Blurry Photographs for my Nikon D3000

[haddit_up2here]

My Nikon is not my first SLR. I had a film SLR (a Minolta...the model escapes me) that had all bells and whistles of aperature and shutter speed, so I was no stranger to manual focus, f-stops, and getting the best shot when I got my Nikon (I had, probably, at least 5 years under my belt).
I've been using my camera for about three years now and, I'm not joking, EVERY SINGLE photograph has come out blurry. Even when I set it on a tripod, have the ISO and shutter speed set fast, I still get blurry photos. This is very infuriating since I'm definitely not a newbie photographer.
I went into a camera shop and the photo guys did a simple test with patterns on a white peice of paper and they said, "nah, it's your problem."

I guess it is. Here is one example attached. See how the whole image is blurry? Every single photo has been like that. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
In case you aren't able to get the exif data, here it is:
File name: blurry_image.jpeg (Standard EXIF Tags)

>>> Photograph Information <<<

White Balance : Manual
Sharpness : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Metering Mode : Spot
Light Source : Cloudy weather
ISO Speed Ratings : 100
Focal Length : 85.0 mm
Flash : No flash
FNumber : F5
Exposure Time : 1/160 s
Exposure Program : Aperture priority
Exposure Mode : Auto
Exposure Bias : -1/3 EV
Contrast : Normal

 

[The_Traveler]

post a 100% crop so we can actually see the blur better.

(By 100% I mean just clip a piece of the original small enough to fit on the screen and post that without reducing.)

 

[The_Traveler]

is this all the time, every lens, there is no place on the image that is sharp?

 

[480sparky]

Or post a link to a full-size, unedited original.

It may just be a soft lens. It may be the focus was not correct.

 

[PaulWog]

We'll need more information. The RAW file is important.

You're shooting at 85mm (I'm assuming on a DX camera), and your shutter speed is 1/160. The blur looks an awful like one of two things: Misfocus, or an unsteady hand. If it's the latter, then you may need to work on your steadiness. Regardless of that, you need a quicker shutter speed at 85mm. Your ISO is set to 100. Bring it up to 640 and you'll likely have an acceptable shutter speed for that shot. Then, hand steadiness won't matter (because there might not be any problem with how you're holding the camera right now). If you don't have VR, then that's a huge incentive to maintain a quicker shutter speed.

You mention that you get blurry photos even at fast shutter speeds, however it's difficult to analyse the problem when viewing a photo shot at a slower shutter speed at 85mm. But if the same results occur even at something like 1/800, then you definitely need to figure things out. It could be that something isn't focussing correctly (backfocus, frontfocus, or just bad focus all around). If you have built-in focus adjustment in your camera, reset that and see what happens, and then go through some guides on how to set up built-in focus adjustment on your camera with each lens you have. If you only have one lens currently, then try another lens on the camera.

 

[goodguy]

Just going to a sales person who takes a quick shot doesnt mean its your problem, the selles experience just might be less then yours.
It sounds like you know your stuff and operators error could be the reason, listen to what the good people here telling you try it and I hope you will learn and solve your problem this way.

I had focusing problems on my Nikon D7000, all the time the camera back focused, just like you are reached out and asked for the peoples help and I got some great pointers which I checked one after the other but nothing helped so I knew it was a problem with my camera.
I took it to Nikon service centre and they were very nice and within a week I had my camera back serviced.
The service helped a lot and improved the focusing but still I could see back focusing issues so I fine tuned all my lenses to my camera which helped even more but still I could see back focusing problems so eventually I gave up and upgraded to the Nikon D7100 which showed me a whole new world.
All the time I had the nagging feeling maybe it really is the operators problem but now when I ahve the D7100 I know it wasnt, it was 100% the camera.
Even with the camera being serviced and me fine tuning the lenses the problem was never fully soved.
Sometimes you get a lemon and if you try everything and still doesnt get the sharpness you are expecting from your camera then you should consider replacing her.

I tried to shoot hand held, with tripod, different lenses, fast shutter speed single focus point...........etc
Hope you solve your problem, nothing is more annoying then getting soft pictures.
Good luck

 

[SCraig]

What lens(es) are you using?

Are you using autofocus or manual focus? If autofocus, what mode (AF-S, AF-A, AF-C)? Do you have that 3D Dynamic Area mess enabled? Do you have in-camera noise-reduction enabled?

 

[haddit_up2here]

is this all the time, every lens, there is no place on the image that is sharp?

What lens(es) are you using?

