Why are my photos so soft?

[QuarterNote]

Hello all. I'm new here, but have lurked around a bit. I've dabbled around with photography for several years now, since I bought my D80. One of the main complaints I have with my photos are they lack that crisp, detailed "look". To me, I think they all have somewhat of a "soft" look to them, or they lack sharpness. They've never really "popped" out at you with clarity like I see from many others.


I've been shopping around for a new camera, but I've read in several places that a new camera may not be my issue. They seem to say the D80 is a perfectly capable camera. I think my lens is satisfactory, as well, at least from the reviews and comments. I currently have a Nikon D80 with the 18-200mm DX VR lens. It has a Hoya UV coated filter. I mostly shoot in aperture priority mode, but sometimes in auto and manual. I also have a 50mm 1.8 lens, and yes, the pictures don't really look any better with that lens, neither.


I have lots of photos I could show, but here are a couple of quick shots I just took since it is a nice day and I wanted to minimize any errors from any previous shots. I also usually always use auto-focus.


The data should be in the photos, but these were taken at ISO 200, and between f/4 and f/13.

In this photo, I realize I could be focusing on the fence, but I think I had it on his nose.

Here, I focused directly on the house.

I focused on the front of the house above the hole.

ALL IMAGES ARE DIRECTLY OUT OF THE CAMERA.


I have the NEF files here:
http://www.quarternotestudio.com/images/test/dog1.NEF

http://www.quarternotestudio.com/images/test/birdhouse1.NEF

http://www.quarternotestudio.com/images/test/dothouse3.NEF

http://www.quarternotestudio.com/images/test/brick.NEF
http://www.quarternotestudio.com/images/test/bush.NEF


If I need to take a picture of something else, please let me know.


So, is this considered normal from the Nikon D80? Would I see a major improvement in the crispness of the images with the new Nikon D7100?


Thanks for helping me out, here.


Prentice

 

[KmH]

Auto focus doesn't work very well in some situations, and you will likely need to manually focus the lens.

From Nikon's DSLR user manuals Focus section:
When:

There is little or no contrast between the subject and
the background.
Example: Subject is the same color as the
background.

The focus point contains objects at different distances
from the camera.
Example: Subject is inside a cage. Or behind a chain link fence.

The subject is dominated by regular geometric
patterns.
Example: Blinds or a row of windows in a skyscraper. Or behind a chain link fence.

The focus point contains areas of sharply contrasting
brightness.
Example: Subject is half in the shade

Background objects appear larger than the subject.
Example: A building is in the frame behind the subject

The subject contains many fine details.
Example: A field of flowers or other subjects that are
small or lack variation in brightness

 

[Derrel]

Just looking at these small on-screen images, I see good FOCUSING. I see no obvious camera shake. MY GUESS? Your images need to have Unsharp Mask applied to them, using post-processing software from Nikon, or from Adobe, or some other software company. This is just a guess, based on the past, and the fact that the images appear well-exposed and well-focused.

Do you have in-camera image sharpening set to ON, or OFF? MOST d-slr's that have an anti-aliasing filter array (and the D80 is one such camera) put out an image that is ever-so-slightly unsharp, as a way to prevent moire and aliasing.

 

[480sparky]

The dog shot was focused on the fence.

The birdhouse just needs a bit of PP.

 

[runnah]

It often happens with older cameras.

 

[Shipman]

Yeah a little PP will help a little bit, just a little bit of clarity increase will help a lot. And +1 on manual focus.

 

[480sparky]

It often happens with older cameras.

Why? Do the sensors get soft with age?

 

[QuarterNote]

Do you have in-camera image sharpening set to ON, or OFF? MOST d-slr's that have an anti-aliasing filter array (and the D80 is one such camera) put out an image that is ever-so-slightly unsharp, as a way to prevent moire and aliasing.

The only setting I see in the menu that sounds like what you are talking about is in the "Optimize image" menu. I have the choices of normal, softer, vivid, more vivid, portrait, custom, and BW. It is currently on "Normal". I will try experimenting with vivid and more vivid settings.

Thanks!

 

[Derrel]

Do you have in-camera image sharpening set to ON, or OFF? MOST d-slr's that have an anti-aliasing filter array (and the D80 is one such camera) put out an image that is ever-so-slightly unsharp, as a way to prevent moire and aliasing.

The only setting I see in the menu that sounds like what you are talking about is in the "Optimize image" menu. I have the choices of normal, softer, vivid, more vivid, portrait, custom, and BW. It is currently on "Normal". I will try experimenting with vivid and more vivid settings.

Thanks!

