Photos and focus questions from new Nikon D7000

[KmH]

His eyes are in shadows. It's known as raccoon eyes. Plus, if you had to use ISO 6400 there was minimal light for the AF module to work.

You know the AF module needs light to work. Did you have the AF assist light enabled so it could put light in his eye sockets so the AF module could do it's job properly?

 

[Mach0]

At ISO 6400 up may want to try exposing to the right. You say your ISO was at 600 but exif says 6400.

 

[Heitz]

yea, high ISO shots usually won't look tack sharp. The noise is inherent all over the image, including any borders that would be high-contrast. that noise will give the perceptual appearance of blur.

 

[gryffinwings]

Might want to bring down ISO limit to 1600 if your using auto iso, which you might actually be doing and expose longer.

Not that this is the same situation, but I'm using a range of 100-800 myself, I'm in a dimly lit room, no light on, and the blinds are closed, so not much light.

I'm shooting at 1/60 at F/4.5 and my pictures are pretty sharp, single point focus. Although not very bright, still sharp.

Camera: Nikon D5100
Lens: Nikkor 35mm F/1.8

If you have the ISO lower then that should help. Personally I don't like shooting high ISO, in theory the higher the ISO, grainier and less sharp your pictures look.

Please post newer pictures to see if the changes help.

 

[gryffinwings]

I was just getting a look at the EXIF data myself.

1. Exposure time of 1/160 seconds, definitely too fast for low light. Try 1/50, that should help a lot.

 

[KmH]

Uh! NO.

Keep the shutter speed up. At 1/50 camera shake can cause focus softness, unless the camera is on a good, stable tripod.

Even using a tripod I don't recommend shooting people at less than 1/100, because the subjects also move slightly.

 

[gryffinwings]

Uh! NO.

Keep the shutter speed up. At 1/50 camera shake can cause focus softness, unless the camera is on a good, stable tripod.

Even using a tripod I don't recommend shooting people at less than 1/100, because the subjects also move slightly.

On stationary objects at 1/50 or just 50 for what the camera displays, I'm not getting any issues with my pictures. If your getting camera shake then you don't have a stable hand, as far as I know. Now if the objects are moving that is definitely an issue. Now if speed is an issue, sure you can crank it up, but it doesn't need to be a lot for taking pictures of people as far as I can tell, in this case the aperture can probably be opened up to it's widest to let in more light, wouldn't that work?

 

[cgipson1]

Uh! NO.

Keep the shutter speed up. At 1/50 camera shake can cause focus softness, unless the camera is on a good, stable tripod.

Even using a tripod I don't recommend shooting people at less than 1/100, because the subjects also move slightly.

On stationary objects at 1/50 or just 50 for what the camera displays, I'm not getting any issues with my pictures. If your getting camera shake then you don't have a stable hand, as far as I know. Now if the objects are moving that is definitely an issue. Now if speed is an issue, sure you can crank it up, but it doesn't need to be a lot for taking pictures of people as far as I can tell, in this case the aperture can probably be opened up to it's widest to let in more light, wouldn't that work?

Since the OP is having major focusing / sharpness issue... a slow shutter speed is not a good idea to start with... it enhances the possibility of camera shake being an issue. A wide open aperture won't help her either.. since that reduces DOF to a minimum.... even though it would allow a faster shutter. And I often shoot MUCH faster than 1/160 in low light... it is a good thing!

 

[Mach0]

OP- grip your camera

 

[SCraig]

Thanks guys. Charlie, no offense taken and I appreciate your advice =) I'm going to run a test today as long as I have some time. I agree that it looks way to grainy for ISO 600! Just checked my camera gain and the ISO was undoubtedly 600....

EXIF data shows ISO 6400 (that is sixty-four hundred) on every shot, and those shots are far too noisy for a D7000 at ISO 600. If I had to guess you've got Auto ISO enabled with a ceiling of 6400.