Are you using autofocus or manual focus? If autofocus, what mode (AF-S, AF-A, AF-C)? Do you have that 3D Dynamic Area mess enabled? Do you have in-camera noise-reduction enabled?

Wow, thanks for all the replies...didn't expect so many.

In any case, this occurs with every lens. I have an 18-55mm and a 100-200mm. I've tried both manual focus and auto focus with the same result. With manual focus I make extra sure to get the subject in focus: I pay attention to both the image coming in the viewfinder and the indicators in the viewfinder. So maybe it is a "backfocus" issue.

And, sorry, I don't remember what focus mode I used for the image (it was taken a while ago). I'm posting a recent one with the full image (reduced scale), and a full cropped image. Here I was using manual focus and I was careful to get the subject in focus. I used a tripod (a gorilla pod on a log), image stabilization, and

The blur looks an awful like one of two things: Misfocus, or an unsteady hand. If it's the latter, then you may need to work on your steadiness. Regardless of that, you need a quicker shutter speed at 85mm. Your ISO is set to 100. Bring it up to 640 and you'll likely have an acceptable shutter speed for that shot.

But I seem to remember a rule that if the shutter speed is inverse of the zoom then you won't need a tri-pod. And in the image I posted above I'm at 85mm shooting at 1/160, which should be plenty of leeway. Or is the rule different for digital?

Here's the full exif information from the first image I posted:

>>> SubImage1 <<<

Y-Resolution : 300
YCbCr Positioning : Co-sited
X-Resolution : 300
Resolution Unit : inch
New Subfile Type : Thumbnail/Preview image
JPEG Interchange Format Length : 1206701
JPEG Interchange Format : 172224
Compression : JPEG (old-style)


>>> SubImage2 <<<

Y-Resolution : 300
X-Resolution : 300
Strip Offsets : 1378944
Strip Byte Count : 8494594
Sensing Method : 2
Samples per Pixel : 1
Rows per Strip : 2616
Resolution Unit : inch
Planar Configuration : 1
Photometric Interpretation : Color Filter Array
New Subfile Type : Primary image
Image Width : 3904
Image Length : 2616
Compression : Nikon NEF Compressed
CFA Repeat Pattern Dimension : 2 2
CFA Pattern : 1 2 0 1
Bits per Sample : 12


>>> Image Information <<<

Y-Resolution : 300
X-Resolution : 300
TIFF/EP Standard ID : 1 0 0 0
SubIFD Offsets : 171840 171960
Strip Offsets : 114240
Strip Byte Count : 57600
Software : Ver.1.00
Samples per Pixel : 3
Rows per Strip : 120
Resolution Unit : inch
Reference Black/White : 0/1 255/1 0/1 255/1 0/1 255/1
Planar Configuration : 1
Photometric Interpretation : RGB
Orientation : top, left
New Subfile Type : Thumbnail/Preview image
Model : NIKON D3000
Manufacturer : NIKON CORPORATION
Image Width : 160
Image Length : 120
Exif IFD Pointer : 468
Compression : Uncompressed
Bits per Sample : 8 8 8


>>> Photograph Information <<<

White Balance : Manual
User Comment :
Subject Distance Range : Unknown
Sub-seconds Time Original : 00
Sub-seconds Time Digitized : 00
Sub-seconds Time : 00
Sharpness : Normal
Sensing Method : One-chip color area
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Scene Capture Type : Standard
Saturation : Normal
Metering Mode : Spot
Max Aperture Value : F4.6
Maker Note : 78 105 107 111 110 0 2 16 0 0 77 77 0 42 0 0 0 8 0 55 0 1 0 7 0 0 0 4 48 50 49 48 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 100 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 8 0 0 2 162 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 13 0 0 2 170 0 7 0 2 0 0 0 7 0 0 2 186 0 8 0 2 0 0 0 13 0 0 2 194 0 9 0 2 0 0 0 20 0 0 2 210 0 11 0 8 0 0 0 2 255 254 0 0 0 12 0 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 230 0 13 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 1 6 0 0 14 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 1 12 0 0 17 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 20 78 0 18 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 1 6 0 0 19 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 100 0 23 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 1 6 0 0 24 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 25 0 10 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 27 0 3 ...
Light Source : Cloudy weather
ISO Speed Ratings : 100
Gain Control : None
Focal Length In 35mm Film : 127.0 mm
Focal Length : 85.0 mm
Flash : No flash
File Source : Digital still camera
FNumber : F5
Exposure Time : 1/160 s
Exposure Program : Aperture priority
Exposure Mode : Auto
Exposure Bias : -1/3 EV
Digital Zoom Ratio : 1.0
Custom Rendered : Normal process
Contrast : Normal
Color Filter Array Pattern : 0 2 0 2 1 2 0 1

