My Nikon D610 keeps locking on the background when I take a picture. Making the subject blurry. I am shooting in RAW, 1 point focus lock. Mostly Manual.

There are several possible causes for blurry pictures.
1) Camera motion. If everything is blurry, it's most likely because the camera moved while the picture was being taken. Make sure your shutter speed is fast enough if you're handholding the camera (longer lenses require faster shutter speed). Alternatively, put your camera on a stable surface, such as a tripod or a tabletop.
2) Subject motion. If the subject is blurry but the background is sharper, then the subject may have moved while the picture was being taken. Use a faster shutter speed. Raise the ISO if needed. There are limits, of course. If you're trying to photograph a fast-moving object in the dark, you probably won't be able to.
3) Improper focus. If the subject is blurry but something else in the picture is sharp, then the camera probably focused on the wrong object. Move the focus selector to the subject you want in focus. Alternatively, center the viewfinder on the subject, press the shutter button halfway to lock focus, then reframe and shoot.
Without any more specific information as to what and how your pictures are blurry, I'm afraid the above is all I can give you.

Try resetting your camera back to factory defaults. Press the MENU button, select the middle tools tab and scroll down to RESET ALL. Press SET, select OK and press SET. Hope this helps.

Change your metering mode to spot metering. Focus on your subject with half-press of shutter button...hold that press while you re-compose the picture and press the rest of the way. See if you get better results.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTITf correct focus cannot be obtained
When the subject to be focused is not on the AF target mark (not positioned
in the center of the composition), you can use the following steps to obtain the
correct focus on the subject. This operation is referred to as "focus lock".
Determine the position of the subject after focusing (Focus Lock)
1 Press the power switch.
• The camera turns on in the shooting
mode.
• The lens extends and the monitor turns
on.
• The orange lamp lights.
2 Turn the mode dial and select a
shooting mode.
"Shooting mode" (P.36)
3 Position the AF target mark on
the subject you want to focus on.
• When shooting a hard-to-focus
subject, point the camera at an object
about the same distance away as the
subject.
Press the shutter button halfway
until the green lamp lights.
• When the green lamp lights steadily,
the focus and the exposure are locked.
• When the green lamp blinks, the focus
and exposure are not locked. Release
your finger from the shutter button, reposition
your subject and press the
shutter button halfway again.
5 Keeping the shutter button
pressed halfway, recompose
your shot.
6 Press the shutter button fully.
Try the above, info from D-535, C-370 and X-450.
I can email you the complete manual if this works.
Regards
Phillip

Try cleaning your sensor manualy.

The camera display is a two-stage progressive display. The image is roughed out, then the interleaving lines are filled in. This has no effect on the image itself, just the monitor display. Apart from the media, digital photography is the same as film photography, and subject to the same challenges and requires the same time-honored techniques. If your pictures are blurry, you may be shaking the camera. Practice holding the camera firmly to your eye, and squeeze (don't poke) the shutter release. If you are holding the camera at arms length to shoot - what can I say? You can also increase the ISO speed, so that the shutter speed is faster. You may not be focusing on the right area. Focus on the subject (line up the box in the viewfinder), particularly on the eyes, by pressing half-way on the shutter release. Holding, to lock the focus, re-point the camera to compose the picture before pressing the shutter release the rest of the way. Make sure you hold the shutter release and wait the 1/2 second or so for the exposure to complete (the 5700 is painfully slow), indicated by the "green" light in the eyepiece, before whipping the camera from your face.

Hl, I'm not sure what shooting options the P72 has. But, even in Auto you should be able to do this (Auto usually picks a wide aperture). The key is to fill the frame (at least 50%) with your subject. So zoom in and focus on the face and then while 1/2 pressing, zoom back out a little. Then fire away. You should get an in-focus subject and slight blurring of the BG. You have to experiment with this. If you fill the frame too much, you might get such a small depth of field that the subject's nose is in-focus but the eyes aren't.

Make sure your subject is within the camera's range. You should be at least 31 inches away to take a picture without the flash, and 31 inches to 8 feet away to take a picture with the flash. You can take a picture as close as 8 inches in macro mode. When you take macro close- ups, make sure you have adequate lighting (with the flash disabled). Using a tripod will help you capture sharp pictures. Make sure you hold the camera steady after you press the shutter button (until the red light starts to flash), and your subject isn't moving. If you are shaking the camera when you lock the focus, a warning icon appears in the right corner of the LCD. If you want to photograph a moving subject, you can change the shutter speed while the camera is connected to your computer. Try increasing the shutter speed. For more information, see Chapter 6. Make sure your flash is not set to flash off. When you focus on a nearby object, your picture's background may appear blurry. Try changing your focus.

The shooting modes are described as follows: AUTO (Factory default setting) Auto mode is used for regular photography. The camera automatically makes the settings for natural color balance. Other functions, such as the flash mode and metering, can be adjusted manually. Portrait Portrait mode is suitable for taking a portrait-style picture of a person. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. Night scene Night scene mode is suitable for shooting pictures in the evening or at night. The camera sets a slower shutter speed than is used in normal shooting. If you take a picture of a street at night in any other mode, the lack of brightness will result in a dark picture with only dots of light showing. In this mode, the true appearance of the street is captured. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. If you use the flash, you can take pictures of both your subject and the night background. SCENE Scene mode enables you to select one of the following scene shooting modes available in the menu. Landscape + Scene shooting Landscape + Scene shooting is suitable for taking pictures of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. This mode produces clear, sharp pictures with excellent detail, making it ideal for shooting natural scenery. Landscape + Portrait shooting Landscape + Portrait shooting is suitable for taking photos of both your subject and the background. The picture is taken with the background as well as the subject in the foreground in focus. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting settings QuickTime Movie Quicktime Movie mode lets you record movies. The focus and zoom are locked. If the distance to the subject changes, the focus may be compromised. Landscape Landscape mode is suitable for taking pictures of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. Self-portrait Self-portrait mode enables you to take a picture of yourself while holding the camera. Point the lens towards yourself, and the focus will be locked on you. The camera automatically sets the optimal shooting conditions. The zoom is fixed in the wide position and cannot be changed. My Mode Enables you to make settings manually and register them in the mode dial's mode so you can call up your own shooting mode whenever you want. Program shooting (P) Program shooting allows you to shoot using an aperture and shutter speed that the camera sets. You can set the flash, white balance, or other functions manually. Aperture priority shooting (A) Aperture priority shooting allows you to set the aperture manually. The camera sets the shutter speed automatically. By decreasing the aperture value (F-number), the camera will focus within a smaller range, producing a picture with a blurred background. Increasing the value will let the camera focus over a wider range in the forward and backward directions, resulting in a picture in which

1. Typical problem subjects for autofocus 1) Very low-contrast subjects 2) Overlapping nearby and distant objects 3) Very bright subjects in the center 4) Subjects moving very fast 5) Subjects through glass Focus on an object that is at the same distance as the desired subject, apply Focus Lock, and then recompose the picture. Or set the lens focus mode switch to (or), and focus manually. (Manual focus is only possible with cameras providing this feature.) 2. Attempting to take pictures out of the camera's shooting distance: When taking pictures out of the camera's shooting distance, the subject will be out of focus. The shooting distance differs from each camera model. Please check the specifications of your camera in the instruction manual to determine the shooting distance.