Just got a D600 and shot last weekend in Maine but all my images seem soft (at 100%). This is not to start some flame war, I just moved over from a 5dmark II and I would like to know if this is the way it supposed to look. I am concerned with the lack of details in leaves and other parts of the image. So go easy, just want some feedback to see if im just crazy or there is a issue.
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D600 focus issue? Looking for feedback
- Thread starter jmey26
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- canon eos 5d nikon d600
avet4life
Well-known member
Please post pictures with EXIF data, so that we could see the information.
What lens were you using.
Pictures does seem soft but this could be lens and shutter speed.
What lens were you using.
Pictures does seem soft but this could be lens and shutter speed.
swartzfeger
Forum Enthusiast
No EXIF or shooting information... handheld, what lens, VR off etc etc.
AllOtherNamesTaken
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The picture is fine but there are 2 explanations for the softness (which isn't that bad IMO).
1) Anytime you shoot landscape, every detail is smaller, thus being made up of fewer pixels. That fact alone makes things look less sharp, than, say, if you had filled the entire frame with the boat.
2) That lens is OK but not great. If you're going to be pixel peeping, these cameras benefit from the best glass. At any reasonable size that picture would look perfectly fine, and even as it is I don't think it's that bad.
Hope that helps.
1) Anytime you shoot landscape, every detail is smaller, thus being made up of fewer pixels. That fact alone makes things look less sharp, than, say, if you had filled the entire frame with the boat.
2) That lens is OK but not great. If you're going to be pixel peeping, these cameras benefit from the best glass. At any reasonable size that picture would look perfectly fine, and even as it is I don't think it's that bad.
Hope that helps.
Along the same lines as #1, in my experience coming from a D3/D300, proper technique is even more critical with the D600. Poor technique shots that I could normally pull off with my D300 now look worse at 100% view on the D600. They still look pretty decent on normal web sizes, but there is obvious softening at 100% that wasn't as apparent with my D300. I assume the additional resolution is magnifying the poor technique used. It is clearly blur from camera shake, since the same shot on a tripod yields perfectly crisp images.
AlexBakerPhotoz
Forum Enthusiast
I'm still testing - so many new things. I got a D600 and one used and 2 new FX lenses and uodated to LR4.2 and CR6 ACR 7.2. So far so good, but there is a lot to do.
Here is a link to a full size jpeg converted from raw in LR4.2 with no adjustments at all except for lens correction, but I don't really see any difference with that on or of for this lens/shot.
http://www.alexbakerphotoz.com/Phot...4fNxKp/0/L/Bee-D600-Lens-Corrected-LR42-L.jpg
Here is a link to a full size jpeg converted from raw in LR4.2 with no adjustments at all except for lens correction, but I don't really see any difference with that on or of for this lens/shot.
http://www.alexbakerphotoz.com/Phot...4fNxKp/0/L/Bee-D600-Lens-Corrected-LR42-L.jpg
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RicksAstro
Veteran Member
A few items...
Was this shot JPG? This looks like a typical OOC Nikon JPG. Coming from a 5DII as well, I found Nikon defaults to a less extreme and a larger radius sharpening than Canon for their JPG processing. Using RAW with appropriate sharpening really makes a huge difference.
Also, you're using a pretty low rated lens. Using f9 will help in the corners, but diffraction will start creeping in if you're looking at 100%. What lens were you used to on the 5DII? the equivalent of something like the 24-105L is more like the 24-120 f4 VR, which has better contrast and sharpness characteristics than your lens.
I guarantee you that you can get pin-sharp results out of the D600. My 85 1.8G and 70-200VRII are just stunning. I'm also using the 24-85 VR kit, which I am actually pretty darned happy with overall.
Was this shot JPG? This looks like a typical OOC Nikon JPG. Coming from a 5DII as well, I found Nikon defaults to a less extreme and a larger radius sharpening than Canon for their JPG processing. Using RAW with appropriate sharpening really makes a huge difference.
Also, you're using a pretty low rated lens. Using f9 will help in the corners, but diffraction will start creeping in if you're looking at 100%. What lens were you used to on the 5DII? the equivalent of something like the 24-105L is more like the 24-120 f4 VR, which has better contrast and sharpness characteristics than your lens.
I guarantee you that you can get pin-sharp results out of the D600. My 85 1.8G and 70-200VRII are just stunning. I'm also using the 24-85 VR kit, which I am actually pretty darned happy with overall.
