Wildlife Photography across the Water: Nikon D7000 sharpness

Sunday 14 November 2010

Nikon D7000 sharpness

There is a lot of talk on various forums as to the new D7000 lacking sharpness and also why would anybody with a D300/s consider a D7000 when the D300 is the 'best' DX body in the Nikon range, 99% of comments on forums are made by people who have either never tried/held/seen a D7000 or are trying to justify their own purchases, I only take advise from people that i know have used the item or are qualified enough to give good judgement, In my last blog i mentioned that my D300 is up for sale and i only came to that conclusion after 3000 images with the D7000, My inital findings were that the D7000 may have been a touch softer than the D300 and i still think that to a certain degree, However i do believe that the detail is there and careful processing and a touch extra sharpening will bring the detail out, I also think that the more pixels you have the better your long lens technique needs to be and the use of a higher shutter speed than you would normally use will bring greater results, I tried this the other day and my results did indeed improve

Here is the bluebird image that i posted the other day

and here is 100% crop to show how much detail the D7000 'can' give

Click on the images to enlarge and then use the back button

Nikon D7000 with a 600VR on a Gitzo 1548 Tripod

Now these images were taken at ISO 200 and alot of people are bemoaning the lack of detail especially at higher ISO's, I am happy enough with the quality of images up to 800-1600 to consider selling the D300 which i never shot over ISO 400, If people want to pixel peep at ISO 6400 then thats their choice-If you need that kind of high ISO performance then you are barking up the wrong tree-get a D3s or at least a D700, I am sure that the D300 is superior to the D7000 in some ways but for me the IQ and lack of grain at ISO 800 make it a winner for me at least until the D400 comes out later next year which i would imagine will have the same sensor as the D7000 with some tweeks

Dave

1 comment:

Ryan Ward15 November 2010 at 01:25
Beautiful images. I have a D7000 but I don't own any fast long pro lenses, just a few primes, but I have some extremely sharp images. I have my U2 setting at auto ISO up to 1600 at 1/1000 for quick access to settings for birds, but I just don't have the glass for those kinds of shots. Marvelous!
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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.