Overcoming Disability. Need Help With Shutter Speed.

[GreenJelly]

My camera is a Nikon D50. Manual http://cdn-10.nikon-cdn.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D50_en.pdf

I have a disability that causes a slight tremor, its impossible to stop and even bracing against my body doesn't help. When I take a picture with Auto on, it sometimes comes out blurry. It seems to happen in low light situations. My idea is that the exposure time is set too long and my shaking hands cause the camera to move and ruins the image. Given this situation, what changes should I try?

I don't have the money to buy a tripod due to lack of funds (I'm on a fixed income). I'd like to see if I can get the settings right so that when I want to take a picture without the tri-pod I can. I can take pictures just fine with camera phones and other less professional camera's, It's only every professional camera I've tried.

I know the pictures wont be perfect, but I am willing to accept good enough or better then what I get now. Right now I can't even use the camera. My understanding of Aperture and Shutter speed is limited to the basics.

Thanks,
GreenJelly!

 

[Vtec44]

You can use shutter priority mode to force the camera to use a higher shutter speed and reduce motion blur.

 

[GreenJelly]

I did a quick keyword search in the document for "Shutter Priority" with 0 results. Any idea how to set this on a D50?

Update: I found it. Turn the dial to S. I will have to select the shutter speed. Any ideas?

 

[Vtec44]

IT's S mode (in this picture)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4092/5095670011_41e81c3735_b.jpg

 

[unpopular]

I understand the fixed income thing. For a long time my familys only income was SSI/SSDI. But you don't need a fancy tripod, even a very cheap one will help tremendously.

Look on ebay and filter by price. There are quite a few out there for well under $20 shipped. They won't be pretty, nor super stable, but better than nothing.

 

[GreenJelly]

I'll look into a tri-pod. Thanks for the help and picture. I set it to S, and selected 15o and 1ooo and any pictures I took came out like the lens cap was on. completely black. I'm not even going to upload one because there was 0 data in it.

My father, who is a very frequent photographer, had me turn iso control and iso auto off. We were attempting to adjust shutter, but the time ran out.

 

[vintagesnaps]

If you mostly get blurry images in Auto in low light/indoors, I agree the camera is probably setting the shutter at a speed that's too slow.

What shutter speed(s) were used in the most blurry shots? I would suggest you try to keep it at 1/250 or 1/500 or faster - that might even be too slow.

Find a subject, take a few pictures changing the shutter speed each time. Write down what shutter speed you used with each. See if there's a difference as you go to faster speeds. (Edit - Outdoors, in a decent amount of sunlight.)


edit - If the pictures you just took were indoors it's probably not enough light at a faster shutter speed. What does the meter tell you?

Raise the ISO and/or open up the lens more (the numbers are fractions so a smaller number is actually a larger aperture - 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 etc.). Your dad's probably right, getting away from auto settings and learning how to set the camera will probably help.

 

[Overread]

I would advise you head to your local library and see if you can get a copy of "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. If they can't get a copy then nearly any good introductory photography book should cover the basic same content (that one I mentioned is just one I know and one often recommended by others as well). Another option is the Scot Kelby Digital Photography books 1 through to 4.


With the camera there are 3 basic settings; aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Those affect your photographic exposure and are the same for any camera; digital or film. Digital might have lots of bells and whistles, but those 3 settings are still all that affects the photographic exposure.

Shutter priority mode lets you control the ISO and the shutter speed; the camera then sets the aperture based on the meter reading when you go to take the photo. Aperture priority is when you control aperture and ISO and the camera sets the shutter speed based on the meter reading; and full manual is when you set all 3 (ISO, shutter speed and aperture) and use the needle on the meter reading to set the exposure yourself.
In the two priority modes there is something called "exposure compensation". What this does is tell the camera that when it sets its controlled setting it must under or over expose from the meter reading. This lets you have a bit more control as you will find that the meter can be fooled by certain scenes and lighting conditions.



Now as a starting point the recommended shutter speed is 1/focal length. So if you've a lens (zoom or prime) at 50mm then in theory 1/50sec should be the slowest shutter speed you can hand-hold at and get a good shot (assuming good posture and holding methodology). Of course many people find that they are a little over or below the guideline and in your case chances are you might need faster shutter speeds in order to get a sharp shot.

