D60-new user-Is this focus/sharpness normal? Help!!!

[Joe Eiers]

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I shoot RAW and use NORMAL conversion with Breezebrowser ("as shot") in all the other fields. I converted as clean as possible. No sharpening was applied. I shot the tree at 28.0-135.0mm IS @ 60.0mm Subject dist: 655m, 1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100.
The other shot is 28.0-135.0mm @ 50.0mm, Subject dist: 5.00m
1/250 sec, f/9.5, Mode: Program, Metering: Partial, ISO: 100
Both images are from the CENTER of the image.

I'm sure could sharpen them up (and maybe I'm supposed to), but as a raw does this look correct?? I'm using autofocus in bright light. Below are two different images. Please suggest! If this is normal, I will start breathing again... I worried I got a $3000 brick...
Thanks,
joe

 

[Amac]

Hi Joe,

I tried to have a look at your examples out of interest and I'm finding that your images are taking forever to download. You might consider posting much smaller crops.

It has often been said on these forums that the D60 images, like the D30 are really just a digital negative that require work in PS- especially sharpening- to get the best results.

The first question therefore is not how do the images look out of the camera, but how do they look after they have been finished in PS?

Do they come up allright in a large print?

--
Regards

Andrew McGregor

http://www.englishclubonline.net/melbournegallery.htm

 

[Joe Eiers]

Sorry about the larger images. I tried to keep them smaller. Here are smaller crops.

As far as post processing output, I wanted to make sure what I had to start with was correct before I did so.
Thanks for the imput!

If they are still not small enough let me know! I think my server is slow at this hour, maybe they are updating... I noticed that it doesn't come up for me yet and I'm getting 1.5mbs on my cable modem.

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a
lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I
shoot RAW and use NORMAL conversion with Breezebrowser ("as shot")
in all the other fields. I converted as clean as possible. No
sharpening was applied. I shot the tree at 28.0-135.0mm IS @
60.0mm Subject dist: 655m, 1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100.
The other shot is 28.0-135.0mm @ 50.0mm, Subject dist: 5.00m
1/250 sec, f/9.5, Mode: Program, Metering: Partial, ISO: 100
Both images are from the CENTER of the image.
I'm sure could sharpen them up (and maybe I'm supposed to), but as
a raw does this look correct?? I'm using autofocus in bright light.
Below are two different images. Please suggest! If this is
normal, I will start breathing again... I worried I got a $3000
brick...
Thanks,
joe

 

[Amac]

Joe,

much better I should point out that I don't have a D60, but I have shot a LOT of digital and the softness I see is pretty much standard digital image softness.

--
Regards

Andrew McGregor

http://www.englishclubonline.net/melbournegallery.htm

 

[SteveDude]

Try using unsharp mask. That's what you have to do on every image. I can't tell you what the settings should be - you'll have to play with them.

And just so you know - raw vs. large-fine-jpeg is virtually identical until you start doing multiple saves and image manipulations between each save. Many of us shoot using jpeg primarily (some of course swear by raw only). What you're seeing is NOT jpeg related. It's general softness. I do almost all my work in jpeg for simplicity, and the image quality is great.

You also MAY have a bad example of the 28-135 lens. I have this lens and think I got a great example. But some have had trouble with it. If you have another lens to try that might be useful. Or borrow one from a friend and test it out.

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a
lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I
shoot RAW and use NORMAL conversion with Breezebrowser ("as shot")
in all the other fields. I converted as clean as possible. No
sharpening was applied. I shot the tree at 28.0-135.0mm IS @
60.0mm Subject dist: 655m, 1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100.
The other shot is 28.0-135.0mm @ 50.0mm, Subject dist: 5.00m
1/250 sec, f/9.5, Mode: Program, Metering: Partial, ISO: 100
Both images are from the CENTER of the image.
I'm sure could sharpen them up (and maybe I'm supposed to), but as
a raw does this look correct?? I'm using autofocus in bright light.
Below are two different images. Please suggest! If this is
normal, I will start breathing again... I worried I got a $3000
brick...
Thanks,
joe

--
D60, 28-135IS, 50mm 1.8, http://www.pbase.com/stevegrillo

 

[Russell]

I am not sure why they are soft, it may be the lens. Here is a shot I took with my D60 and a 70-200 f4 lens at f8 just to check for sharpness.

All settings in the camera were set to normal and I didn't make any adjustments except for resize for the web.

Russell



--
D60, Canon 70-200L f4, Canon 28-105, Canon 50mm 1.8
420EX, Elan 7, not enough memory!!!

 

[Dave Deacon]

The first shot is soft - maybe the lens is iffy at that fl or the IS failed. The second is in focus - look at the leaves beyond the wispy things. You need to increase your dof to get more 'in focus'.

