Sharpness Issues!

[retodd]

I was wondering if I could get some tips or ideas. My wife and I have been doing some family pics for her sister recently. We have been doing the pics outdoors in a fairly sunny location. When we have gone back and looked at the pictures there seems to be some blur when zoomed in over 75%. These pictures were taken with a Nikon D80 at 1/125, f/5-f/6 but they still don't seem really crisp. We have experienced the same thing when shooting indoors with proper (hopefully!) lighting. Some of the time the pictures look perfect and other times there is quality lacking. Any ideas? I can post samples if needed. Thanks!

[Byron Gale]

retodd,

A couple of random thoughts:

What focal length are you using? Longer will amplify any movement on the part of the photographer. Using the timer or remote trigger in combination with a tripod will give you the most stability.

Are you using Auto-Area AF? Maybe the camera is not picking your desired subject as the point of focus. If so, you could try Single- or Dynamic-Area to force the focus where you want it.

I'll watch to see what other ideas come up!

Byron

[Joe M]

I do something that may help.

I shoot pictures just like I shoot a pistol. Just as I get ready to take the shot I take a deep breath, let out half, hold it and gently press the shutter release. It should almost be a surprise when the shutter is released. After awhile it will become second nature.

I know it's not practical in all situations. But I always have a tripod and cable release close by.

[TonyW]

Another thought. Were you using Portrait mode? That turns off in camera sharpening and will make for a softer image. The in camera sharpening for the D80 is pretty conservative and a number of people have found changing the sharpening to +1 (Medium High) gives a better result. As I've pretty much switched to shooting RAW where you sharpen in post processing I think my JPEG settings have gone back to the default of 0. But I guess it depends on what you consider crisp. If you're used to a point and shoot which in many cases over sharpen then it could be that what you are seeing is normal and if you want really crisp then it's easy to do it in Elements.

Tony

[Jeff Perry]

retodd

You didn't mention what lens you were using, but regardless, at 1/125th of second shutter speed, there should not be blur caused by movement on your part (e.g, camera shake) unless you are using a zoom lens with a focal length longer than 120mm. Obviously, if your target is moving, there could be some motion blur, you'll need 1/500th or faster in some cases depending upon the object being shot.

1st, we'll assume you are using an autofocus lens and it is properly set to AF (they usually have a switch on the side for AF or MF (manual focus)

At an f-stop of f5 or f6. depending upon how close you are to the subject, the depth of field could be pretty shallow, causing objects in front and behind of the focused-on object to be blurry.

Do you see the little focus squares appear in the viewfinder when the focus locks on?

Are you pressing the shutter release half way down, allowing the focus to lock on before pushing all the way down?

The D80 has a setting that allows the camera to "beep" when it achieves focus. Are you hearing a beep?

Lastly, as Byron suggested, your camera could be locking onto something other than the intended subject. What focusing mode are you using?

Jeff

[robpendragon]

Originally Posted by Joe M

I do something that may help.

I shoot pictures just like I shoot a pistol. Just as I get ready to take the shot I take a deep breath, let out half, hold it and gently press the shutter release. It should almost be a surprise when the shutter is released. After awhile it will become second nature.

I know it's not practical in all situations. But I always have a tripod and cable release close by.

I agree with Joe, & try to keep your arms in close...don't have your elbows too far from your body as well. If you don't have your tripod with you prop yourself against a tree or fence to stabilize yourself.

[lexcell]

Everyone has given great input. One additional idea I will throw out is to shoot several 3-4 or more images in continuous advance when photographing. Nearly every time you will find that the 2nd and 3rd images are sharper than the first and last. his is because, photographers have a tendency to push too hard on the shutter release button causing camera movement even if very slight. I would try this to see if you notice a difference.
With all the great suggestions, you should be able to find a solution that works for you to help you capture the sharpest images possible.

[retodd]

Thank you to everyone who responded!! I am looking forward to trying all of your suggestions and seeing what works best. I do know that I am shooting everything basically with default settings so I am anxious to see how different settings will affeect my results! Thanks again!

[Not4wood]

retodd,

You received some great advice, but the only real way for you to get help is with a little bit more information.

The most important question to you is what lens or what settings on that lens like the zoom focal mm in case you were shooting at a longer focal length. Also, if you do post examples of your problem the local experts will be able to look them over and give there opinions.

Good luck, and I hope it all works out.