need advice: pictures soft with D200

[aungzawwin]

Hi everyone,
I used a D40 previously and changed to D200 coz it has many more features I can enjoy with. But the pics are very soft-looking compared to D40. Colours are flatter too. I have already increased the sharpening level to "mediun high". I leave "auto tone" and "normal saturation". I shoot JPEG only, have no idea yet to handle RAW.
My obsession is, I suspect it may be due to the lenses which are not properly focusing on the subject though the focus point shows where it does its job. I normally use AFS mode, focus priority release, single point focus area and change it manually if needed. Lenses used are Nik 18-200mm VR, Nik 50mm f/1.8 and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8.
Those lenses on my D40 were quite sharp, and gave me better-looking colours. I think there is more noise with D200 at 800 ISO. Is it true?
How can I know the soft pics are due to improper focus(say..front or back focusing of the lens) or other factors like handshake, wide-opened aparture etc..
I like the style and heft of D200 and its reputation so I don't want to look down and change because of soft-pics alone..if I could improve something with it. Please advise.
regards,

 

[bEnd1ck]

post a sample photo to see?

 

[catchlights]

Hi everyone,
I used a D40 previously and changed to D200 coz it has many more features I can enjoy with. But the pics are very soft-looking compared to D40. Colours are flatter too. I have already increased the sharpening level to "mediun high". I leave "auto tone" and "normal saturation". I shoot JPEG only, have no idea yet to handle RAW.
My obsession is, I suspect it may be due to the lenses which are not properly focusing on the subject though the focus point shows where it does its job. I normally use AFS mode, focus priority release, single point focus area and change it manually if needed. Lenses used are Nik 18-200mm VR, Nik 50mm f/1.8 and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8.
Those lenses on my D40 were quite sharp, and gave me better-looking colours. I think there is more noise with D200 at 800 ISO. Is it true?
How can I know the soft pics are due to improper focus(say..front or back focusing of the lens) or other factors like handshake, wide-opened aparture etc..
I like the style and heft of D200 and its reputation so I don't want to look down and change because of soft-pics alone..if I could improve something with it. Please advise.
regards,

to confirm this, all you need to do is do a focusing test, google focusing test chart, print it and set up a tripod to shoot some test.

 

[aungzawwin]

thank you for the advices.
i have made the focus test with a chart. perhaps i've not properly done it..the results were not consistent
decided to go for a D90 though. hope it will be more than enough for a casual shooter. D200 may produce good results if it's tweaked in expert hands...but not the case with me:embrass:
cheers.

 

[dennisc]

D200 worked fine on my Nikkor ED 17-55mm f/2.8G when I was a Nikon user, tack sharp. Could it be the fact that D200 is a more serious amateur cam that it's more easy on the sharpening, processing and coloring, tends to have more film like noises compared to consumer oriented cams like the d40, tweaked to the sharp, vibrant contrast consumers luv. Try to max the sharpening & saturation of the D200 if it still doesn't suit you, get the D90