Clarity clarity how do I find it

I have the D3100 with a Nikkor 55-300 lens and an 18-55 and I can not, try as I may, get clear and sharp fotos. I have borrowed a Tamron 18-270 f3.5 to 6.3 to test whether the Nikkor was the problem but i still find no improvement. Have done all the testing with tripod and the timer release. Have used autofocus and manual focus. I am forced to assume that it is the camera (which is still relatively new) and my Question is : What is a better body in the Nikon range that I can upgrade to without breaking the bank and that I can Count on for sharp clear pics, And while I am about it, when manual focusing should one use long distance specs , or reading specs or the naked eye. Will be thankful for any advice.

Are you shooting in RAW or JPG?

jackass said:

I have the D3100 with a Nikkor 55-300 lens and an 18-55 and I can not, try as I may, get clear and sharp fotos. I have borrowed a Tamron 18-270 f3.5 to 6.3 to test whether the Nikkor was the problem but i still find no improvement. Have done all the testing with tripod and the timer release. Have used autofocus and manual focus. I am forced to assume that it is the camera (which is still relatively new) and my Question is : What is a better body in the Nikon range that I can upgrade to without breaking the bank and that I can Count on for sharp clear pics, And while I am about it, when manual focusing should one use long distance specs , or reading specs or the naked eye. Will be thankful for any advice.

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Anyone else you know that's a bonzer photog? Are they getting the same results with your cam? How long have you been shooting? Is there wind? For focusing, use whatever it takes for you to see clearly through the viewfinder. If ya go to live view, since it's all on screen, the reading glasses would be the one, I'd think.

I don't think an upgrade is what will fix the issue, necessarily. I own (and shot with for over a year) the D3100, and had no problems getting sharp, in-focus, stunning shots with the 18-55 and other lenses. If it is the camera, and fairly new, a return or repair should fix it right up.

Good luck in sorting it out, and welcome to the forums!

jackass said:

I have the D3100 with a Nikkor 55-300 lens and an 18-55 and I can not, try as I may, get clear and sharp fotos. I have borrowed a Tamron 18-270 f3.5 to 6.3 to test whether the Nikkor was the problem but i still find no improvement. Have done all the testing with tripod and the timer release. Have used autofocus and manual focus. I am forced to assume that it is the camera (which is still relatively new) and my Question is : What is a better body in the Nikon range that I can upgrade to without breaking the bank and that I can Count on for sharp clear pics, And while I am about it, when manual focusing should one use long distance specs , or reading specs or the naked eye. Will be thankful for any advice.

Click to expand...

There are a few things you can do... First, if you're shooting in JPG primarily, you probably need to adjust the Sharpness setting in the Picture Control menu. To do this, go into the "Shooting Menu" (green camera icon) and highlight "Set Picture Control".
From Picture Control click right one time.
Here you'll see different options for "Standard", "Landscape", "Vivid" etc.
Drop down and highlight "Standard" then click right one time.
This is the Picture Control menu for the Standard picture control.
You'll see options here one of which is "Sharpening". Highlight this option and adjust the slider to +7.
Press "OK" and exit the menus.

What these steps do is increase the in-camera sharpening done on your JPG photos automatically. Nikon cameras, for whatever reason, come from the factory with this option set really, really low. This one adjustment should make a big impact on how sharp your JPG's look right out of the camera. My instructions also assume you're using "Standard" in the Picture Controls menu. Each one of those controls (Vivid, Landscape, etc.) has their own set of menus so each has its own "Sharpening" setting. If you're using something other than "Standard" (I use Landscape personally) you'll need to adjust the sharpening in the Picture Control you actually use.

Another thing that will help you get sharp photos... Keep your shutter speed at twice the focal length of the lens you are using. If you're shooting at 50mm, keep your shutter speed above 1/100s. If you're shooting at 85mm keep your shutter speed at 1/200s or so minimum. Lastly, if you REALLY want to see what your camera is capable of, shoot a good prime lens like the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G for instance. Really good glass makes a WORLD of difference.

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Post some examples with EXIF data. All sorts of reasons why you might not be getting sharp images legitimately, but without an idea of what you're seeing and how you're shooting it's a crap shoot for us to recommend anything.

Try some different apertures too. I know that tamron 18-270 can be a little soft wide open. Stop down a bit and see if that helps.

Since you wear glasses... Have you adjusted the diopter adjustment on the viewfinder?

Put the camera on a tripod.
Let the camera auto-focus on an object.
Using your normal eye-glasses... adjust the diopter until the object is in sharp focus.

Thanks for the responses. will go through them all and see what I can come up with. I am shooting in JPG Rocketcowboy

jackass said:

Thanks for the responses. will go through them all and see what I can come up with. I am shooting in JPG Rocketcowboy

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Since you are shooting JPG, take a look at Horoscope Fish's comment about adjusting sharpness on the camera. I think you'll find some benefit there.


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