Coolpix p950 blurry image?

Austin2019 · Feb 5, 2021

Hey! I just got p950 for a week to take a bird photo.

Many photo I took were blurry like a "watercolor painting" even if the bird are very close or not moving!

Here is my sample picture.

This is on A mode, 1/400 F6.3 iso400

When zoom in I found that the detail just not great as much as I thought!? And look blurry like a watercolor paint

I saw many people can take SUPER SHARP picture of bird by this camera and get a great detail of birds fur

What do I missing!?

Thx for your stopping by;-)

Austin2019 · Feb 7, 2021

Bassy said:
no tripod used but i will rest the camera on a gate or wall if its going to make me stand more steadier

the kingfisher was auto white balance centre weighted metering

and the p950 likes minus 0.3 ev on nice sunny day

the sparrow was auto white balance spot meter

now into the camera menu remember these are my settings they work for me

if its a dull or overcast day you may have to bump the iso up to 800 or 1600

but most nice days 100 to 400 iso will do the job you can if you want to go into that menu and choose 100 iso if you think you can get away with it

if you choose high burst rate the camera may freeze up on you better to keep it on L

the camera will choose the iso automatically for you between 100 and 400

af area mode manual spot this is the best mode for birds try putting this area mode

on the birds eye face area if you can you will probably need to choose manual wide or target finding area for birds flying, the truth is i dont have much luck with flying birds with this camera

you can also choose the white balance to suit the day daylight or cloudy

but for now leave it on AUTO 1normal..note my menu is showing daylight because today was a nice cold sunny day if its dull and cloudy tomorrow i will choose cloudy or auto1 normal

my image sharpening is set to 5,that number 6 is imprinted into the menu

set it to active

thats it for now see how you get on and adjust things to your own taste all the pictures that i post are jpegs straight out off the camera, sometimes i crop them a bit thats not cheating

most important make sure this dial is in the correct position to auto focus

if you find one day your camera is not focusing you probably have moved this dial by accident putting it in and out of camera case would be example

Really really Thank you for your kindness.

This will help me a lot.

I'll practice more and more. I will try to get that ideal photos like yours, you're my idol now haha.

tomhongkong · Feb 7, 2021

Dodge_Rock said:
Excellent way to show camera settings!

I agree!

tom

Labe · Feb 10, 2021

Austin2019 said:
jshen808 said:

Austin2019 said:

Thanks for your suggestion.

I found this problem after take the picture and zoom check on playback mode in camera

Sometimes I can get sharp one out of 10-15 pictures, and this so frustrated:-(

I lost the detail of fur. It just blended together.

Was that because of my hands were not steady enough to hold the camera??

Click to expand...

..

One thing to mention.

Make sure you are not using a lens filter.

It's because somd lens filters may cause image problems

..

For my superzoom cameras,

I'm using the Hoya HD3 UV lens filter,

and generally works really good with my cameras.

..

I think the shutter speed you had used is fine,

especially when trying to keep an iso is iso400.

..

Cheers!

Click to expand...

I didn't use any lens filters

I still have no idea why I can't take crystal clear photos like others.

but Thank you so much for your information

One other thing to watch , well 2 actually.

make sure you allow the VR settle and your shutter button technique as there’s a lot of magnification going on which will highlight errors with blurry images etc.

--
Back to bridge cameras......

p900learner · Feb 10, 2021

You've gotten some good suggestion on improving your photos. Bassey's display of the settings was really nice and should help a lot. Also the suggestions Sherman Levine gave should be helpful, among others.

I don't want to confuse you with adding another set of settings. I have a group of settings for birds/wildlife I'd be glad to share, just holler and I'll provide.

I do believe a good camera holding technique is worthwhile - here is mine, copied from another post I did sometime ago - at the time I had a P900, makes no difference what camera -

Here is the follow-up on technique to hand hold the camera. (giving credit to Stephen Ingraham - long time poster on DPreview forums, who I learned this technique from) I also contribute this because I believe a very important skill absolutely needed to take pleasing photos. This also focus' a bit on bird photos - but can be used for any subjects.

-Elbows in against the body in front of you, directly under the camera.

