HELP with a D5000

[cbriggs11]

I am a newbie at photography and just purchased a Nikon D 5000. I just recently had a d40x and wanted to upgrade. For some reason the pictures on the d40 are turning up better (very noticable) than the d5000. These pics were shot on auto on both cameras. The d5000 pics just look real grainy? Any suggestions or help.
Thanks

 

[flea77]

Grain on digital would be digital noise, sounds like the ISO is up too high.

Allan

 

[cbriggs11]

The Iso is on Auto as well. I know it would depend on situation but what would be a good number to start on with the ISO.

 

[Breaux]

Set the ISO as low as it can go in your situation. If you have plenty of light, go with 100 or 200.

I recommend that you Google for tutorials on the relationship between f-stop, shutter speed, and ISO. The you won't depend on your camera to make the choice. It's easy to learn. Here's one to start with: Shutter Speed and Aperture

 

[cbriggs11]

Thanks for the help guys. Im already getting better results. Just one other question. This camera is a better camera than the d40x correct. Just making sure

 

[Shane Anderson]

I have the D5000 as well. I noticed when I first started using it with ISO set to Auto that it would quickly bump the ISO up by itself, even when I thought it wasn't really necessary.

I switched the Auto ISO off, although if you want a little more automated control you can leave it on but set your preferred max ISO setting. Also if you want manual control of ISO but don't want the pain of changing it through the menu system, you can assign the Fn button to ISO control (used in conjunction with the control dial).

I've used mine up to ISO800 for shooting indoor sports with pretty good results, although from reading various reviews it seems you could probably go as high as 1600 safely.

Base ISO is 200, if you want ISO 100 there is a Lo setting.

 

[KmH]

Thanks for the help guys. Im already getting better results. Just one other question. This camera is a better camera than the d40x correct. Just making sure

Better in what way?

The D5000's high ISO performance is far superior to the D40x but the lowest the D5000 can go is ISO 200.

The D5000 has 11 focus points, the D40x has 3.

The D5000 can shoot video. The D40x can't.

Compare cameras