P900 not as sharp as it was (1 Viewer)

[simmojunior]

Hi all,

I would like some advice. I have a Nikon p900 and it is great.

However, it does not seem as sharp as it used to be. My photos from Brazil last year (Independent Brazil August 2022: Chapada, Pantanal, Pompeu, Canastra & Campos do Jordao) are so much better and sharper than my photos from Colombia (Independent Colombia (Santa Marta and Central / Western Andes) July 2023) and Morocco (Yet another Morocco trip report! this year. Does anyone know why this might be? I know light will be a factor but I do not think it is the only factor.

Could I have got a setting wrong? Or could it be to do with image stabilisation? The photos look good on back of camera but generally not great on the computer.

I dropped the camera in January so a bit worried that is a factor but clearly the camera is not completely broken as still takes some ok photos. Close auto focus was a real issue in Colombia. Any advice appreciated!

Oli

 

[simmojunior]

I'm also rubbish at editing them so any tips at how to do that and which software to use would be welcome. I want Picasa back as I find a lot of software far too complicated.

 

[Gzoladz74]

Atmospheric conditions i.e. haze has devastating effects in sharpness...that could be a reason. Nothing you can do about it if that is the case.

For editing, I find snapseed a good balance between simplicity and results. It has simple tutorials to get you started and 3 or 4 functions can make a big different (crop, sharpness, contrast, etc). Then you go from there.

 

[njlarsen]

Have you tried a reset to factory settings, followed by whatever tweaks you made early on?
Niels

 

[Xenospiza]

I think you must have broken something, although atmospheric conditions can really mess up your photos as well.
But you'd expect to be able to make sharp pictures at low zoom up close.

My P900 gave up the ability to set the depth of field at some stage and started making a horrible noise when zooming in... time for a new one.

 

[John Nihon]

I'm also rubbish at editing them so any tips at how to do that and which software to use would be welcome. I want Picasa back as I find a lot of software far too complicated.

I still use Picasa even though it's dated and unsupported. If you search for it you should be able to download the last/latest version as was.

 

[AveryBartels]

My P900 also lost its crispness a bit less than a year after I bought it. I sent it back for repairs but they didn't fix the issue. The change is pretty minimal but it is still annoying. The lens has also started making a bit of a grating noise on occasion while zooming in and out but so far nothing more serious than that. Contemplating a replacement though less inclined to go for the p1000 as I don't think it needs more zoom and I don't want it to be any larger than already is.