Wildlife Photography across the Water: Nikon D7000 sharpness

Sunday, 31 October 2010

Nikon D7000 sharpness

When i did the D7000 ISO test the other day i think i may have be a bit slap dash with the focusig when changing cameras and refocusing, I had a few comments about whether the D7000's images were softer then the D300 and whether Nikon had done what Canon has seemed to do with its latest camera range-i.e 7D,550D etc and that is blur the detail when using high ISO to keep the grain down, I shot a bird perch in the garden with both cameras-see below, I cropped them in to 100% just to see if detail is missing, The verdict is yes but very slightly, I personally think that the sensor has a thicker AA filter as i find that the D7000 takes a tad extra sharpening but after that the IQ is excellent and i don't think many people will find it a problem, I will be shooting garden birds this week and that where the real testing will be-in the feathers-watch this space
D7000 main image

D300 100% crop

D7000 100% crop

These images show 2 things clearly-both images shot at ISO 800-The D7000 is much cleaner but the D300 images are defiantly sharper straight out of the camera, Images about are from the camera without any processing just resizing
P.S As a side note i will say that i haven't tried the AF fine tune to see if there is slight front or back focusing with the D7000, I have never had to fine tune any of my other Nikon's but this may be worth investigating on this occasion.
Dave

4 comments:

Anonymous2 November 2010 at 09:34
Great job. I liked your work. Nikon D7000 takes amazing pictures under all condition. This camera has been on my wish list a long time. Image quality is outstanding.
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Anonymous9 August 2011 at 11:37
Actually, I'm not seeing any sharpness differences, only exposure, and image size differences.
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Anonymous17 April 2012 at 14:54
I agree with the last post, not a very good comparison. As an owner of both I know that the D7000 is more sensitive to light at higher ISO's, hence the brighter exposure... I don't know what your settings all were, but here the exposure is not the same. Also were these hand held? Tripod? what lenses? Many possible variables. D7000 takes sharper photos than the D300s period, as I said I own both and have shot much longer on my D300s. I think a more controlled shoot, with a few more examples while also keeping the example photographs identical in size would permit a better example. Also seeing lower ISO from the D7000 of the same shot, while keeping the D300s at what it needs to be for optimal photo would show the difference in capability of the two imho, and then you would see the D7000 getting sharper and sharper the closer it gets to base ISO.
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WPATW18 April 2012 at 01:00
I had to go back some way to find this thread, I had a D300 for a couple of years and my inital thoughts of the D7000 were that the images were a tad softer than the D300 although with careful sharpening the detail would come out, I sold the D7000 about a month or 2 back to make way for the D800, During the 18 months or so that i had the D7000 it really grew on me and i would use it more than the D3s,The image quality was excellent and way better than the D300, I have to say that i now have the D800 and D3s but do miss the D7000, Its an excellent camera and great value for money, I would recommend it to anybody
Dave
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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.