Beginner Z6 Sharpness Again

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Mark65

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Mark
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Hi all,
I thought I sorted my not so sharp images but it seems no matter what I do they don't seem that good for the cost of the camera, every now and then one or two are great but that's it.
Today I tried a few on full auto but the experience is the same on all modes, I took an image of a snail shell on a wall, probably a meter away or just under, not impressed really I expected more and this is with a 50mm 1.8S lens.
I'm not sure whether to re flash the firmware or factory reset the camera, could it be my monitor display?, I have a BenQ EX2780Q.
I was under the impression 24mp was more than enough, I've attached a drop box link with nef files if anyone would like to look and let me know if this seems ok or am I still expecting too much.
Thanks
Mark


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Were you on a tripod?
Was image stabiazation on or off?

DOF at f/5, 50mm, 1 meter is 12cm (according to Photopills)

I'd start by using a tripod, f/8 and a 2 second timer or remote shutter and then photogrpah something like a wall with the focus point dead center.

And I'd use more than 1 lens.
 
MPT_1655 - seems OK. You have a slightly shallow depth of field, and that's throwing the top of the image out of focus.

MPT_1664 - seems OK again, though slightly low contrast and shallow depth of field.

What's your past photography experience (forgive me asking) - DSLR or just a phone/compact camera? The images would benefit a lot from processing.

I'm guessing you're using the lens with a fairly big aperture? What you're seeing is just a shallow area of sharpness, a bit like this:

My happy face by Toni Ertl, on Flickr
 
I'll have a look at your files in the morning, but a Z6 with a modern 50/1.8 should be bitingly sharp. Where focussed anyway! I think the Z6 has an antialiasing filter but even so, the files should sharpen up nicely.

Generally, the only thing that can really scupper sharpness on a mirrorless camera is a damaged lens or malfunctioning IBIS.
 
Hi, thanks for the reply's, virtually zero past experience apart from a sureshot supreme and s45 20 years ago point and shoot, ibis on and no tripod, Ive spent a few weeks trying many combinations of speed , aperture and iso with efcs and mech and auto, ibis on and off. I understand the depth of field but its the lack of sharpness , I've even changed the picture settings with sharpness on 6 clarity and midrange on 2.
I first used the 24-70 kit lens then bought the 50mm Z, Im wondering if my 1440p monitor could be the problem, Im printing a test chart on A2 at work tomm to bring home and try, Ive seen really sharp images with this camera so I know it can do it, maybe its my settings or me?, my daughters takes images as good with her iphone :(.
I will use the test chart and rest the camera on something with ibis off and use the timer on efcs and see how it goes.
I have a Hoya protector filter on it as well, cleaned it and tried without it and its still the same.

Mark
 
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Put your camera in aperture priority, single AF (not continuous, and don't enable any face detection or subject tracking, just a single, autofocus point), set the aperture to f/5.6, ISO 100, and take a photo of something outside in good light. Shoot your car perhaps, from perhaps a couple of meters away, and stick to the central AF point.

If you get blurry photos you're doing something very wrong or your lens is knackered! Whatever is in the centre of the frame should be very very sharp.
 
Mark65 said:
Hi, thanks for the reply's, virtually zero past experience apart from a sureshot supreme and s45 20 years ago point and shoot, ibis on and no tripod, Ive spent a few weeks trying many combinations of speed , aperture and iso with efcs and mech and auto, ibis on and off. I understand the depth of field but its the lack of sharpness , I've even changed the picture settings with sharpness on 6 clarity and midrange on 2.
I first used the 24-70 kit lens then bought the 50mm Z, Im wondering if my 1440p monitor could be the problem, Im printing a test chart on A2 at work tomm to bring home and try, Ive seen really sharp images with this camera so I know it can do it, maybe its my settings or me?, my daughters takes images as good with her iphone :(.
I will use the test chart and rest the camera on something with ibis off and use the timer on efcs and see how it goes.

Mark
Click to expand...

The images posted don't lack sharpness, but they DO need processing, and not by the camera. If you don't have suitable software, either download Nikon's free processing software or invest in one of the suites like Lightroom, On1 photoraw etc. and learn how to use contrast, sharpening, tone controls, clarity etc.

1650485266568.jpeg

I've given this a quick process. I think the camera has very slightly missed focus on the snail - lots of detail in the brick, but the shell is a tiny bit soft at the top.
 
I had a quick look on my phone ….

The issue here seems to be the subject matter, flowers. Flowers are notoriously difficult for camera af systems to establish critical focus. Several of the images are sharp, but not where you’d want them to be. This comes down to technique largely and more practice with the camera and understanding how af systems work.
Try photographing subjects with more contrast, cars, buildings etc to get used to how the camera and af system behaves.
Your test chart should confirm this - but as others have mentioned, post processing is a big part of modern photography, especially what you see shared online etc.

Re iPhones etc. their depth of field is huge so missing focus isn’t too much for an issue in scenarios like this.
 
Mark65 said:
Hi all,
I thought I sorted my not so sharp images but it seems no matter what I do they don't seem that good for the cost of the camera, every now and then one or two are great but that's it.
Today I tried a few on full auto but the experience is the same on all modes, I took an image of a snail shell on a wall, probably a meter away or just under, not impressed really I expected more and this is with a 50mm 1.8S lens.
I'm not sure whether to re flash the firmware or factory reset the camera, could it be my monitor display?, I have a BenQ EX2780Q.
I was under the impression 24mp was more than enough, I've attached a drop box link with nef files if anyone would like to look and let me know if this seems ok or am I still expecting too much.
Thanks
Mark


Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com

​

Click to expand...
OK, I've finally got your photos up on my desktop PC, in Lightroom.

