Feeling fed up! Nikon D7000

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emyllis

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Jonty
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It's been a really bad day for me - I went to a wedding today with my D7000 and 17-55 2.8 lens, thinking I'd get some practice in for a wedding in 3 weeks time where I've been asked (based on my previous D80 camera) to take informal pics but in a formal capacity (if that makes sense)...

So I've had it a few weeks and have got some decent pics from it - I've not been blown away by it by any stretch.

Anyway, at the end of the day, almost all of my pics (I literally mean 90%) have come out really blurred or out of focus and I'm pretty annoyed really, as I normally do a good job of photos, I'm not amazing by any stretch but I'm certainly no slouch. Nothing would focus today, and generally I have come home and feel pants - everything was soft, the autofocus was all over the shop etc.
People say that it's because it's more megapixels that it's not forgiving etc but I feel annoyed that this is the case :(

I'll upload some pics and you'll get an idea, but considering I'm supposed to be doing a "real" wedding in a few weeks time, I feel a bit disappointed today.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Pics to be uploaded in a few mins
 
I don't know about Nikon software but if it comes with something equivalent DPP that canon provides. If it does give you something that where you can look at the focus points used - that will give you a start.

Also with each shot are you using 'green square'/auto mode? Or another mode?

Let's see some of the sample shots - include the iso/mode etc.

Cheers,

Matt
 
Just finding some "best of the bad bunch" for you!
 
 
emyllis said:
And to make it worse, you can't directly link flickr..


Will see if I can find a proper file share site in the mean time
Click to expand...

Yes you can.


D7K_1412 by emylliss, on Flickr

On the photo page click the little arrow by the facebook sign and you get the option to copy the BB code.
 
haven't checked them all, but looking at the focus area/mode on one of them seems to me you are using AF-A focus mode and dynamic area whilst it looks like a panned shot (capturing the couple moving across the frame).

My recommendation would be to be continuous mode focus and single point focus and try to frame the couple to your selected point and hold focus (continously there) and use a burst shutter (low or high speed). You were also at the limit with shutter speed at 1/20s at around 23mm. Also note at f/2.8, that close to your subject the depth of field is not going to be great.

edit: actually you are at f/5.6

I'm talking about this shot:


D7K_1305 by emylliss, on Flickr
 
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emyllis said:
It's been a really bad day for me - I went to a wedding today with my D7000 and 17-55 2.8 lens, thinking I'd get some practice in for a wedding in 3 weeks time where I've been asked (based on my previous D80 camera) to take informal pics but in a formal capacity (if that makes sense)...

So I've had it a few weeks and have got some decent pics from it - I've not been blown away by it by any stretch.

Anyway, at the end of the day, almost all of my pics (I literally mean 90%) have come out really blurred or out of focus and I'm pretty annoyed really, as I normally do a good job of photos, I'm not amazing by any stretch but I'm certainly no slouch. Nothing would focus today, and generally I have come home and feel pants - everything was soft, the autofocus was all over the shop etc.
People say that it's because it's more megapixels that it's not forgiving etc but I feel annoyed that this is the case :(

I'll upload some pics and you'll get an idea, but considering I'm supposed to be doing a "real" wedding in a few weeks time, I feel a bit disappointed today.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Pics to be uploaded in a few mins
Click to expand...

Don't think it's that, I have a beginner with an 18mp camera and the detail they are getting with a kit lens is stunning.
I'd guess either somethings out of whack or it's user error of some kind, are you shooting on single focus or continous? with some nikons it's all to easy to knock the switch off your setting to manual or whatever.
 
Looking at the exif info on the shots you've posted I'd say that the shutter speed is on the low side for most of them.
 

D7K_1209 by emylliss, on Flickr

This is again at 1/20s at 55mm. That is too slow for a walking person. Need to think about how you can up the speed - do you have a speedlight?
 
Some are shot at f5.6 too (1305 &1209)

Too slow shutter, motion blur and or camera shake I would say.

Image 1412 seems to be the best and also meets the rule of thumb, shutter speed= focal length * crop factor(1.5). Its shot at f2.8 so possibly depth of field is also an issue here.
 
