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More than a sigle problem !

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pwrtran

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Walked out with my new D7k + kit lens yesterday, had embarrassing results, more than one problem:

1) dark corners - searched on internet and learned it is called "vignetting". I understand it can be easily fixed by pp, but it is discouraging result of the lens!
2) ghost dots - the sensor is faulty?
3) terrible focusing - again, lens or sensor problem?

Thanks in advance!











 
Pic 1 - Yes, that is vignetting. You wouldn't notice it if there was anything in the corners. It looks particularly bad in plain grey corners. Given that the picture would be heavily cropped, I wouldn't even both doing anything about it in PP.

Pic 2 - That is flare. I would guess from a light just outside the picture. You should probably use the lens hood. It might also have been caused by a filter.

Pic 3 - I can't really find anything in sharp focus there.
--
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When I bought my first Imac, there was a learning curve. When I bought a new computer with Windows 7, there was a learning curve. When I bought my new TV, it had a learning curve. My ipod, nookcolor and even my Mini Cooper had a learning curve. I am still trying to figure out my wife's Nav system.

Why in the world would a complex camera like the D7000 be any different?

--
OK, not so purely a hobby.
 
As far as I can see. I totally agree with Winparkmen- there's a learning curve, and you'll get used to it, if you have the patience to practice and read and learn.

Picture 1- Yup, that's vignetting. A friend that will stay with you as long as you're using DSLR lenses. When you use a consumer lens, or a kit lens this can be quite distracting- the problem is generally solved by stopping down your lens. All lenses do it to a degree when wide open, but with more expensive lenses it is much less noticeable. That's partly why they are so much more expensive. This example is particularly bad, but as mentioned if you had something in the corners and not just a blank colour then it would be less noticeable. In this example, however, it could be very easily cropped out.

Picture 2- yeh it looks like flare, but considering the environment, I think it may possibly be the flash bouncing back off of some dust in the air. Did you use flash in this picture? Sometimes in dusty areas, when people use flash the flash hits the dust and illuminates it. You might often see this in snapshots of old churches and stuff.

Picture 3- looks fine to me, considering it's at ISO3200. Nothing super sharp, but nothing super blurry. Did you have your Noise Reduction turned right up? The D7000 has an amazing noise reduction ability, but the way it does this is by blending colours together to get rid of what it thinks is noise. Therefore, turn your noise reduction right up to have a clean, noise free, soft image. Turn your noise reduction off to get a sharp, super noisy image. So how dow I get good, sharp noise free images? You ask? Use ISO100. Just because the D7000 has amazing Hi ISO ability doesn't means it's going to get beautiful clean sharp images at high-ISO. It's still better than everything else on the market though.

Keep practising, you'll get the hang of it, but to my keenly untrained eye, I don't see anything that can be put down to camera fault here.
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Please spare a thought (and if you have, a dollar) for the people of Christchurch... And now Japan (boy, it's a bad time to be a Christchurch boy living in Japan.)
 
WOW! that's a lot of vignetting! which lens is it? I've got a lowly 3100 with 2 kit lenses and don't any where near that much vignetting and I've been checking for it by shooting light solid backgrounds, since the camera and lenses are new to me. I've got the 18-55 and 55-200.
pwrtran said:
Walked out with my new D7k + kit lens yesterday, had embarrassing results, more than one problem:

1) dark corners - searched on internet and learned it is called "vignetting". I understand it can be easily fixed by pp, but it is discouraging result of the lens!
Click to expand...
--
Dave
D3100
 
dave1812 said:
WOW! that's a lot of vignetting! which lens is it? I've got a lowly 3100 with 2 kit lenses and don't any where near that much vignetting and I've been checking for it by shooting light solid backgrounds, since the camera and lenses are new to me. I've got the 18-55 and 55-200.
pwrtran said:
Walked out with my new D7k + kit lens yesterday, had embarrassing results, more than one problem:

1) dark corners - searched on internet and learned it is called "vignetting". I understand it can be easily fixed by pp, but it is discouraging result of the lens!
Click to expand...
--
Dave
D3100
Click to expand...
Hi Dave - it is D7k kit lens, 18-105mm. All pics taken before dusk, and the 2nd used flash. Snow is melting and ground is wetting, no dusting air.
Regards
 
Try a couple of shots without filter if you are using one.
--
Apologies if my lack of photographic knowledge is catching.
 
ah. I think someone I'll be visiting in a few weeks might have that lens. I'll have to review some of his photos if he does indeed own that lens.

Of course you can remove the vignetting in PP, but still, I'm surprised to see so much.
--
Dave
D3100
 
Danielepaolo said:
Try a couple of shots without filter if you are using one.
Click to expand...
+1

This was my first guess as to what be the vignetting in #1. Were you using any filters??

--
James
 
x2

That circular flare too I've seen from my filter. I run filterless now and see far less flare issues and little to no vignetting either. My cheap Tiffen filter isn't exactly the flattest glass either and I can detect some waviness it it at oblique angles which could account for some unsharpness as well.

Live and learn, and the D7000 is a learning experience.

Mack
 
I've been shooting with that lens for over a year now and like it quite a lot, as long as you know it's limitations. If I'm shooting outside during the day and there's ample light I keep it between f8 and f11, that's the sweet spot where it will be sharpest and I've never seen any vignetting. I would lose the UV filter, they cause more problems than they're worth (the flare in #2). Overall it's a great lens for the money.

