D70s and sharpness

aussie · Jul 4, 2005

Hi everyone,
Picture below:
RAW, 1.6s - F/3.5, Exp. Compen:+0.7 EV, ISO 200, Aperture Priority,
WB: Auto, Long Exposure:On, Metering Mode: Multi Pattern, Tripod and Timer used.
It was very dark, needed long exposure. What could caused a lack of sharpeness; not enough light, the process of enlighting in Photoshop, or resizing down? Is it really not sharp or camera does not record the colours properly in poor light conditions?
I noticed that in normal light conditions pictures are sharp and well balanced.

Regards

Marek

mentos_007 · Jul 4, 2005

I think that the softness might appeared because the camera hadn't "cought" the focal point because it was too dark...

JonMikal · Jul 4, 2005

as with any camera, be it digital or film, low lighting conditions result in poor quality images. while PS helps to enhance, you'll still end up with an enhanced poor quality image. maybe the multi-pattern setting misread the situation and exposed improperly. when post processing images, i try to keep it to a minimum because of this. having long exposure on was good...you didn't provide the best of f/stops which didn't help with DOF...increasing exposure compensation that much decreases quality a bit as well. i shoot long exposures quite often with my D70 in manual mode and generally end up with good results.

anyone else?

aussie · Jul 4, 2005

No, I don't think so, still something should be in the focus. Here the whole picture is soft.

JonMikal · Jul 4, 2005

aussie said:
No, I don't think so, still something should be in the focus. Here the whole picture is soft.

did you have auto focus on?

aussie · Jul 4, 2005

Yes I had, and there was a "beep", so focus shuld be on something...

Digital Matt · Jul 4, 2005

I can't judge the sharpness from these low res jpgs, but if I had to guess, you are using a kit lens, which is not the sharpest lens to begin with, and you have shot these wide open. Stop down to f/8, to maximize the sharpness of that lens.

doli · Jul 4, 2005

I now with my cameras, they hate low light. I can not get a sharp focus without the flash and if there is any movement. Which sucks. Even when I auto focus, and it claims clearity.. it still is soft.

On the otherhand, if you don't like that one...
how about 1. was it humid? there could have been a soft glaze on the lens...
which could lead to 2. a fungus growing someplace in your lens. both very fun...

but I tend to think it's the poor light.

Hellashot · Jul 4, 2005

Your f3.5 cause the softness. For a large DOF like that you need at least f8 probably f10 minimum.

aussie · Jul 5, 2005

Thank you for all your comments. I understand that's better off going for much longer exposure at a smaller aperture, like you saying 8 or 11 for example. One more thing, I have forgotten and left a polarising filter on. Would the filter cause all that problems?

jstuedle · Jul 5, 2005

One more thing, I have forgotten and left a polarising filter on. Would the filter cause all that problems
The polariser would have resulted in a slower shutter speed, as will stoping down to f8 or 11. You will most likely find a good tripod very handy. The cameras motion at the slower speeds will result in a general unsharp or fuzzy image.

aussie · Jul 5, 2005

Regarding Lens, it is standard AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5 - 4.5 G ED
In general that lens has got a good rating.
In normal conditions pictures are clear and sharp, you can see the picture below.

thebeginning · Jul 5, 2005

we arent saying your lens is bad necessarily, just that it needs to be stopped down to be sharp, as most non professional (and some professional) are. also, we cant really tell about the sharpness of the actual photos because you've saved them at such a low quality (not just size, but quality) that the image would look bad even if it was super sharp. my suggestion is to bump down to f11, use a self timer if you need to, and dont save the files at low quality. If you are using photoshop, try to keep the image quality of your jpegs on 10, 11, or 12 to ensure that you dont get nasty pixellation. If you saved it on 12 and this still happened, i dont know why that happened, because the reason that image looks fuzzy has nothing to do with the sharpness of your lens, but merely something that went wrong during post-processing.