So I have been ranting and raving about how my 3200 is not sharp and has no detail to which all you kind folks advised and tried to help, but I got lost in the technical side of trying to figure out what was wrong with my camera. Then I remembered someone mention that the camera out of the box is not sharp and that I should adjust the sharpening in cam , but I wasn't sure if it could be done while in raw...It can as I just now found out. I haven't uploaded the test shots to my PC but there is an overwhelming difference on the LCD screen at the back.
I feel like an idiot for being so stupid but I am as equally relievedthat there is nothing wrong with my camera and now with all the advice I have received from you guys I can now concentrate on new glass. Thanks again.
Well I was the one asking if you had bumped up the Sharpening setting in your camera if you were shooting JPG. It's one of those things I suggest a lot because it makes a huge impact on the image quality of JPG's. As has already been pointed out, though, those settings (e.g. Sharpening) do not get applied to RAW files. The data for those settings is stored in the EXIF data and some applications like Nikon's View NX2 software can read that data and apply it, but RAW photos do not get processed like JPG's do.
Reiterating yet again, the image you see on the LCD on the back of your camera is a JPG file even if you're shooting RAW only. Having to sharpen RAW files as part of your post-processing workflow is normal and expected. RAW files always look flat and dull to me, as well as soft, before I begin post-processing them; but that's just the nature of the beast. At any rate, I know from a good amount of first-hand experience that the D3200 is quite a capable little camera. My girlfriend shot one using little more than a 35mm f/1.8G for a long time and the image quality of her shots was routinely superb. Then too, she's not half bad at navigating Photoshop, either...
Anyway... Here's hoping you've managed to find satisfaction with *your* D3200!
...
