Struggling With Focus And noise

[SadlerX]

Hello, I have been taking pictures for awhile but never strayed too far from auto everything. The last few months I'm taking things more serious and trying to learn more. My daughter is in competitive soccer and I'm doing my best to figure things out with M,A,S,P on my Nikon D5100 with my newly acquired Nikon Dx Vr AF-S 18-300 3.5-6.3G ED Lens. I sometimes get lucky and get a good picture but this is what they normally turn out like. Usually blurry, noisy, just not a picture I'm proud of.

Any help would be appreciated, Thank you in advance.

Jason

 

[Underdog]

It would help if you posted some pictures.
Then members could see the EXIF information at the bottom of the photographs and evaluate. (Circled in red.)
When you see photos you like, check out their info.
You can then get tips like chimping, where you look at each shot in the LCD view finder and make quick adjustments on the fly.
Manuals and Google are your friend.

 

[Jeff15]

Hello Jason and welcome .. Let's see some of your images ...

 

[AlanKlein]

Auto mode is probably snapping the shutter at too low a speed for what your daughter is doing. What does the EXIF data say the speed was? Try switching to Shutter priority and set the shutter at 1/500 or 1/1000.

 

[21limited]

The more motion, the less chance of an optimal exposure. Id’ comment futher, but I can’t read the exif.
Wish I could put you in touch with cowgirlrightup, I’m an unknown fan, along with a thousand others.


You might bring up some of her horse action images and check out the camera settings.

 

[SadlerX]

Hello Jason and welcome .. Let's see some of your images ...

Can i post a raw image in .nef format? I will post some today when I get home from work. Thanks
I was able to post a jpeg, but im not sure the exif data is on it. Any suggestions?

 

[SadlerX]

Can anyone please provide insight on where I'm going wrong with my pictures

 

[wfooshee]

Both images you posted are focused on the background, not the players. Also, the shutter speed is far too slow to freeze the players' motion and you're getting motion blur.

You're hitting the limits of what the D5100 is able to do, frankly. Its 11-point AF system does have 3D tracking, but there are not enough focus points to adequately cover the image frame. You risk underexposing with higher shutter speeds to freeze the action well, which will make the images noisy.

If the D5100 is anything like my D7200 and D500, you should be able to set the auto-focus mode to AF-C, using all 11 sensors. As you look through the viewfinder you should see ONE sensor square highlighted, and when you half-press the shutter, the camera should focus on whatever is in that sensor's view. While holding the half-press, the camera should make every effort to KEEP that object in focus, even shifting sensors as the object moves around the frame. Fully press to take the picture.

There should also be a menu option (A1, I think) for focus-priority while in AF-C which can be set to wither release or focus. You want it on focus. Setting it to release allows the shutter to trip before focus is achieved, although in AF-C mode the camera will continue to try to focus.

 

[SadlerX]

Both images you posted are focused on the background, not the players. Also, the shutter speed is far too slow to freeze the players' motion and you're getting motion blur.

You're hitting the limits of what the D5100 is able to do, frankly. Its 11-point AF system does have 3D tracking, but there are not enough focus points to adequately cover the image frame. You risk underexposing with higher shutter speeds to freeze the action well, which will make the images noisy.

If the D5100 is anything like my D7200 and D500, you should be able to set the auto-focus mode to AF-C, using all 11 sensors. As you look through the viewfinder you should see ONE sensor square highlighted, and when you half-press the shutter, the camera should focus on whatever is in that sensor's view. While holding the half-press, the camera should make every effort to KEEP that object in focus, even shifting sensors as the object moves around the frame. Fully press to take the picture.

There should also be a menu option (A1, I think) for focus-priority while in AF-C which can be set to wither release or focus. You want it on focus. Setting it to release allows the shutter to trip before focus is achieved, although in AF-C mode the camera will continue to try to focus.

Thank you for the tips, I have not seen the A1 option but I'll take a look.