-Left hand forefinger and thumb cradling the grips provided on the zoom housing, with the palm of the hand under the housing.

-Right hand on grip with forefinger on shutter release. I wear glasses so the primary support on my face is my nose. I press the left side of the camera gently but firmly back against my nose, with my head cocked slightly to the right to bring my eye close to the EVF.

Now turn one third, left shoulder forward, toward the bird, with your left elbow tucked in to your body. You are not facing the bird head on, you are turned so your left shoulder is pointed almost at the bird, and that elbow is supported by your body. (It is the same stance a rifle shooter users.) Your eye is at the EVF, ideally with the camera contacting both your brow and your nose. Your left arm supports the camera. Your right arm and hand simply steady the camera, and operate controls. Everything should be relaxed.

Do not rest your hand or fingers on the part of the zoom that moves. Not good for fingers or the motor that powers your zoom!

-It is important to remain as relaxed as possible. Tense muscles do not make a steady shot. You are cradling the camera more than gripping it. It should "float" in your hands and your upper body should move freely to point the camera. You are not trying to hold the camera steady as if your body were a tripod. You are trying to time your shot for the point of stillness when the your body and the camera and the subject are all at rest for a split second.

The P900 has an exceptionally steady view in the EVF...so line up your shot...remembering to breathe normally. When the shot is framed and you feel the point of stillness coming, you will pause your breathing for as long as the burst lasts, so breathe right up until you press the shutter all the way down. Don't "catch your breath" or "hold your breath"...just gently pause, between one breath and the next, while you are actually shooting. Remember you are seeking the point of stillness when every moving part...body...camera...and subject...are aligned and still.

Important - You are NOT A TRIPOD...you are another image stabilization device to assist the built in Image Stabilization. You are fluid, you are relaxed, you are in motion...but you are super aware that in that constant motion there are moments of stillness, and you are going to time your shots to fall RIGHT THEN.

Of course, with practice, you can create and control those moments of stillness...but they will always be just that...moments when your moving body and the moving camera are just still for long enough to get off a burst of shots.

Do not overthink this. Just take your time, and consistently practice and be aware of holding the camera. You can adjust some steps to customize for you. The goal is to be consistent, and aware of how you hold the camera.

Hope this is helpful - believe me I know how frustrating it is not to get a sharp image.

Ev

jshen808 · Feb 10, 2021

Austin2019 said:
This is on A mode, 1/400 F6.3 iso400

..

Hope you won't mind,

I've taken a second look at you posted picture,

and zoomed in close with my ipad, your picture looks sharp to me.

The biggest causes of the "watercolor" effects could be from either these,

taking pictures in low/lower light situations, or from using the Active-D Lighting.

..

3cb5aff6ddb34137a63b2daf4e070f61.jpg.png

..

Cheers!

--
Cheers, John
(Feel free to download my pictures)
*** Photography is about fun ***
*** No response = ignore list ***

p900learner · Feb 10, 2021

jshen808 said:
Austin2019 said:

This is on A mode, 1/400 F6.3 iso400

Click to expand...

..

Hope you won't mind,

I've taken a second look at you posted picture,

and zoomed in close with my ipad, your picture looks sharp to me.

The biggest causes of the "watercolor" effects could be from either these,

taking pictures in low/lower light situations, or from using the Active-D Lighting.

..

..

Cheers!

John, Each has their opinion, but the photo does not look sharp to me.

I'd also be interested in knowing why you think Active-D lighting should be turned off and why it would result in an image not being sharp?

Reason I ask is because I always have Active-D lighting on in the P950 and also when I used the P900. I've taken my direction on this from the book, "Point and Shoot Nature Photographer." It notes: (it is also based on using P Mode.) I really don't think turning Active-D lighting on has anything to do with the OP's image not being sharp.

....Almost all advanced Point and Shoot cameras today have some kind
of Dynamic Range Optimization built in. Remember, no digital sensor can record the full
range of light and dark that the human eye sees. This is especially apparent if you
compare the naked eye view of a brightly lit landscape…one with white puffy clouds and dark shadows across parts of the landscape...to a photograph of the same scene.