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One of the big advantages of the d7000 is the high usable iso so I would bump this right up say 1000 - 2000 for the indoor shots so you will then bed using faster shutter speeds
 
Thank you Mike etc...
I do have a flash, but I didn't use it today as I lent it to a friend at the wedding (foolish me!)

I had it on aperture setting - my thoughts were that the d7000 could generally cope well with changing the ISO and shutter speed - clearly I was wrong. If that's the case, that's great as I know what I've done wrong and what the obvious thing to do to improve is...

Would you suggest I simply adjust the shutter speed rather than keep it on the aperture setting?
 
The ISO is up - shot at 6400. It means there is still not enough light - open up the aperture (be wary of dof) and/or add more light with a flash.
 
Man, I feel like a noob! Quite possibly an accurate view of me.

I left it on auto ISO, is that a mistake in hindsight?
 
Possibly not. Is there an option to increase the minimum shutter speed when using auto iso?

If I were you I'd collar a few people and practice shooting in poor light trying out various settings and see how you get on.
 
It depends....a grainy/noisey pic is arguably better than a blurred (motion or camera shake) pic.

You can do some recovery with noise reduction software but can't ever remove blur.


EDIT. I would test your camera on various subjects tonight, tomorrow, soon. Light and dark shadows and bump your ISO to see where it becomes too noisy. Then try some noise reduction software and then decide where you think the upper usable ISO limit is.
 
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The vast majority of them - it's f/5.6 that's the problem. As a result, the camera picks a shutter speed that is far too low for most of the shots that you are trying to take (not it's fault, it's in aperture priority after all). f/5.6 is just too slow for most indoor shots IMO.

As for d), the shutter speed still isn't that fast (1/60s) for an outdoor shot, and the blurriness is more likely due to the woman moving than anything on your part. That said, you can prepare for possible movement by taking advantage of the good ISO control of your camera (you shot that at ISO100 but putting up to 400 should give you far more leeway).
 
Depends on many things like light, length of lens etc... but when shooting below 75mm I tend to use 1/60 as the slowest shutter speed as that should eliminate most subject blur. Where possible I will try to be 1/125 or higher.
 
As others have noted, looks like shutter speed

In this one the guy is sharp, yet the girl (who appears to be on the same focal plane) isn't - I'd say she moved her body more than the guy while the shutter was open

5673177128_4c21d5de00_b.jpg
 
You should be able to set auto ISO to only activate when a pre set shutter speed cant be used. If you set this to the maximum rule of thumb (shutter speed greater than focal length) then auto ISO should always kick in when your shutter starts to dip too slow. Its harder on a zoom, but take 55mm as worst case, so your shutter never wants to fall below 1/60. Set 1/60 as minimum shutter and Auto iso up to whatever you want (1600/3200) and technically you should always get a sharp shot. Of course you need to consider the aperture too. I pretty much always shoot in AV, so I'd be using f/2.8 most of the time unless a specific need to change.
 
Hello emyllis,

I've only had the D7000 a couple of weeks and I was starting to become disheartened because I felt it was so much less forgiving than my d40. The way I proved to my self that it was just me getting use to the camera, not the camera being crap was setting up a shot on a tripod, mirror lock up etc. Heres one I did minutes ago, hopefully you will see how detailed this is. This was shot with a 40 year old MF nikkor none of these fancy lenses it cost me £20 off ebay:

Standard Shot:

Test1of2.jpg


100% Crop:

Test2of2.jpg


Hope this helps

Jake
 
AndyB1976 said:
It depends....a grainy/noisey pic is arguably better than a blurred (motion or camera shake) pic.
.
Click to expand...

and you can convert to black and white if needs be.

jacob12_1993 said:
Hello emyllis,

I've only had the D7000 a couple of weeks and I was starting to become disheartened because I felt it was so much less forgiving than my d40. The way I proved to my self that it was just me getting use to the camera, not the camera being crap was setting up a shot on a tripod, mirror lock up etc. Heres one I did minutes ago, hopefully you will see how detailed this is. This was shot with a 40 year old MF nikkor none of these fancy lenses it cost me £20 off ebay:

Standard Shot:

Test1of2.jpg


100% Crop:

Test2of2.jpg


Hope this helps

Jake
Click to expand...