AlexBakerPhotoz
Forum Enthusiast
Rats, that image does not look right at all. Not used to this new forum interface yet. I intended to send a simple web link to the file on my site, but couldn't do it, so if you paste the link below in your browser, you'll see the actual image I posted:
Loading…
www.alexbakerphotoz.com
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I can't really see any 100% crop here. But:
According to slrgear, the center of the 24-85 is very sharp wide open in the center. A 24-120 f4 or even a 2000$ prime won't give you much difference in the center (But a huge difference in the corner).
When you look at the sharpness of a picture in these conditions, what you will evaluate is not the lens, not the camera, but your sharpness settings. So, for better sharpness:
- If you shoot JPEG, boost up your sharpness level in the camera
- If you shoot RAW, boost up your sharpness level in your RAW processing software.
According to slrgear, the center of the 24-85 is very sharp wide open in the center. A 24-120 f4 or even a 2000$ prime won't give you much difference in the center (But a huge difference in the corner).
When you look at the sharpness of a picture in these conditions, what you will evaluate is not the lens, not the camera, but your sharpness settings. So, for better sharpness:
- If you shoot JPEG, boost up your sharpness level in the camera
- If you shoot RAW, boost up your sharpness level in your RAW processing software.
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if you click the gallery link under photo you can view full original crop, I am trying to get a handle on how to post here.
AllOtherNamesTaken
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I think it has more to do with the lens than the D600. If that was taken with a 14-24/2.8 or 16-35VR or some other "pro" glass, I think you would find it to be a touch sharper.
Your shot though, at 100% looks pretty normal for a landscape to me. That would print just fine. You could always sharpen it up a bit, too if you want. Try adding some USM in PP. Keep in mind looking at D600 files at 100% is like looking at about a 4-foot wide print and way more magnification than you would ever be likely to see in any real world situation (Like a standard sized print).
The D600 has a MUCH better sensor than your old 5DM2, so if anything is wrong it isn't the camera's fault. I would think the lens is the biggest factor.
leicaman
Veteran Member
I think that one problem is the difference in the "recipes" used by Nikon and Canon when the RAW data is "cooked" into the JPEG files. If you shoot RAW you can pretty much make an image look any way you want. Canon ( I was a Canon shooter for years) is more aggressive with a lot of setting in their JPGS than Nikon. I just put my D600 RAW files into LR4 as real RAW last night and with a little minmal adjustment they looked incredible. The ACR adjustment for the Nikon 24-85mm lens is fantastic... at 100% and 200% plenty of detail. I didn't buy a 600 to shoot JPEG...
Thanks. I was able to check them. That's what I thought. Is is just the sharpening of your camera (Or your RAW converter) that you need to boost.
Here is an example to realize how sharpening makes a big difference:
100% crops on a D800 of a 85mm f1.8 lens processed with ACR (default settings). Left at f1.8, right at f2.8. As you can seen the f1.8 shot is softer, as expected.
Same crops with with a higher amount of sharpening for the left image (at f1.8). See how the f1.8 image looks sharper than the f2.8 image !
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Dan DeLion
Leading Member
Jmey26:
The pics you posted do look soft. I'm up to 1400 exposures with my D600. Nikon detunes the output for pro cameras like the D600. At default settings the output looks slightly soft, rather flat, and not very saturated. This is intentional. It gives the photographer lots of options in post-prossessing. It assumes the pro/advanced amateur has the ability to refine these parameters to his taste, rather than have the camera's software decide what's best.
The good news is that all of these defaults can be change for JPG's so that the in camera processing turns out exactly what you like. You'll need to go into the menu options to change these defaults. It will take you some time to get used to Nikon's options after working with Canon's. Make lots of use of the “?” information button on the left side of the back of the camera.
Best of luck, - Dan
The pics you posted do look soft. I'm up to 1400 exposures with my D600. Nikon detunes the output for pro cameras like the D600. At default settings the output looks slightly soft, rather flat, and not very saturated. This is intentional. It gives the photographer lots of options in post-prossessing. It assumes the pro/advanced amateur has the ability to refine these parameters to his taste, rather than have the camera's software decide what's best.
The good news is that all of these defaults can be change for JPG's so that the in camera processing turns out exactly what you like. You'll need to go into the menu options to change these defaults. It will take you some time to get used to Nikon's options after working with Canon's. Make lots of use of the “?” information button on the left side of the back of the camera.
Best of luck, - Dan
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