Chances are the clouds will be too bright in the photograph…and without much detail…and the shadows will be too dark…almost black, and again, lacking detail…
even though the overall scene is correctly exposed. Or take a case where you are attempting to photograph a dragonfly, frog, or snake with sun on it. All three critters have highly reflective spots (especially the frog if it is wet).
Exposing correctly for the main body of the critter will give you an image with those reflective highlights completely white, with no detail in them at all. We call these areas “hot-spots”.
Or perhaps you are attempting to take a photo or bird or a buddy in the open shade of
tree with sun in the background or on foliage around the bird. Again, even a correctly
exposed image will leave the bird or the buddy too deep in shadow, and render the
sunspots too bright for a satisfying image.

Dynamic Range Optimization to the rescue. (Again, sometimes called iContrast, or
Intelligent Exposure, or Active D Lighting, etc). DRO (whatever it is called) applies different levels of processing to the shadows and highlights of the scene.

The shadows are rendered lighter and with more detail, and the highlights are darkened slightly and toned down. Most cameras will have several settings for DRO: corresponding to High, Standard, and Low…and some may have up to five different levels. You should experiment with this setting until you get consistently pleasing exposures.

On most cameras the Standard (or Medium) setting is just fine...or one of the choices might be Auto, where the camera decides, based on the scene, which level to apply. Turning DRO on will improve your exposures right out of the camera and give you better files to work with in post-processing. DRO should be used in conjunction with EV
Compensation. On my current camera I find that the DRO gives more boost to the shadows and tones down the highlights less than I would like, so I set my EV Compensation to -.7 instead of -.3, darkening the whole exposure, and letting the DRO
pump up the shadows a bit more.....

I didn't want to quote any more directly from the book, but the point, for me is Active-D is a good thing.

Ev

--

https://evsphotos.smugmug.com/

jshen808 · Feb 10, 2021

p900learner said:
jshen808 said:

Click to expand...

John, Each has their opinion, but the photo does not look sharp to me.

I'd also be interested in knowing why you think Active-D lighting should be turned off and why it would result in an image not being sharp?

Reason I ask is because I always have Active-D lighting on in the P950 and also when I used the P900. I've taken my direction on this from the book, "Point and Shoot Nature Photographer." It notes: (it is also based on using P Mode.) I really don't think turning Active-D lighting on has anything to do with the OP's image not being sharp.

<snip>

I didn't want to quote any more directly from the book, but the point, for me is Active-D is a good thing.

Ev

..

Oops, I've forgotten to trim the screen capture!

Thanks for commenting on this, Ev.

I certainly agree with you that we all have our own opinions.

A pictures worth a thousand words, the eye of the bird looks sharp to me.

Previously, from seeing other's settings, most seems to use Active-D Lighting (Low).

And in the Active-D Lighting (Low) setting, usually seems to work pretty well.

But from my own experiences, using Active-D Lighting can cause these...

(1) Cause the colors to shift from what's normal, (2) cause watercolor effects.

These are the reasons why I prefer not to use the Active-D Lighting feature.

However, I have used the Active-D Lighting when needed, as I see it as a "tool".

Such as when a bird was on a branch of a heavily shaded tree, I used ADL (High) setting.

So it's not that I don't or won't use the Active-D Lighting feature, because I will use it.

But my overall preference is to not use the Active-D Lighting feature.

These are just my own opinions.

Cheers!

--
Cheers, John
(Feel free to download my pictures)
*** Photography is about fun ***
*** No response = ignore list ***

p900learner · Feb 10, 2021

jshen808 said:
p900learner said:

jshen808 said:

Click to expand...

John, Each has their opinion, but the photo does not look sharp to me.

I'd also be interested in knowing why you think Active-D lighting should be turned off and why it would result in an image not being sharp?

Reason I ask is because I always have Active-D lighting on in the P950 and also when I used the P900. I've taken my direction on this from the book, "Point and Shoot Nature Photographer." It notes: (it is also based on using P Mode.) I really don't think turning Active-D lighting on has anything to do with the OP's image not being sharp.

<snip>

I didn't want to quote any more directly from the book, but the point, for me is Active-D is a good thing.

Ev

Click to expand...

..

Oops, I've forgotten to trim the screen capture!

Thanks for commenting on this, Ev.

