# Photos are blurry....



## deepind (Oct 9, 2017)

Hi all,
I took this pictures with Nikon D3200 with Nikon 18-140mm vr lens..the pictures are very blurry and distorted,what is the reason ? Is the camera or lens problem? I bought it b4 4 years...
I have attached sample images here..please tell what is wrong...most of the pictures I took are always grainy and blurry or out of focus...how to get smooth clear pictures a I see in websites..
Thank you


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## TheLibrarian (Oct 9, 2017)

Which 18-140mm lens? I'm sure there is a $200 one and a $1,000+ one. Regardless a $200 lens should probably be capable of a decent picture considering it's not a problem for a cell phone. A couple things you can do if you aren't already. Find the best aperture for your lens usually somewhere in the middle that its best calibrated to or is its sweet spot. In general for landscape you want to be at a high aperture to get a wide depth of field so everything can be in focus. Landscape people also talk about focusing to infinity. Some argue that's outdated and to focus in the middle. I'm not familiar with focusing to infinity but when you have trees kind of close and mountains in the distance and want all of it in focus. What I notice right away is the overcast light. It seems to me having good light helps a lot. If you look at water drops shot with speed lights and such it makes a big difference. Lighting up a whole valley or something can't be done but you can go there at better times than others or with better weather. Just after rain with sun gets certain effects as well as dawn and dusk are popular times. Tripods can be your friend. there's really a whole bag of tricks to get the best tack sharp focus. Check your ISO lower is better but not the be all and end all. Also shutter speed, too long and your hands can't stay steady that long easily. Wider angle lenses either focus easier or with greater DOF so shooting landscapes closer to 18mm than zoomed into 140mm should be better. Whichever of all that stuff you're not doing try them all and read some articles about focus and landscape focusing. Also think about the focusing modes you're using AF-S, continuous or whatever and be familiar with them.


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## snowbear (Oct 9, 2017)

What aperture and shutter speed did you use?


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## Destin (Oct 9, 2017)

snowbear said:


> What aperture and shutter speed did you use?


 
I’m guessing “auto.”

Which means the focus point is being picked by the camera as well.


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## snowbear (Oct 9, 2017)

And the SS & ap would still be in the original EXIF - it's not in the metadata in the posted photos.


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## deepind (Oct 9, 2017)

I always take in manual mode....f13,1/2000 sec,


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## snowbear (Oct 9, 2017)

Are you using a protection/UV filter on the front of the lens?


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## photo1x1.com (Oct 9, 2017)

With these settings your ISO would be very high in these conditions. I´m guessing ISO5000+ Depending on the camera, this can lead to rather bad results. May I ask you to post a full size image with metadta?


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## deepind (Oct 9, 2017)

No am not using any filter.....most of shots I took are always grainy...


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## deepind (Oct 9, 2017)

photo1x1.com said:


> With these settings your ISO would be very high in these conditions. I´m guessing ISO5000+ Depending on the camera, this can lead to rather bad results. May I ask you to post a full size image with metadta?


ISO I set to 100 only....in morning outdoors I always keep iso 100 or 200 only...image size was 15 mb so it take lot time to upload...


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## photo1x1.com (Oct 9, 2017)

deepind said:


> photo1x1.com said:
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> > With these settings your ISO would be very high in these conditions. I´m guessing ISO5000+ Depending on the camera, this can lead to rather bad results. May I ask you to post a full size image with metadta?
> ...


That´s pretty weird then. The weather in your scene is cloudy - so according to the "sunny 16 rule" you´d need about *f5,6 | 1/100sec | ISO 100* to correctly expose your image. You used f13 which is more than 2 stops darker and 1/2000sec which is more than 4 stops darker. so all together at ISO100 you should get an image that is undererexposed by 6-7 stops with is pretty dark. Maybe you have a typo in your posts for some of your settings?


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## deepind (Oct 9, 2017)

photo1x1.com said:


> deepind said:
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It was very sunny and bright...what happened was the camera could not capture the orange colour and green grass together as there was rain drops in the plant and sunlight falls on it..so it could not capture that combination...one doubt how to get crystal clear sharp pictures as seen in internet? Do they edit the images to get sharpness ?


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## photo1x1.com (Oct 9, 2017)

deepind said:


> photo1x1.com said:
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Even on a sunny day you should get way underexposed images with your settings. There must be something wrong there. We could best help you solve this if we had a full resolution image with all the exif data. Any chance you upload that somewhere into the internet? Maybe Dropbox with a public folder, etc.?