 

[paigew]

This is partially a lens issue. You are shooting low light Indoor soccer so you need a lens that opens to at least 2.8.

In addition to needing a new lens, you are missing focus so you'll need to work on your focus...don't let the camera select your focus point. Set it so that you can choose the focus point. ( Also look into back button focus) I'd also set it to shutter priority of 1/320 so that you won't get motion blur. If possible, use manual.

Good luck!

 

[SadlerX]

This is partially a lens issue. You are shooting low light Indoor soccer so you need a lens that opens to at least 2.8.

In addition to needing a new lens, you are missing focus so you'll need to work on your focus...don't let the camera select your focus point. Set it so that you can choose the focus point. ( Also look into back button focus) I'd also set it to shutter priority of 1/320 so that you won't get motion blur. If possible, use manual.

Good luck!

That all makes sense, I have been only shooting in manual since my daughter started soccer, also shutter priority. Sometimes I get things going well but then ill change a setting and forget how to get the settings to where I'm getting good pictures again. I'll try what you said. Thank you for your time.

 

[wfooshee]

As to the "partially a lens issue," that's a similar limitation to the camera itself that I mentioned in my prior post. The lens is what gathers light, and you want to gather as much as you possibly can. Problem is, such lenses are costly.

There is a surprisingly low amount of light in the indoor arena you're shooting in. It may look like plenty of light to your eye, but to the camera, it's barely adequate. That's where the previous suggestion for a lens capable of f:2.8 comes in. Even if you don't use it wide open, f:4 is better than the 5.6 or 8 that your posted shots are at. Problem is that fast lenses are expen$ive. Your lens is about 600 bucks new, while a 70-200 2.8 would be over 2 grand. That's hard to justify as a hobbyist. Similarly, a better-performing camera will also set you back a good bit of loose change. A D7200, no longer made but a perfectly valid choice, would be about $400 used. Compared to the D5100, it has 51 focus sensors as opposed to 11. Another step up would be a D7500, still available new, but plenty of used ones out there, also with 51 focus sensors, much better low-light performance than the D5100 and the D7200, but closer to 6 or 7 hundred dollars.

My own experience was seeing my work improve with a camera upgrade more than with a lens upgrade. I had a D5000 for quite a while, Moved to a D7000 and saw MUCH better focusing (39-point system over the 11) along with higher resolution than my D5000 had. I only used it for about four years before abandoning it in favor of a D7200, which I've used since 2019. Each camera upgrade was because I'd encountered situations the current camera wasn't good at, whether it was focusing accurately, low light, or (in sports and air-show shooting) continuous shutter speed, and changing cameras was something I felt was worth it to me each time. Spending money is something only you can decide the value of, but the D5100 is at the limit of its capabilities with what you're trying to shoot, mostly because of only having 11 focus sensors. (When I switched to the D7000 over my D5000, I went from about 50% trash during an air show due to poor focusing to almost 0% focus issues!)

I have a 70-200 2.8 lens but hardly ever use it, I prefer the longer focal length of the my 70-300 4.5-5.6 ED lens.

As for your situation, I still think that your camera, even its focus system is pushed by what you're shooting, should be able to produce satisfactory results. Keep that focus mode in AF-C, shoot in shutter-priority with a decently fast shutter speed, and when you click the shutter, be sure the small square in the viewfinder is on your subject. Also, you can select the active starting sensor with the big round cursor button on the back, if for some reason it's presenting you a sensor near the edge of the frame. If the images are dark, or the viewfinder meter warns you of underexposure, raise your ISO. Underexposure is generally worse than high ISO when it comes to noise in the image.

 

[paigew]

IMO Glass over body, every time You could get a used prime lens and you would be getting much better photos than you are getting now. I would look for an 85 or 100. I don't know much about your current camera body, but IMO the body is not limiting you as you don't even know how to use it to it's fullest capability.