Custom Rendered : Normal process
Contrast : Normal
Color Filter Array Pattern : 0 2 0 2 1 2 0 1

Here's the exif data for photo posted for the current post:

>>> SubImage1 <<<

Y-Resolution : 300
YCbCr Positioning : Co-sited
X-Resolution : 300
Resolution Unit : inch
New Subfile Type : Thumbnail/Preview image
JPEG Interchange Format Length : 1183740
JPEG Interchange Format : 171968
Compression : JPEG (old-style)


>>> SubImage2 <<<

Y-Resolution : 300
X-Resolution : 300
Strip Offsets : 1355712
Strip Byte Count : 8054446
Sensing Method : 2
Samples per Pixel : 1
Rows per Strip : 2616
Resolution Unit : inch
Planar Configuration : 1
Photometric Interpretation : Color Filter Array
New Subfile Type : Primary image
Image Width : 3904
Image Length : 2616
Compression : Nikon NEF Compressed
CFA Repeat Pattern Dimension : 2 2
CFA Pattern : 1 2 0 1
Bits per Sample : 12


>>> Image Information <<<

Y-Resolution : 300
X-Resolution : 300
TIFF/EP Standard ID : 1 0 0 0
SubIFD Offsets : 171570 171688
Strip Offsets : 113970
Strip Byte Count : 57600
Software : Ver.1.00
Samples per Pixel : 3
Rows per Strip : 120
Resolution Unit : inch
Reference Black/White : 0/1 255/1 0/1 255/1 0/1 255/1
Planar Configuration : 1
Photometric Interpretation : RGB
Orientation : top, left
New Subfile Type : Thumbnail/Preview image
Model : NIKON D3000
Manufacturer : NIKON CORPORATION
Image Width : 160
Image Length : 120
Exif IFD Pointer : 468
Compression : Uncompressed
Bits per Sample : 8 8 8


>>> Photograph Information <<<

White Balance : Manual
User Comment :
Subject Distance Range : Unknown
Sub-seconds Time Original : 50
Sub-seconds Time Digitized : 50
Sub-seconds Time : 50
Sharpness : Normal
Sensing Method : One-chip color area
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Scene Capture Type : Standard
Saturation : Normal
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Max Aperture Value : F5.3
Maker Note : 78 105 107 111 110 0 2 16 0 0 77 77 0 42 0 0 0 8 0 55 0 1 0 7 0 0 0 4 48 50 49 48 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 100 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 8 0 0 2 162 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 13 0 0 2 170 0 7 0 2 0 0 0 7 0 0 2 186 0 8 0 2 0 0 0 13 0 0 2 194 0 9 0 2 0 0 0 20 0 0 2 210 0 11 0 8 0 0 0 2 255 253 255 255 0 12 0 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 230 0 13 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 1 6 0 0 14 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 1 12 0 0 17 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 20 78 0 18 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 1 6 0 0 19 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 100 0 23 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 1 6 0 0 24 0 7 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 25 0 10 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 27 ...
Light Source : Shade
ISO Speed Ratings : 100
Gain Control : None
Focal Length In 35mm Film : 60.0 mm
Focal Length : 40.0 mm
Flash : No flash
File Source : Digital still camera
FNumber : F25
Exposure Time : 1/13 s
Exposure Program : Aperture priority
Exposure Mode : Auto
Exposure Bias : 0 EV
Digital Zoom Ratio : 1.0
Custom Rendered : Normal process
Contrast : Normal
Color Filter Array Pattern : 0 2 0 2 1 2 0 1

Thank you for all the replies!

 

[goodguy]

Oh yeah those ARE soft, very soft
From all I see it looks to me like you really know your stuff and probably already tried all you can and if you really like your camera then send it to Nikon for service.

 

[PaulWog]

I see one shot is again at 1/160 at 85mm, and another is at 1/13. Try setting your camera up on a tripod, and get into good sunlight. Make sure your ISO is no more than 640, and make sure your shutter speed is no lower than 1/1000 (so you need good sunlight to properly expose). See what happens.

The rule of the inverse isn't something that you can strictly adhere to. If I'm shooting at 35mm, and I take my shot at 1/60, I'll most likely still get image blur. Remember that DX means a 1.5x crop factor, which you have to factor into the rule. Regardless of my focal length, I like to have a shutter speed minimum of 1/200 when I'm shooting people usually (regardless of the focal length), and I usually try to keep my camera above 1/400 at all times if at all possible. I find once I mastered camera-lens handholding, the shutter speed became more independent to the lens (between 16mm to 300mm on DX). Yes, at a longer focal length you will have more wobble and shake, and that will demand a quicker shutter speed. Yes, at a shorter focal length you can get away with slower shutter speeds by a bit. But, nevertheless, a fast shutter speed is going to be important.