Wow! What lens was it?!?
 
Higher ISO is the only way to go here, a shot of 1/60th outside on IS0100 isn't fast enough outside which is why the female is blurred. These are the reasons wedding togs use a D3 for example inside, high ISO capabilities/picture quality = big money. I think the D7000 has better quality than my D300 now so go above ISO1600 without worry.
 
You can set a minimum Shutter speed, and a maximum ISO.

For you situation maybe 1/80th and ISO 1600 - 3200 depending on how good the ISO is on the D7000. Obviously try to keep a wide aperture. ;) If you're already hitting those limits then maybe it's time for the flash. ;)

Page 104 of the manual btw. ;)
 
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jacob12_1993 said:
This was shot with a 40 year old MF nikkor none of these fancy lenses it cost me £20 off ebay:
Click to expand...

Wow, that's quite impressive alright. Was the AI conversion just a home DIY job? pre-AI glass is tempting, I've got a beater 24mm f/2.8 which was factory AI'd that just has a charm to it.
 
freecom2 said:
Wow, that's quite impressive alright. Was the AI conversion just a home DIY job? pre-AI glass is tempting, I've got a beater 24mm f/2.8 which was factory AI'd that just has a charm to it.
Click to expand...

No I managed to source a proper nikon AI conversion Kit from the USA for the pricely sum of £13 inc shipping. It's a doddle with the proper kit and its also worth more because you can convert it back to the original if needs be.

Jake
 
Well, I've taken some pics today, a bit better, but am still really struggling to take group shots, where the picture comes out with the background in focus but the people in it all being out of focus. Grr! Any ideas please? I'm so grateful to you all for your help so far to date.
 
i went from D80 to D7000 and the problem i started off with was fear of going high on ISO, my D80 never went above ISO 400 as i hated the quality of the noise, ISO 400 on the D7000 is nothing i shoot happily at 6400. If you have your camera set to AP you can adjust ISO with your thumb dial so you have better control over your Shutter speed. i have also Fine tuned all my lenses and although not 100% needed it did still make a difference esp on my 70-300mm
 
emyllis said:
Well, I've taken some pics today, a bit better, but am still really struggling to take group shots, where the picture comes out with the background in focus but the people in it all being out of focus. Grr! Any ideas please? I'm so grateful to you all for your help so far to date.
Click to expand...

might be the auto or 3d focus points. Try using single point focus. i don't use 3D or auto very often tbh i find it jumps of the focus point and onto something else very easterly so i tend to use single point that way i can move the focus point onto a subjects eye for example
 
emyllis said:
I left it on auto ISO, is that a mistake in hindsight?
Click to expand...

No ... however to be on the safe side set minimum shutter speed to 1/100, but just monitor what the camera is doing with regard to ISO and shutter speed.

Once it reaches ISO 6400 or whatever max you have set in the options it will start reducing shutter speed below the minimum that you set.
 
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jacob12_1993, I was trying 2.8 at 55m, on a 18-55 2.8 f-stop for the first time in bad light conditions, I assumed it could handle it.

I've tried some 1.8 today outside and they came out fine, so I know it's not the body, which was a worry.

DannyDMR I shall try that out today, see how it goes, thanks for the tip, I wasn't aware of changing the iso...

Martyn... I'll try that tonight, and see how it works - I've currently downgraded it down to something like 1/60 but think it needs to be even faster for decent pics inside...
 
5683038373_06cc6187cb_z.jpg


This was taken yesterday, outside on my 50mm 1.8 maybe or 1.4.

5683038717_37c40449ba_z.jpg


This was taken with my 2.8 18-55 but it's the first time I've got a decent pic.

Any thoughts? I am aiming to get some practice inside a room soon ie low light to ensure that I can take a pic in a church no problem...

The other thing I had was that the focussing panel had been adjusted by me fiddling, so I was never focussing on the centre, but was always focussing off centre, (pressing the lock button on the back, under the OK button, and scrolling around to change the focal point).

I think this could be part of the problem!?
 
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