I certainly agree with you that we all have our own opinions.

A pictures worth a thousand words, the eye of the bird looks sharp to me.

Previously, from seeing other's settings, most seems to use Active-D Lighting (Low).

And in the Active-D Lighting (Low) setting, usually seems to work pretty well.

But from my own experiences, using Active-D Lighting can cause these...

(1) Cause the colors to shift from what's normal, (2) cause watercolor effects.

These are the reasons why I prefer not to use the Active-D Lighting feature.

However, I have used the Active-D Lighting when needed, as I see it as a "tool".

Such as when a bird was on a branch of a heavily shaded tree, I used ADL (High) setting.

So it's not that I don't or won't use the Active-D Lighting feature, because I will use it.

But my overall preference is to not use the Active-D Lighting feature.

These are just my own opinions.

Cheers!

I've had a different experience with Active-D than you have John. Of course its a tool, as all settings are tools, no doubt about that. Each his own though on Active-D.

As far as the image being sharp, its just not a sharp image. I don't see the eye being sharp either, to know for sure I'd have to know what species the bird is and compare what the bird's eye should look like. For me its a stretch of the imagination to call this a sharp, well focused eye. But if you believe it to be sharp, your opinion.

FWIW, I also looked up Active-D in the Alexander White, P900 book, no mention of different issues like watercolor effects, or shifting colors. Talked about similar reasons to use Active-D as I outlined in my post.

Ev

--

https://evsphotos.smugmug.com/

jshen808 · Feb 10, 2021

p900learner said:
jshen808 said:

p900learner said:

jshen808 said:

Click to expand...

John, Each has their opinion, but the photo does not look sharp to me.

I'd also be interested in knowing why you think Active-D lighting should be turned off and why it would result in an image not being sharp?

Reason I ask is because I always have Active-D lighting on in the P950 and also when I used the P900. I've taken my direction on this from the book, "Point and Shoot Nature Photographer." It notes: (it is also based on using P Mode.) I really don't think turning Active-D lighting on has anything to do with the OP's image not being sharp.

<snip>

I didn't want to quote any more directly from the book, but the point, for me is Active-D is a good thing.

Ev

Click to expand...

..

Oops, I've forgotten to trim the screen capture!

Thanks for commenting on this, Ev.

I certainly agree with you that we all have our own opinions.

A pictures worth a thousand words, the eye of the bird looks sharp to me.

Previously, from seeing other's settings, most seems to use Active-D Lighting (Low).

And in the Active-D Lighting (Low) setting, usually seems to work pretty well.

But from my own experiences, using Active-D Lighting can cause these...

(1) Cause the colors to shift from what's normal, (2) cause watercolor effects.

These are the reasons why I prefer not to use the Active-D Lighting feature.

However, I have used the Active-D Lighting when needed, as I see it as a "tool".

Such as when a bird was on a branch of a heavily shaded tree, I used ADL (High) setting.

So it's not that I don't or won't use the Active-D Lighting feature, because I will use it.

But my overall preference is to not use the Active-D Lighting feature.

These are just my own opinions.

Cheers!

Click to expand...

I've had a different experience with Active-D than you have John. Of course its a tool, as all settings are tools, no doubt about that. Each his own though on Active-D.

As far as the image being sharp, its just not a sharp image. I don't see the eye being sharp either, to know for sure I'd have to know what species the bird is and compare what the bird's eye should look like. For me its a stretch of the imagination to call this a sharp, well focused eye. But if you believe it to be sharp, your opinion.

FWIW, I also looked up Active-D in the Alexander White, P900 book, no mention of different issues like watercolor effects, or shifting colors. Talked about similar reasons to use Active-D as I outlined in my post.

Ev

..

Thanks for commenting, Ev!

And I respect your opinions.

Let's just say we differ on this,

as I don't have anything more,

to say about this subject matter.

Cheers!

--
Cheers, John
(Feel free to download my pictures)
*** Photography is about fun ***
*** No response = ignore list ***

tomhongkong · Feb 10, 2021

p900learner said:
You've gotten some good suggestion on improving your photos. Bassey's display of the settings was really nice and should help a lot. Also the suggestions Sherman Levine gave should be helpful, among others.

