How to get sharp pictures on a D70

[litespeed00]

I recently purchsed the Nikon D70 for about a month. I have quite satisfied with the camera and its functions. I must taken over 1000 pictures in the last month. Most of them are for my kids. But one thing that I cannot overcome is the lack of sharpness when the camera is set on AUTO. I had to use the Picture Project software (Nikon's software) to enhance the sharpness. Otherwise, the picture will look a little bit soft. I onced read about another user had the same problem with the Canon D300.

Does anyone knows how to overcome this when the camera is set on Auto?

Thanks

Litespeed00

[Tiggy2]

I also bought a Nikon D70, a week ago and am finding my Olympus 730 Ulta Zoom takes shaper pictures at 1/3 the cost. I am debating returning the camera if I can't get sharper pictures, I have a 2 week grace. I really like all the features and feel of the Nikon, but can't justify $2500.00 for a camera when I already have one that does better pic's. Any
help would be appreciated.

Thanx

I recently purchsed the Nikon D70 for about a month. I have quite satisfied with the camera and its functions. I must taken over 1000 pictures in the last month. Most of them are for my kids. But one thing that I cannot overcome is the lack of sharpness when the camera is set on AUTO. I had to use the Picture Project software (Nikon's software) to enhance the sharpness. Otherwise, the picture will look a little bit soft. I onced read about another user had the same problem with the Canon D300.

Does anyone knows how to overcome this when the camera is set on Auto?

Thanks

Litespeed00

[Sean Dempsey]

Cameras don't make pictures sharp, lenses do.

Please list the lenses you are using.

[Tiggy2]

Cameras don't make pictures sharp, lenses do.

Please list the lenses you are using.

Just shows I'm a newbie.

The lenes I used were a Nikkor - 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF Zoom and the lens that came with it, Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED-IFAF-S DX Zoom

Thanx
Barbara

[Sean Dempsey]

I don't know about the wide angle lense, but my Nikon partner used the 28-200 you had for a while, and just got tired of the poor image quality, and has since upgraded to the 70-200 VR lens. From what he said and showed me, the 28-200 just is a consumer lens that won't deliver ultra sharp and crisp images. The glass in the lens is one of the most important parts of an images clarity and sharpness, and if your glass isn't good, the images won't be either. I'd maybe go to your local camera store and see if they'll let you snap a few shots with a better lens, and take them home and see if you notice any differences.

[Sebastian]

First, you guys need to understand why the D70 takes BETTER images than your P&S.

The D70, and all DSLRS for that matter, take a much less aggressive approach to image manipulation than the P&S cams. The colors are less saturated, the sharpness, even if on, is much lower, and the contrast is lower. The reason for this is simple, control. Someone that spends $1000 on a camera plus lenses more than likely is particular about their images, and no P&S on the market will give them as much control as a clean file.

First, let's talk about sharpness. Sharpening has to be applied FOR THE OUTPUT METHOD. An 8x10 will need much different sharpening than a 16x24. And both of those will have different sharpening needs than an image posted on the web. Taking the control away from you and putting in rudimentary sharpening greatly limits the potential for quality from that file. Any sharpening should be done AFTER the image is taken, and only with the target use in mind.

Second comes contrast. DSLR file smight look more washed out. Why? Because they record more detail. The wider the amount of detail in an image, the more washed out it appears because the tone curve is designed to record maximum detail in shadows and in highlights. This means that when you are editing the file, YOU get to choose where the detail will fall much more so than in a P&S. RAW formats give you even more flexibility in that regard because they store the RAW, unedited sensor data before it is turned into a lower-bit depth JPG.

Saturation is a personal matter, but DSLRs give you more control over that as well, be it a choice of color spaces or a direct saturation adjustment.

That being said, even with great lenses the images will look less sharp than a P&S file would. But this is a GOOD thing and is one of the major reasons for purchasing a DSLR to begin with.

