Sharpness settings & the D80/D200

[DarkDTSHD]

This is for current D80/D200 owners.

Do any of you shoot with the sharpness set to "normal" or "0"? Or have you dialed in a higher setting like +2 to get the sharpenss you like? I was reading a review of the D200 on another site and the reviewer metnioned how he had to boost the sharpness to +2 so that it could be "competitive" with the Canon 30D at it's "standard PictureStyle" setting.

I've been told by a friend of mine, who just bought a D40, that he found the pics to be a little soft out of the box. And is experimenting with +1.

Just wondered what you guys thought and have your cameras' sharpness setting set to.

Thanks.

P.S. Would be nice if some one could post some sample pictures of the same shot. Once, with the sharpenss at the default position. Which I assume to be "0". And a second with the sharpenss boosted to your desired setting. No Photoshop processing of course.

[rjseeney]

Sharpness is a personal preference, much like color. Some like things sharper, some don't, and everyone sees it a bit differently. It's also related to how much post work you do. I keep sharpness set to zero, as I prefer to handle this in post processing. I've never liked how the camera handles the sharpening algorithm, as it usually increases artifacts. However, since this is a personal preference, your mileage may vary.

[DarkDTSHD]

rjseeney wrote:

Sharpness is a personal preference, much like color. Some like things sharper, some don't, and everyone sees it a bit differently. It's also related to how much post work you do. I keep sharpness set to zero, as I prefer to handle this in post processing. I've never liked how the camera handles the sharpening algorithm, as it usually increases artifacts. However, since this is a personal preference, your mileage may vary.

Hello rjseeney,

I agree. But, set at default, do you find the pictures "soft" in general before PP? Or would you say that you're happy with the sharpness but just do PP to fine tune the pics? And which Nikon do you own? Don't suppose I could trouble you to post two pics? Or just one with the sharpness set to zero with no PP work.

And I have been told that it's better to start with a soft image and do PP work. Than to start with one that has already had a lot of in-camera sharpening done.

Thanks.

[rjseeney]

I currently own a D80 and D50 (also owned the D70). I don't sharpen a whole lot, usually just a light application of unsharp mask, or if I want to really bring out more detail and texture, I use focus fixer (a plugin from fixerlabs). If I'm shooting portraits i only do selective sharpening on the eyes. I find the D80 to be sharper out of camera than the D50 and D70, which may be an effect from the higher resolution the D80 has.

[pagerboy]

I had an entry level dSLR for about a week to test it out and noticed that with no camera sharpening I needed to do it in PP.

I thought it may have been the kit lens but from what I've read it(sharpening) needs to be done in PP even with camera sharpening enabled.

[mtclimber]

Pagerboy-

That most DSLR camera do NOT have as much in camera processing. Therefore they are expecting you to post process the photos taken, which includes the necessary sharpening. What camera did you test?

MT/Sarah

[DarkDTSHD]

mtclimber wrote:

Pagerboy-

That most DSLR camera do NOT have as much in camera processing. Therefore they are expecting you to post process the photos taken, which includes the necessary sharpening. What camera did you test?

MT/Sarah

Actually, Canon DSLRs do have more in-camera processing than Nikons. Which is why the pictures look sharper when set to "standard PirctureStyle". Whereas with a D200 it is reommended that the sharpness be bumped up to +2 to be "competitive". Keeping in mind that sharpness is subjective and that this is what I've read from test resports of the D200 and Canon 30D. I haven't had a chance to compare them. Would be interesting if I could.

Others say bumping the sharpness to at least +1 would help too. Does make a noticeable difference.

After having been processed I'd guess the sharpness would be comparable.

Would still love for some one to post a pic from either a D80 or D200 pre-PP. :-)