Need advice, not getting sharp photos with my D80 - help!

D

Deer Film

Well-known member
Hi, and thanks to anyone that helps.
I have a nikon D80. I have a AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm1:3.5-5.6 G Ed DX VR lens, and a Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G ED DX lens.
I have had the D70 and D80 when they first came out. It could very well be my fault, I hope it is, but I just don't get crisp sharp photos. Especially when I take portraits of people, or shooting at company meetings, graduations, and such. I have a Nikon Speed light SB800, and set to TTL when I need a flash.
Are the lens I have not good enough? Can I expect sharp crisp photos. Even if I take the photos from the camera ( I shoot in Jpeg) and take them to get processed, they tend to be darker in contrast all the time then my sony. I shoot mostly in automatic settings. I know most people shoot manual, but for the price I expect good color, sharp photos in automatic.
Most of the time I am shooting profile pictures in the evening. I do set to manual when shooting with my SB800. I use some settings I found a while back. (maybe i need new ones)
Start me off at the basics to help me. Is there a web site to give me a formula for camera and flash settings to try. Should I invest in a different lens, be honest, tell it to me. ok, ok, don't tell me to get a different side job, because I love photography.
My dad says to switch to Canon, but I still have hope.

thanks again for your help
 
when you say not sharp do you mean as in out of focus? could be a lens collimation or af calibration issue. try focusing manually on the ground glass and see if you get sharp pictures, if so it's the af that needs adjusting, if not it's the lens/mount. good luck.
 
hi, it seems simple, but I think this week I will try to do more manual stuff. Manual focus, and such.
For using the D80 and the speedflash SB800, is there a web site with setting that I can use. A long time ago someone posted setting for the camera and flash for wedding shots, or outdoor shots and other things.
thanks

p.s. are the lens that I have good or so so.
 
your gear is fine, if you're not getting crisp results there's either something broken with it or you're doing something wrong. no settings are likely to help and there's no need for any upgrades. you should be able to pick up a d80, set it to full auto, and get crisp and beautiful shots in most situations. manual settings are for controlling difficult situations or for creative purposes, it's rarely "needed".
 
Here are some tips for sharp photos.

If handholding, use a shutter speed faster than 1/30 at a wide focal length,
Lenses usually have an optimal aperture for maximum sharpness, about in the middle of the range.
Use auto focus on a single point. Aim this point at your subject's eye, half depress the shuttle release until the focus indicator comes on, reframe your photo and fully depress the shutter release to take the photo.
High ISO settings reduce detail. I have a D80 and it's noisy beyond ISO400, unfortunately.

Since you're using a speedlight with TTL, even manual exposure isn't really manual because the speedlight will turn off when the photo is properly exposed using TTL metering. Try this, attach your speedlight and 18 -70 mm lens and put the camera into manual mode. Set the ISO to 200. Use the back dial to set the shutter speed to 1/125 and the front dial to set the aperture to f/5.6. Zoom out all the way. Use the AF method above to focus on the eye of your subject and take the photo. Hopefully that will lead to something sharp.
 
indeed. if the image isn't sharp because of high iso or motion blur it's not the lens or af, which is why we need to see a sample.
 
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