Nikon Coolpix S9300

[W0mps]

So I picked up this camera a few months ago and have only used it a handful of times. It is a point and shoot with tons of options and the HDR feature which I think is awesome. I can't seem to get a nice clear picture out of it though. I keep the photo size at the highest MP (16) and steady the camera, halfway press the shoot button to focus and then finally take the picture. I just can't get a nice picture out of it most of the time. It's aggravating because the pictures look great on the preview and when I get home and upload them, they look like they were taken with a flip phone. I mean don't get me wrong, I'd say 50% of the time I will get a nice clear picture, but more times than not I won't. Any suggestions? Here's an example, it just doesn't seem crisp to me:

 

[TripLeader]

What was the ISO, aperture setting, and shutter speed on that shot?

 

[W0mps]

What was the ISO, aperture setting, and shutter speed on that shot?

Sorry I have no idea. I guess thats what I'm looking for. The camera was on an auto setting.

 

[TripLeader]

Ok. I'm a complete camera amateur myself, so be aware of that before you take any of my advice...
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I looked over the camera on dpreview.com. One of the knocks on the camera is poor focusing in dim light. Point & Shoot camera's don't have the biggest sensors in them, which results in not being able to take the best low light images (as compared to something like a DSLR).
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There's no manual settings of any kinds, so you have to work with the auto features. That might be what the problem is in the photo you posted. I think your best bet would be to retake the shot with brighter light (such as sunlight). Otherwise, you may need to use trial and error to see if any other auto setting works better.
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Here's the quick conclusion from dpreview.com:
Conclusion - Pros:
•Good value for the money
•18X, 25 - 450 mm optical zoom lens in a compact, generally well-built body
•Optical image stabilization
•Sharp 3-inch LCD display with 921k pixels
•Fast autofocus in good light
•GPS receiver with compass and large landmark database
•Scene Auto Selector picks a shooting mode for you
•Plenty of scene modes and special effects
•Wide selection of burst modes, some of which are pretty good
•Redeye not a problem
•Full HD movie mode with stereo sound, use of optical zoom and image stabilizer, and full-time autofocus

Conclusion - Cons:
•Noisy and soft photos have noticeable detail loss, even at base ISO of 125
•Strong highlight clipping at times
•No manual controls, save for white balance
•Low light focusing not great
•Below average battery life
•Flash is slow to recharge
•Not great for night shots, due to 1 sec shutter speed limit and lack of manual controls
•Photos taken in portrait orientation are not rotated automatically
•Flimsy door over battery/memory card compartment
•Internal battery charging is slow, won't let you charge a spare
•Full manual on CD-ROM
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The full review is here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-coolpix-s9300 I'm not associated with the website, but I think they do thorough reviews.

 

[W0mps]

Ok. I'm a complete camera amateur myself, so be aware of that before you take any of my advice...
_____
I looked over the camera on dpreview.com. One of the knocks on the camera is poor focusing in dim light. Point & Shoot camera's don't have the biggest sensors in them, which results in not being able to take the best low light images (as compared to something like a DSLR).
_____
There's no manual settings of any kinds, so you have to work with the auto features. That might be what the problem is in the photo you posted. I think your best bet would be to retake the shot with brighter light (such as sunlight). Otherwise, you may need to use trial and error to see if any other auto setting works better.
_____
Here's the quick conclusion from dpreview.com:
Conclusion - Pros:
•Good value for the money
•18X, 25 - 450 mm optical zoom lens in a compact, generally well-built body
•Optical image stabilization
•Sharp 3-inch LCD display with 921k pixels
•Fast autofocus in good light
•GPS receiver with compass and large landmark database
•Scene Auto Selector picks a shooting mode for you
•Plenty of scene modes and special effects
•Wide selection of burst modes, some of which are pretty good
•Redeye not a problem
•Full HD movie mode with stereo sound, use of optical zoom and image stabilizer, and full-time autofocus

Conclusion - Cons:
•Noisy and soft photos have noticeable detail loss, even at base ISO of 125
•Strong highlight clipping at times
•No manual controls, save for white balance
•Low light focusing not great
•Below average battery life
•Flash is slow to recharge
•Not great for night shots, due to 1 sec shutter speed limit and lack of manual controls
•Photos taken in portrait orientation are not rotated automatically
•Flimsy door over battery/memory card compartment
•Internal battery charging is slow, won't let you charge a spare
•Full manual on CD-ROM
_____
The full review is here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-coolpix-s9300 I'm not associated with the website, but I think they do thorough reviews.

Thanks

 

[Howard70]

I used a Coolpix 9300 for awhile. I took some good shots with it, but I also found the dial which controlled settings was easily moved without my knowing. I usually wanted the green auto setting and I was usually happy with photos taken at that setting. However, it would often move to an adjacent setting which used a soft focus. That caused the photos to be slightly blurry and out of focus. You might confirm that you're on the standard automatic setting. If you made any adjustments to the user modes you might do a factory reset to make sure that you haven't accidentally altered an aspect of focus. The camera can take great sharp images when everything works well. I eventually switched to a Coolpix P7800. That camera works better for me (shoots "raw" images that post-process better), but I miss the long telephoto of the 9300.

Howard

 

[SunFlower]

I used a Coolpix 9300 for awhile. I took some good shots with it, but I also found the dial which controlled settings was easily moved without my knowing. I usually wanted the green auto setting and I was usually happy with photos taken at that setting. However, it would often move to an adjacent setting which used a soft focus. That caused the photos to be slightly blurry and out of focus.

I have the Nikon S9500 which is the newer version of this camera. The experience of this poster is exactly what has happened to me many times. The "auto" setting is right next to the soft focus setting on the dial and its very easy to accidently move the dial.

Its also possible the OP has turned the flash off and thus the shutter speed is very slow. My experience with the 9500 has shown the flash almost always comes on indoors if its on Auto setting and the OP's picture doesn't appear to have any flash lightening in it.