Pictures always blurry

[HiddenOne]

Hi everyone!

My hands tend to shake a little all the time, but it seems like every picture I take with my new Canon A70 is blurry; no matter what setting I have it on. When my friends try to take pictures with it, it does the same thing so I don't think it's just because I shake. Is the aperture set to remain open too long or something? What can I change so that I no longer have to take the same picture 15 times to make sure I get a non-blurry one?

 

[HiddenOne]

Oh I forgot to mention that the pictures are great if I am using a tripod or if I set the camera on a table or something. But if it is in anyone's hands there's a good chance the pic will be blurry. How can I make it less sensitive?

 

[mrsid99]

What are the conditions when you're taking the pictures?
If, for instance, you're indoors or the lighting is poor and you've no flash then it's possible for the shutter to be open for so long that hand shake will be noticeable.
Any chance of posting a sample with the shutter times and aperture settings?

 

[HiddenOne]

It happens in all conditions. Inside, outside, light, dark, etc.

However, I do always turn the flash off - even when I'm inside. I have Photoshop and I always load the pictures into that first, so the brightness doesn't matter. In fact, sometimes the pictures come out too bright when I use the flash.

As for shutter speed and aperture settings, I have no idea how to change them or see what they are. I was just looking in the manual, but it is so confusing. It seems like the aperture and shutter speeds can only be changed while in modes OTHER than what I actually use (like some Av or Tv or M or P modes instead of ones I use like portrait or auto or high speed).

 

[mrsid99]

I assume you're using a digital camera so is the EXIF data available?
Since the shots come out OK when on a tripod the obvious conclusion is that the exposure time is too long and that suggests too small an aperture or generally too little light available.
You stated that when using the flash the pictures were too bright, does that mean they were "blown out" (no details visible) or just lighter than you normally see?

 

[Mitica100]

Hi everyone!

My hands tend to shake a little all the time, but it seems like every picture I take with my new Canon A70 is blurry; no matter what setting I have it on. When my friends try to take pictures with it, it does the same thing so I don't think it's just because I shake. Is the aperture set to remain open too long or something? What can I change so that I no longer have to take the same picture 15 times to make sure I get a non-blurry one?

Hi,

You should always use a tripod when shooting with speeds slower than 1/30. My guess is that you were shooting 1/15 and 1/8 handheld. It can be done but with a lot of bracing and practice. Can you post an example here?

 

[Soulreaver]

Yes, that seems to be a problem of shutter speed.And it tends to get worse with a longer zoom.You should probably use a flash and try the manual modes to set a proper shutter speed.

 

[HiddenOne]

Thanks so much everyone.

So basically what you all are saying is when I am NOT using a tripod I should put the camera on one of the manual settings (P, Tv, Av, or M) so that I can manually set the shutter speed to faster than 1/30 sec AND/OR use the flash as often as posible when on NON-manual settings (auto, portrait, cloudy, distance, etc)?

 

[Big Mike]

Simple setting the shutter speed faster is not always an option. Exposure has two main veriables...aperture and shutter speed. Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens and shutter speed is the time the shutter is open (or how long the digital sensor records the image).

If you change one variable, you have to change the other in order to keep the same exposure. So if you set the shutter speed faster, you would have to open the lens aperture bigger. The formula is reciprocal...if you cut the shutter time in half, you have to double the size of the aperture.

Now the problem is that you camera's lens can only open so big. So when you're inside (low light situation) the camera needs to get lots of light to the sensor. So it opens the aperture to it's maximum...then the only option it has is to keep the shutter open longer...which caused blurry photos. (You can also change the ISO setting but that can only help so much)

If you use the flash, you will get sharp photos. Unfortunately, the built-in flash on a small digi-cam does not give very pleasing light. It's too small and way to close to the lens.

Do some reading up on basic exposure, aperture, shutter speed...once you start to get a basic understanding of how a camera works, you will be able to use your camera more effectively and understand the different modes and when to use them.

 

[Rogue Monk]

HiddenOne,

Check the settings on your camera. Sometimes my setting get switched when I'm playing around and I forget to switch them back.

Try shooting in Tv (Shutter Priority) mode and keeping your speed to around 1/125 sec and never lower than 1/30 sec for hand-held shots. That will at least start to help your daylight shooting while letting you learn about the different setting on your camera.

Realize that from the time you fully press the shutter release to the time the image is captured is around 0.1 sec. The tendancy (I used to do this too) is to move immediately after pushing the button. Because of this latency, you have to hold still (no obvious movements...a little shake should be fine) for that split second. If you're in movement when the camera finally opens the shutter, you'll get blur.

Don't forget to focus first. Half press the shutter release to focus (on my PowerShot S200 a square on the LCD will go green when focused) and then, without releasing, press fully to take the shot.

Try not to zoom in during low-light situations. Think about it like shining a flashlight down a dark hall. If you make the hall twice as long, you're going to need a more powerful flashlight to see to the end. Its the same with zoom...the longer the zoom, the stronger the light you need.

I hope these help. Let us know how you make out.

 

[HiddenOne]

Thanks, guys. This is all really new to me (obviously), but I'll play around and see what happens.

 

[mal]

www.shortcourses.com/using/index.htm

I found this site really helpful when I was first learning about aperture and shutter settings, as well as most other aspects of intermediate-advanced camera operation. It's basically a short course on getting the most out of your digital camera. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me.

 

[Digital Matt]

I think Rogue Monk made a very valid point here. Shutter lag. There is a lot of shutter lag on point and shoot cameras, meaning the time from when you press the shutter button, to when the shutter actually opens is pretty long. It may not seem long to you, but in terms of photography, a 1/2 or 1/4 of a second is huge. Be sure to hold the camera as steady as possible, longer than you think you should, just to be safe, and see if that doesn't help. Indoors is one situation when you might need a tripod or flash no matter what, but outdoors in bright light should not give you problems handheld. It would be a good idea to learn something about exposure however, and learn to use the manual settings on your camera, so you can get a little more creative with your exposures.