I need a fast camera

[inou]

Hi,

I was doing an inspection and taking photos very quickly, 30% of the photos come up blurry as below. I really cannot stand still in front of each piece of equipment to take the best photo ever, is there any question I need to ask for my next camera to be able to cater for the need to take photos in hurry?

Link to photo: https://ibin.co/4P42grH5hVRL.jpg

 

[Fujidave]

Never rush to take a photo is what I would say.

 

[Jeff15]

Always take your time when taking photographs

 

[Overread]

What camera did you use to take the photograph and what kind of budget are you looking to spend for this kind of work?

Those are important questions to answer since there are options from point and shoots all the way to DSLRs and more that can do this kind of work.


Honestly if its just inspection work chances are a decent point and shoot or bridge camera and its flash would suit you most of the time. Esp if its all indoor work. For that kind of record keeping shot you don't need high end gear to get a passable quality machine; and if you use flash the entire time whilst indoors it should give you sharp results most of the time.
A Mirrorless camera might also be better as they are often smaller and if you're indoors and doing fast shots whilst surveying chances are you might prefer a more compact machine than a larger DLSR approach

The only area such cameras might let you down a little on is the auto focus performance. That said as long as its not super dark you should be fine.

 

[dunfly]

I do similar work and have to take a lot of photos in a hurry. The most common problems I run into with a point and shoot are not enough light and motion blur. I use a very small point and shoot with a relatively wide angle of view. I use the flash a lot and use a high ISO (400-800) to get the shutter speed up. I need something that will fit in my pocket, so a DSLR or Mirrorless is out of the question.

You might use a smart phone. It does about as well as a point and shoot.

 

[Designer]

.. is there any question I need to ask ..

Will that camera accept a flash? Get a flash attachment and learn how to make good flash photos.

The shot you showed just needs a bit more light so your camera will not try to take a photo with a long-duration shutter opening. A flash "freezes" motion, so even if you are in a hurry the photo should turn out sharp.

Be sure to let the capacitor in the flash recharge between shots. That should take only a few seconds, assuming you set the flash to fairly low power. (1/64 of full power, for instance)

Snap away, get better photos, and be happy!

 

[Dao]

Small compact camera with built in flash should be fine I think.

The key is you need more light to increase the shutter speed to avoid blur due to camera shake.

 

[Solarflare]

Actually you already HAVE a very fast camera. For according to the EXIF the photo was taken with:

Canon EOS 600D <- pretty buff, actually, an entry level DSLR with a quite large sensor
EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS II <- kit lens, with image stabilization

Focal Length 27mm <- 40mm full frame equiv
ISO 1600 <- high, base is usually 100
Shutter speed 1/40s <- quite slow, but still sufficient if one holds the camera still
Aperture f4 <- not much light, of course, but that lens doesnt offer more

So this should easily be sharp - if one holds the camera still.

Additionally, your lens has IS[1], which apparently isnt engaged. With IS (and holding the camera still) you should easily manage 1/5 sec with these parameters, which would have allowed to use ISO 200 for near maximum image quality.


[1]: IS = (optical) image stabilization

 

[photo1x1.com]

Actually you already HAVE a very fast camera. For according to the EXIF the photo was taken with:

Canon EOS 600D <- pretty buff, actually, an entry level DSLR with a quite large sensor
EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS II <- kit lens, with image stabilization

Focal Length 27mm <- 40mm full frame equiv
ISO 1600 <- high, base is usually 100
Shutter speed 1/40s <- quite slow, but still sufficient if one holds the camera still
Aperture f4 <- not much light, of course, but that lens doesnt offer more

So this should easily be sharp - if one holds the camera still.

Additionally, your lens has IS[1], which apparently isnt engaged. With IS (and holding the camera still) you should easily manage 1/5 sec with these parameters, which would have allowed to use ISO 200 for near maximum image quality.


[1]: IS = (optical) image stabilization

Solarflare nailed it!
While the 600d isn´t the best camera ever, you wouldn´t get spectacular great results with the best pro camera either.
It may be best to invest a few minutes to learn how this "mistake" could happen.
Flash will definitely help. Especially if you are in confined spaces, you can bounce the flash off a ceiling or off a wall behind you, and the images will turn out great.

 

[Braineack]

I really cannot stand still in front of each piece of equipment to take the best photo ever, is there any question I need to ask for my next camera to be able to cater for the need to take photos in hurry?

Dont do the crime if you cant do the time.

 

[TCampbell]

Hi,

I was doing an inspection and taking photos very quickly, 30% of the photos come up blurry as below. I really cannot stand still in front of each piece of equipment to take the best photo ever, is there any question I need to ask for my next camera to be able to cater for the need to take photos in hurry?

Link to photo: https://ibin.co/4P42grH5hVRL.jpg

This is 1/40th sec using 27mm and no flash. Looking at the EXIF data, it looks like you may have disabled Image Stabilization. Make sure the "Stabilizer" switch on the side of the lens barrel is in the "On" position.

In theory, you can hand-hold a camera with a 27mm at 1/40th sec and get a sharp image... but this involves good technique because (without image stabilization) you're basically at a fairly slow shutter speed for a hand-held shot. This means you take a wide-stance with your legs so your body doesn't sway. You support the camera from below with elbows tucked in so you brace the camera (if elbows are extended out sideways so your arms and palms of your hands are not supporting the camera body from below then you are more likely to shake when the camera takes a shot and you'll get results just like the one you posted.

