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i dont know if im imagining it, or not.

what do you lot think? any of the images here : http://darb.net/eastbound-2005 for example

i think 90 percent of my shots are softer than i like 'em outta the camera....

i use the 'unsharp mask' in PS for most of my images.
as a rule digital cameras make soft images.

and to answer your question, many of your images do look a tad soft to me. I tend to like my images extra sharp tho...just my preference

p.s. nice photo blog Darb!
some awesome work:

Do you tend to shoot wide open? I try the best I can to shoot between f8 and f11 unless I'm trying to blur or get shallow depth of field. I only recently started doing this and found my average pics are much more sharp now.

EDIT: also it looks like you shoot most of your outdoor stuff with the cpl, which isn't bad for many situations in sunlight or reflections, but otherwise I'd take it off as it restricts light and you'll be shooting more towards the wide open end which makes photos soft.

Also - what in camera sharpening settings do you use.

Following advice read on DSLR sites and books I turned by in camera sharpening to off on the theory that PS does better sharpening but for the first while it was very disconcerting as ALL my shots looked very soft right out of the camera - like none of them were in focus.

I took some with shapening on to compare and found that I could replicate the in camera sharpening in PS but it required some pretty high amounts of 300 or more % in the amount field.

Now I'm thinking maybe I should let the camera do some and finish up in PS just to save myself process time.

If shooting RAW it is best left to PS or Nikon Capture to do the PP work. I am with Dee on the fact that most pics out of the camera tend to be soft. My own USM is 180, 0.5 and 0 and it works for 95% of my pics - that’s in PSCS

most of those images shot jpeg, sharpening medium, A priority at F8 ... then into CS and USM 140/1.4/3

almost always tripod to maintain F8 and slower shutter even with CPL and double backed Cokin GRAD ND's etc ... and/or very steady hands! .. even if handheld i keep it attached to my manfrotto as the weight tends to quell any hand shak

im scared my lens is soft since servicing ... but dont know if its in my head. tamron 28-300 ... also had the CCD cleaned, but i doubt thats got anything to do with it

i may also be being a bit harsh on myself

thanks dee, glad you like it

check out the main site : http://darb.net

darb wrote:most of those images shot jpeg, sharpening medium, A priority at F8 ... then into CS and USM 140/1.4/3

almost always tripod to maintain F8 and slower shutter even with CPL and double backed Cokin GRAD ND's etc ... and/or very steady hands! .. even if handheld i keep it attached to my manfrotto as the weight tends to quell any hand shak

im scared my lens is soft since servicing ... but dont know if its in my head. tamron 28-300 ... also had the CCD cleaned, but i doubt thats got anything to do with it

i may also be being a bit harsh on myself

Darb, Let me understand that you're still shooting in JPG?

not sure what you imply by "still", but yes in these photos I was shooting JPEG, as I often do unless the short is terribly important to me and/or when im on holidays in remote places

Yes, im fluent in NEF use and know my post processing inside out. (and i still take better shots than some D100, $10k VR lens wielding people i know that take 9000 frames of their pets! )

The softness im suspecting is not a NEF vs JPG issue. I'm just wondering, regardless of any bias created by people knowing the processing used, whether the images look soft or not to the eye of other forum members. I have a feeling my lens is getting softer in its vintage.

May have to setup some comparisons between a few to see, just thought id squirt a question here to guage some feedback.

I've just started shooting NEF... quite happy with the results...

It might just be an illusion but I have noticed a differemce in sharpness...

(more than likely just a figement of my imagination)

OK, to remove this irrelevant point from the discussion. (not irrelevant full stop, but irrelevant to this context.).

I am noticing my images are getting softer, when looking back at other images ive done in the same format with same processing technique (ie jpg vs jpg, and also nef vs nef.)

I dont have any exact comparison, i just wondered, with no knoweledge of the processing used, whether you lot think those images are a tad soft.

its a bit like someone saying "hey do you think this steak is a bit dry?" ... "well that depends on how it was cooked". let your tastebuds decide

i think i might be getting a bit harsh / expectant on this crappy tamron ... kind of like when you buy a new car its the greatest, powreful feeling thing ... a year later you think its lost power, doesnt stop aswell, and doesnt corner so great ... but its in your head!. (actually, given i drive a holden, its probably not in my head.)