Focussing problems

I have had my D5500 for just over a week and I have taken about 60 photos in various conditions and none have been as sharp as I had been led to expect by what I have read about the absence of a low pass filter.

I have been using the camera in Area Focus mode and mainly (for the time being) in no flash auto mode (until I get better acquainted with the controls).

The camera is locking on to an area in the frame but when I look at the photos, there isn't a single point in the photo which is sharp. I thought it might be something to do with the VR system so I read up about that and discovered that it only engages when the shutter button is half pressed and as I have the AE-L/AF-L button set to trigger autofocus, I may not have been pressing the shutter release button half way properly to activate the VR, so I tried again but with similar results.

I'd say that when examined at 100%, the photos are no better than looking at my old D70 (6.1MP) photos at 200%.

I'm going to play around with different focussing modes to see if there is any improvement.

Could be any number of things so posting some shots that show the issue well (so we can see what you're seeing, as well as the EXIF data for the shot) would be a big help in troubleshooting the issue.

I would suggest a few things: 1. Get out of Auto and use "A"perture Prioity instead. 2. Turn off VR. Just turn it off for now. 3. Keep the shutter speed at roughly twice the focal length (e.g. if you're shooting at 50mm, shutter speed needs to be 1/100 or faster). 4. Use AF-S with a single focus point.
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If you are shooting JPG I would suggest that you use the Fine>>Large setting and also set your camera for better sharpness.



Go into your Menus and highlight the "Shooting" menu (the camera icon)

Drop down to "Picture Controls" and click right one time.

From here, highlight "Standard" and then click right one time.

From this settings menu, increase the "Sharpness" setting to "7".

Drop down and increase the "Saturation" setting +1 notch on the slider.

Press "OK" to exit the menus and you're done.

I have been out again and made a very conscious effort to hold the shutter release button half way to engage the VR and I detect some improvement.

I tried to upload a sample photo but got an error saying that the file is too big. I don't know if the EXIF data will survive a trip through Photoshop's Save for Web. The photo I wanted to upload was shot at 55mm, 1/250th f8.0.

In answer to questions etc.:

I am shooting RAW+Fine and have checked the RAW files in Lightroom.

I did change the autofocus to single focus point and tested it before I went out but for reasons I don't understand, it went into AF Area mode when I went out.

I have changed the Shooting Menu settings (from the default, I assume - Sharpness was 3 and Saturation was 0) which could explain my next question which was going to be about my photos appearing a bit dull. I have always avoided using sharpness in Photoshop as I don't like the results and I probably brought that prejudice to this camera.

I think the earliest photos I shot, including the above mentioned one, were shot without VR on as that was the position the kit lens was in and it being an 18-55, I didn't think VR was necessary, especially in good light.

I am now using an 18-300mm 1:3.5-6.3.

It's getting dark now but I will try shooting in Aperture priority mode tomorrow (which is how I 'grew up' on a Pentax ME Super.

Have you tried using unsharp mask in photoshop,its a lot kinder

I just took some tripod mounted photos in far from perfect light and cannot complain at all about the sharpness. I think it is safe to conclude that any blurriness I am getting is motion related and maybe I have to look into optimising the VR facility which I have had on most of the time (off whilst on a tripod).

okulo said:

I just took some tripod mounted photos in far from perfect light and cannot complain at all about the sharpness. I think it is safe to conclude that any blurriness I am getting is motion related and maybe I have to look into optimising the VR facility which I have had on most of the time (off whilst on a tripod).

Click to expand...

Changing the Sharpness setting in the Picture Control will have a dramatic effect on the sharpness of your JPG photos. You might want to try the "Landscape" picture control (also with Sharpness adjusted to +7) without any adjustment to the Saturation. That specific picture control boosts the contrast significantly. You may like it, you may not.

Keeping your shutter speed at twice the focal length is also pretty critical for sharpness. If you're shooting at 100mm, for instance, then the shutter speed should be 1/200 or faster (1/250, 1/500, etc.). If you're shooting at 35mm the shutter speed should not drop below 1/70, etc.
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Thanks for the reply.

I already adjusted the sharpness in response to a suggestion made by mikew earlier.

I have always tried to stick to the s>f rule but forgive me if I am wrong, I am using a Nikon 18-300 f/3.5-6.3 lens - isn't it supposed to 'provide 4.0 stops* of blur-free handheld shooting'?:

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/product/camera-lenses/af-s-dx-nikkor-18-300mm-f%252f3.5-6.3g-ed-vr.html

Incidentally, I wasn't able to add this lens to my kit as it wasn't listed so I added the nearest thing, the 18-300 f/3.5-5.6.

okulo said:

I have always tried to stick to the s>f rule but forgive me if I am wrong, I am using a Nikon 18-300 f/3.5-6.3 lens - isn't it supposed to "provide 4.0 stops of blur-free handheld shooting"?

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I suppose, under ideal conditions, if one employed perfect technique and the gods were smiling as you took your shot you MIGHT get the "four-stops of blur-free hand-held shooting" promised by Nikon. In the real world, don't count on VR to save your bacon to that degree on a regular basis. VR/VRII is a wonderful thing but it's not something you just turn on and forget about. I'm all for it under the right circumstances but I also find it can cause as many problems as it solves. If you don't need VR, I suggest you turn it off.
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But in ideal conditions, VR would not be necessary; surely, less than ideal conditions is what it is for.

okulo said:

But in ideal conditions, VR would not be necessary; surely, less than ideal conditions is what it is for.

Click to expand...

I'm not saying VR should not be used in "less than ideal conditions"; I'm saying when VR is used, regardless of circumstances, it's efficacy is questionable; especially if not handled correctly.

Essential reading: Nikon VR Explained by Thom Hogan
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Thanks. I read most of it - I just skipped the bit about normal and active which is not relevant to my lens.

I was aware of the limitations; i.e. not capturing moving objects etc. I was trying to capture a still scene and the only movement was caused by my hands.

Still, it's good to have an understanding of what goes on between the lens and the shutter and the Nyquist corrected sample rate etc. I'd only ever applied that to audio sampling before. I think I need to modify my behaviour having got used to the D70 which had fewer interventions.