DSLR Help - Blurry Pics

Rob2006

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Hello,

I am sort of a beginner photographer. I had a Canon Elph S300 for years and took hundreds of pics and some really good shots. This past November I took the plunge and bought a Nikon D50 with the 18-55 and the 55-200 Nikon lens. Some of the pics come out good and some dont. So far the P&S is looking beter than the DSLR.

We just went away on vacation and also a wedding 2 weeks ago and allot of the pics came out very blurry. I am not sure if I am asking too much from the SLR but with the P&S Canon I almost never had blurry pics.

Most of the of the blurry pics were even in good lighting / daylight.

My settings are
Matrix metering
White Balance Auto
ISO 200(Day) 400 Night
AF closest or Dynamic (Tried both)

I am trying to find out if I need a faster lens or learn how to shoot better. What a disappointment seeing pics of my 18 month old daughter as a flower girl and 1/2 the pics are blurry.

TIA.

Rob
 
The fault is definitely not that of the camera or lens - ask any of the D50/D70 users here. My guess is that it's related to your grip - you have to hold the camera pretty steady. this guide isn't too bad. Out of a couple thousand shots I took with the D50/18-55mm combo before eventually replacing the lens, I'd say less than one in one hundred was blurry, and those were easily attributable to my own faults. In fact, I find that the D50 focuses and shoots fast enough that it often avoids blur I get with point-and-shoots.
 
http://img417.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blurry1gd4.jpg

Nikon D50
2006/07/15 14:34:12.6
JPEG (8-bit) Fine
Image Size: Large (3008 x 2000)
Lens: 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 G
Focal Length: 48mm
Exposure Mode: Manual
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
1/10 sec - F/5.6
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 400
Optimize Image: Normal
White Balance: Auto
AF Mode: AF-A
Flash Sync Mode: Front Curtain
Auto Flash Mode: i-TTL
Auto Flash Comp: 0 EV
Color Mode: Mode IIIa (sRGB)
Tone Comp.: Auto
Hue Adjustment: 0°
Saturation: Normal
Sharpening: Auto
Image Comment:
Long Exposure NR: Off
Wide Panel
 
Your problem lies in the shutter speed you were using, 1/10 of a second is far to long for most people to hold steady hand held, and very very slow for moving subjects such as people. As a general rule for myself I don't shoot people/children under 1/60th of a second.
 
too slow of a shutter if im readin that right 1/10 is too slow for an indoor shot, even with a flash
 
I would take a look at your manual for starters, get familiar with the various controls. You took this photo on fully manual settings, and if you're just starting out in the SLR world you might want to invest in some good books or a class to help learn the basics of shutter speeds and f-stops :) Check out [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789496372/sr=8-1/qid=1154399488/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2254469-1011133?ie=UTF8]THIS BOOK[/ame] for a good place to start :D Welcome to TPF :)
 
I took that pic in "P" mode. The camera chose those settings. I just tried some pics in Manual mode and I can change shutter speed / aperature.

Maybe its the "P" mode thats not setting up right. I will try some more pics in "M" manual mode.

Thanks
 
Actually your EXIF data shows that the exposure was done in manual, at least that's what your data posted here show :)
 
you need to learn about aperture and shutter, thats basically the BIG advantage of DSLR, manual, and ability to change aperture and shutter
if you cbf, then just stick with the point and shoot, its easier and you'll get better results.
 
I dont recall using a Manual mode. ANd especially tryign it that day for the wedding pics. I will look at some of the other exif's when I get home tongiht.

I have thought about selling this SLR and getting another P&S. Allot of the pics I like to take are quick/spur of the moment shots and to fiddle with Aperature/Exposure the shot would be missed. Thats why I was using "P" mode but that didn't work out sometimes.

Anyone recommend a GOOD P&S? I wonder how much I can get for the D50 and the LENS I have.
 
Welcome to the forum.

I think part of the problem is that what you thought was good lighting...was really not very good at all. Looking at the data from that shot, the shutter speed is 1/10...which we know is too long to get a sharp shot. Looking at the aperture, it was F5.6...which is at or close to the maximum for that lens. Then we look at the ISO...it was at 400. These three things tell me that it was really not very bright at all. It looks like the flash was used, which would have solved the problem, had the camera been in Auto mode...or had you manually adjusted the shutter speed.

Your P&S camera most likely gave you sharp shots because in lower light, it automatically made the flash fire and set the exposure based upon that. Your D50 can do the same thing but you have to have it in the correct mode. Your D50 can do so much more, however...you just have to learn how to use it.

A faster lens would certainly help. I suggest a 50mm F1.8 lens because it's quite inexpensive as lenses go. Still, the best thing you can do is to learn about photography so that you understand what the camera is doing.
 
I have the 1.8F 50M. It does take good shots at times. I prefer to use a zoom so I dont have to change the lens every few minutes to capture the shot.
 
I've read (probably on here) that a good rule of thumb for when to hand hold is taking the inverse of the focal lenght and if you can't get a shutter speed faster than that... you should use a tripod or set the camera down.

So if you're using a 50mm lens the shutter speed needs to be a minimum of 1/50th of a second which works for me.

I'd also recommend trying out the D50 in other lighting conditions before judging it's performance. I got one recently and love it... for the most it takes nothing but sharp pics and the ones that are blurry are outside of the camera's control (ie... my twitchy hands in low-light).
 

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