I  have a Fujifilm 9100 9 megpixel digtal camera and have ordered a Canon XTI 10.1 megpixel camera. My question is how do I get sharper images out of these camera. I have set the Fujifilm to 400 ISO and the daytime images are clear but when zoomed in they pixilate badly. I have the image quality set at the max setting and the images are still not as sharp as I would like them to be. This is getting really frustrating. Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or hints?
Thanks in advance for your help.

Is there a sharpening option in the menu some where.
My first digital was an Olympus and everything looked upsharp to the point of what looked like out of focus but on checking the menus I found that sharpening was set to normal and when I chose a sharper option the pics where OK.
maybe Olympus think out of focus looks good?????
Eddie

I do all of my sharpening in software on the pc.  Sharpness is turned off in my camera. Why? To avoid halos that sometimes pop up on certain sorts of shots..and I prefer to sharpen myself.

As far as seeing the pixels, you can only zoom in so far and then the pixels show...regardless of "sharpness" of the image.   Sorry, I didn't help much with your question.

When you take pics in lower light conditions, you can encounter situations in which you have to up the iso, indeed. But you can compare this to a very silent passage in music, barely audible, and when you up the volume of your amplifier, you hear it better but you get a lot of noise and hiss from the ampli with it. The better your ampli, the less problems you have.

Same goes for camera's. You'll always meet some  "no tresspassing" sign somewhere where your camera is at its maximum performance. Beyond that, you get noise.

There is software to reduce it, but that usually goes at the expense of a bit of sharpness.
I personally also never use any settings on the camera to sharpen, enhance etc as it's never as good as when done afterwards.

So, for sharper pics:
-see that you have more light

• use a tripod
• lean against a wall, or find some support to limit body trembling (heartbeat, muscle tension etc)
• experiment what your camera can do and what not. and be creative withibn the limitations.
• eventually use a flash. I never do, but that's personal.

Use the lowest ISO when ever possible

Are you talking about zooming in on the LCD viewer or on a computer?      The mgs of the cam are more about print quality and size than computer view, which has a set resolution regardless of the mgs of the image. 

I do what the others here say: Steady to avoid shake fuzzies and lowest ISO posssible with short exposure times to avoid image noise.     

i use 100 iso usually ...200 on really sunny days.....

hey ;o)

• use 100 or 50 iso if possible
• work in raw if possible
• don't zoom too much
• close two aperture to obtain the best of the lense
• don't shoot without tripod if the speed is less than your focal (ie. shoot at 1/60è s. with a 50mm, may be 1/30è, but sharpnes is not guaranteed anymore - 135mm -> 100è s or 200è s, etc)

in photoshop, use the 'unsharp mask' ... but be cool with it !!!!

last, could you please put a sample here ?

hope this help !

Olivier provided a good list of ways to get the sharpest image possible. One thing to rememer is that when viewed at 100%, no image is going to look overly sharp, esp. from a 9MP camera with a small sensor.

Ok..I just re-read the original post...I bet the camera has a digital zoom...

NEVER USE DIGITAL ZOOM

always try to stay in the optical zoom range..Usually there is something that indicates when you get into digital zoom

I checked DP preview, and yes it does go to digital zoom..

[http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06082412fujis9600.asp

](http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06082412fujis9600.asp)I also read it will shoot at ISO 80..try some day-light shots at that setting and stay out of digital zoom..

It also say's that you can shoot in RAW, which was also suggested previously.

It looks like it has a nice 10X optical zoom...that should get you pretty close..

let us know how you make out with this..

*"I have set the Fujifilm to 400 ISO and the daytime images are clear but when zoomed in they pixilate badly."

WOW  I alway shoot at ISO 100. and I have only used ISO 400 once and that was shooting at night and if I use a high ISO like that then I get pixels bad I dont get bad pixels with ISO 100 at all. then I sharpen in photoshop

I shoot Raw canon rebel xt

Yes, if you were in your digital zoom range, that would certainly be the main cause of pixelation and non-clarity. Fuji's are known for good higher ISO performance, but as Miranda states, try to always keep it as low as possible.

Others have said most of it already, but here is my take.

The two main factors in an unsharp image are ISO speed, and camera shake. these factors work in opposition to each other.  The slowest shutter you can use without noticable shake will depend on how stesdy your hands are. With the camera set to shutter priority, try a few test shots  at diffrent shutter speeds in your back yard to finde your personal limit. Once you know your limit use the lowest ISO compatable with that shutter speed in any given circumstance.

A tripod can be cumbersome to lugg around all the time, a good compromise is a monopod with a quick release fitting. I always like to take one when I go out with my camera.

If you resize your photos on a PC the the very act of resizing will decrease the sharpness, even if you are reducing the size. As well as the sharpen filter, a clarify filter, or more contrast, can add to an impression of sharpness, even though the image is not actually any sharper.

Of course getting the focus right is another factor, sometimes auto focus can focus on the wrong thing, and you have to switch to manual.

I got myself a monopod. A Hama star 78, its taller than I am! At £9.99 I could not resist. Now if someone could explain why it has a rotating head???

Congrats! I'm still trying to figure out the rotating head part, though I assume the tilt feature is for enhance control, so you don't have to tilt down the whole shaft.

Seems you are asking two separate questions here are the images not sharp? or is it the grain thats a problem.. Some great advice given here, but may well disappear when you get the XTI but even then sharpness is often more to do with lens quality, and noise with the sensor.. 

To get the best results you need to ensure you have the best camera settings for the given light conditions.. Usually the lower the ISO the better... Postworking images also depends on making sure you have the right camera profile for the software you use..