IS will normally save you by giving you an extra couple of stops of shutter speed. IS isn't a guarantee that you'll get a stable shot... it merely tilts the odds more in your favor than they would be without it (usually dramatically more in your favor).

Using the flash will also help (it would have helped this shot). This is because the flash burst lasts for a VERY brief fraction of a second and that's what exposes the shot. You can generally "freeze" action with a flash that wouldn't be possible to freeze without the flash. Just take care when photographing shiny things. In this photo the green panel is at a 45° angle to the camera ... which is great when using flash. If it had been "flat" the camera (not at an angle) then you'll get the reflection of the flash off the shiny flat painted surface shining right back at you.

 

[Strodav]

Since your Canon 600D is more than capable of taking very sharp images my guess is you just don't have the time to learn good techniques. If that's the case, look at using your smart phone. As long as you hold it relatively still, it will give you a good result and you can see the image immediately on the screen to see if its OK or you need to retake it. My iphone 8+ has 2x 12 megapixel cameras in it, one for closeups and one for a little farther out and the zoom results are fairly impressive. Don't spend money on a new camera unless you have the time to seriously practice with it.

 

[inou]

Hi,

Thank for your very valuable answers. Yes you are right the camera i use is a 600D. I do have a 70D but it's too fancy to take to inspections.

I never knew there was an IS button on the lense, thanks I just looked at it and indeed it was on OFF, I have put it on "ON", I also found that the lense as AF and MF (Auto and Manual focuse, see I'm learning and that this setting shall match the camera body. On the camera when I open to display it says AF etc will be set automatically based on the scene so I'm leaving that untouched.

Thanks to your explanations, I know understand the real problem and the solution.

The solution using the existing camera which you say is indeed fast, is to take my time etc and learn a bit more photography, which I promise i tried to do but i fall asleep very quickly, too hard and too complicated and gazillion of people just press buttons, but they take their time which i don't (or didn't cz from now on I will).

The problems are/were:
1.a. I do prefer this camera because it can sit with a lanyard around my neck so I can pick it up and use it easy. A point and shoot camera, although can have bracelet, will be damaged too easily from swinging left right and center as I move around.

1.b. For the same reason, the mobile phone is not practical because it does not even have a lanyard and I had below terrible experiences with mobile phones indoor with all lights ON see the disastrous image how granular it is:
Imagebin - Somewhere to Store Random Things

2. I partied every time the shot went out without a flash and was sad each time the flash went off: I don't have time to wait for the flash. I was hoping to find in your answers a link to a camera with fast recharching flash, instead you said wait for the capacitor to recharge.

3. Sometimes I take photos of black ceilings, the camera takes time to try to autofocus on a dark ceiling in a tunnel, so i move the mode from the green A+ mode to P and shoot, no flash there.

I am seriously contemplating a GoPro camera i can stick on a hat, but I never used those before and my worry is that with still images and I can always zoom very much in and read the labels etc but with a video cam i'm not sure of the level of details I can zoom into after I return and download the movie.

It seems like spending time X to take 5 good photos is better than spending same same time X to take 10 bad photos.

 

[Solarflare]

I use the white batteries from Panasonic (formerly from Sanyo). These last very long, i.e. they can hold a charge for years, and have very low inner resistance, i.e. they can give a lot of current in a very short amount of time. I cant do anything like 10fps with them, though. Still they're the best for this job if you have no external battery pack, or a real studio flash. If you do, the black ones from Panasonic are actually better. They have more charge in total and with an external battery pack, they're only needed to run the rest of the electronics, not the flash itself.

Just for being complete: Otherwise, yeah, fast recharging flash units definitely exist. Certain studio flashes manage 10 flash per second, easily. However these are large, heavy, possibly even cooled, and have large batteries attached. Compared to regular flash units, these are true monsters, with a lot more light output and with a lot more standing power.

A lesser version is the socalled battery pack, which reporters and wedding photographers use. Pretty much all not trivial flash units allow to connect to such a battery pack. This again might allow very fast flash recycling times, and can potentially kill the flash unit if it gets used too much. Thats why wedding photographers usually have multiple flash units - if one gets too hot, they just switch to the next one. Btw Phottix has very affordable battery packs but I really dont think you need one.


About details: if you want to photograph details, just photograph details. That shouldnt be a problem.

 

[photo1x1.com]

A speedlite should fire more rapidly than the in camera-flash. There are quite a few around. But it depends a bit on your budget and needs.
If you raise your ISO a bit, just like you did with your shot above, you don´t need a lot of flash power and can easily fire a few in very short intervals.
If you really need ultra-fast flash recycling, there is a new one by Profoto (Profoto A1 - The world's smallest studio light), but it will pretty sure be overkill and it is really expensive.
But I suggest you try with what you have first - keeping the things you already learned in mind .

If you want to quickly learn what Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO are all about, let me recommend my youtube photography course - I created it with people like you in mind that don´t want to spend a lot of time learning.
PHOTO1x1FreePhotographyCourse