Nikkor 50mm F1.8G focussing issues

hello nikonites
i have an issue and wonder if any people have the same.

the scenario:
i bought a nikon d5100,(awesome dslr btw) and was taking pictures with the kit lens. some weeks ago i bought a Nikkor 50 mm F1.8G. and the first fews pictures was awesome till i look at my computer screen, i mean the full crops. i realised that most often the lens or camera misses focus..
i made a couple of test shots mounted on a tripod at apertures 1.8 and 2.8 which i posted below..
i took 2 shots at 1.8 and 2 shots at 2.8 mounted on a tripod.

distance to test chart , more than 1.5 metres away.

can you please tell me if the focus is right or i have bought a bad copy of the lens..
thanks,
regards,
shaahir

1. full crop at f1.8 (first picture)


2. full crop at f1.8 (second picture)


3. full crop at f2.8 (sample one)


4. full crop at f2.8 (sample 2)

Possibly a little soft. What shutter speed and ISO were these taken at and were they shot in JPG or RAW?

If you shoot in JPG, have you adjusted the in-camera sharpening setting? For whatever reason the factory default for that setting is really, really low.

To adjust this setting, do the following:

Press MENU.
Select SHOOTING MENU (camera icon).
Click right (into the menu selections) and go down to the next page to...
MANAGE PICTURE CONTROL (one below Set Picture Control).
Select "STANDARD" or whichever color profile you use.
Click right and Set "SHARPENING" to +7 or +8.
Be sure to SAVE by clicking OK.

If you use different color profiles, like VIVID or NEUTRAL, you'll need to adjust the SHARPENING in all of them individually.

Changing the Sharpness setting on my D5100 made a huge difference in picture quality.

......

If you're going to scrutinize at 100% with focus charts, you may want a body that allows focus tuning. They may be a bit soft, but at 100% and not knowing all the settings/parameters of the test, it is hard to tell. You need to be using a rock solid tripod, high shutter speed and low ISO to give the lens a chance. You should also focus it in live view to see if it is the lens or the auto-focus.

I have that lens and in my personal opinion it is not as great as it has been made out to be. The focus is inconsistent.

I also have this lens and when I get a soft shot it is always down to my poor technique, using too low a shutter speed for hand held is my No:1 cause.
When used on a tripod its tack sharp.

Came back to look at this thread and found there is EXIF data attached to your shots. This is very helpful information.

According to your EXIF data you're using *really* slow shutter speeds, e.g. 1/20, and as Rick M pointed out, if you're going to be looking at focus charts at 100% crops that's just too slow. You could be inducing focus error by manually pressing the shutter button at that shutter speed, not too mention the possibility of mirror slap doing the same.

If you want razor-sharp focus, your shutter speed needs to at LEAST equal the focal length of the lens being use (i.e. shutter speed of 1/50 with a 50mm lens) and I prefer it to be a little higher than that. For focus testing on chart I'd want a shutter speed of no less than 1/125 on a tripod using a remote release at the cameras base ISO.

.......

ohh thanks for all your esteemed responses...the thing is that ive seen people post pictures with this lens and the same body as the D5100.. and that their shots are very sharpish..

the shots were taken at the lowest ISO possible and JPEG was used..
I increased my sharpness value to 6... i dnt know how to shoot mirror lock up on the d5100 so i used the 5 seconds in camera timer..but still the softness can result from the mirror 'flapping'.

I guess my issue, to what many of you can confirm, is the availability of ambient light. in this case the lighting was my room's fluorescent tube + a 25 watts incandescent light bulb

i'll be grateful if anybody could post a 100% crop picture of something that is of an 'acceptable sharpness' for this lens...

thanks to all
regards
shaahir

Here you go don't criticise the composition. I think it demonstrates what the lens is capable of. Attached is the original and then sample2 is a 100% crop of the centre.
This was taken on a tripod f/4.5 on a D800. Hope it helps.





Full size of the crop is here : All sizes | Sample2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

wooooowww... thats the ''king-kong'' of sharpness..mine looks like a stupid chimpanze....i'll work my technique to achieve such sharpness or i got a lame copy..
was this sharpened? or high iso, i notice some noise in the background

The shot was taken at ISO 100 I didn't do any noise reduction and just a little output sharpening for the screen.
The background is blurred because of the focal length used, at 100% it looks a little like noise but its not.
I find you get better sharpness for stationary objects using a single focus point. Multiple ones work best on moving objects.
​I cheated a bit on this one as I used Live View which I don't think a 5100 has.
Post a picture of something to let us see your concern - the test card shots don't really help.

i took a couple pictures of my friend minuutes after i bought this lens.
setting used:
ISO: 100
aperture:1.8
shutter speed: 1/250
ev gain = +1step
those are unsharpened pictures
1: full image


2. 100% crop



i guess maximum sharpness for this lens is at aperture 4 and above..
i shot this pic at f1.8 to get that depth of field.
thanks

Considering these are your first pictures with the lens, and handheld I think these are pretty good. If you try a little sharpening they will improve.
I used Lightroom on your 100% crop here, maybe overdone it a little but you can see more detail.




There is a good review of the lens with image samples here.
Nikon 50mm f/1.8G Review

If you look at the sharpness section you can see the lens is sharpest between f/4 and f/8.

Back to my original comments try it on a tripod in good light and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Using hand held then up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed I try to use 1/500th or more as I have shaky hands . And for birds or fast moving objects 1/2000th !

Good luck and enjoy the lens.

hehe okay..so you dont think the lens has some defect or something..?
i really think i shouldnt be a kind of "pixel peeper" and learn the proper techniques

thanks for your reply, its definitely helpful.
regards

shaahir said:

i dnt know how to shoot mirror lock up on the d5100 so i used the 5 seconds in camera timer..but still the softness can result from the mirror 'flapping'.

Click to expand...

You have to cheat to do mirror up. Go to live view and then shoot the shot. Release using the cameras timer release or a remote.

Nothing wrong with mine love it