If you want to see what it can do check out some of these shot's, they were all taken with that lens.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21377547@N03/sets/72157625171287600/

--
pmallahan
WSSA #324
Nikon D90
18mm-105mm VR AF-S
70mm-300mm VR AF-S
35mm1.8 AF-S
SB-600
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21377547@N03/

 
pwrtran said:
yes, a UV filter. I removed it and tried at home, not much difference with or without it.
Click to expand...
It's a weaker point of your lens, but all lenses do it. The 18-105 vignettes all the way through it's zoom range.... but in fairness, so did it's predecessors the 18-135 and the 18-70. Unless you are shooting into a light background, it's not a big issue, and in fact, if you are taking pictures of people and faces, the vignetting will actually add to the compostioin.

--
http://1000wordpics.blogspot.com
 
Hopefully you tried in similar sort of conditions - you won't notice the vignetting all the day - possibly more in bright conditions.

Anyway, I would go with what Stuntmonkey has said and add that the filter will exacerbate the problem. I plan on going out to find some birds to shoot this eening so I will see if I can show the difference with lots of blue constant background. I will bring my tamron 28-300 which tends to vignette I noticed a couple of weeks ago.

--
Apologies if my lack of photographic knowledge is catching.
 
The Nikon 18-105 kit lens is a great lens for what it cost. It is sharp all the way threw . It has visible distortion at 18 and vignetting but what can you expect for 300 dollars.
 
Danielepaolo said:
Hopefully you tried in similar sort of conditions - you won't notice the vignetting all the day - possibly more in bright conditions.

Anyway, I would go with what Stuntmonkey has said and add that the filter will exacerbate the problem. I plan on going out to find some birds to shoot this eening so I will see if I can show the difference with lots of blue constant background. I will bring my tamron 28-300 which tends to vignette I noticed a couple of weeks ago.

--
Apologies if my lack of photographic knowledge is catching.
Click to expand...
Hi Danielepaolo

I look forward to your pictures.

The picture having severe vignetting problem was taken around 7:30pm before the day getting dark, and shoot with wide open.
 
  1. 2 - looks like dust to me, not lens flare. Did notice what could be a couple of dead pixels too.
 
pwrtran said:
1) dark corners - searched on internet and learned it is called "vignetting". I understand it can be easily fixed by pp, but it is discouraging result of the lens!
Click to expand...
Even the best lenses vignette when used wide open. Instead of shooting wide open at ISO 200, increase the ISO to 800 and stop down a couple stops. Problem solved.
pwrtran said:
2) ghost dots - the sensor is faulty?
Click to expand...
As already mentioned, this is either dust and/or moisture on the front of the lens or in the air reflecting light.
pwrtran said:
3) terrible focusing - again, lens or sensor problem?
Click to expand...
I don't see a focus problem in this shot. The focus seems to be on the objects in the foreground. Where did you focus? Or did you let the camera choose focus?
 
binary_eye said:
pwrtran said:
1) dark corners - searched on internet and learned it is called "vignetting". I understand it can be easily fixed by pp, but it is discouraging result of the lens!
Click to expand...
Even the best lenses vignette when used wide open. Instead of shooting wide open at ISO 200, increase the ISO to 800 and stop down a couple stops. Problem solved.
binary_eye said:
2) ghost dots - the sensor is faulty?
Click to expand...
As already mentioned, this is either dust and/or moisture on the front of the lens or in the air reflecting light.
binary_eye said:
3) terrible focusing - again, lens or sensor problem?
Click to expand...
I don't see a focus problem in this shot. The focus seems to be on the objects in the foreground. Where did you focus? Or did you let the camera choose focus?
Click to expand...
binary

1) will take the advice

2) the flare showed up when using the flash. I also had couple shots that have red, orange color hot pixels everywhere when shooting face the sunset with bright snow back ground! Not sure if the sensor has some issue. I know people complain the hot pixels when shooting videos but I don't see people's complaints on still images

3) I used AF-s auto focus. I can hardly see what printed on the bean cans, it is busy, messy and horrible

Thanks
 
pwrtran said:
3) I used AF-s auto focus. I can hardly see what printed on the bean cans, it is busy, messy and horrible
Click to expand...
Well, there's your problem. The focus is falling to where the guys are are near the New Balance Store.

First thing, unrelated. Your exposure settings for the third shot are overkill, You didn't need to shoot at 1/200 in this situation, especially at 18mm. Your 'safe' shutter speed is 1/(focal length x 1.5), meaning that you could have gotten way with a shutter speed of 1/30... and that's before accounting for VR. So really, you could have brought the ISO down to 800 and still used a 1/50s shutter speed... and youi would have been fine, so long as you weren't trying to freeze motion. With VR, you could have realistically gotten down to 1/30 and ISO 400.

Now back to the focus. AF-S is correct in this situation, but which AF area mode is set in your menu? If it's set to anything but 'single' and you 'focus and recompose', then the camera's AF point will probably drift trying to anticipate what it perceives as an alterned frame of reference. So if you already aren't doing so....

a) AF-S and single area mode are best for still subjects

b) Use the focus points, don't focus and recompose, as that will physically alter where your true focus ponit falls.

--
http://1000wordpics.blogspot.com
 
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