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JPEG image sharpness
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Hi,
I am new to the DSLR world and will be buying a camera within the next few days. I really like the D5000, and I am impressed with the reviews. I have never used a DSLR and I am excited to move up from a P&S camera. One of my main concerns, though, is the default setting for image sharpness for jpeg images.
In the dpreview.com of the D5000, one issue that is brought up is the "softness" of the jpeg images compared to the Canon 500D (T1i) and other cameras.
For JPEG comparisons see:
www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond5000/page25.asp (Canon 500D comparison)
www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond5000/page26.asp (Olympus E-620 comparison)
www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond5000/page31.asp
The raw output, though, of the D5000 seems to produces better images than the Canon 500D.
See:
www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond5000/page32.asp
DPReview seems to think that Canon and other manufactures turn up the sharpness settings by default.
Is it possible for me to change the default sharpness setting, so that the camera will use a higher sharpness setting even in an "Auto" mode with jpeg images?
I wouldn't mind fiddling with the settings to set a higher sharpness, but my other half will probably always use the auto mode with jpeg. Many shots will be of kids, family, etc for uploading to Flickr, Facebook, etc. I don't want the Canon folks saying "my kids are sharper than your kids!". Do any of the scene modes have a higher sharpness by default?
Before I understood the difference between raw and jpeg, a sales person was convinced the Canon 500D was better and demonstrated this by taking a picture of a chart on the wall with the Canon 500D and Nikon D5000. They then showed me how much sharper the Canon image was compared to the Nikon. The lettering was "blurry" in the image from Nikon, and now I think that I understand why the Canon image turned out sharper. FYI, both cameras were using the kit lenses.
From the reviews I have read, though, it seems that the Nikon D5000 is a much more capable camera in the long run.
Thanks for your help!
Posted at 4:08PM, 1 July 2009 PST
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I'm in the same boat as you in that I'm a P&S user who has ordered and is waiting on my D5000 to arrive. I do know however that sharpness can be adjusted. Once you make the adjustment, you won't have to worry about it again.
In addition to lenses which rated higher and capabilities the Canon doesn't have, I also was impressed with the D5000 sensor. You might want to take a look at this site: www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/DxOMark-Sensor/(metrics)/
The D5000 is rated just ahead of the 1D mark III (WOW). That's a $730 vs. a $4,000 camera.
And by the way, I ordered and received the T1i just after reading a review that showed the D5000 had the one feature I needed that I thought it didn't have. It's costing me $36 in shipping to return the Canon stuff and another two weeks of waiting for a new toy (it's killing me), but I do think it is worth it.
Posted 6 months ago.
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You can always set sharpness in your D5000 both before and after the shot. What you worry should not be a problem. If you use Windows Photos Gallery soft-ware that come with Windows Vista Home Premium you can adjust sharpness for your JPEG photos easily.
D5000 is the best buy, you should be able to shoot just as good photos as you would do with D300 or even D700. The differences are less controls and that D5000 are not made with more durable metal body of D300 or D700. All DSLR will become obsolete six month after you bought it, metal or plastic body should not effect you. D5000 have movable LCD screen and can take movie while top Nikon like D3, D700, D300 can not. Do not waste time reading reviews. Get the camera and start enjoy making photos and movies.
Posted 6 months ago.
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@leejinks and @ruchai thanks for your comments. This gave me the extra nudge that I needed to go for the D5000. I'm excited to get the camera and start taking photos!
Posted 6 months ago.
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There's little reason not to always shoot Raw. I have mine set to Raw + Jpeg, and there's always plenty of room on the card. Even if you insist on using Jpeg, don't worry about the sharpness. It's a lot easier to sharpen a photo later than to salvage over-sharpened pictures. I wouldn't mess with the default setting if you use only Jpeg.
Posted 6 months ago.
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That's a good point illuminaut. Oversharpening effects color. I think that's the beef with Canon: oversharpened and then over-rich color to compensate. You may want to decide, shot by shot, what kind of image you want when you're processing it. Sometimes you want a softer focus. I notice that the default settings in the Nikon D5000 are definitely set with lower sharpness than they might be. I think that's to give the user more choice.
I really like how the little things on the D5000 has been thought through (except the screen, which should have been made to open sideways so the image can be seen on a tripod). I like the way the battery and sd card have to be consciously pulled out, can't just jump out of the camera on, say, a bridge.
Posted 6 months ago.
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Hi,
Im in the same position as online_mark. Im happy to mess around with the raw files etc but want to make sure the other half can just point and click on occasion without her then asking me why all her pics are soft.
I have to admit, that after looking through the d5000 manual ( you can download it from the nikon web site), I couldnt find a way to alter the default settings for full auto.
It looks like you can definitely alter the settings for the jpeg engine in P,M,A,S modes though.
If anyone else knows different, Id be grateful if you could let me know.
Thanks
Posted 6 months ago.
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