I don't want to confuse you with adding another set of settings. I have a group of settings for birds/wildlife I'd be glad to share, just holler and I'll provide.

I do believe a good camera holding technique is worthwhile - here is mine, copied from another post I did sometime ago - at the time I had a P900, makes no difference what camera -

Here is the follow-up on technique to hand hold the camera. (giving credit to Stephen Ingraham - long time poster on DPreview forums, who I learned this technique from) I also contribute this because I believe a very important skill absolutely needed to take pleasing photos. This also focus' a bit on bird photos - but can be used for any subjects.

-Elbows in against the body in front of you, directly under the camera.

-Left hand forefinger and thumb cradling the grips provided on the zoom housing, with the palm of the hand under the housing.

-Right hand on grip with forefinger on shutter release. I wear glasses so the primary support on my face is my nose. I press the left side of the camera gently but firmly back against my nose, with my head cocked slightly to the right to bring my eye close to the EVF.

Now turn one third, left shoulder forward, toward the bird, with your left elbow tucked in to your body. You are not facing the bird head on, you are turned so your left shoulder is pointed almost at the bird, and that elbow is supported by your body. (It is the same stance a rifle shooter users.) Your eye is at the EVF, ideally with the camera contacting both your brow and your nose. Your left arm supports the camera. Your right arm and hand simply steady the camera, and operate controls. Everything should be relaxed.

Do not rest your hand or fingers on the part of the zoom that moves. Not good for fingers or the motor that powers your zoom!

-It is important to remain as relaxed as possible. Tense muscles do not make a steady shot. You are cradling the camera more than gripping it. It should "float" in your hands and your upper body should move freely to point the camera. You are not trying to hold the camera steady as if your body were a tripod. You are trying to time your shot for the point of stillness when the your body and the camera and the subject are all at rest for a split second.

The P900 has an exceptionally steady view in the EVF...so line up your shot...remembering to breathe normally. When the shot is framed and you feel the point of stillness coming, you will pause your breathing for as long as the burst lasts, so breathe right up until you press the shutter all the way down. Don't "catch your breath" or "hold your breath"...just gently pause, between one breath and the next, while you are actually shooting. Remember you are seeking the point of stillness when every moving part...body...camera...and subject...are aligned and still.

Important - You are NOT A TRIPOD...you are another image stabilization device to assist the built in Image Stabilization. You are fluid, you are relaxed, you are in motion...but you are super aware that in that constant motion there are moments of stillness, and you are going to time your shots to fall RIGHT THEN.

Of course, with practice, you can create and control those moments of stillness...but they will always be just that...moments when your moving body and the moving camera are just still for long enough to get off a burst of shots.

Do not overthink this. Just take your time, and consistently practice and be aware of holding the camera. You can adjust some steps to customize for you. The goal is to be consistent, and aware of how you hold the camera.

Hope this is helpful - believe me I know how frustrating it is not to get a sharp image.

Ev

Hi

Do you think you could share your birding settings? I am trying everything to get sharp mages, and they might help

Thanks

tom

Labe · Feb 11, 2021

There is a price to pay using active D lighting. Even Nikon say it may actually increase noise cause halo effects in some circumstances..

it can make some details a bit mushy which is why we often say not to use it unless dynamic range is more important than fine detail in a particular situation.

--
Back to bridge cameras......

357mm · Feb 11, 2021

Labe said:
There is a price to pay using active D lighting. Even Nikon say it may actually increase noise cause halo effects in some circumstances..

it can make some details a bit mushy which is why we often say not to use it unless dynamic range is more important than fine detail in a particular situation.

Since we're under a prolonged period without any bright sunlight, I've turned AD-L(low) on & shoot in RAW+FINE. I think jpegs turn out better with this option on in this type atmosphere. Alternatively, using Capture NX-D & the raw image, you have the option to turn ADL off, or change to low/norm/high/extra high+.

To the OP, to get the sharpest detail, good light, still subject, getting close to the target, and minimal camera shake are needed. Shooting in high burst mode helps, as you can select the sharpest of the sequence. Also keep in mind that the extreme zoom into the pixel level works better when viewing larger sensor images.