Your lenses are not the best. My suggestion for an excellent, fat, SHARP lens would be the 50mm f/1.8. About a hundred bucks, razor sharp, small and fast. Try it, you'll like it.

[Tiggy2]

First, you guys need to understand why the D70 takes BETTER images than your P&S.

The D70, and all DSLRS for that matter, take a much less aggressive approach to image manipulation than the P&S cams. The colors are less saturated, the sharpness, even if on, is much lower, and the contrast is lower. The reason for this is simple, control. Someone that spends $1000 on a camera plus lenses more than likely is particular about their images, and no P&S on the market will give them as much control as a clean file.

First, let's talk about sharpness. Sharpening has to be applied FOR THE OUTPUT METHOD. An 8x10 will need much different sharpening than a 16x24. And both of those will have different sharpening needs than an image posted on the web. Taking the control away from you and putting in rudimentary sharpening greatly limits the potential for quality from that file. Any sharpening should be done AFTER the image is taken, and only with the target use in mind.

Second comes contrast. DSLR file smight look more washed out. Why? Because they record more detail. The wider the amount of detail in an image, the more washed out it appears because the tone curve is designed to record maximum detail in shadows and in highlights. This means that when you are editing the file, YOU get to choose where the detail will fall much more so than in a P&S. RAW formats give you even more flexibility in that regard because they store the RAW, unedited sensor data before it is turned into a lower-bit depth JPG.

Saturation is a personal matter, but DSLRs give you more control over that as well, be it a choice of color spaces or a direct saturation adjustment.

That being said, even with great lenses the images will look less sharp than a P&S file would. But this is a GOOD thing and is one of the major reasons for purchasing a DSLR to begin with.

Your lenses are not the best. My suggestion for an excellent, fat, SHARP lens would be the 50mm f/1.8. About a hundred bucks, razor sharp, small and fast. Try it, you'll like it.

Thanx for all the info.

I will take both your advice and see if my camera store has something I can try.

I do have one Question, and probally not the smartest..but it's a way to learn. With regard to "Washed out" look on the pic's. If I shot them in a different format would they be less wahed out. I want to be able to have the control over the pic's, but sometimes it's nice to let the camera do the work. A learning curve.

Barbara

[another view]

Nothing wrong with the camera - supposed to be that way. My Coolpix looks great right out of the camera (with the situations I use it in) but the DSLR has more options later. Another advantage is that the larger sensor can record more detail, and should give you better shots at high ISO settings. On my Fuji S2, ISO800 jpegs look really nice.

I'm not sure about the D70, but on the S2 there are settings for color, contrast and sharpening. When I shoot jpegs, I usually leave the color and contrast at "STD" which is the middle setting and works well for most subjects. I turn the sharpening off, but I do know someone who uses the highest of the two levels of sharpenings and is happy with his 12x18 prints.

You may be able to do something like this with the D70, but I'm not sure what the settings are. Just realize that the more you do to it in camera, the less flexibility you'll have later.

[litespeed00]

I went back and read the D70 manual. For AUTO setting, the image is captured with a balance of sharpness, and contrast, which is a little bit soft for my personal preference. But when one uses the P, S, A, and M setting (Progran, Shutter, Aperature, and Manual), you can change the the sharpness and contrast by setting the camera to Custom: -2 , -1 , 0 , +1, +2. I set the camera to +1, and took some pictures, and then set it to +2. The images do come out more clearer than the ones I set on AUTO. I took the same picture setting on a tripod point to a single object.

Just have to read the manual for closely. Most of the time, I will set my camera on AUTO or A.

Litespeed00
Nikon D70
Nikon 18-70 D (as part of the kit)
Nikon 70-300 D F4.5-5.6

[coloradoamigo]

or even better, buy Thom Hogan's book on the D70. I believe the it's at www.bythom.com. As you get to know the camera more and more, I'm betting you will shoot less and less in AUTO mode until you don't shoot in that mode at all. You will have the camera set to Aperture Priority most of the time. Give yourself time to learn the camera, and you can get some great images.

Regards,
Brian