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## jcdeboever (Oct 9, 2017)

Personally, I never shoot a common zoom at anything higher than f/8 due to diffraction. You can test this up against a brick wall, with the camera on a tripod and set in manual mode, focus point should be single, dead center. Start at your most commonly used focal length, doesn't really matter but for me at that range, I'd be at 100mm.  Turn off stabilization. Expose image properly by getting the exposure to zero at all f/stops, choose your metering mode but make sure they're the same for all f/stops. Start at f/5.6, then f/8. then f/11, then f/16, then f/22.  Compare the 5 images at a 100% crop, look at center and corners. You will more than likely see that f/8 will be the most desirable image in terms of sharpness, micro contrast, corner sharpness, and vignetting or light fall off around corners. You could test a few different focal lengths and make a chart so you know what to expect. Doesn't hurt to compare one with stabilization turned on so you it's effect as as well. Typically the short end and the long end will show higher degrees of diffraction. I have done this on all of my lenses but I am kind of weird like that, I would have tics if I didn't know my hardware limitations and strengths. 

Lastly, image sharpness is not the end of it all, but for the scenes you posted, probably a good idea to find the sweet spot. In terms of portraits, you should be sure the focus point is on the eye, and consider for depth of field. If you shoot a head shot at 85mm, you will want to isolate the subject the best you can, test for this with an object of some sort. Many people, including myself, can get hung up on image sharpness but I have learned it's only a small part of lens quality, and image rendering.


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## deepind (Oct 10, 2017)

most of the images i took are grainy.what will be the reason? may be focusing or camera problem?


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## Tomasko (Oct 10, 2017)

If you see "grain" at ISO 100, you're just pixel peeping. All digital sensors have noise when inspected close up.


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## jcdeboever (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> most of the images i took are grainy.what will be the reason? may be focusing or camera problem?


Again, I believe what your seeing is diffraction. Small apertures are not always going to give you optimal results. Find that sweet spot on your lens for these types of photos (op). Additionally, if your shooting at f/13 and 2000s, and your vr is on, you are making matters worse. Turn off VR when your shutter speed is double your focal length. Shoot in Aperture priority mode, select f/8, turn vr off, select focus point, confirm, compose, shoot. I helped a girl at the office with that same lens and camera, she was amazed, of course, she was shooting in some weird shooting mode, had all her settings messed up. We started over by resetting her camera, and I gave her the 10 min lesson. She is now making better images. Second lesson was shutter priority mode, third was manual mode, forth was AE lock with back light and fill flash. She is pretty stoked about photography now. She was ready to buy a new camera. Not so much now.  Diffraction Limited Photography: Pixel Size, Aperture and Airy Disks


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## photo1x1.com (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> most of the images i took are grainy.what will be the reason? may be focusing or camera problem?


For me that again sounds like too high ISO. 
Sorry, but I´m still not convinced you are at ISO 100, if your camera tells you that, there must be something wrong. With your settings you wouldn´t get well exposed images - they should be way underexposed.
If you can´t upload a full image, maybe you can give us just a small crop of the image that shows the grain in full size. But try to include the metadata. That would help a lot!


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## deepind (Oct 10, 2017)

photo1x1.com said:


> deepind said:
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> > most of the images i took are grainy.what will be the reason? may be focusing or camera problem?
> ...


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## Tomasko (Oct 10, 2017)

That's not grainy, that's overexposed and out of focus...


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## deepind (Oct 10, 2017)

Tomasko said:


> That's not grainy, that's overexposed and out of focus...


how to avoid over exposure? and how to focus the whole area like this?


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## Tomasko (Oct 10, 2017)

When it comes to exposure, you need to understand that digital sensors have a limited dynamic range they can capture. If the scene is outside your dynamic range, some areas will be either too dark or too bright. There's really not much you can do about it except of choosing your scenes wisely. Try to avoid higher contrast scenes if possible. If you can't do that, think about what are you trying to capture and choose how you meter your scene, so your subject is properly exposed. You can also look at your camera's histogram to know if you're having any overexposed/underexposed parts. Some cameras have a feature to warn you about this too, but your entry-level nikon is not one of them I'm afraid.

If you want your whole picture to be sharp, use hyperfocal distance  In some situations it can make a huge difference. There are topics here about getting sharp landscape images with great answers, so maybe search for them too to get a better idea how to achieve this.


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## astroNikon (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> photo1x1.com said:
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the EXIF for this photo is ...

Camera: Nikon D3200
Lens: AF-S DX Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
Shot at 18 mm
Exposure: Manual exposure, 1/2,000 sec, f/13, ISO 11404, Compensation: +1/3 
Flash: none
Focus: AF-S, at 5.6m, with a depth of field from about 1.0m to infinity
AF Area Mode: Contrast-detect (subject tracking)
Date: *October 7, 2017*   3:43:28AM (timezone not specified)
(3 days, 14 hours, 15 minutes, 15 seconds ago, assuming image timezone of 5½ hours ahead of GMT)


*Look at your ISO  ... 11,404
Not exactly 100*


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## Peeb (Oct 10, 2017)

I suspect that 'auto ISO' is engaged.  Even if it is SET to 100, the camera will automatically increase it to what is needed for a proper exposure when the shutter speed is pushed up and the aperture is closed down.


