miller2110

I must admit that my photos do not meet my desires/expectations for sharpness. I’ve been using a Nikon D800 for about a year and a D7000 before that. The lenses and equipment are all pretty good stuff FX: f2.8 24-70, f2.8 70-200, f .4 50, f 4 16-35 and I shoot from a tripod with a cable release – mostly landscapes, architecture and people. The landscapes frequently seem to have a softness to them. I try to stay away from the extremes of the f-stops, try to shoot at the lowest ISO consistent with a reasonable shutter speed and shoot in RAW format. Are there any tests I can do to see what’s up with my technique? I doubt if it’s the camera or lenses but are there things/settings I should check?

northsidejoe Loc: pittsburgh

Hello Miller and welcome to the uhh forum. May i suggest post a few pictures with store original feature. The many knowable and friendly members will have more information to assist you.
Saying hello from Pittsburgh

Haydon

You can using mirror lockup to minimize vibration. If your lenses have VR turned on while on a tripod, that can generate soft images as well.

neco Loc: Western Colorado Mountains

I will be interested in the replies to your issue. I have the same issue with many of my pic.

silver Loc: Santa Monica Ca.

Early versions of this camera had focusing problems. I had one of these cameras and I checked the camera out carefully and I was able to return the camera for another one, a later model. These cameras demand good shooting technique because of the sharpness issue. I use my D800E an a solid Gitzo aluminum tripod and I even put pressure on the bottom of the camera with my thumb to help with the sharpness issue. Hand holding the camera is OK but most probably there will be sharpness issues when hand holding unless you are really good at hand holding.

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

You might try testing your lenses to see if you have a front or back focusing problem. I'm not familiar with the D800 ...., does it have micro focus capability?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I think sharpness is overrated. However -

You can use your camera's Menu to adjust the sharpness level. In post processing, you can sharpen images. As others have said, a tripod and remote release with mirror loockup wiull help, as will a faster shutter speed and flash.

Of course, you have to determine what is causing the lack of sharpness. Is it lack of focus or camera movement?

Have you adjusted your camera's focus to your lenses? that can be a fun project for a rainy day. here's what Google lists for that.

Here are some other ideas.

Checking Focus on a DSLR
Focusing Charts
http://mansurovs.com/how-to-quickly-test-your-dslr-for-autofocus-issues
http://mansurovs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Siemens-Star-Focus-Chart.pdf
http://mansurovs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Focus-Test-Chart.pdf
http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/focus-chart

How to Check Focus
http://mansurovs.com/how-to-quickly-test-your-dslr-for-autofocus-issues

Rongnongno Loc: FL

The larger, the more sophisticated the sensor the harder to take 'tack sharp' pictures.

Lenses, especially the 'good ones' compound the problem. Cameras like the D800 need to be really stable if you want to achieve the 'tack sharp' you refer to. This means high speed and tripod if macro, mirror up, delayed exposure and so forth.

As the precision in the hardware grows the more careful one needs to be. What is insignificant in a Nikon d300 becomes a problem in a D800 if you look at the pixel level. If you print at the same size the problems seem to disappear as the printing resolution offsets the precision and averages everything.


It is only when you go down to the pixels that you realize the problem.

On my D800e I use ISO 200~800. I rarely go above that. I shoot mostly at 1/100 ~ 1/500 rarely above that. I make extensive use of a flash either as fill or main source of light, even during the day. The results are acceptable.

The following pictures are 1:1 details of flowers taken with a D800e. They all are crops from a print screen. These pictures have been posted here before. None of them are 'tack sharp'. No post processing was done either.

Flash fired. Macro lens 105. Hand held. Inside. Daylight.

http://static.uglyhedgehog.com/upload/2014/2/11/1392165321786-clip_3.jpg

Same flower, different shot, detail from another area. Spotted that while inspecting the picture...

Flash fired. Macro lens 105. Hand held. Inside. Daylight.

http://static.uglyhedgehog.com/upload/2014/2/18/1392758134759-clip.png

Flash fired. Zoom 28~300 with doubler used as 600mm. Handheld. Outside. Daylight.

http://static.uglyhedgehog.com/upload/2014/3/6/1394136853899-_rgg8784.png

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

Step 1. Eliminate camera movement as a cause. Shoot a stationary object from a tripod with a sharp lens at its sweet spot f-stop, using a cable release and mirror-up. Keep your hands off the camera.
Step 2. Eliminate auto-focus as a cause. Same situation as above but use manual focus and live view to focus.
Step 3. Fine tune the lens to the camera.
By the time you have gone through this process you should have a good idea where the problem lies. Don't forget that all RAW images will require some sharpening to compensate for the geometric layout of the sensor.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

I will suggest that the main problem is that you say you are shooting in RAW. Any RAW image will require sharpening on post processing, no exceptions. Practice your sharpening and don't overdo it and see if that helps. Shoot some in JPG also and compare the sharpness of both images. And NEVER use a UV filter when shooting landscapes, there is no danger to your lens and even many very expensive UV filters can soften an image, let that lens show its true colors.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Since when does raw needs sharpening??? That makes no sense. It might need a slight contrast adjustment but sharpening??? Wow! One learns everyday.

If you allude to motion blur, THAT I would sort of agree, up to a point.

Michael66 Loc: Queens, New York

Yeah, it does. If you shoot in jpg, it is sharpened in camera. Otherwise, you have to do it yourself. Try it out for yourself. If your camera will shoot both raw and jpg at the same time, select that option and then view the images on your computer. You'll see that the jpg version is sharper. It will vary from image to image, so, as they say, YMMV.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

This may or may not apply here, but I just solved a similar problem with help from others here.

I tried everything to eliminate the softness I was seeing in images from a Canon 5D II - high shutter speed, flash as the only illumination, cable release, mirror lock up, manual focus, tripod...

It turned out it was the default noise reduction setting causing the softness. I disabled it and no more soft images.

Mike

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

Every digital image needs sharpening to overcome the loss of sharpness inherent in the design of the sensor. JPEGs can be sharpened in camera but RAW images cannot. To explain it simply: imagine the edge line between a red flower and the clear blue sky. When that edge line is being imaged by the sensor each photo-site must determine what colour to send. When the photo-site sees only red or only blue it sends the appropriate colour. However when that edge line passes right over a photo-site with red on one half and blue on the other, the photo-site sends a colour somewhere in between, say purple which softens the edge line to our eyes. The sharpening process strengthens the intensity of the red pixels on one side of that purple pixel and the blue on the other, thus overcoming the softness of the edge. That is over simplified but explains why all digital images need a little help.

miller2110

Thanks everyone. Lots of good information and tips. The information on testing the focus of the camera and lenses I'm sure will help isolate the problem - hopefully to my technique.