New lens.. Blurry photos :(

[Simons]

Hey

I have recently purchased a new lens but after taking some shots over Christmas with it i have had a lot of blurry shots.

I am still fairly new to photography.

My camera is the Canon EOS 1000d
My New lens is the Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L USM

Example of some of the blurry shots:

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/2893/img5680i.jpg

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/6102/img5707o.jpg

Camera Settings:

Shutter speed: 1/320 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
F-Stop: f/4
Aperture Value: f/4.0
Iso Speed Ratings: 200
Focal Length: 100mm

Can anybody shed some light as to where I am going wrong? And maybe some tips of how to avoid similar problems in the future?

Many thanks!
Nic

 

[ANDS!]

Doens't look blurry - looks slightly out of focus. More so on that first show. Also, if you were walking in that first shot, even a tiny bounce might introduce some shake. But I don't think its shake so much as a focus issue.

 

[Josh66]

They are out of focus.

Are you half pressing the shutter release (to lock focus) before taking the picture?

Are you using auto-focus, or manual?

 

[gsgary]

The second shot the shutter speed is too slow for the focal length

 

[Vicelord John]

If that first shot were focused, I'd be say it's a very good shot!

 

[Simons]

Doens't look blurry - looks slightly out of focus. More so on that first show. Also, if you were walking in that first shot, even a tiny bounce might introduce some shake. But I don't think its shake so much as a focus issue.

Hmm yeah i see what you mean. i was standing still taking the photo.

They are out of focus.

Are you half pressing the shutter release (to lock focus) before taking the picture?

Are you using auto-focus, or manual?

Yes i am half pressing the button until it focuses, and then taking the shot.

Im using auto-focus

The second shot the shutter speed is too slow for the focal length

Hmm ok thanks, even tho its on 1/300 or whtever its on?

 

[HikinMike]

The second shot the shutter speed is too slow for the focal length

Hmm ok thanks, even tho its on 1/300 or whtever its on?

No it's not. The second photo is @ 1/80.

 

[Simons]

The second shot the shutter speed is too slow for the focal length

Hmm ok thanks, even tho its on 1/300 or whtever its on?

No it's not. The second photo is @ 1/80.

Ahh! ill take onboard what you've all said and try out some different shots!

thanks

 

[gsgary]

Doens't look blurry - looks slightly out of focus. More so on that first show. Also, if you were walking in that first shot, even a tiny bounce might introduce some shake. But I don't think its shake so much as a focus issue.

Hmm yeah i see what you mean. i was standing still taking the photo.

They are out of focus.

Are you half pressing the shutter release (to lock focus) before taking the picture?

Are you using auto-focus, or manual?

Yes i am half pressing the button until it focuses, and then taking the shot.

Im using auto-focus

The second shot the shutter speed is too slow for the focal length

Hmm ok thanks, even tho its on 1/300 or whtever its on?

Second shot is 1/80 at 140mm

 

[icassell]

Don't forget that if you're going to handhold the lens, your shutter speed should be at least as fast as 1/(focal length). Depending on how steady your hand is, you may need to be faster even than that. I also see, from your above note, that you are shooting at f/4. Remember that very few lenses are at their sharpest when they are all the way open. You might want to stop down a bit and crank your ISO up to match.

 

[ANDS!]

If he cant get sharp corners at F/4, then he needs to take that lens back.

And 1/80th of a second is pretty damn fast. Faster than some animals - no. Faster than a seemingly stationary woman - oh yea.

 

[BoxPhotographer]

If he cant get sharp corners at F/4, then he needs to take that lens back.

And 1/80th of a second is pretty damn fast. Faster than some animals - no. Faster than a seemingly stationary woman - oh yea.

Word.

Although he is right, 1/80 is rather fast and if you can't take a photo of someone walking then there is probably some sort of problem.

 

[gsgary]

If he cant get sharp corners at F/4, then he needs to take that lens back.

And 1/80th of a second is pretty damn fast. Faster than some animals - no. Faster than a seemingly stationary woman - oh yea.

Word.

Although he is right, 1/80 is rather fast and if you can't take a photo of someone walking then there is probably some sort of problem.

Rubbish he is shooting at 140mm don't you know the basics of focal length and shutter speed

 

[Dao]

The blur on the 1st photo seems to be out of focus. When you look at the person with the brown jacket, the area where his right hand is, you will see some perfectly round circles. So I do not believe it is motion blur. It seems to be out of focus.

However, on the 2nd one, I agree with others. It was the result of motion blur and caused by camera shake. (Like the jacket button are not round).

The first photo, was there a time gap between half press and full press the shutter button? Like you lock the focus and then the subject walk out the focus plane.

EOS 1000D with 100mm, F/4. If the subject is about 20 feet away, the Dof is only 2 feet. So if they walk as normal speed, it may only take 1 sec for the person with brown jacket to walk out of the focus plane.



The second photo, as suggested by others, try using a faster shutter speed. For 140mm on a Canon cropped body, I will say try it with 1/250.

 

[ANDS!]

Rubbish he is shooting at 140mm don't you know the basics of focal length and shutter speed

Absolute nonsense. There are tons of people who can shoot 1/60th and slower of a second while using big honking telephoto lenses.