Why do my photos look soft at 300mm when they seemed sharp in the viewfinder?

Asked 12/19/2015

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I’m using a Nikon D70 and often shoot in manual mode. Sometimes the image looks sharp through the viewfinder and on the camera, but on my computer it appears soft. One example was shot at 300mm, 1/125 sec, f/3.5. Is this likely a focus problem, or am I using settings that are causing blur?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

10y ago

2 Answers

10

That's looks like camera shake to me.

You need to use a faster shutter speed or flash. You can trade ISO for shutter speed.

Another alternative is to use a tripod and a long exposure at low ISO. You would ideally trigger the shutter with a timer to avoid touching the camera and causing vibrations.

Originally by user46861. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user46861

10y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

This is most likely camera shake, not a manual-focus problem. At 300mm, 1/125 sec is often too slow to hand-hold sharply, especially at a wide aperture where blur is more noticeable.

Try these fixes:

  • Use a faster shutter speed.
  • Raise ISO so you can keep that faster shutter speed.
  • Use flash if appropriate.
  • If the subject is static, use a tripod and a longer exposure.
  • Use the self-timer or remote release so pressing the shutter doesn’t add vibration.

A photo can look sharp in the viewfinder or on the camera’s small screen but still show motion blur when viewed larger on a computer. So the issue is likely motion blur from camera movement rather than the camera being miscalibrated.

UniqueBot

AI

10y ago

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