Disappointed with image quality of nikon l26-advice needed

[quicky008]

I recently bought a nikon coolpix L26 (because it was cheap) and have been trying to take quality pictures but my images seem very pixelated and blurry and the colors appear completely washed out. Is there any setting that can help with sharper pictures or is there a problem with the camera?I was under the impression that Nikon L26 is a fairly good entry level camera but after using it for a while,i am terribly disappointed with its picture quality.One of my neighbours has a 8MP coolpix Camera that is a couple of years old but it still takes great pictures,which are a lot more vibrant and crisp than the ones taken by my camera.What should i do to improve the image quality?Please help

(p.s.-i generally use the auto mode for taking pictures and keep the image resolution to 16 MP)

 

[marvelousprashant]

Problem could be related to
1. Dirty lens : If you see fingerprints on lens try cleaning it with a very soft cloth very gently
2. Focus issue : There could be focus problem. Camera can often misfocus when light is not good or it may focus on some other thing than you are trying to resulting in blurry pics. when focus is correct, you should see a green box on the subject you are trying to focus. Remember that the shutter key is two step. Half pressing it triggers the focus while full press takes the shot. Focusing takes ~1 second so half press shutter key > wait for green box > Full press to take the shot is the correct way.

CNET writes The shortest focusing distance at wide-angle is a fairly long 50cm. It's 80cm at full-telephoto and a rather pedestrian 10cm in macro mode. So anything that is at a distance less than 10cm will be out of focus. For subjects at 10-50cm distance use macro mode

3. ISO issue : In Auto mode the camera usually shoots in ISO 400-800 range. This may result in noisy images. You can use P mode and keep the ISO to 100 and 200 easily atleast in daylight shots

 

[quicky008]

Problem could be related to
1. Dirty lens : If you see fingerprints on lens try cleaning it with a very soft cloth very gently
2. Focus issue : There could be focus problem. Camera can often misfocus when light is not good or it may focus on some other thing than you are trying to resulting in blurry pics. when focus is correct, you should see a green box on the subject you are trying to focus. Remember that the shutter key is two step. Half pressing it triggers the focus while full press takes the shot. Focusing takes ~1 second so half press shutter key > wait for green box > Full press to take the shot is the correct way.

CNET writes The shortest focusing distance at wide-angle is a fairly long 50cm. It's 80cm at full-telephoto and a rather pedestrian 10cm in macro mode. So anything that is at a distance less than 10cm will be out of focus. For subjects at 10-50cm distance use macro mode

3. ISO issue : In Auto mode the camera usually shoots in ISO 400-800 range. This may result in noisy images. You can use P mode and keep the ISO to 100 and 200 easily atleast in daylight shots

Thank you very much indeed for replying.The lens appears to be clean-there are no traces of dirt or grime on it and therefore i don't think the problem lies with the lens.I couldn't find anything called "macro mode" in the camera's menu but there is an option called "close up" within the image settings-is it similar to the macro mode?What exactly is the p mode and how am i supposed to change the ISO settings manually?

 

[sujoyp]

please post 1-2 pics

 

[quicky008]

Here's an image that was taken a few hours ago in auto mode-you can see for yourself how blurry and pixellated it appears(especially on zooming in).It seems I've flushed my money down the toilet by going for this camera.

*i.imgur.com/9F1ki.jpg

It looks as though the photograph was taken by a cheap mobile camera,which is really ironic.What else can i do to enhance the image quality?How can i change the iso settings manually?

 

[marvelousprashant]

^ Problem is definitely related to ISO. Just to make sure; on your computer rt click on the pic > properties > Details [tab] Under "Camera" you'll find ISO speed. Seems like its above ISO 800

Nikon has a very simple menu. I think Auto mode does not allow to change ISO. There is another scene mode AFAIK in which you can set the ISO. Try setting it to lowest possible. Keep the camera on wall or something to make it steady (only in evenings and low light) and shoot

 

[quicky008]

You are right,i followed your instructions and discovered that this image was shot at ISO-800.I've also found out that this camera does not allow the user the to alter the iso settings manually (check this review for details=*www.ephotozine.com/article/nikon-coolpix-l26-digital-compact-camera-review-19067)
It appears that it selects the iso values automatically while taking pictures and in most cases,it selects a high value(~800) by default,which results in considerable blurriness.Does that mean i will get poor quality images everytime i take photos?