This Robin image is a jpeg processed in FastStone & resized. AD-L was on and then the image brightened, as the original was rather dull.

Light & atmosphere make a huge difference on detail as seen below. Processing the raw image allows for noise reduction to be turned off, which also offers more detail.

--

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dodge_rock/

p900learner · Feb 11, 2021

Labe said:
There is a price to pay using active D lighting. Even Nikon say it may actually increase noise cause halo effects in some circumstances..

it can make some details a bit mushy which is why we often say not to use it unless dynamic range is more important than fine detail in a particular situation.

Thank you Labe and Dodge I stand a bit corrected on my assessment of Active-D lighting. This is helpful information. I'm going to save this for reference. Thanks again, I appreciate this explanation.

Ev

--

https://evsphotos.smugmug.com/

p900learner · Feb 11, 2021

jshen808 said:
p900learner said:

jshen808 said:

p900learner said:

jshen808 said:

Click to expand...

John, Each has their opinion, but the photo does not look sharp to me.

I'd also be interested in knowing why you think Active-D lighting should be turned off and why it would result in an image not being sharp?

Reason I ask is because I always have Active-D lighting on in the P950 and also when I used the P900. I've taken my direction on this from the book, "Point and Shoot Nature Photographer." It notes: (it is also based on using P Mode.) I really don't think turning Active-D lighting on has anything to do with the OP's image not being sharp.

<snip>

I didn't want to quote any more directly from the book, but the point, for me is Active-D is a good thing.

Ev

Click to expand...

..

Oops, I've forgotten to trim the screen capture!

Thanks for commenting on this, Ev.

I certainly agree with you that we all have our own opinions.

A pictures worth a thousand words, the eye of the bird looks sharp to me.

Previously, from seeing other's settings, most seems to use Active-D Lighting (Low).

And in the Active-D Lighting (Low) setting, usually seems to work pretty well.

But from my own experiences, using Active-D Lighting can cause these...

(1) Cause the colors to shift from what's normal, (2) cause watercolor effects.

These are the reasons why I prefer not to use the Active-D Lighting feature.

However, I have used the Active-D Lighting when needed, as I see it as a "tool".

Such as when a bird was on a branch of a heavily shaded tree, I used ADL (High) setting.

So it's not that I don't or won't use the Active-D Lighting feature, because I will use it.

But my overall preference is to not use the Active-D Lighting feature.

These are just my own opinions.

Cheers!

Click to expand...

I've had a different experience with Active-D than you have John. Of course its a tool, as all settings are tools, no doubt about that. Each his own though on Active-D.

As far as the image being sharp, its just not a sharp image. I don't see the eye being sharp either, to know for sure I'd have to know what species the bird is and compare what the bird's eye should look like. For me its a stretch of the imagination to call this a sharp, well focused eye. But if you believe it to be sharp, your opinion.

FWIW, I also looked up Active-D in the Alexander White, P900 book, no mention of different issues like watercolor effects, or shifting colors. Talked about similar reasons to use Active-D as I outlined in my post.

Ev

Click to expand...

..

Thanks for commenting, Ev!

And I respect your opinions.

Let's just say we differ on this,

as I don't have anything more,

to say about this subject matter.

Cheers!

Please see the follow-up posts by Labe and DodgeRock. I stand a bit corrected on this topic. I will definitely look into using Active-D more selectively, however I'm not sure how to do it as the Low setting of Active-D is in my memory settings with the rest of my bird/nature settings. Guess I can just turn it off and then understand when to use it.

Ev

--

https://evsphotos.smugmug.com/

jshen808 · Feb 11, 2021

p900learner said:
Please see the follow-up posts by Labe and DodgeRock. I stand a bit corrected on this topic. I will definitely look into using Active-D more selectively, however I'm not sure how to do it as the Low setting of Active-D is in my memory settings with the rest of my bird/nature settings. Guess I can just turn it off and then understand when to use it.

Ev

..

No worries, Ev!

And yes, thanks to both Labe (Paul) & Dodge_Rock for the further explanations.

And it does seem to set the Active-D Lighting on the (Low) setting is the preferred.

However, again that my preference is to set the Active-D Lighting to the (Off) setting.

