It's all a blur!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by jadeast on August 7, 2008 at 12:55pm

Nicci, Are you allowing the auto focus to work? on many cameras, you have to press the shutter part way to make the autofocus to work, then press the rest of the way to capture the image. try this and see if your images aren't better. For actions shots, you may have to hold the shutter down partway in anticipation of shooting well in advance of the actual shot.

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Permalink Reply by Michael on August 7, 2008 at 1:47pm

Nicci, post a few of your photos so we can see the problem.....

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Permalink Reply by Katherine Maguire on August 11, 2008 at 7:44am

For images that are blurry, check the exposure settings and the focus length used. If the focal length is great than the shutter speed then you have camera shake. Small movements of the camera will cause the image to be blurred.

For a lens focal length of 50mm, your shutter speed should be faster than 1/50 for the camera to be hand held otherwise you will need a tripod.

The problem with the camera's light meter is that it cannot tell whether the camera is hand held or on a tripod.

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Permalink Reply by Sean on November 1, 2008 at 9:28pm

I used to have the same problem. I didn't think I had a shaky hand either. but apparently I do. So I learned to manipulate may camera...I messed with my settings so I never shot anything slower that 1/125. Then after making some money I bought a nice lens that had Optical stabilization...the greatest thing since sliced bread. Sigma calls it Optical stabilization, Nikon calls it vibration reduction?, and Canon calls it Image stabilization...I can now shoot at 1/10 with no blur...best investment I ever made. Another solution is a tripod or monopod.

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Permalink Reply by Maeda on November 2, 2008 at 6:37am

I also experience this. I have a discussion about this in the Canon user group but i'm not sure what the problem is... Maybe this might be the solution based from the comments. I'm just wondering even when my focal length is at 55mm, with a flash that means the P mode sets to the shutter speed of 60. I still also get blurred shots. My camera is set to auto focus. Does my auto focus have problem?

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Permalink Reply by Michael Bartholome on November 25, 2008 at 7:17am

I had the same problem with shake. I composed the same shot with tripod and holding by had and found I pushed on the button too fast. I bought an external shutter button to use as I took the picture and that helped alot. Have done some weddings and it made a big difference. I now shoot with a IS lens at times and that made a difference too. Now I get too clear of a shot sometimes of the face.

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Permalink Reply by CameraClicker on November 26, 2008 at 10:32am

You can see Nicci's photos by clicking on her photo at the top of this discussion. I think she is teasing us, she has some pretty good stuff. I particularly like the Squirrel.

Blur is a serious topic worth discussing though. To the purist, blur is caused by either the camera moving or the subject moving, or both. A high (fast) shutter speed will stop blur. So will a tripod, if the blur is caused by camera movement. Image Stabilization will prevent some blur, different manufacturers have different mechanisms and some offer control over the kind of stabilization provided, panning mode for instance allows horizontal movement but tries to restrain vertical movement. Sometimes blur is desired to emphasize movement: backgrounds, wheels and propellers have all been blurred on purpose.

There are a couple of other words that come to mind while reading Nicci's note. Focus and Sharpness. Modern auto-focus does a better job of focusing than I can on my own, except when it doesn't focus on what I want to focus on. Macro photography pretty much needs manual focus. Depending upon your camera and the available settings, manual focus may be a better option for some subjects, and manual focus takes out the shutter lag while the camera focuses. Lens quality makes a huge difference to focus. If focus is a problem, try a different lens. If auto-focus is a problem, try a different body, yours might need service. Pay attention to the auto-focus settings too, some cameras/lenses can focus continuously, some have distance ranges to speed focusing. Most auto-focus settings do not let the shutter release if nothing is in focus.

Sharpness is not about focusing, at least not sharpness as defined by computer software, it is about contrast of the edges. Different cameras apply different amounts of sharpening to the original photo, you can increase sharpness using Sharpening, Unsharp Mask, layers tricks and probably other methods. You can not sharpen an out of focus photo into focus.

Two other thoughts, when viewed on a computer monitor, you are looking at 75 dpi (low res), when you print, you probably print at 150 or 300 dpi (higher res) if you are printing pictures to be held. A poster would probably be printed at lower resolution but is meant to be viewed from a distance. If small motion blur, sudden movement of your subject or similar uncontrollable events are expected, set the camera's drive to slow continuous and take two, three or four pictures at a time then pick the best one.

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Permalink Reply by Edijs Palens on November 27, 2008 at 8:43am

yeah i think you should post some pictures so we can see what you mean by blur! :)

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Permalink Reply by Rob Bixby on January 9, 2009 at 9:52am

CameraClicker touched on one thing that I think needs more discussion. Auto focus on what you want in focus. If anyone composes images using the rule of thirds (putting the subject on a point 1/3 left or right, 1/3 up or down from the edges of the image) can have major focus problems. Most people, when using auto focus, use the center focus point. This means the subject may ( or probably won't) not be where the camera is focusing. For a person, the focus point should be the eyes. If your composition doesn't put the eyes in the center, it won't look right. The trick, is to focus on the eyes by pressing the shutter button 1/2 way, then, hold the shutter button down and re-compose the image, clicking the shutter using that setting. Another benefit is that the camera will adjust your exposure based on that same focal point.
Tripod, tripod, tripod, those are also the three best methods to reduce camera shake. Add a remote release and your shake is limited only to your mirror action. Use mirror lock-up, remote release, and a tripod, and you will have no shake at all, unless you live in California and have an earthquake.

Great photographs on you site by the way.

Rob

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Permalink Reply by Roland Caranzo on December 5, 2008 at 4:45am

yap, i agree with the rest of the guys that you should post the photos for reference.

there is a lot of ways how to get rid of the blurry images,
1. if you have shaky hands then you need to use a tripod.
2. for day time, set the speed from 1/1000 up

Note: don't forget to get the focus point lock-up other wise you always get blur and more bookeh to your images.

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Permalink Reply by Lolita Ronalds on February 4, 2009 at 7:37pm

Nicci I use my setting: ISO 400 in enteriors with good light and I go to 800 if it's not good light... It might be a problem with lights that's why I was thinking about the ISO...
Hope I could help more...
Love
Lolita
http://lolitawilsonphotos.com

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