So fricken' frustrated!! Help!

[Kmiller]

When I get a few minutes i'm going to go through and take a picture with everyone's recommended settings and post it.

 

[Kmiller]

Try this settings: Av mode, ISO 100, f/4. Pop up your flash, press the "*" button before you fire away. Post the shot here and lets see your putput

_MG_3708 by Mommy2aToddler, on Flickr

 

[dxqcanada5]

Slow synch flash ?

 

[ann]

i don't know what to say, i just did it with mine with no issues at all.I engaged the exposoure compensation dial, told it to use a +2 exposure, then used the command dial and zeroed out the expousre, took a photo and the metada indicates the + expouse.

 

[FranDaMan]

Do you have a T2i ?? Cuz I only have one dial on mine.

 

[Kmiller]

I have an xsi and also only have 1 dial. I am not sure I understand how to change the shutter speed in addition to the f and iso. When I change the f to say 5.6, it changes to 3"

 

[ann]

i am using a d700 .

this whole question about exposure compensation came up in my class about which value changes, I called Nikon to ask and after about 30 minutes they found someone to answer the question ( this is not in the norm question) I was told, never value changes, the change is made a the chip level, leaving fstop and shutter speed alone.

 

[FranDaMan]

Sorry, but I don't have a clue what you mean. You have a Nikon, which works quite different from the Canon user interface. If, with a Canon you dial in AE, the needle will never go back to 0.

 

[Kmiller]

Sorry, but I don't have a clue what you mean. You have a Nikon, which works quite different from the Canon user interface. If, with a Canon you dial in AE, the needle will never go back to 0.

I forgot to mention earlier. The first photo I posted of my daughter WAS shot with a +2 exposure and on the example photo I took of the back of my camera, the exposure was set to a standard 0... it did not change on it's own,

 

[pharmakon]

From the looks of it in your recent picture you are still shooting with way too slow of a shutter speed. Even when the flash is on in Av mode your camera will choose a shutter speed to correctly expose for available light. In your pictures the shutter speed is so slow you are getting some camera shake blur.

You need to either:
-Increase your ISO
-Shoot in an area that has more available light
-use a tripod

If none of those are an option you would consider, then read the part of your manual about custom functions, specifically how to set "Flash sync. speed in Av mode" , and set it to "Fixed", this will lock your shutter speed to 1/200 sec on the xsi whenever you pop up the flash in Av mode. This will get you a little bit more predictable results indoors with flash until you get some more experience shooting in low light.

I made several blurry shots indoors when I first got my camera. Keep exploring your settings, especially shutter speeds, apertures, and ISO settings, and it will eventually click. Or as someone else suggested take a few shots in auto, look at what settings the camera chose for itself. Then go out and try to take some with similar settings in Av, Tv, or manual mode.

 

[ann]

once you set the ec dial, it will continue to work, you have to go back into the menu and change it back to zero.

for fran, sorry, i don't use canon and i suppose i should have kept my mouth shut when we began discussing how to or not to.

 

[Kmiller]

Thank you so much for everyone's help. But, after exploring the camera all morning (and getting decent shots, per everyone's advice) I decided that I like the look and feel of Nikon's better. I just sold my D50 to buy the Xsi and it's just a personal preferance for me.

I found a d60 locally that I will be purchasing, and yes, I will buy the Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens for the d60 (which is what the Canon is coming with, in the sale).

SO that means, that this Canon Xsi will be for sale. Here is the thread if anyone is interested.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/buy-sell/239691-canon-xsi-50mm-1-8-a.html#post2205747

 

[vtf]

Get out of AV and shoot manual with the settings. There is not enough light in the room to shoot av and get an adequate shutter speed without flash. Switch to manual and set to the settings I mentioned earlier, use flash and see how it comes out. What you are encountering will happen with any camera you have because you haven't worked with it enough to learn the functions. I wish you Luck. :thumbup:

 

[o hey tyler]

...The shutter speed you use has to be at a minimum 1/focal length. So if you were shooting on a film camera with a 50mm lens, your shutter speed would need to be at least 1/50s to not introduce camera shake...

If you have a very quiet hand, this need not be the case. I know I can handhold 1/13 when I'm really quiet and position myself firmly, but 1/8 is really hard, harder at that shallow DOF, and anyway ... yes, to handhold slow speeds such as the one used for the photo above is so difficult, it's next to impossible. So the rough rule of thumb that o hey tyler is giving is valid!

It sounds like your Image Stabilization is human based, instead of lens or body based. ;-)

 

[djacobox372]

1/8th of a second exposure???

That's way to slow to achieve a sharp photo, 1/30th would be the lowest I'd go, and I'd recommend 1/60th or faster.

Also shooting wide open at f1.8 is not going to produce the sharpest results--lenses never look as good wide open. You'd be surprised by the improvement just a small amount of stopping down (f2) will make.

You must be shooting in very low light, so you may need a flash to achieve the ideal results. When using a flash, try shooting in manual mode mode at 1/60th and f2--that way your flash won't have to be that strong.