I think everyone should "test" the settings for themselves, to decide what works best.

..

To share one story...

When I had the Nikon W300 camera,

(I sadly returned it due to lens distortions,

but since I really liked the camera, may reorder),

while the W300 camera's menu is more simplified,

but it did offer the settings for the Active-D Lighting,

and I found setting the ADL on (Low) works the best.

..

The below pictures were from the W300 camera that I had,

they are all full-size out-of-camera jpg pictures, not processed,

and all of the pictures had used the Active-D Lighting on (Low).

W300, out-of-camera jpg

W300, out-of-camera jpg

..

Cheers!

--
Cheers, John
(Feel free to download my pictures)
*** Photography is about fun ***
*** No response = ignore list ***

Amateur_birder · May 1, 2021

HI...I have been using the Canon sx60 for several years and just received my new Nixon p950. Can you please provide the settings you recommend. I’m having a hard time figuring out the iso setting because very different from Canon. Any other suggestions or videos are welcome. I mostly take photos of birds and wildlife. Landscape and some macro. Thanks

p900learner · May 1, 2021

Amateur_birder said:
HI...I have been using the Canon sx60 for several years and just received my new Nixon p950. Can you please provide the settings you recommend. I’m having a hard time figuring out the iso setting because very different from Canon. Any other suggestions or videos are welcome. I mostly take photos of birds and wildlife. Landscape and some macro. Thanks

Welcome to the forum - look forward to your images. There are many knowledgeable P950 users here who are happy to help.

My settings -

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61155111

I still go back and forth with Active-D lighting - I have it turned off now. I'm just not clear on when to use it and when not. The book these settings came from suggests as you will see having it turned on to normal.

I am beginning to enjoy using the Bird Watching Mode - there are several users here who really like it. Might want to give it a try as well. Easy to put my settings in the camera, and when you want to try BWM just turn the control dial - the settings you inputted will be saved to memory.

Congratulations on the P950!

Let me think a bit on other resources.

Ev

Kurt Essen · May 6, 2021

I have several times moved the P950 dial from AF to MF by accident before I realized what was happening to make my pictures blurry.

sherman_levine · May 6, 2021

Amateur_birder said:
HI...I have been using the Canon sx60 for several years and just received my new Nixon p950. Can you please provide the settings you recommend. I’m having a hard time figuring out the iso setting because very different from Canon. Any other suggestions or videos are welcome. I mostly take photos of birds and wildlife. Landscape and some macro. Thanks

For birding, I'd recommend S mode with auto ISO (A800 or A1600). Set the shutter speed to whatever you feel appropriate for the subject motion - I typically use a minimum of 1/400 or 1/640, and often faster.

Save as raw and process in DXO PL4 with DeepPRIME NR. The P950 JPG engine smears details at iso >=400, and often at 200.

--

Sherm
Sherms flickr page

P950 album

P900 album

gtilford · May 12, 2021

Mittskitts said:
I like that picture--that bird has an endearing look! It looks as if your plane of focus might be through the branch and bird's feet and eye, not the bird's chest. I have noticed that zoomed in to 2000mm, the plane of focus is pretty critical. In my red-tailed hawk pictures at 2000mm, I have had many shots where the rock is in focus, but the hawk is a little smeared looking.

I have also done shots of a small western bluebird sitting in a bush where some of my shots of the bird are very clear, but others focus on of a leaf in front of the bird and the bird is blurred. This one, taken at 2000mm, appears very sharp when viewed on the computer, but there is some of that same painterly smearing of the bird's chest feathers when you go pixel-peeping. I think this is just the limit of resolution of the image and the smearing is due to in camera JPG processing. (I have other cameras which show much more aggressive JPG smearing, to the point where you get upset when you go pixel peeping.)

Western bluebird

I have found that smearing to actually be caused by the exposure in that area. Because the white of the chest is over exposed the definition of that area becomes smeared. If the exposure when the photo was taken had been one or two stops lower then the definition in the rest of the image could have been recovered in post projection.

Arthur Morris explains this problem at "5:40" in this YouTube video

It is a good video explaining camera exposure for all cameras.

Coolpix p950 blurry image?

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