Major Problems with Canon... please help!

[Bimmerphile]

I have a photography background but was looking mainly for a Point & Shoot with aperture/shutter priority modes, read lots of reviews and pulled the trigger on the Canon SD4000IS through Amazon.com.

I was happy with everything else, but the camera seemed to have a low light focusing issue. I'd say that approximately 1 in every 10 pics taken at night (when out with friends) was blurry. I decided there was something defective about the camera and exchanged it for another one. This one is even worse. At my office's holiday party last Friday, there was a string of 10 pictures that were severely out of focus. I am now returning the camera for a refund.

I have two main questions:
1) Is this an unusual problem considering it's one of Canon's best P&S models? (I tried posting on the Canon forum but people there aren't very helpful)

2) What can someone recommend that is comparable to the SD4000IS? I am partial to Canon but will definitely venture out of the brand. I considered the slightly upgraded SD4500IS but the reviews said battery life was awful. I wouldn't mind a more advanced P&S but I use it mainly at night when out with friends so it can't be too bulky and while I'd like some manual controls for when I want to be creative, a good auto mode is a must for these types of situations.

Thank you so much in advance. I'm really frustrated =(

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Can you post up some examples? We can't really recommend something else unless we can diagnose the problem first.

In 95% of cases like this, it's user error or lack of information/knowledge. So getting a new camera probably won't solve the problem.

 

[KmH]

Auto focus has limits, and low light situations are one of them.

The reason auto focus has problems in low light is a lack of contrast.

Some cameras have an auto focus assist light. I don't know about P&S cameras.

 

[Bimmerphile]

Will do that when I get home from work.

The thing is, my previous camera was an SD750IS and not once did I have a blurry picture in the 3 years I used it. I'm using this new one how it's supposed to be used as well and it's not functioning properly. I really doubt it's anything I'm doing.

 

[Bimmerphile]

Auto focus has limits, and low light situations are one of them.

The reason auto focus has problems in low light is a lack of contrast.

Some cameras have an auto focus assist light. I don't know about P&S cameras.

See my above post regarding my comparison with my previous Canon.

But to add to that, there's a red light that meters something when focusing, just with my old SD750IS. It functions much in the same way which is why I'm wondering why this is only happening with the new camera.

 

[mrpink]

The thing is, my previous camera was an SD750IS and not once did I have a blurry picture in the 3 years I used it.

I gotta call BS on that statement. Pure BS.

I'm using this new one how it's supposed to be used as well and it's not functioning properly. I really doubt it's anything I'm doing.

I can see why you felt the people on the other forum were unhelpful, they might have insinuated that you were the issue and you took offence.

good luck




p!nK

 

[Bimmerphile]

The thing is, my previous camera was an SD750IS and not once did I have a blurry picture in the 3 years I used it.

I gotta call BS on that statement. Pure BS.

I'm using this new one how it's supposed to be used as well and it's not functioning properly. I really doubt it's anything I'm doing.

I can see why you felt the people on the other forum were unhelpful, they might have insinuated that you were the issue and you took offence.

good luck
p!nK

Mrspink -
1) That is what we, on the west coast, call 'exaggeration for effect'. There probably were some in that time but none that I can specifically remember. Around half of the 280 pictures my co-worker took with my camera at afrementioned holiday party were severely out of focus and he is the I.T. director and very adept at photography.

2) Actually they neither stated nor insinuated that I was the problem, so there was nothing to take offenSe to. That's only happened on this 'friendly' forum.

3) If you wanted to provide a rude response you shouldn't have posted at all.

 

[MarkF48]

Blimmerphile,

I downloaded the manual for the Canon SD4000IS and browsed through it. It appears there may be several settings that could affect the way the camera focuses. I suspect you know also blurriness could be due to a slow shutter speed in low light conditions that could take on the look of being out of focus. If IS is "Off" any camera shake could make things appear more blurry also.

