New S5 user - another sharpening question

[Vobluda]

Hello to everyone,

I am a new S5 user, got the camera from the Fuji UK store with the 20% discount. It was in new box with just two easily removable "Refurbished" stickers. My previous camera was Nikon D70s and I feel S5 as big upgrade. I use Sigma 17-70mm f/2,8-4,5 DC Macro lenses, version without HSM. I am still playing with the settings and shot so far couple of hundreds of photos but it seems to me that the photos are somehow soft or unsharp. While photo viewed in total seems sharp, the detailed view is not sharp to me (I stil did not make print though). I have red the posts regarding this issue (puddleduck - S5 Pro focus errors.. follow-up -Matt, Crystal, Herbert, Davor etc; scathew - Goin' to the shop... ). I have made battery test photos and I would appreciate if someone more experienced can have a look at the photos and tell his or hers opinion:

http://flickr.com/photos/mortocaltese/sets/72157605914455482/

Thank you and regards from Praha,

Martin

 

[colectorboy]

Hi,

I'm also a new S5 user, I bought the same as you for 405£ and it was also new, for me this is an upgrade from S2.

I looked at your battery test, everything seems ok, the focus being on the one in the middle...

So far , the best setting I found on my S5 is Film simulation F1C with sharp at +2, it seems quite good, try it and let me know your feeling.

Rgds,
PB

 

[Tahsin]

My S5 is just over a week old, and I also find the images slightly soft. I've been tinkering with the settings, and I use good glass, and I have firmware ver 1.09 (apparently makes images sharper), but even in good light and tight focus, it still cannot match the crispness that my D80 effortlessly acheived.

And frankly I don't expect it to. It's still sharp, but has a not unpleasing softness to all the images. I'm realising that this camera has serious limitations. If you stick with what everyone knows it's good at - head and shoulders (no further) portraits - output is very film-like. Takes me back to my F80 days.

Question is - do you want film-like output? Most people new to SLR photography and certainly most non-photogs, have become so accustomed to a crisp, pin-sharp, "digital" look, that they have forgotten what film output looks like.

Personally, I like it. S5 is my number one camera at the moment (at least until the D700 arrives). But the truth is, were it not for the price drop, I would not have bought it.

Oh and BTW, your pics look plenty sharp, doesn't look like you have any technical problems with your unit.

Happy shooting,
Tahsin

 

[Nicholas Ripley]

The image taken below was with a 18-200mm Nikon, often complained of being none too sharp on the S5, I have two S5's and on occasion have noticed the AF system misses a touch, I've never had any issues with resolving sharpness though.

 

[acrystalball]

Congrats on your new camera. Give it some time and you will love it. Looks like your focus is within specificiations, from the original files that I looked at (didn't look at them all, but the 5 or so I did, the focus seemed good).

Are you using 12mp files or 6? You might see better sharpness at 6mp, and make sure your Noise Reduction is dialed to ORG.

Hope this helps
Crystal
--
http://www.crystalkeesey.com

 

[fliegertiger]

agree to that:

NR set to ORG, M-Fine is better than L-Fine (at least at 100% pixelpeep view...), all other settings more or less STD, DR set to AUTO

Prints are just perfect and compared to my razor sharp D70 files much more natural.

--
visit my albums at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fliegertiger/collections/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fliegertiger/

 

[bloomoose]

Like the rain droppy twigs!
Also the bokeh is amazingly pleasing.
--
Greetings from Germany,
Pam

 

[Nicholas Ripley]

thank you

 

[BigPixel]

That is a significant thing to remember! Fuji files are more natural looking, more aesthetically pleasing IMHO. The razor sharpness of D300 for example looks fake to me and very unappealing.

Another good tip here, mentioned by many, is to set the S5 to either med-hard or hard sharpening in camera. Its different than S2 & S3 in that respect.

Also, if you notice a slight magenta cast you can dial in a -1 magenta in the custom WB menue. Makes quite a bit of difference when using AWB especially in florescent or mixed light.

Final note, and this relates directly to S5 sharpness: It is critical that you pay attention to focus group selected and your metering mode. Fuji really loves spot metering for portrait, close group/subjects. Center weighted metering + that triangle focus area group works for about 90% everything else. I only use matrix for wide, expansive shots like landscape, architectural, etc.
--
BigPixel / Hawaii