Help taking better pictures with the D5100

Hi all

I just got the D5100 and so far I haven't been able to even come close to any of the pictures shown throughout the web regarding this camera. I've been taking much better pictures using the Nikon P510 than this one and honestly I am kind of disappointed. Is there anything I should do to take decent pictures with this thing? I am no professional (obviously duh) but I understand how photography works. Yet, not one shot out of the thing has come even to acceptable levels. They are all either grainy, too dark, too bright, too out of focus, too crappy-looking and all in all I am about to throw it out of the window. I hear people saying how "sharp" the camera is and I gape at the sharp and unbelievable pictures people are taking but honestly, I'm so in frustration that I just think this is all Photoshop. It simply can't be...

Questions:

1. Do I need to use a tripod for shooting?
2. Is this camera any good indoors? (Most awful pictures are indoor)
3. What about shooting fish inside a tank (more like colorful "blurries" inside a tank)
4. Has anyone ever, ever shoot handheld with the kit lens? (Most important question)

If I can't get this to work I might even give it away... starting to hate it.

Re: Help

There are many facts to get great pics - let the photographer beside now - lenses playing a great part, tripods as well.

I started a year ago with the 18-55mm is also a great lens - But I have to say that I set my Picture Control Standard in my D5100:

Sharpening set to +7

Contrast set to +2

Saturation set to +1.

Hue set to -1

And the photos turned out as i liked

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check the manual, do a reset. Put it in auto and post some pictures with camera settings.

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Hi and welcome...You tube and the manual are great learning tools...

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1.Generally no, but some low light shots where you can't use flash may require a tripod

2.Yes, good indoors. Usually you will need flash with kit lens unless conditions are very bright.

3.Fish in tank are tricky. You might need manual focus. Camera could lock focus on front tank wall or back wall. Off camera flash helps. Higher iso can help rather than on-camera flash.

4. All the time with d3100 and d7000

Post some pictures. How are you usually shooting Auto, P, ???. I like P mode for starters. With auto, you can end up with grainy pictures because it likes to crank up the iso.


Follow suggestions in post #2, your pictures will have a little more 'pop'.

You say you understand how photography works, but are you completely comfortable with the basics of exposure? The relationship of ISO, shutter speed and aperture? That knowledge can help you troubleshoot most problems and make the most of your instruction manual. You mention grainy, dark and blurry photos, so I'm wondering if you are shooting auto or you are not understanding your settings.

If you do need to brush up on exposure, someone here shared this the other day:
Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, & Light Explained-Understanding Exposure & Camera Settings - YouTube

Also study your focus modes. I suggest af-s with single point so you know exactly what you are focusing on.

Hang in there. If you post pictures people here can help.

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Welcome to the forum

If you fill out your profile we can better answer any questions that you might have.
You can do that at http://nikonites.com/profile.php?do=editprofile

Some useful links
http://support.nikonusa.com/app/ans.../nikon-product-manuals-available-for-download
Nikon | Imaging Products | Digitutor


Thanks

Start by going through the links below my post here. I shoot the D5100 and it is an incredible camera but you are going to have to do a little studying to learn the basics of shooting a DSLR

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Out of the box Nikon has the image quality set to lower than its best.

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So here's a couple of pictures I took just to show up what I am talking about.


D5100 f/3.5 1/10 sec. ISO-400 (Cam #1)



COOLPIX P510 f/3 1/10 sec. ISO-400 (Cam #2)

Both cameras are set to "M". D5100 was auto-focused. Note the ugly yellowish shade with the D5100. Pictures are handheld - no tripod. Also I set the parameters for Picture Control Standard as directed. Big "oh-by-the-way": I've been just 2 days with the D5100. It came yesterday and it was dark outside already and today has been cloudy so no chance of testing it out outside under bright sun to take the "photoshop" pictures.

Now my question is: what is wrong here? Camera #1, Camera #2 or Cameraman?

