Blur Help

[Shayne85]

I took multiple shots today outside in cloudy conditions and most of my shots came out blurry like this one and I don't understand why. Any help with this?

 

[Melissa Royal]

The only thing I can say is that it is probably caused by camera movement. If you're taking the photos by hand and not using a tripod that could be why. It could also be caused if you are zooming into the subject too closely with a camera that cannot focus so closely. I would suggest using a tripod and getting a camera with at least a 20X zoom. If you have a DSLR, you can chance the lenses as you please, but DSLR cameras are very expensive.

The Digital Camera is use is the Canon Powershot SX 20IS. It works really well with zooming in and there is almost never blur or noise so long as the camera is on a tripod.

Hope to have helped you and good luck! =)

 

[shortpants]

You shouldn't need a tripod in the middle of the day. What was your ISO and shutterspeed?

 

[Mike_E]

You might want to reread your manual in the section covering focus points, it looks like you got the tree bark to the left of the cardinal in pretty sharp focus.

You also need to read up on just what aperture does, it will help a lot.

You can start here .. Digital Photography Tutorials

I hope I don't sound like a jerk here but reading up on the subjects really is your best option

 

[KmH]

Was it windy?

 

[Shayne85]

Thanks for tip I read a couple of the articles focusing on the shutter speed,iso,etc. But I am a little confused. In the case of the above picture should my shutter speed have been higher or lower?
To answer your question kmh it was a tad windy, the picture was taken just before a storm.

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[KmH]

The Cardinal is under exposed. What metering mode were you using? A longer focal length lens would also help.

 

[Shayne85]

The Cardinal is under exposed. What metering mode were you using? A longer focal length lens would also help.

I use Evaluative Metering and a 55-250mm lens

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[KmH]

Evaluative metering averages the entire scene. Since the Cardnial makes up such a tiny portion of the scene in the viewfinder, it does not dominate the exposure reading.

Your camera has at least 2 other metering modes, and maybe 3 of them depending what model you have: Partial, Center-Weighted, and Spot.

To have a sharply focused subject, the subject has to be bigger in the viewfinder than the selected focus point.

Many advanced amateur bird shooters use 400 mm and 600 mm prime lenses mounted on gimbaled tripod heads.

Induro GHB2 Gimbal Head (Black)

Nikon 400mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S SWM Super Telephoto Lens for Nikon FX and DX Format Digital SLR

Nikon 600mm f/4.0G ED VR II AF-S SWM Super Telephoto Lens for Nikon FX and DX Format Digital SLR