What may be the issue is you might be setting your camera up on a tripod, setting it to a somewhat slow shutter speed (1/100 or slower, for example), and clicking the shutter button. You just introduced a little bit of camera wobble by clicking the shutter button on the tripod.

All the examples you've provided are at slow shutter speeds. Are you 100% that you get blurry shots at, for example, 1/1000 of a second?

Any which way, you might benefit greatly from a decent VR lens. If your problem persists, then a new camera would make perfect sense. You could consider the D3000 old.

 

[SCraig]

I see one shot is again at 1/160 at 85mm, and another is at 1/13. Try setting your camera up on a tripod, and get into good sunlight. Make sure your ISO is no more than 640, and make sure your shutter speed is no lower than 1/1000 (so you need good sunlight to properly expose). See what happens.

The rule of the inverse isn't something that you can strictly adhere to. If I'm shooting at 35mm, and I take my shot at 1/60, I'll most likely still get image blur. Remember that DX means a 1.5x crop factor, which you have to factor into the rule. Regardless of my focal length, I like to have a shutter speed minimum of 1/200 when I'm shooting people usually (regardless of the focal length), and I usually try to keep my camera above 1/400 at all times if at all possible. I find once I mastered camera-lens handholding, the shutter speed became more independent to the lens (between 16mm to 300mm on DX). Yes, at a longer focal length you will have more wobble and shake, and that will demand a quicker shutter speed. Yes, at a shorter focal length you can get away with slower shutter speeds by a bit. But, nevertheless, a fast shutter speed is going to be important.

Nikon D7000, 70-300mm zoom at 270mm, f/5.6, ISO 400, 1/6 (that's one-sixth) second, hand-held (no tripod or monopod but I was leaning against a fence post).

I agree that the rule of thumb for shutter speed is just that, a rule of thumb, however it is one that can be violated when necessary to get the shot. To adhere to that rule I would have had to shoot that Cougar shot at 1/400 second, and to get that I would have had to use ISO 25,600 in which case the noise would have been horrible. I took 3 shots in a burst and I think this was the third. Certainly it is not something I would recommend, however some times you have to do what you have to do to get a shot.

I'd recommend a couple of things. First, find someone locally whose abilities you can trust that shoots a Nikon. Find a camera club or something like that. Have them take a few shots with THEIR lenses on YOUR camera body and see how they work out. Then have them take a few shots with YOUR lenses on THEIR camera body and compare again. If the soft-focus follows the camera body then it is probably something in the body. If it follows the lenses then it is probably something in the lenses. If everything looks fine in both cases then it is something in your technique. Regardless, a few minutes of someone's time can save you a lot of headaches.

Also keep in mind that the D3xxx series are not high-priced bodies and don't have the image quality of some of Nikon's higher priced bodies. I'm not knocking your camera, just stating facts. I have a D60 which was the predecessor to the D3000 so I know how they are. The 18-55 lens is a relatively sharp lens however it could be on one side of the manufacturing tolerances while your camera body is on the other. I don't think the D3000 has micro focus adjustment so you will have to send it to Nikon for alignment. If you do send your lens to so that they can match the lens to the body.

 

[PaulWog]

I agree that the rule of thumb for shutter speed is just that, a rule of thumb, however it is one that can be violated when necessary to get the shot. To adhere to that rule I would have had to shoot that Cougar shot at 1/400 second, and to get that I would have had to use ISO 25,600 in which case the noise would have been horrible. I took 3 shots in a burst and I think this was the third. Certainly it is not something I would recommend, however some times you have to do what you have to do to get a shot.

Apples and oranges. You're bringing VR into the mix, using a cherry-picked photo as an example, and bringing the size of the photo down to a small resolution (with blur still visible in the picture). You've also had the opportunity to sharpen in LR. Yes, with a steady hand one can shoot slower. And with VR, one can shoot extremely slowly. You took me out of context though: I'm catering the information to the original poster's issue. Bringing up random bits of information such as "well it's possible to get a good shot at 1/6 of a second" is neither here nor there. If I start bringing up every exception and side-thought, I'll end up writing an essay. Just saying.

To the original poster: Shooting at f25 might not be beneficial for a landscape shot, depending on your lens. Just a thought.

