I am a newbie to SLR and learning a lot in the last 2 month. Bought d5100 and wanted to like it. Also playing with trial light room version 4.0. I always shoot in raw. I have watched several videos, read books, saw exif informatin of other photographers and also taken hundreds of photos in the last 2 months. My concern is not getting sharp photos. I set it up to vivid, increased saturation, tried light room also checking histograms for proper exposure etc. i am still not able to take sharp eye popping photos. What am i doing wrong in my photos and what should i pay attention? Any suggestion is wecome and my photos are in the gallery. Thanks in advance for all you advice and help.
Sharp photos with d5100
- Thread starter Myth
- Start date
Some of your issues may be in post processing. A few things to enhance sharpening in Lightroom:
Increase contrast
Increase blacks
Increase clarity
Increase sharpening (default is zero)
Other things with the D5100:
Shoot at about ISO 200 (or higher)
Use a tripod below 1/100
f7-f8 for depth of field without diffraction
The other picture mode controls are not going to work in raw mode (in camera sharpening only works in jpeg)
Increase contrast
Increase blacks
Increase clarity
Increase sharpening (default is zero)
Other things with the D5100:
Shoot at about ISO 200 (or higher)
Use a tripod below 1/100
f7-f8 for depth of field without diffraction
The other picture mode controls are not going to work in raw mode (in camera sharpening only works in jpeg)
Post some of the images with the exif data and we can have a look and get an idea...
The things that will cause your photos to not be sharp are technique or movement by you or your subject...
Select auto focus constant this will help if you or subject is moving...Use VR which will help...Don't press the shutter button to hard otherwise you will shake the camera..
Your technique is very important..Have a look at this link and others on his site..
Breathing Technique- Taking Pictures in Low Light - YouTube
The things that will cause your photos to not be sharp are technique or movement by you or your subject...
Select auto focus constant this will help if you or subject is moving...Use VR which will help...Don't press the shutter button to hard otherwise you will shake the camera..
Your technique is very important..Have a look at this link and others on his site..
Breathing Technique- Taking Pictures in Low Light - YouTube
Depending upon how closely you're looking and to what degree you want the sharpness to be, the problem may be in the lenses you're using. Perhaps borrow or rent a professional level lens and see if that makes a difference. Also be sure to put your camera on a tripod and use the exposure delay to remove any mirror slap shake and see if you can achieve the quality image you're looking for.
should be able to get a sharp focus even with a Kit lens, so,, set it up on a Tripod, timer mode. and compose picture. AF, and should be sharp. If not, than it could be the calibration of your AF. In that case, turn it to manual focus, and try again. That should establish your base line sharpness. From that point on,, its technique and lens speed.
Ah, perhaps the lens needs fine tuning. That would certainly explain it. Does the 5100 have focus fine tuning?
I think i might have used higher number 4-5.6 in most cases. Will check and keep in mind for future. This might be good for close up shots but i was trying to shoot water front landscape.
I felt the same as Phil, that's why I brought up post processing.
For some reason, I cannot see all the exif data from shots in the gallery
I just looked at your photos, and the sharpness looks fine. Sometimes we get overly concerned about sharpness, but that is really the third on the list. It's the composition and lighting that makes a photo stand out, and the sharpness on the key area of the photo on where you want the viewer's eye to pick up on. In fact, you might sometimes have too much sharpness in the overall picture, losing that dof effect.
So, my advice, is focus on location, light, and composition, using good technique, and your sharpness will be fine.
So, my advice, is focus on location, light, and composition, using good technique, and your sharpness will be fine.
Last edited by a moderator:
+1 here.
RickSawThat
Senior Member
I find with my D5100 I get much better sharpness if I shoot at 1/250 sec or higher. The sensor seems to respond better with higher shutter speeds for me 
I found this tip from another poster on this site and it made a positive difference.
I found this tip from another poster on this site and it made a positive difference.