Thanks for all your insight!

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Looks like your white balance is off, what did you have it set to?

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Both cameras are set to AUTO. Tried with "WB: Incandescent" but the outcome was the same on the D5100 so I immediately deleted the picture. This is really getting on my nerves or am I expecting too much from it?

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Try all the different WB settings and see if there is a difference.

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Just did. All pictures look the same with a yellow/orange tone except for one with the flash. That one comes out whiter but still ugly.

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Have a read of this ImageLiner.blogspot.com: Nikon D5100 White Balance it may help you.

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An adjustment in lightroom of the WB and fill light...

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The Coolpix was F3 The D5100 was F3.5....This will make the image darker....

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Viktor, welcome to Nikonites.

There is a widely spread tendency for beginner photographers to think that the camera does all the work. But the camera and it's lightmeter is just a tool that will do what you decide it should. In your 2 photos example, the second photo is clearly underexposed because there is a lot of white in the picture. The light meter will want to reproduce 18% grey. So, when there is a lot of white, you have to bypass the meter and tell it to over expose a bit depending on the scene.

The most important thing to learn with any camera is exposure. Correct exposure is determined by: the amount of light hitting the subject, the amount of time the shutter is open, the opening of the lens and, finally, the film (sensor) sensitivity (iso setting). If you want to create good photographs, you'll have to learn the basics first. There are NO magic camera that can do this for you. Yes, sometimes when there is enough light and the subject represents a neutral scene you could be lucky with the "auto" setting, but you'll have to practice and learn what happens with the camera's settings in different situations.

I'm not writing this to discourage you, quite the contrary, but to encourage you to go the learning road and keep experimenting until you can control the camera so it gives you the results you are trying to achieve.

​Good luck.

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Thanks for all your feedback. I'm really stressed out here. I have this trip coming up Monday and I want to take the absolute best pictures. That's why I am rushing myself to learn this. Here are the very first shots I took today outside. I took over 70 pictures, but the only ones I'm not ashamed to share are the following.

Please judge. Any suggestions or tips are welcome. Again, this is the first time shooting outside under sunlight. Personally, I don't like them at the very least...


Horrible picture.
f/5.6 1/500 ISO-100


Trying to be artistic. Obviously it didn't work.
f/4.5 1/250 ISO-250



This is my beautiful daughter on a horrible picture.
f/4 1/50 ISO-100


This is supposed to be on "miniature mode" - I know, more height...
f/11 1/160 ISO-100

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I would suggest putting the camera in auto, go back outside and shoot some pictures. See what the settings were the camera chose. Then duplicate those settings in manual mode. This might help to get you in the ball park.

It took me about a month of shooting and learning my camera before I started seeing the pictures I expected. At first I thought it was the camera. Additionally, unlike the days of the film camera when we just took a picture, got it developed, and they handed us a stack of photos; digital photos - good digital photos - can use some editing.

​The miniature shot looks great! I love it because it has the effect but it's not over the top.

These outside photos don't show me anything wrong other than practice and experience. You also need to know inside photography can be tough. You just don't realize how much light it really takes when shooting indoors and then having that light properly dispersed in the room. Of course there is also the color of the light in the room. AAAAHHHH! Anything shot in my kitchen is horrible because the lights have a gold colored base that actually acts like a reflector so the blue colored light actually looks incredible yellow.

Here is a quick touch up on your daughter and a recomposing of the shot.

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Moab Man: Thanks for your words, I really understand what you're saying. First two pics with the camera I was on the verge of throwing it out the window. Also there's the fact that I am partially colorblind...

Anyways, following your advice and suggested touch-up, this is what I've come up with in Lightroom:



Thanks all for holding my hand here. I am really getting the hang of this. I know I can do it.

Youtube is a great resource. You can find plenty of videos for intro to photography, videos about how to use your camera in particular, and if your looking to do something specific you can find tutorials that can help you do almost anything.