Nikon P80..pics included?

Question

Nikon P80....(pics included)?

I have always used a SonyCyber shot, so when my sony cyber shot h5 broke, i decided to get the Nikon P80. The image quality on this is camera is so poor. I have tried changing EVERYTHING from white balance to mp's to the ISO nothing seems to help...does anyone else that owns a P80 have this trouble? The only thing I love on this camera is the panorama setting. Here are some of my photos taken with the P80

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll186/army_wife_94e/elkt.jpg

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll186/army_wife_94e/tree2.jpg

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll186/army_wife_94e/wichitapanorama.jpg

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll186/army_wife_94e/wichitapano3.jpg

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll186/army_wife_94e/wichitapano2.jpg

Answer 1

In addition to what Elvis said above it looks as if the first two photos are out of focus. The camera focused to infinity (the sky) rather than the subject (the moose and tree) in the foreground.

Most cameras autofocus when you half-press the shutter release button and will display a solid green circle on the LCD overlay or viewfinder when it gets a lock. Make sure that you get a solid circle and not a blinking one which indicates that there is no lock. Usually, when most cameras give up the lens is focused back to infinity.

The P80 is able to let the user manually select from 99 focus points. Consult your manual for further information.

It could also be a case of camera shake. It's hard to tell from the small examples. If so, the poor lighting is forcing the camera to use a slower shutter speed. Turn on image stabilization; it'll help but it wont work wonders. Try stabilizing the camera on a solid object or use a tripod.

Answer 2

use your spot metering

the manual will tell you how

Spot metering is very accurate and is not influenced by other areas in the frame. It is commonly used to shoot very high contrast scenes. For example, if the subject's back is being hit by the rising sun and the face is a lot darker than the bright halo around the subject's back and hairline (the subject is "backlit"), spot metering allows the photographer to measure the light bouncing off the subject's face and expose properly for that, instead of the much brighter light around the hairline. The area around the back and hairline will then become over-exposed.