 

[SCraig]

No, I'm showing that the "rule of inverse" that you refer to is not a rule at all but a recommendation. In addition, the 18-55 lens that the OP has *IS* a VR lens. I have one just like it. And finally, I find that 1/1000 second on a tripod for a landscape as you recommend is about as much overkill as is possible. If you are going to recommend one extreme then I can certainly refute it by showing it is possible to achieve the other extreme.

I would personally find that 1/160 second is plenty fast enough at 85mm HAND-HELD and certainly fast enough on a tripod. The D3000 is going to start to show noise at ISO 640 per your recommendation and may start to degrade the image enough to make any lack of sharpness hard to discern. The D60 that I also have is a very similar camera and begins to show noise at ISO 400.

Yes, there is some softness in that photograph. I asked the Cougar to hold his breath and not move but he would not cooperate. No, it is not "Cherry Picked". I have more of some Clouded Leopard cubs down to 1/25 second as well as some other zoo animals at very low shutter speeds. Yes, it was sharpened, all my photographs are. Yes, I did use VR, I nearly always do since I find it beneficial. No, my hands are not that steady.

Just saying ...

Apples and oranges. You're bringing VR into the mix, using a cherry-picked photo as an example, and bringing the size of the photo down to a small resolution (with blur still visible in the picture). You've also had the opportunity to sharpen in LR. Yes, with a steady hand one can shoot slower. And with VR, one can shoot extremely slowly. You took me out of context though: I'm catering the information to the original poster's issue. Bringing up random bits of information such as "well it's possible to get a good shot at 1/6 of a second" is neither here nor there. If I start bringing up every exception and side-thought, I'll end up writing an essay. Just saying.

To the original poster: Shooting at f25 might not be beneficial for a landscape shot, depending on your lens. Just a thought.

 

[The_Traveler]

All this arguing isn't helping the OP much.

 

[PaulWog]

No, I'm showing that the "rule of inverse" that you refer to is not a rule at all but a recommendation. In addition, the 18-55 lens that the OP has *IS* a VR lens. I have one just like it. And finally, I find that 1/1000 second on a tripod for a landscape as you recommend is about as much overkill as is possible. If you are going to recommend one extreme then I can certainly refute it by showing it is possible to achieve the other extreme.

I would personally find that 1/160 second is plenty fast enough at 85mm HAND-HELD and certainly fast enough on a tripod. The D3000 is going to start to show noise at ISO 640 per your recommendation and may start to degrade the image enough to make any lack of sharpness hard to discern. The D60 that I also have is a very similar camera and begins to show noise at ISO 400.

Yes, there is some softness in that photograph. I asked the Cougar to hold his breath and not move but he would not cooperate. No, it is not "Cherry Picked". I have more of some Clouded Leopard cubs down to 1/25 second as well as some other zoo animals at very low shutter speeds. Yes, it was sharpened, all my photographs are. Yes, I did use VR, I nearly always do since I find it beneficial. No, my hands are not that steady.

Just saying ...

I assumed his 18-55 might be non-VR. Did he mention his is the VR version?

You're picking at information that I've catered to the original poster. The reason why I want the OP to shoot at 1/1000 of a second on a landscape shot is to see if the blur goes away at that shutter speed. It's a matter of narrowing the problem down and figuring out what the issue is. The fact that a shot *can* be sharp at 1/10 of a second, or whatever speed you like, is completely irrelevant. I specifically omitted talking about that because it's irrelevant. If the OP can get a sharp image at 1/1000 of a second, then we've figured out his issue. If he can't get a sharp image at 1/1000 of a second, then we've narrowed the issue down even more.

There will be some grain added to a photo on a D3000 at ISO 640 and a bit less contrast overall, but that's completely not his issue. A sharp and good image with a bit of grain is still a sharp and good image with a bit of grain, no matter how you look at it.

To the original poster:

Test your lenses on a different camera, also at a quick shutter speed in good lighting. Ideally, find someone who owns a decent Nikon DSLR to take some shots for you with your lenses. Also, bring your camera to get them to take photos with it. This will help you figure out if you've got 2 faulty lenses, a faulty camera, or some user problems.

Basically what you want to do is figure out if it's the lens, the camera, or user error. When you can rule out which is the issue, then you'll know your options a lot better.

Unfortunately, I would think (with my limited knowledge) that it's impossible for anyone to discern what the problem is at the moment, based solely on the photos you've provided. The blurriness and nature of the photographs doesn't give away what the problem is exactly. Forums are great for helping with certain issues, and the solution could be right in here, but you'll likely get the best help out of consulting with someone in real life to compare hardware and take test shots.