Has anyone got a cure for Nikon Softness, I noticed Canon pics are sharper

I have a Nikon D5000 and although I love the features and have tried different settings and lenses, I can never get the crisp sharpness I am looking for. I went to several online sites and even their sample photos don't have a crisp edge they are mostly soft edges.
I usually have to raise the contrast and go through several types of editing before I get what many Canon cameras seem to do outright.
I have been a Nikon addict since the 35mm EM and have had a few Digital and DSLR Nikons, Actually it seems that the Nikon DX10 seemed to get sharper pics than the 5000.
I have looked this up online and have seen others complain about it but the fixes that are suggested don't make much difference. Any Ideas or am I doomed to sell my Nikon equipment and get the new Canon T3i?
I am not pleased with Nikon anymore and it seems that most people's reply is that I need to buy high end Nikon 2000.00 lenses or 1000.00 bodies to get the pics that a whole T3i kit does for under 1000. Any tips you guys????

I have shot Oly, Cannon and now I'm back to Nikon and haven't noticed this. There are so many variables that can cause soft images, which you probably know. Can you post a sample? Maybe shoot something that has print on it?

tkguess wrote: I have a Nikon D5000 and although I love the features and have tried different settings and lenses, I can never get the crisp sharpness I am looking for. I went to several online sites and even their sample photos don't have a crisp edge they are mostly soft edges.
I usually have to raise the contrast and go through several types of editing before I get what many Canon cameras seem to do outright.
I have been a Nikon addict since the 35mm EM and have had a few Digital and DSLR Nikons, Actually it seems that the Nikon DX10 seemed to get sharper pics than the 5000.
I have looked this up online and have seen others complain about it but the fixes that are suggested don't make much difference. Any Ideas or am I doomed to sell my Nikon equipment and get the new Canon T3i?
I am not pleased with Nikon anymore and it seems that most people's reply is that I need to buy high end Nikon 2000.00 lenses or 1000.00 bodies to get the pics that a whole T3i kit does for under 1000. Any tips you guys????

If your D5000 is still under warranty, send it in to be calibrated with your lens. Otherwise, I got nothing .... except for buying a fast prime like the 35mm 1.8G.

I agree, I have a D5000 with a 35MM 1.8 prime and 70-300 VR and have not noticed any softness.

Are you using the software supplied by Nikon? Or are you struggling with Photoshop? I have zero Nikon experience, but the software supplied by Canon with my Canon "gets me there" quicker and easier than Photoshop.

wrong way Kelly

It could be your camera - or your lens.
I often see a lot of reviews, especially on telephoto lenses complaining about sharpness. Usually, it's someone trying to hand-hold a 300mm lens.

I shoot Canon, but in both in my camera clubs (Canada - 50 members and Virginia - 140 members), I don't see much difference. The split is pretty even on brands.

I think there may have been a model or two that had issues and that causes a few people to think it is universal.

How are you processing your images? Have you recently switched to RAW?

This is definitely the first I've heard of Nikon somehow being "softer" than Canon. Both are as sharp as the lenses/processing you throw at them.

So what fixes have you tried? Have you tried bumping up the sharpness in the Menu which should be under picture controls? Usually a +1 or 2 works. Some of the problem with Dslrs is that the AA Filter causes softness, they do this to eliminate Morie', which was a problem with unfiltered sensors.

I have never used the nikon software and i have tried several lenses, I used my daughter's Canon T2i and my Nikon D5000 in the same room and hers are very crisp and clear. Mine have never had that since I bought it, I saw that many D5000s were on recall but mine wasn't among them. I look at many of the comparison sites and I can see the difference on the sample photos, don't know if it is actual focus, noise reduction or contrast, but I see a difference. It takes lots of tweaking to get my pics to look like I want them and I know it has to degrade the quality somewhat in having to do all that.
I will load the Nikon software and see if that makes a difference.
Thanks to all of you who are trying to help and left your comments

I haven't noticed a softness in my images and I shoot with two D90 bodies and Nikon Pro glass. As was said bumping up your sharpness may help rather than switching brands. My son has a Canon T3i and I don't notice that his pix are any sharper than mine.

I really dont understand this thread, "Nikon softness" I use two Nikons and have never noticed any softness unless it was deliberate.

Could it be that she she has a little bit better ISO range with the Canon and therefore is getting a faster shutter speed?

If you are shooting only JPG at the default settings, the Nikon images will generally appear softer than other brands. Nikon let's you decide when setting up the camera and processing the look you want, whereas other brands use more sharpening, contrast and generally more saturation in their default mode. If you shoot only jpegs, set the camera up for more contast, saturation and sharpening than the default. If you shoot RAW, there is virtually no difference and the images should be nearly the same after processing. If you have done all that and they are still softer, then there is a problem with the camera and/or lens.

Shadowfixer1 wrote: If you are shooting only JPG at the default settings, the Nikon images will generally appear softer than other brands. Nikon let's you decide when setting up the camera and processing the look you want, whereas other brands use more sharpening, contrast and generally more saturation in their default mode. If you shoot only jpegs, set the camera up for more contast, saturation and sharpening than the default. If you shoot RAW, there is virtually no difference and the images should be nearly the same after processing. If you have done all that and they are still softer, then there is a problem with the camera and/or lens.

Yes Which is why I asked if she was shooting RAW or not.

I think an old cartoon I did ages ago might be appropriate here:

It's like the Nikon 35 1.8 So many people have said "it's a bit soft at 1.8". The fact is it isn't, it's just most people suck at shooting shallow DOF shots (me included lol) and it's very easy to miss focus slightly. Therefore people say it's soft at 1.8.

Eliminate user error and you'll find a lot of the "softness" goes away quite quickly.

Your particular camera and/or lens may have sharpness problems, but it's not a brand issue. If you are seeing a significant image quality difference between your DSLR and others you may have a lemon body or lens. If you could find someone else with Nikon gear you might be able to narrow it down whether it's a problem with the body or lens, and then send which ever to Nikon service for repair/tuning.