Take a look here, about 1/3 of the way down.
Nikon D80 Shooting Menu

Under the Custom Menu (the one with the icon of a pencil)>>>>>>[SIZE=+1]Image Sharpening[/SIZE]

I leave mine on AUTO. I've never messed with the manual settings. Sharpening is an artificial effect not to be confused with sharpness. When I first got a digital camera I thought: "cool, I'm cranking this to 11," and realized my error. Don't turn it up for no reason, since the image can start to look artificial. Play with it if you want. I've played with it out of curiosity, and always leave it on AUTO.

Also check this out:

"[SIZE=+1]Color Mode[/SIZE]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Color Mode has three settings:[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Color Mode Ia (one-a, sRGB) is default. It's normal and boring.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Color Mode II (two, Adobe RGB) gives dull colors. Don't touch this unless youreally know what you're doing and print your own work. See Adobe RGB vs. sRGB.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Color Mode IIIa (three-a, also sRGB) gives bolder colors. I use it all the time.[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I have no idea how Nikon cooked up these numeric designations."[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

 

[QuarterNote]

The dog shot was focused on the fence.

Sorry about that. I haven't got to the point where taking pictures is second-nature. I have to think to make sure all of my settings are correct and forgot to move my focus point over on that picture (or I uploaded the wrong one). I did these [too] quick for this post.

Also, I know there are things that can be done in Photoshop (which I have done in the past, and usually always do), I just want to make sure I'm giving PS the best images I can give it, well, considering my beginning composing skills.

I've taken some outdoor portraits (senior environmental pictures) that I'm proud of. But, they don't have to be sharp. I could also be too critical on myself.

I just primarily want to make sure my D80 is (as for image quality) a decent camera that I shouldn't need to be concerned about replacing right away. I had been eyeing the new D7100, but I'd be upset if I didn't see much, if any, image quality increase with it (I know it has better bells and whistles). If the D80 is not my real issue, then I really want to get a couple more lens with my available cash: a 28-70 f/2.8 and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for, primarily, motocross photography.

Thanks for your help!

 

[480sparky]

The dog shot was focused on the fence.

Sorry about that. I haven't got to the point where taking pictures is second-nature. I have to think to make sure all of my settings are correct and forgot to move my focus point over on that picture (or I uploaded the wrong one). I did these [too] quick for this post.......

You can't change that focus point in post. It's information embedded in the metadata that shows which focus point was used to determine focus. I merely used software to show which point was used.

 

[QuarterNote]

Do you have in-camera image sharpening set to ON, or OFF? MOST d-slr's that have an anti-aliasing filter array (and the D80 is one such camera) put out an image that is ever-so-slightly unsharp, as a way to prevent moire and aliasing.

The only setting I see in the menu that sounds like what you are talking about is in the "Optimize image" menu. I have the choices of normal, softer, vivid, more vivid, portrait, custom, and BW. It is currently on "Normal". I will try experimenting with vivid and more vivid settings.

Thanks!

Take a look here, about 1/3 of the way down.
Nikon D80 Shooting Menu

Under the Custom Menu (the one with the icon of a pencil)>>>>>>[SIZE=+1]Image Sharpening[/SIZE]

I leave mine on AUTO. I've never messed with the manual settings. Sharpening is an artificial effect not to be confused with sharpness. When I first got a digital camera I thought: "cool, I'm cranking this to 11," and realized my error. Don't turn it up for no reason, since the image can start to look artificial. Play with it if you want. I've played with it out of curiosity, and always leave it on AUTO.

Also check this out:

"[SIZE=+1]Color Mode[/SIZE]
Color Mode has three settings: Color Mode Ia (one-a, sRGB) is default. It's normal and boring. Color Mode II (two, Adobe RGB) gives dull colors. Don't touch this unless youreally know what you're doing and print your own work. See Adobe RGB vs. sRGB. Color Mode IIIa (three-a, also sRGB) gives bolder colors. I use it all the time.I have no idea how Nikon cooked up these numeric designations."​

Strange. Mine doesn't have those settings. I do know my D80 has a newer firmware version than Ken Rockwell describes. But, I'm still trying to find them. I did make sure in setup I have "Full" menu enabled. I'm also in manual mode.

Here is my Custom menu options: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80/users-guide/menus-custom.htm

 

[BillM]

What are you using for post processing ?

 

[D-B-J]

It often happens with older cameras.

Why? Do the sensors get soft with age?

Especially when they become a grandparent.

 

[QuarterNote]

You can't change that focus point in post. It's information embedded in the metadata that shows which focus point was used to determine focus. I merely used software to show which point was used.

Oh yeah, I know. I meant moving the focus point over during composing the photo. I just wasn't thinking.