Interesting test

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garyboy

New member
Hi.

This is my first post here but I want to tell you about a test I did on my camera which revealed soft focus at distance and need a pro explanation. Here is what I did.

Using a tripod and remote shutter in daylight outside for clarity, a 55-200 lens, manual settings between 1/15 to 1/60th and f11 to f20 I zoomed in fully with my digital zoom on the 5100 and did a perfect focus on a field of bushes and wheat.

In the lcd viewer it was perfectly clear prior to shot. After shot, it was fairly clear but not exactly the same and much softer when again blown up/zoomed in to the same position in playback with the Nikon digital zoom.

I used raw and also tried varying the shutter and f-stop to find any differances.

Please explain why on a digital 23m camera, this is not the same pre shot in the viewer as compared to post shot? Why the loss of sharpness?
 
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garyboy

New member
What is exif data? Yes but after focus the shot was extremely clear. I noticed a slight lag to the focus too when digitally zoomed in max but I got it perfect. I waited a few seconds viewing the shot too looking at the lcd and it didn't change. The switch on the nikon lens was also in manual. The vr was on.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
VR should be off when mounted on a tripod. Generally digital images shot in raw benefit from sharpening during post processing. A tripod does not always eliminate all movement and the speeds posted are still slow. It would be great if you could post an image with the Exif data which tells us your settings. Many factors can contribute to a soft images, we need to narrow it down further.
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Exif data is the information that is automatically attached to a photo giving all of the details on the cameras settings. Here's one site you can use to see that data. EXIF Data Viewer DON'T use that download button - it's advertisement crap.

One problem I see is the VR being on. VR should be off when the camera is on the tripod or say sitting on the a counter top for example. The reason is the VR is anticipating and adjusting for our natural movement and sway. When the camera is hard mounted it will confuse what it sees as being your movement and try to correct which will cause a softening of the picture.
 
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garyboy

New member
OK I will retest tomorrow vr off as I'm out of light for today. Would it be best to post the images on my server with a link as they will be raw 30meg files?
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
My guess is the slight vibration of the shutter or vr working is what brought the lens slightly out of focus. AF lenses have a short focus rotation and so even the slightest vibration could possibly bring it slightly off focus. My guess is the lens focus rotation is very free moving. But I would think it remained in focus long enough to get the shot.
But this is just a guess of a newbie. :)
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
I'm also suspecting this is a new camera. From the factory the settings for some unknown reason are not set to give you the best picture the camera will give pertaining to jpeg, they set it at normal rather than fine.

As for your raw file, upload it here on this site and resize it down to 72dpi.

The D5100 is an outstanding camera and when I first got mine I kept thinking it wasn't performing up to what I expected. A few weeks of shooting and learning the camera I figured out that it wasn't the camera but my skill and technique that only comes with a lot of practice.
 
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garyboy

New member
Bill16 said:
My guess is the slight vibration of the shutter or vr working is what brought the lens slightly out of focus. AF lenses have a short focus rotation and so even the slightest vibration could possibly bring it slightly off focus. My guess is the lens focus rotation is very free moving. But I would think it remained in focus long enough to get the shot.
But this is just a guess of a newbie. :)
Click to expand...
Well if the camera can sit there on a tripod all in focus and then with a remote shutter switch I don't think it will move. I feel there is a clarity hit when the digital process takes place or my shutter is not very accurate which might be the case for a $600 camera. Makes me wonder if shutterless cameras might just be worth waiting for.
 
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Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
garyboy said:
I used raw ... Please explain why on a digital 23m camera, this is not the same pre shot in the viewer as compared to post shot? Why the loss of sharpness?
Click to expand...
Because the preview shot you are seeing on the LCD is optimized in camera, like a JPG.

The shot you download from the camera is a RAW file and hence, not sharpened.

RAW files are just that, raw; and they require post processing... Including sharpening.




....
 
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garyboy

New member
Now that's interesting. So, the actual viewer is processed? Never thought of that. OK tomorrow I'll do it again and try and duplicate the sharpening and such in PS 5. Thanks

Wait a minute. I never downloaded it from the camera. I reviewed it on the camera monitor and saw the differences.
 
AC016

AC016

Senior Member
What exactly are u trying to prove? Or are you trying really hard to prove a personal theory? As stated, vr should be off when on a tripod. If you are using manual focus, the slightest knock on the camera could take it out of focus. what is a 23m camera? Any photo that is blown up to a certain degree, will start to pixelate or loose it's sharpness. Don't take this the wrong way, but concentrate on improving your photography, rather than trying to find fault - and there is none- with your camera. Happy shooting
 
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garyboy

New member
ok. The viewer was zoomed in all the way and focused. I did not touch the camera but took the shot. When playing the shot back I RE-ZOOMED the shot all the way in PB. I then saw the softness.

Nikon does not allow digital zoom in the shot on a 5100
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
AC016 said:
What exactly are u trying to prove? Or are you trying really hard to prove a personal theory? As stated, vr should be off when on a tripod. If you are using manual focus, the slightest knock on the camera could take it out of focus. what is a 23m camera? Any photo that is blown up to a certain degree, will start to pixelate or loose it's sharpness. Don't take this the wrong way, but concentrate on improving your photography, rather than trying to find fault - and there is none- with your camera. Happy shooting
Click to expand...

LOL! Ouch! I think the bite I feel in the posts are coming from frustration and the learning curve that comes with jumping to better equipment. I know I had some of those when I got started.
 
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