Good news: there's nothing wrong with your camera or lens: it's extremely sharp within the depth of field, i.e., where focussed. Experiment with smaller apertures - the depth of field is very shallow at 50mm on a full frame camera, and for close-up work, you're going to want f/11, possibly even f/14 to get everything in focus. You're getting up close and personal with flowers at f/4 or thereabouts, which means that everything else will be soft. In the example of your dandelion, I'd probably have stopped down to f/13 to get the grass sharp too. If you want the grass out of focus, to make the flower 'pop' out - as is the fashion these days! - then shoot wide open at f/1.8. That way, it'll be clear that the surrounding softness is intentional, and not a mistake.

Shallow depth of field can be desirable, as in Ancient Mariner's example above, but you have to compose for it.

Experiment with different apertures - don't use them all at first, use whole stops and study the difference. Find a nice flower to photograph, use single AF so you know where the camera is focussing, then take shots at f/1.8, jump to f/2.8, then f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, and finally f/16, and observe what happens to the depth of field. Remember: you don't always want everything in focus!

You should be OK with shutter speeds down to 1/20 sec with IBIS on, lower if you've got a steady hand.
 
A lens only has one plane of focus (at a time). depth of field gained by stopping down extends the apparent sharpness over a greater depth, ( hence its name) but it is a progressive thing, it starts from sharp and gets increasingly less sharp away from the plane of focus.
This can be used to your advantage to isolate a sharp object in a field of defocussed ones.

In your shots the lens aperture was very open, so had a very narrow depth of field. This means that you have to be very accurate in where you place the point of focus. With close ups this means that your body sway can be more than enough to move that point, from the time you focus, to the time you fire the shutter.
This seems to be the case for some of your shots. The use of a tripod for close ups is certainly recommended to avid this problem. as is the use of manual focus in these situations. I almost always use manual focus for closeups or where focus is critical.

For now at least, accept that your camera and lenses are capable of excellent results
A majority of your problems are to do with the fact that you are still learning. Having problems and learning how to solve them is the best and only practical way of increasing your skills.

AS to your Camera. While it is always possible to have bought a lemon, in your case, and from what you have shown us, this is not your problem. So be reassured that your results will rapidly improve as you gain experience.
 
Tripods have been mentioned a couple of times but I'm going to suggest not using them. I've never been a great lover and are you really going to tote a tripod everywhere, set it up and use it for shots like this? It's your choice if you want to.

I'd concentrate on technique and keeping still when focusing and pressing the shutter. I've seen people nod forward or back when taking pictures and if you do this you are likely to get soft shots at close distance and with wide or even just relatively wide apertures. I don't know if your kit has image stabilisation, mine largely doesn't, but even if you have it your shutter speed could potentially be an issue. Usually I like to have a shutter speed of at least equal to and probably greater than the focal length so for a 50mm that'd be 1/50 for a minimum and more likely 1/100 or more as even if I don't move things in the scene might.

So, my advice would be to ensure your shutter speed is up around 1/100 or ideally more, make sure you think about where focus should be and focus on that point and don't nod forward or back when you press the shutter button.

I don't know how good that 50mm is wide open. Sorting out your technique will help and once you've done that you can assess the sharpness of your lens / lenses at wide apertures and if it is a bit soft wide open you may need to stop down a bit for best results. Oh, and process for best effect on your pc.
 
woof woof said:
Usually I like to have a shutter speed of at least equal to and probably greater than the focal length so for a 50mm that'd be 1/50 for a minimum and more likely 1/100 or more as even if I don't move things in the scene might.

So, my advice would be to ensure your shutter speed is up around 1/100
Click to expand...
The Z6 has IBIS, you can get tack sharp results at 1/20 at 50mm no sweat, provided you're not waving the camera around! Lower if you've got good technique. I'm good to 1/5 sec on my 24MP Panasonic S5, although I wouldn't go that low unless I really had to.
 
alexcarnes said:
The Z6 has IBIS, you can get tack sharp results at 1/20 at 50mm no sweat, provided you're not waving the camera around! Lower if you've got good technique. I'm good to 1/5 sec on my 24MP Panasonic S5, although I wouldn't go that low unless I really had to.
Click to expand...

Well yes. With the help of IS I can handhold my 100-400mm at ridiculous shutter speeds but you have to consider other factors and can't rely on IS and 1/xx for every shot. Yes, you're still going to need a passable technique and IBIS isn't going to help that much if your subject crawls, runs or flies away or moves about in the breeze.

If I think I'm pushing things to the limit one thing I sometimes do is take more than one picture, in the hope that taking another one increases the chance of getting a good one.

Good luck with this Mark.
 
Hi All,
Many thanks for your reply's and reassurance and alexcarnes for taking the time to look at the images, I will keep trying and adjusting the depth of field, i know it can do it as I have some nice images so it is probably me :rolleyes:,
I use n x studio at the moment but I might try adobe classic.

Mark
 
@Mark65 - I would concentrate on improving your technique and knowledge of how ISO, shutter speed and aperture interact to let you get the pictures you want before you get into learning a new post-processing program. Simple steps, one at a time, is the way forward (y)
 
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