D70 ...becoming disenchanted...:(

08/17/2004 03:55:42 PM · #1

help ! I recently purchased a D70 and having a very difficult time getting the kind of quality in my shots like I did with my Coolpix 4300. Unfortunately I dont know how to load pics on here so its hard to diagnose but are there any users who have noticed soft focus problems? my coolpix 4300 is razor sharp. the D70 is not. perhaps its is the subject matter Im shooting.....

Azrifel

Fujifilm X100VI

08/17/2004 03:59:34 PM · #2

Are you using your lenses at the widest apertures?
What kind of lenses (kit, low-end/high-end)?
Is the camera's sharpness set to a soft setting ? (not a bad thing!)
Do you use Unsharp Mask to sharpen your photos?

Is your old camera set to hard sharpening?

Node

Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF for Nikon

08/17/2004 04:11:05 PM · #3

Another thing could be if you wear glasses, set the diopter if it has it.

jxpfeer

08/17/2004 04:14:46 PM · #4

you say it could be the subject matter, what is the subject matter exactly? are you shooting using a zoom lense? are you shooting in low light?

08/17/2004 04:16:57 PM · #5

Ive taken shots at all aperatures, used sharpen and sharpen more but no unsharpen mask. Im using the kit lens 18-70mm f3.5 - the guy at Ritz said it was a killer good lens. Also bought a quantaray 70-300. Havent shot much at all with that one.

I checked the sharp/soft settings and took same shots with each setting and see minimal difference. Im heading to a photo class tonight hosted by Ritz, maybe I can get some more answers there. thanks guys for responding!

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/17/2004 04:19:56 PM · #6

Jason - shooting with a 18-70 kity lens mostly at 18mm (27equivelant) descent amount of light - this am was hazy and bright diffused from fog.

suemack

Canon EOS-20D

08/17/2004 04:20:28 PM · #7

Hi Justin. Pics need to be hosted on a photo site on the web that will allow linking....there's a lot of them round eg Photobucket.com. that are free. Once you've got them hosted
this tutorialwill help you get them into your posts.

About the camera, I've got a canon drebel not a D70, but noticed the difference in the image when I moved from my Sony 717. The images were a lot less sharp. Some (OK a lot!! LOL)of that was to do with me and my phototaking, but some was to do with the fact that the camera doesn't do incamera sharpening like the non SLR cameras do. The others will be able to explain this better cos I'm still very much a SLR newbie.

sue

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

08/17/2004 04:24:04 PM · #8

AhHaaah!! there is such a thing as "in camera sharpening"?.... I thought there shouldnt be a need for editing with a DSLR, due to its superior abilities. Hmmm....Thanks Sue.

Spork99

OM System OM-1

08/17/2004 04:29:55 PM · #9

Most DSLR's have much less in camera sharpening than digicams.

If you do your sharpening in the camera, you have no real control or preview of it. By doing it in software, you have control.

cghubbell

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

08/17/2004 04:31:47 PM · #10

While its always possible that you may have a defective unit from Mr. Murphy's cruel trick's, I would suggest that you ought not be disenchanted with the D70. Take a look at the DPC camera page for the D70 and I think you'll find that the camera is capable of some amazing detail.

There are neverending religous battles about cannon vs. Nikon, but in the end, any of these dSLR models are capable of stunning images. Hopefully you can show your store's sales rep some examples of images you deem to be troubled and they can help with your technique or settings. There are a zillion settings on the D70, so it's always possible that something got set the wrong way.

Also, have you tried sharpening a RAW image in Nikon Capture or Nikon View/Picture project? That would bypass the in-camera workflow and let you see whether the problem was in what the camera captured or what the firmware processed in JPEG conversion.

cghubbell

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

08/17/2004 04:41:21 PM · #11

Originally posted by dentman:

AhHaaah!! there is such a thing as "in camera sharpening"?.... I thought there shouldnt be a need for editing with a DSLR, due to its superior abilities. Hmmm....Thanks Sue.

If you want to boost the sharpening to a custom level:
Menu --> Shooting Menu --> Optimize Image --> Custom --> Sharpening --> [none, high, med-high, Med-low, low]

Note that the various auto programs in custom [Softer, Direct Print, Portrait, Landscape] all have different setting as well which are outlined in the guide. It's really a question of how much work you want to do to bring out detail in your images. If you shoot raw, or minimize the in-camera workflow you have the opportunity to control your images and (usually) improve their quality. If you shoot JPEG, you let the camera do the work which is usually pretty good once you get the custom settings to your liking.

Like I said, there's a ton of settings on the D70. Sometimes you need to set up something to shoot and keep shooting until you get the settings down. I promise - eventually it becomes second nature.

One more suggestion - try to get off automatic mode as soon as you can by transitioning into aperture and shutter priority modes, and learning to use the spot meter rather than multi-zone meter. You'll end up with MUCH better control in all but the most perfect lighting conditions, and that's one of the strengths of the dSLR. Oh, and if you haven't learned to use the histogram yet, there's a bunch of great articles on the web explaining it - it's critical to eeking out maximum tonal range in your shots.

Message edited by author 2004-08-17 16:42:34.

Flash

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

08/17/2004 05:46:08 PM · #12

Originally posted by dentman:

As a prior 4300 owner/user and a current D70 owner/user I have a very different opinion of my D70.

Try resetting everything to factory. Put the aperature at f/8 ISO200 and stabilize the camera on a solid surface. Shoot a stationary object and see what you get.

dacrazyrn

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

08/17/2004 06:38:30 PM · #13

You really need to read through the owners manual once or twice. I have read it about 5 times now (since June). You want to learn what it can and can't do. Get out the owners manual and start in there. Go through the menus and learn what they do, change, and reset. Then you will know why your pictures are so soft as explained by cghubbell. Everyone thinks taking out the camera and just shooting it will give perfect results. P&S maybe, not a DSLR.
This happened with alot of experienced people also. Lots of talk about all this back focus, I think it was the camera set up inproperly. But, that is my opinion.
Myself, using RAW almost exclusively now (since I got 2 of those VERY fast Ultra II cards), with NO sharpening, and almost all the rest of the settings to VERY low or off. Is why I have PS CS>

Kavey

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC for Canon

08/17/2004 06:41:55 PM · #14

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

You really need to read through the owners manual once or twice.

Yeah I really must get around to doing that! :o)

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS for Canon

08/17/2004 10:31:45 PM · #15

Okay everyone thanks again for all the input. Yes, I was a little hasty in my earlier thoughts, I just needed a little extra push in the right direction. I saw other people's pics and knew from those the camera was capable. "Loose nut behind the wheel" :)

ElGordo

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

08/17/2004 11:42:13 PM · #16

My Kodak/Nikon DCS 460 is sharp as a tack right out of the camera (raw image). Does the D70 have an anit-aliasing filter builtin?
AA filters tend to make the images look like soft focus.

jxpfeer