You could do a lens test for yourself. Take a newspaper, open it out, put it on a flat board or wall and in good light on a solid tripod shoot at 28, 35, 50, 70 etc using f3.5, 4, 5.6, 8 and 11 fro each fl. That will give you a good idea of whether it is the lens and wil help you get to know the lens better - its weak and strong points.

--
http://www3.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=3626

 

[Iain West]

I use a D30 and these crops look OK to me. I get similar results from the 24-85mm zoom. I would get slightly sharper results from my 50mm prime lens; and also using TIFF files converted from RAW gives a small improvement. With the D60 you have a bigger image, so I would think if you sharpen slighty the prints should look good.

Iain West

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a
lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I

 

[Dave Deacon]

Having to adjust the image is normal for dslrs like the D60 - sharpening levels etc to taste. P&S cameras do most of it for you and look sharper out of the camera. Don't be put off. You need to learn a new way of working is all.

--
http://www3.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=3626

 

[Leo Reinhard]

The first shot does not seemed to be focused but the second was is not bad IMO. Perhaps you did not hvae one of the focus points in the viewfinder on anything to achieve an auto focus. I did some work on the second one in PS after saving it as a Tif file. The results would be much better if the editing was done on the original converted Tif.

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a
lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I
shoot RAW and use NORMAL conversion with Breezebrowser ("as shot")
in all the other fields. I converted as clean as possible. No
sharpening was applied. I shot the tree at 28.0-135.0mm IS @
60.0mm Subject dist: 655m, 1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100.
The other shot is 28.0-135.0mm @ 50.0mm, Subject dist: 5.00m
1/250 sec, f/9.5, Mode: Program, Metering: Partial, ISO: 100
Both images are from the CENTER of the image.
I'm sure could sharpen them up (and maybe I'm supposed to), but as
a raw does this look correct?? I'm using autofocus in bright light.
Below are two different images. Please suggest! If this is
normal, I will start breathing again... I worried I got a $3000
brick...
Thanks,
joe

--
Leo R

 

[David Knox]

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a
lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I
shoot RAW and use NORMAL conversion with Breezebrowser ("as shot")
in all the other fields. I converted as clean as possible. No
sharpening was applied. I shot the tree at 28.0-135.0mm IS @
60.0mm Subject dist: 655m, 1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100.
The other shot is 28.0-135.0mm @ 50.0mm, Subject dist: 5.00m
1/250 sec, f/9.5, Mode: Program, Metering: Partial, ISO: 100
Both images are from the CENTER of the image.
I'm sure could sharpen them up (and maybe I'm supposed to), but as
a raw does this look correct?? I'm using autofocus in bright light.
Below are two different images. Please suggest! If this is
normal, I will start breathing again... I worried I got a $3000
brick...
Thanks,
joe

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joe, do you have any other lenses ? Concerns have been raised before on this forum regarding the sharpness of the 28-135mm IS. If you do, do you still get the same soft images ? What are your finest quality JPegs like ? If you had used a D100, these would be considered to be good photographs. I'm sure you have not bought a brick - but I do think a lens experiment would be a good place to start. Is the lens new or have you used it on other cameras ? If the lens is new, it could be faulty. Even if you could try the lens on an Eos film camera - it could help rule things out.

Is it possible for you to return it to its place of purchase ? - you can then try other lenses on your D60 and your lens on an other body.

David Knox.

 

[Richard127566]

I agree. My pics come out much better (before USM, etc) from the D60.
--
-- dive

 

[Timo Autiokari]

as a raw does this look correct??

For color-masked Cmos sensor it does look normal, just like my D60 provides. Is it correct is an other story... e.g. I bought the D60 fully knowing that the RAW images are very soft.

RAW from color-masked CCD (especially when the CCD is back illuminated type that have 100% fill-factor) is a little shoft also but far less than images from color-masked Cmos that have a very small fill-factor.

RAW from a 3-CCD camera is the sharpest. RAW from full-color Cmos sensor (of Sigma) is notably sharper than RAW from color-masked Cmos.

Timo Autiokari http://www.aim-dtp.net

 

[PhotoNoob120916]

I thought that I had issues with my camera as well. Infact I had a huge thread on the issue. Turns out I was choosing the wrong focus points so the camera was not able to keep up. I now shoot on AV mode for the most part. I ONLY have the center focus point turned on as the others seem to only screw up my focus. After learning how to choose the best point of focus to encompase the entire subject for maximum depth of field given the fstop, I have MUCH sharper shots.

Here is an image of before I started shooting like this. It is similar to your issue where the subject is very soft. These are just crops but you will get the idea:

Before:



AFTER changing my technique:



Just be patient and the fine folks on this forum will help you figure out where the issue is.

--
Photo Noob
D60
50mm 1.8, 75-300mm 4-5.6 III
70-200 F4L
1 Gig Microdrive
Sunpak PZ5000

 

[Guillaume in Paris]

it was downsized for the web, right? This was your entire picture and Joe is showing full size crops i think.

