateTimeDigitized : 2007:05:20 18:37:37
ComponentConfiguration : YCbCr
CompressedBitsPerPixel : 4/1 (bit/pixel)
ExposureBiasValue : EV-0.3
MaxApertureValue : F5.7
MeteringMode : Division
LightSource : Unidentified
Flash : Not fired
FocalLength : 300.00(mm)
MakerNote : Nikon COOLPIX Format : 2642Bytes (Offset:786)
SubSecTimeOriginal : 60
SubSecTimeDigitized : 60
FlashPixVersion : 0100
ColorSpace : sRGB
ExifImageWidth : 3008
ExifImageHeight : 2000
ExifInteroperabilityOffset : 3420
SensingMethod : OneChipColorArea sensor
FileSource : DSC
SceneType : A directly photographed image
CFAPattern : 8 Bytes
CustomRendered : 1
ExposureMode : Auto
WhiteBalance : Auto
DigitalZoomRatio : 1/1
FocalLength(35mm) : 450(mm)
SceneCaptureType : Standard
GainControl : None
Contrast : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal
SubjectDistanceRange : Unknown
ExifR98
ExifR : R98
Version : 0100
Thumbnail Information
Compression : OLDJPEG
XResolution : 300/1
YResolution : 300/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
JPEGInterchangeFormat : 3572
JPEGInterchangeFormatLength : 8764
YCbCrPositioning : co-sited

first lion pic:



Filename : DSC_0149-1.JPG
JFIF_APP1 : Exif
Main Information
Make : NIKON CORPORATION
Model : NIKON D40
Orientation : left-hand side
XResolution : 300/1
YResolution : 300/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
Software : Ver.1.10
DateTime : 2007:05:21 09:23:24
YCbCrPositioning : co-sited
ExifInfoOffset : 216
Sub Information
ExposureTime : 1/60Sec
FNumber : F5.6
ExposureProgram : Program Normal
ISOSpeedRatings : 200
ExifVersion : 0221
DateTimeOriginal : 2007:05:21 09:23:24
DateTimeDigitized : 2007:05:21 09:23:24
ComponentConfiguration : YCbCr
CompressedBitsPerPixel : 4/1 (bit/pixel)
ExposureBiasValue : EV0.0
MaxApertureValue : F5.7
MeteringMode : Division
LightSource : Unidentified
Flash : Fired(Auto/return light not detected)
FocalLength : 55.00(mm)
MakerNote : Nikon COOLPIX Format : 28252Bytes (Offset:860)
UserComment :
SubSecTime : 10
SubSecTimeOriginal : 10
SubSecTimeDigitized : 10
FlashPixVersion : 0100
ColorSpace : sRGB
ExifImageWidth : 3008
ExifImageHeight : 2000
ExifInteroperabilityOffset : 29104
SensingMethod : OneChipColorArea sensor
FileSource : DSC
SceneType : A directly photographed image
CFAPattern : 8 Bytes
CustomRendered : Normal process
ExposureMode : Auto
WhiteBalance : Auto
DigitalZoomRatio : 1/1
FocalLength(35mm) : 82(mm)
SceneCaptureType : Standard
GainControl : None
Contrast : Soft
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal
SubjectDistanceRange : Unknown
ExifR98
ExifR : R98
Version : 0100
Thumbnail Information
Compression : OLDJPEG
XResolution : 300/1
YResolution : 300/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
JPEGInterchangeFormat : 29244
JPEGInterchangeFormatLength : 11607
YCbCrPositioning : co-sited

Patrick,

I also own the D40 and 70-300 VR. I do not claim to be an expert. In fact, I have had my share of poor photos with this combination. I will give you my thoughts and you can consider them or not. In my opinion your photos are under exposed and the colors are flat. Right away I suggest you drop the -0.3EV compensation. Don't use in camera sharpening-do any sharpening with post processing software like Adobe Elements 5. Try bumping up your in camera color saturation. Are you using matrix metering? I've switched to center weighted or spot-especially for birds. If these ideas don't work you can always go back to square one and try something else..

From the reviews I have read, the 70-300 VR is sharpest at f8 to f11. Try shooting in A mode (aperture priority) at f8. This will also increase your DOF. Increase your ISO to 400 or higher to get your shutter speed back up as needed. Are you shooting with VR turned on, or on a tripod? Don't be afraid to try some of the in camera settings-you paid for them. Have you read your manual and Ken Rockwell's D40 User Guide? Don't get discouraged-keep trying.

I noticed you have sharpness set to Normal, in my D80 it also looks soft and I like it that way so it can be sharpened in PP

If you don't want to do PP set to a higher in camera sharpenning.
--

Looking at the exif data, I guess your shooting speed is too slow, therefore you have a bit of camera shake.

You need to shoot a shutter speed equal or greater than the focal length.

your first photo shows shutter speed 1/400 @ 300mm (450mm with 1.5 crop factor). Ideally, you should go for 1/450 or greater.

The second was 1/320 @ 300mm (again 450mm) and the 3rd 1/60 @ 55mm (82.5mm).

Just for the record, it took me a while to get decent results with my D50. A lot of reading (mainly on these forums) and playing with the camera (photographing anything) helped me understand where I was going wrong .... and I am still learning a lot

I noticed that you set the Contracts, Saturation, and Sharpness to NORMAL and SOFT.

Contrast= Soft
Saturation= Normal
Sharpness= Normal

You can set the settings yourself by choosing WB> CUSTOM

My current and favorite settings are:
Contrast= +1
Saturations= +1
Sharpness=+1

1st pic: If VR was on, the speed is fine unless there's some motion blur due to the subject (small birds move real fast), but with VR on, there's no way you're going to have camera shake, if VR was off, than 1/500 would be a good idea at 300 mm...
Now, sharpness depends on many things:

0) Lens: no matter how hard you try, if you don't have a sharp lens, you won't get sharp pics... most consumer lenses are usually good around f/8, but not that great wide open, edges are usually softer than center. Some lenses are truly exceptional, but generally expensive...

All lenses have a sweet spot, best focal and aperture, it's good to know what you can expect from the lenses you own...
1) AF: focus must be spot on

2) camera shake: the D40 being a very light cam, the rule of thumb is more like min shutter = 1 / 2x focal (eg: 300mm --> shutter = 1/600, but with good handholding technique, you may still have a good keeper rate at 1/400), of course, VR does help (+ - 3 stops)

3) motion blur: fast moving subject may require very fast shutter speeds, VR won't help, this takes precedence over camera shake...

4) workflow: RAW is better than JPG, some conservative sharpening does help, but sharpening won't turn a poorly focused pic into a sharp one (same for camera shake or motion bur) I see too many ugly oversharpened pics of people trying to show everyone here how sharp their lens or dslr is but all I see is artifacts, halos and I'm not convinced...