...and so the problem with the camera is what?

Sometimes we buy a new body and expect a great big smack-in-the-face difference between the old and the new - but it doesn't happen. I experienced it to a small extent when I went from D90 to D7000. As you use it more - especially at higher ISO - you will be happier and happier.

Here is one that I took tonight using London Bridge as a tripod with the D5100

Or bump up your shutter speed accordingly.

Right, but in order to be able to a/ know that your camera has a problem (and not you), and b/ be able to send it back to Nikon, you need to be able to demonstrate in a way that shows due care was taken that there is a problem. You also have to be able to describe the problem so feelings and hand held snaps are not much good.

Go out on a nice bright day and shoot some pics - maybe the same pics you took before with your D50 and compare. If you still have the D50, you can do the same shots with same lens on each body and different lens on same body to get a definitive cause of the problen i.e. body or lens.

You could do a two-button reset to reset the camera to factory settings then read the manual so you can be sure the camera must have achieved focus lock before the shutter will release. I am confident that you have a settings problem and probably some shake in there too. Any increase in resolution will show up shake more than your old camera did too so use a tripod.

Cheers for the advice so far. I dont have any of my old lense for my D50. I still ghave the D50 body though. I take your point about using a tripod, my main concern is that I bought this camera as a improvement on the D50. I dont really want to be carting a Tripod with me everywhere. I guess I just want to be sure that its not a fault with the camera and thaty it is user error. I did a fair bit of research before I bought the camera, feeling a bit worried now that I should have stuck with the D50 and saved a fortune.

Make certain you use a decent tripod for your test shots to eliminate camera shake. Turn VR off when using a tripod. Note I said decent tripod - if you can move the camera on the tripod with a few fingers after it is properly attached, throw that 'tripod' away and get a decent one. When on the tripod use ISO 100.

@Tcole: ISO 100 is native on the 5100/7000 so his ISO 160 is OK.

heartyfisher said:
I think I see the problem... You have set it to "Shooting Mode Continuous" this means that it will trigger no matter if you have the objet in focus or not ..

Continuous shooting mode has nothing to do with the camera taking pictures regardless of focus or not. I believe you are referring to AF-C (Autofocus Continuous Servo) which by default allows you to take photos regardless of focus, unless otherwise changed in the menu.

heartyfisher said:
I think I see the problem... You have set it to "Shooting Mode Continuous" this means that it will trigger no matter if you have the objet in focus or not .. Although it will try its best to focus. This mode is mainly used for sports where capturing a sequence of shots is more important than getting the focus exactly right for each shot. If you do want to keep using this mode you need to half press the shutter to ensure a focus lock occurs.

This is a good point...it really sounds like user error. Even my D5000 with the 18-55 was pretty good. I imagine the D5100 even better. Also any reason for the ISO 160? I believe this would be one of the low ISO right? Might be better off using native 200.

The higher megapixel count of the D5100 may mean that you'll have to use a higher shutter speed to get the same sharpness that you used to be able to get away with on a D50.

Furthermore, your shutter speed may not be high enough to stop movement if there's a little wind in the tree's branches. I looked at the license plates in the cars at the upper left corner. They're sharp, and if there were no branches I'd be able to make out digits and letters.

Going to need some actual side by side (raw unedited) photos before we can say anything. I used to have a D50 too, and I know the D5100 blows it out of the water. So unless there's a defect with the camera, it's probably going to be user error.

I posted this to PAD yesterday. Taken with a D5100 and the 18-55. Follow heartyfisher's advice and keep it coming. The 5100 is capable of very sharp photos.

I think I see the problem... You have set it to "Shooting Mode Continuous" this means that it will trigger no matter if you have the objet in focus or not .. Although it will try its best to focus. This mode is mainly used for sports where capturing a sequence of shots is more important than getting the focus exactly right for each shot. If you do want to keep using this mode you need to half press the shutter to ensure a focus lock occurs.

What lenses do you have for your D50? Perhaps try those lenses on your 5100 for an apples to apples comparison.

You can do that with a battery grip. But that does not work for everyone, because you are changing the balance of the camera.
It is worth a try though.
Maybe you do some proper test shots before you invest in a battery grip.
Jürgen

part of the problem is that the body is very light compared to D50. Is there any way I can make the Body heavier?

heartyfisher said:
Ok i see some minimal data.. I was hoping to see the full exif. Which would show a lot more detail . like the camera settings etc...

Just to be clear the lenses are Nikon Lenses right ?

The full exif is there.
Colin, one thing can be said, the shutter speed is quite low for a handheld shot, especially with a light-weight camera like yours. Maybe you need to get used to the new body.
It also would be good, if you do purposely a test shot, a snapshot like you have posted is never a good to reference to.
I suggest you are taking different subjects, like portrait, landscapes and maybe a low light. Check and think about your settings, before you shoot. Do your best to take a good picture. That way you will exclude many variables, which you usually have in a snapshot.
Then post it here and you will get sound advise in any direction, potemtial camera problems as well as shooting techniques.

Jürgen

if you click the link next to 'settings', you get this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91151455@N06/8277474738/meta/

Ok i see some minimal data.. I was hoping to see the full exif. Which would show a lot more detail . like the camera settings etc...

Just to be clear the lenses are Nikon Lenses right ?

its there, you have to click through to flickr

I dont see the EXIF data.

Sorry mate, it was hand held and I was AF on the tree in the centre. Prob not a great example. I will try to get a pic with my D50 and my D5100 see what the difference is. It could just be that the DS0 had 3 focus areas and this has 11 I think so prob more challenging. I just found some of the pics a bit blurry. Also read on some forums that there is a issue with the AF on the Nikon

it looks like you attempted to focus on the trees and it focused on the houses?

Hi Colin,
Maybe you can just write a bit about what you were trying to do. What did you focus at, was it hand-held etc.
Jürgen

you can look here on how to post a photo http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=2450
and you can upload to some online hosting site (flickr seems to be a popular choice here, since exif data is more or less preserved)