Anyhow the camera does have an AF Assist Beam which can be either "On" or "Off" and if it was set to "Off" the camera will likely have a tough time in low light.

Another setting that may affect AF performance is the AF Frame Mode setting.

The camera has a Servo AF mode which is good for tracking moving subjects. The AF maybe more consistently accurate on static subjects if this is set to "Off".

As was suggested, if you could post a couple of the problem images and include the shooting information (embedded full EXIF would really help) it may help resolve if the camera settings could be an issue.

 

[mrpink]

Mrspink -
1) That is what we, on the west coast, call 'exaggeration for effect'. There probably were some in that time but none that I can specifically remember. Around half of the 280 pictures my co-worker took with my camera at afrementioned holiday party were severely out of focus and he is the I.T. director and very adept at photography.

an IT Director took OOF photos at a Christmas party?? Must be the camera's fault.

2) Actually they neither stated nor insinuated that I was the problem, so there was nothing to take offenSe to. That's only happened on this 'friendly' forum.

What do they call it on the west coast when you attempt to correct someones grammar but fail in the process?:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

Just because I have a few extra minutes here. Offense it what a football team does when they have the ball. Offence is term to describe the way one feels after being offended. To make it easy for you in the future- You take offence, you give offense.

3) If you wanted to provide a rude response you shouldn't have posted at all.

Noted.









p!nK

 

[Bimmerphile]

Blimmerphile,

I downloaded the manual for the Canon SD4000IS and browsed through it. It appears there may be several settings that could affect the way the camera focuses. I suspect you know also blurriness could be due to a slow shutter speed in low light conditions that could take on the look of being out of focus. If IS is "Off" any camera shake could make things appear more blurry also.

Anyhow the camera does have an AF Assist Beam which can be either "On" or "Off" and if it was set to "Off" the camera will likely have a tough time in low light.

Another setting that may affect AF performance is the AF Frame Mode setting.

The camera has a Servo AF mode which is good for tracking moving subjects. The AF maybe more consistently accurate on static subjects if this is set to "Off".

As was suggested, if you could post a couple of the problem images and include the shooting information (embedded full EXIF would really help) it may help resolve if the camera settings could be an issue.

Thank you very much for going through that, I really appreciate it. I should have clarified that when I said "blurry" it was not that lights/subjects were streaked around due to movement of the camera with the shutter open, it was purely that the photo was not in focus. The AF Assist Beam is set to 'on', because when you press down the shutter button to the resistance point for focusing, a reddish laser/light shoots out to the subject to assess their distance.

I looked at a few review sites and found many user reviews that complain about the same issue, one guy said that 40% of pictures he took at a wedding were out of focus, which was on par with what was happening to me. I'll post the blurry example but I believe I'm going to return this camera anyway, because I believe when a camera is in full auto mode it really should be able to assess the situation correctly and focus properly.

Thanks again.

 

[usayit]

sheesh... mr pink.

 

[Bimmerphile]

2) Actually they neither stated nor insinuated that I was the problem, so there was nothing to take offenSe to. That's only happened on this 'friendly' forum.

What do they call it on the west coast when you attempt to correct someones grammar but fail in the process?:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

Just because I have a few extra minutes here. Offense it what a football team does when they have the ball. Offence is term to describe the way one feels after being offended. To make it easy for you in the future- You take offence, you give offense.

Actually, that's not correct. While 'offence' is a word, it is the accepted British English spelling. 'Offense' is what we use in American English when referring both to sports as well as when we are offended by something (on both coasts AND the rest of the United States). Only if you grew up in the U.K. is your confusion understandable.

Seems to me like you should spend less time on this forum and more time in a classroom.

 

[Bimmerphile]

Just a quick update: I went with the S95. It actually focuses in low light... go figure! I love the manual controls it offers as well. For the record, I would never recommend the SD4000IS to anyone. I'd steer them away from it at all costs.