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## photo1x1.com (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> photo1x1.com said:
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There you go, thanks for the image. Your ISO is 11.404. That is way too much. I suspect your ISO was set to Auto incidentally. You need to get your ISO to 100 or 200 for daylight shots to get the best out of your images. But that means that you have to change the other settings too, otherwise you would end up totally underexposed.  You may want to read a bit about the exposure triangle - or maybe I can convince you to watch my free youtube course: PHOTO1x1 Free Photography Course


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## deepind (Oct 10, 2017)

Thanks for ur replies...but how iso was that much?i saw in lcd it was displaying 100..is it fault in my camera or it normally happen?


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## Designer (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> Thanks for ur replies...but how iso was that much?i saw in lcd it was displaying 100..is it fault in my camera or it normally happen?


If the camera was set to "auto ISO", then the camera will adjust it to whatever value is required to produce a viewable image.


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## deepind (Oct 10, 2017)

can i keep this camera or upgrade to nikon d5300 or d7200?
Can i buy tamron 70 300 mm lens or 35mm prime...


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## Tomasko (Oct 10, 2017)

Do you have a specific reason why you think your current camera is not enough for you?


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## astroNikon (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> can i keep this camera or upgrade to nikon d5300 or d7200?
> Can i buy tamron 70 300 mm lens or 35mm prime...


You will have similar problems with better cameras, though they are better at higher ISOs.
But until you learn more about the exposure traingle and how to improve your selections you'll still have image issues.

info about AUTO ISO from your manual.


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## photo1x1.com (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> can i keep this camera or upgrade to nikon d5300 or d7200?
> Can i buy tamron 70 300 mm lens or 35mm prime...


I´d keep it for he moment and experiment as much as I can. Once you have the feeling you miss something specific, you are ready to think about upgrading. But before that shoot, shoot, shoot. Regarding lenses - that depends a lot on what you are trying to photograph. The ones you mentioned are very different - are you considering either or, or both?


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## petrochemist (Oct 10, 2017)

Although there many who recommend manual for learning, I think most of the time it's much better to use one of the semi auto modes & just set the parameter that is most important to your shot.
For these sort of shots I'd be inclined to use Av mode setting the aperture for the DOF you want. Then leave the camera to sort out the right speed to go with that. This should allow the exposures to be acceptable without needing high ISO, and will also limit the amount you have to learn to get good shots.

I probably work in Av 80% of the time, switching to Tv (time value or shutter priority) when shutter speed is more critical than DOF. Manual only gets used when I need full control, or light levels are too dark for the cameras meter.

Getting the camera focused where you want may be another part of the problem if the images are soft as well as grainy.


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## deepind (Oct 10, 2017)

Actually am not getting clear and sharp images ,  i want to print my pictures to album but images are always grainy..so i use mobile s7 edge which is good for printing pictures..but dslr gives more details when i crop the picture...


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## photo1x1.com (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> Actually am not getting clear and sharp images ,  i want to print my pictures to album but images are always grainy..so i use mobile s7 edge which is good for printing pictures..but dslr gives more details when i crop the picture...


Grain is a result of high ISO. Go out tomorrow with your camera and use an ISO of 100 - you´ll be happy, promised. Use petrochemists recommendation of Av to not underexpose your shot.


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## astroNikon (Oct 10, 2017)

deepind said:


> Actually am not getting clear and sharp images ,  i want to print my pictures to album but images are always grainy..so i use mobile s7 edge which is good for printing pictures..but dslr gives more details when i crop the picture...


Use the Aperture Priority as mentioned above - Av and Tv is Canon terms for Aperture Priority and Shutter (Time) Priority.

Bascially, the Shutter 1/2000 is way more than you need for a landscape.  1/125 is plenty enough (and lower too).  That is 4 stops slower.  And your camera (which is in AUTO ISO as it starts out at 100, then changes for the image, then shows you 100 at the end) would lower by 4 stops, from ISO 11,404 to about 1,425.

The high ISO will add grain or fuzziness and lack of detail. Which is what you are trying to avoid. 

So just lowering your shutter speed to something more normal is going the help **immensely**.


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## torrinworX (Oct 19, 2017)

have you always had this problem with the camera? Try finding a lens at a store or see if a friend has one you can borrow, take some photos with the new lens and compare them with the photos you took with your lens. if the new lens photos are clear than you have a lens problem, if they are still blurry you might have a camera problem. do you hear any noise when you adjust the lens? dose the shot look clear when you look through the view port?


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## DGMPhotography (Oct 19, 2017)

Are you sure your camera isn't set to manual focus? They honestly just seem out of focus.


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## have film need skill (Oct 19, 2017)

everyone is being very polite but without the exif data its difficult to say.  Even a screenshot would be helpful.   As a general rule, it is not the camera's inability.  Yes, of course images are edited before posting.  Perhaps some comments on what in particular you don't like about the images would be helpful.


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