If you are getting underexposure then look at the aperture in the viewfinder - there is a chance that when you ahlf hold the shutter button down (metering the shot, but not taking it - ergo the camera is reading the light and setting the aperture) that the aperture is flashing on and off. This means that there isn't enough light in the scene to expose correctly and that the camera has already selected the widest aperture (smallest f number). In that case you can add light (flash, reflectors) or you can lower the shutter speed, or you can increase the ISO.

Note its daytime for me now, but you might be in a different time-zone and if its nighttime and you're indoors it can be surprising how dark it is for a camera indoors under normal house lights.

A tripod would certainly help (and you might find using the timer or a remote release helps as well); as said you can get cheap ones. My advice is to avoid the $15 tripods sold in shops as most are not well built; they work but not well. Instead head to ebay or even a local auction sale room - tripods are one of those things that, kept right, will last a very long time; and old tripods might be heavier than some modern materials; but they are still very stable.

 

[tirediron]

I did a quick keyword search in the document for "Shutter Priority" with 0 results. Any idea how to set this on a D50?

Update: I found it. Turn the dial to S. I will have to select the shutter speed. Any ideas?

Do some experiments; I'm guessing probably 1/250 or even higher. Also, bear in mind that this will affect your aperture and ISO, and as a result of needing the higher shutter speed, you may have to use a larger aperture and/or higher ISO than you might want to.

 

[unpopular]

My father, who is a very frequent photographer, had me turn iso control and iso auto off. We were attempting to adjust shutter, but the time ran out.

I'd keep Auto ISO off. But you may need to set the ISO a bit higher than what most would. Keep ISO as low as possible, but this just means in your situation ISO 400 might be a more typical starting point.

A little noise is better than a lot of blur.

 

[unpopular]

Maybe even a monopod would help? I don't normally recommend them, but in your case it might be a good idea.

If you're really strapped, you could probably hack one together with a piece of PVC tubing, an end cap or two and a 1/4" screw.

 

[GreenJelly]

So sometimes when I turn the dial it adjusts the Self-timer / remote control indicator. (see http://cdn-10.nikon-cdn.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D50_en.pdf Page 4, #18)
Sometimes when I move the dial I get a change in shutter speed (left top number).
When I hold down exposure compensation and set it to "0", then push enough buttons to get the dial to change shutter speed to 25o (little 0), which I assume is 1/250. ISO 400
Then I push the picture button and sometimes it takes a picture. Others it focus's the lens then clicks but takes no picture and no flash. Sometimes the flash doesn't go off and sometimes it does. When it does, I get the picture in the post. Much clearer. But the flash reflection makes it hard to see. When I turn off the flash, the image becomes black.
As you can see, I'm having multiple issues with this camera. I don't really know it all that well, but I am learning. Google is my friend. I appreciate your detailed responses and help greatly.

 

[vintagesnaps]

If you're getting black without flash and this picture with it, then it's just too dark using the existing room light. It can seem bright enough to us but isn't for the camera.

I've sometimes used the existing room light but angled a lamp onto the subject, or did so on a sunny day at a time of day when there'd be more light coming into a particular room.

Using a flash indoors might be a good option for you - that provides a split second that the light's hitting the subject; it's such a short amount of time that could help avoid getting any blur.




In general - check the meter when you adjust settings. If it shows it's not getting enough light, you need to adjust - since you want a fairly fast shutter speed you may need to make your adjustments to aperture and ISO.

 

[GreenJelly]

Ok, so its a limit of the settings and set because of physics. I guess I will be using the flash. I don't quite understand the Nikon D50 interface. It seems very inconstant but I am still new. Looking at the photo I provided, would you make any changes to the settings of the camera? It is a shutter speed of 1/25o and ISO of 400.

 

[Overread]

Well the flash is causing you problems with reflection. The simplest solution is to thus remove the flash from the scene. You can do that in one of a few ways:

1) Use a slower shutter speed - that will let more light into the camera; but this means that you won't be able to take the shot sharp whilst hand holding; so its not a practical option once you're at your limit.

2) Use a wider aperture - not sure of the aperture you've used; but if its already the widest aperture (smallest f number); then again its not an option.

3) Raise the ISO - yep once you've exhausted aperture and shutter speed you get to the ISO - and if the light is too dim raise the ISO up to a higher value. Yes you get more noise but;

1) Noise can be fixed/reduced in editing - blurryness can't*

2) A higher ISO but correctly exposed photo will have less noise than a lower ISO (assuming shutterspeed and aperture remain the same for both shots) but underexposed photo. As a result raising the ISO when indoors and not using flash is a very viable option.