 

[sujoyp]

no it just means u have to take shots in better light....and if u have many modes like landscape,portrait etc then try to use them

like prashant said keep the camera on a stable surface and put it on landscape mode...and then take the pic...see if it makes some improvement

And as u now know u have to always consider the light conditions while taking the shot

 

[marvelousprashant]

Try to shoot in Night mode. It will shoot with the longest exposure and minimum ISO possible. Keep the cam on a steady surface. Might work

 

[sujoyp]

I dont think it will take the shot in low ISO but will be taken at highest ISO...u know what cam will do in sequence

1.Biggest Aperture
2.highest ISO
3.lowest shutter speed

 

[marvelousprashant]

^ My experience is based on Nokia N8. Might be wrong

 

[sujoyp]

really prashant?? if i take a shot with my DSLR in auto mode it will select in the same sequence...even if it have to select ISO 3200
Shutter speed is the last thing it will check

 

[marvelousprashant]

From the L26 Manual 3 points of interest

Night landscape : Slow shutter speeds are used to capture stunning night landscapes.

Fireworks show : Slow shutter speeds are used to capture the light from fireworks It uses 4s shutter speed in this mode

When the camera detects subject movement or camera shake, the ISO sensitivity and shutter speed are automatically increased to reduce blurring.

@Sujoy Maybe Nokia did it differently. But Night mode definitely gave long exposures with lower ISO than Auto mode on my N8

 

[quicky008]

Thanks to every one of you for your valuable suggestions.I shot a couple of images in night mode but was sorely disappointed by their quality-there was a lot of noise in all of them and one image also exhibited a significant amount of ghosting(shadowy lines behind every object).When i examined them on my PC,i found that they had an ISO value of 400,which is a lot higher than what is considered normal.The image that i had posted earlier was taken late in the afternoon when there was adequate light all around-despite that,it was shot at ISO 800,which is really weird.

There are plenty of shooting modes in the camera and its difficult for me to understand which one produces optimal image quality under all circumstances.I will try taking some pictures in broad daylight tomorrow and see how they turn out.

 

[nac]

Some of the sample images in ephotozine are shot at ISO 80. There should be some mode, you can take at lower sensitivity.

Upload and share your original image. So we can see your EXIF data...

One trick, just until you figure out how to shoot at low ISO.

Use flash, even for the subject far away where your flash light can't reach. And even in day light. You will see the quality of the image taken with this cam.

 

[quicky008]

Yes,I've noticed that the reviewer has taken some of the photographs in ISO 80 and I've been wondering how he managed to do that when the camera does not allow manual modification of ISO settings.There must be some kind of trick to lower the ISO value but unfortunately,I haven't been able to figure it out yet.I've uploaded the original image,you can check it out here:

DSCN0052.JPG

Thanks a lot for your tip nac-I'll do what you've suggested and keep you posted about the outcome.

Btw a pack of Uniross charger and 2 rechargeable 2100 maH batteries were included with this camera-are they any good?

 

[nac]

When you zoom in, aperture value increases which will result slower shutter and/or increase in ISO. Your cam detects motion and increases ISO to avoid motion blur. Try Sports, Night Portrait, Dusk/dawn, Night landscape, Museum, Fireworks show, Backlighting, or Pet portrait. In these modes, motion detection will be disabled. And try when there is a good light. I mean in a bright day light (Noon).

I really don't know why your camera shoots up ISO in a day light. When you press shutter half way, you can see things like aperture value, shutter speed and ISO in your screen.

 

[quicky008]

Ok I'll try out these modes tomorrow.Will modifying the white balance settings make any difference to the image quality?

 

[nac]

^ It won't make any difference in IQ. Just tone of the image...

 

[tkin]

Is there no mode in which you can select the ISO manually? Although I had never seen a cam shoot with ISO800 in auto mode during day time, not even le cheapo kodak camera does that, cams always try to shoot with lowest ISO possible in a mode and at day time ISO800 is overkill.

And what won't Cnet say for money:
*reviews.cnet.co.uk/compact-digital-cameras/nikon-coolpix-l26-review-50007462/

It might not feel like much when you first get your hands on it, but the Nikon Coolpix L26 is a gem of a camera. With a resolution of 16.1 megapixels and a 5x zoom, it's a great starter kit for less experienced buyers or anyone looking for a first camera