Guillaume
http://www.at-sight.com
Sports & general event photography

 

[Rylee Isitt]

I saw that thread... glad you got it figured out!

So the other two focus points, if not turned off, will do their own thing as well, and probably ruin the focus? Sounds like solid advice for the most part, though I'm sure they have their occasional uses.

I'm going to have a D60 in my hands tomorrow - I can't wait!

I thought that I had issues with my camera as well. Infact I had a
huge thread on the issue. Turns out I was choosing the wrong focus
points so the camera was not able to keep up. I now shoot on AV
mode for the most part. I ONLY have the center focus point turned
on as the others seem to only screw up my focus. After learning how
to choose the best point of focus to encompase the entire subject
for maximum depth of field given the fstop, I have MUCH sharper
shots.

Here is an image of before I started shooting like this. It is
similar to your issue where the subject is very soft. These are
just crops but you will get the idea:

Before:



AFTER changing my technique:



Just be patient and the fine folks on this forum will help you
figure out where the issue is.

--
Photo Noob
D60
50mm 1.8, 75-300mm 4-5.6 III
70-200 F4L
1 Gig Microdrive
Sunpak PZ5000

 

[mskad]

First image is indeed quite soft but the second shot look OK to my eyes. And yes if you're shooting RAW, you need to apply USM.



Mskad.

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a
lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I
shoot RAW and use NORMAL conversion with Breezebrowser ("as shot")
in all the other fields. I converted as clean as possible. No
sharpening was applied. I shot the tree at 28.0-135.0mm IS @
60.0mm Subject dist: 655m, 1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100.
The other shot is 28.0-135.0mm @ 50.0mm, Subject dist: 5.00m
1/250 sec, f/9.5, Mode: Program, Metering: Partial, ISO: 100
Both images are from the CENTER of the image.
I'm sure could sharpen them up (and maybe I'm supposed to), but as
a raw does this look correct?? I'm using autofocus in bright light.
Below are two different images. Please suggest! If this is
normal, I will start breathing again... I worried I got a $3000
brick...
Thanks,
joe

 

[mskad]

with USM:

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a
lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I
shoot RAW and use NORMAL conversion with Breezebrowser ("as shot")
in all the other fields. I converted as clean as possible. No
sharpening was applied. I shot the tree at 28.0-135.0mm IS @
60.0mm Subject dist: 655m, 1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100.
The other shot is 28.0-135.0mm @ 50.0mm, Subject dist: 5.00m
1/250 sec, f/9.5, Mode: Program, Metering: Partial, ISO: 100
Both images are from the CENTER of the image.
I'm sure could sharpen them up (and maybe I'm supposed to), but as
a raw does this look correct?? I'm using autofocus in bright light.
Below are two different images. Please suggest! If this is
normal, I will start breathing again... I worried I got a $3000
brick...
Thanks,
joe

 

[lastfreedom]

I find the different focus points are useful in continuous focus mode when you don't want the subject that's nearest (and hence the one focused on) to be center frame.

Cheers,

Matthew

So the other two focus points, if not turned off, will do their own
thing as well, and probably ruin the focus? Sounds like solid
advice for the most part, though I'm sure they have their
occasional uses.

I'm going to have a D60 in my hands tomorrow - I can't wait!

I thought that I had issues with my camera as well. Infact I had a
huge thread on the issue. Turns out I was choosing the wrong focus
points so the camera was not able to keep up. I now shoot on AV
mode for the most part. I ONLY have the center focus point turned
on as the others seem to only screw up my focus. After learning how
to choose the best point of focus to encompase the entire subject
for maximum depth of field given the fstop, I have MUCH sharper
shots.

Here is an image of before I started shooting like this. It is
similar to your issue where the subject is very soft. These are
just crops but you will get the idea:

Before:



AFTER changing my technique:



Just be patient and the fine folks on this forum will help you
figure out where the issue is.

--
Photo Noob
D60
50mm 1.8, 75-300mm 4-5.6 III
70-200 F4L
1 Gig Microdrive
Sunpak PZ5000

 

[John Harrison82293]

I'm a new D60 owner, just upgraded from a G2. I've been shooting a
lot and an concerned about the sharpness in my final images. I
shoot RAW and use NORMAL conversion with Breezebrowser ("as shot")
in all the other fields. I converted as clean as possible. No
sharpening was applied. I shot the tree at 28.0-135.0mm IS @
60.0mm Subject dist: 655m, 1/250 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100.
The other shot is 28.0-135.0mm @ 50.0mm, Subject dist: 5.00m
1/250 sec, f/9.5, Mode: Program, Metering: Partial, ISO: 100
Both images are from the CENTER of the image.
I'm sure could sharpen them up (and maybe I'm supposed to), but as
a raw does this look correct?? I'm using autofocus in bright light.
Below are two different images. Please suggest! If this is
normal, I will start breathing again... I worried I got a $3000
brick...
Thanks,
joe