Blurred images - solution?

TheBazman

Hi all

first post here - I have a regular 10mp digital camera however I noticed it very difficult to take good moving pictures - even taking pictures of the kids is difficult as its near on impossible for them to keep still. Is there a way to avoid this with these cameras /adjust the settings etc (I'm a newbie!)

I would imagine a digital SLR is the ultimate solution ( I have seen some fantastic pictures of various forums here eg birds in flight etc)?

This is the sort of result I get (just an example, not actually my pic)


Cheers

Paulw

Your camera (make/model??) may have a "sport" mode, in which is gives you a faster shutter speed.

For the image you show, panning would work better, to freeze the car and blur the background.

Gambler

Most cameras have a "sports" setting. Have you tried this to see if it helps in the short term?

Ideally spend some time learning about the manual and shutter priority settings on your camera to really figure out how it works and what to do to avoid blur

Slidinginfinity

You could see if your camera has a better setting for faster moving subjects, like a sports setting.
Buying a DSLR really is not going to help much with out learning how to use the camera and shoot fast moving subjects.

Without more information to help further:
exactly what camera do you have
does it have a full manual setting
etc.

(Was posting reply at the same time as Gambler.)

TheBazman

Thanks folks for the quick responses - its a Nikon Coolpix (but I had a Canon before). You are correct it does have various image modes including a sports options. I will try that again. In general I was using say an indoor mode (like party mode etc) while I was indoor, assuming that Sports/Landscape mode would work better outside. I naively assumed it was all about the lighting as opposed to the shutter speed.

The reason I asked about the SLR options I suppose is that I like to carry a small digital camera in the car, but also to have another one in the house for shall we say proper photographs. I have given one away to my mother so am possibly in the market for a new camera in the coming weeks. I was going to just pick up another handy point and click one but I have seen some of the pictures taken with SLRs and they look phenomenal (I do acknowledge that the person behind the camera has a lot to do with it aswell). I'm in too minds to put another couple of hundred euro into the pot and get a beginner SLR (or bridge camera that some have mentioned in other posts, altho' I'm not 100% on the difference yet)

As you can see I'm just in reseach mode at the moment

Cheers again

Slidinginfinity

The quick and dirty answer to what a bridge camera is either a larger more useful P&S or a cheap SLR like camera that can't change lenses.

Pete67

A bridge camera will generally give you more control over the picture taking process, compared to a compact 'point and shoot' camera, but will not have interchangeable lenses. The ability to change the lens to suit a particular task is the real benefit of an SLR. Generally SLRs will also allow you full control of the process, including the ability of manually select the shutter speed, ISO, aperture etc.

maddogcollins

TheBazman wrote: »

I'm in too minds to put another couple of hundred euro into the pot and get a beginner SLR (or bridge camera that some have mentioned in other posts, altho' I'm not 100% on the difference yet)


Cheers again

The main difference between a Bridge camera and a DSLR is that the Lens in fixed on a bridge camera, where as on a DSLR you can interchange the lens to suit your needs.

A Bridge camera will have manual settings, aperature priority, shutter priority and alot of the other settings a DSLR will have.

Hope that helps a little.

Edit: Poster above beat me to it. sorry

Banter Joe

Put a small bit of washing up liquid on the lens before you take the picture (Fairy is the best).

GhostInTheRuins

I presume your Coolpix will have a manual mode? You should definitely be able to have reasonable control over your pictures with it anyway, have a look through the manual, I'm sure it'll explain how to get the most out of the camera.

CabanSail

TheBazman wrote: »

I naively assumed it was all about the lighting as opposed to the shutter speed.

Not naive at all. It is down to the light, or lack there of.

As there is not enough light the camera is slowing down the shutter speed to a point where you will get blurring of moving objects in the frame.

A DSLR or Bridge would do exactly the same thing with the same settings that you have on your Coolpix.

With manual control you can vary certain aspects, like raising the ISO thus making the sensor more sensitive to light but with possibly more noise. If you had a faster lens it can open the aperture wider & let in more light.

There are some good small cameras which offer manual control now. I have the Canon G9 (the G10 is the current model) but I also saw a newish Coolpix that has the manual controls too (P8000 perhaps?) The thing is that these things don't suddenly give you better pictures, you need to learn how to control them & use them correctly to do that.

Slidinginfinity

Nikon Coolpix L100

sineadw

Banter Joe wrote: »

Put a small bit of washing up liquid on the lens before you take the picture (Fairy is the best).

huh?

Tallon

Banter Joe wrote: »

Put a small bit of washing up liquid on the lens before you take the picture (Fairy is the best).

Whaaa?
you fo' real

TheBazman

Jees fairly active forum here - really appreciate all the feedback and there is certainly something there to work on

As regards the washing up liquid - will this give a nice shine on my photos?;)

dinneenp

Hi,
I had the same problem and it wrecked my head.

• Basically there's not enough light so the camera leaves the lens open for longer creating the blur.
• Your camera is probably on ISO auto setting. Check and change this to manual and set the setting to fairly high.
• The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low-light situations.

Look at the DP Review thread I created

Hopefully this will help.

Cheers,
Pa.

TheBazman

Thanks I'll try that - the ISO setting is fairly adjustable on the camera (I just didnt know what it did until now )

Rainbowsend

As previously stated your Coolpix will do virtually everything that you want it to do, you just have to take control of it. The auto modes are handy ie sports mode for anything that is moving or needs the action stopped so this would use fast shutter speeds if you leave the ISO on auto it will change accordingly, sport mode can be used in or outside, if in and the light is low the ISO will compensate somewhat but you can also use the flash. Portrait mode is great for isolating your subject from its background so good for people, animal, flowers etc. Landscape for shots that you want in focus from the front to the back of the frame, seascapes, landscapes and also group shots of people.

You should also have aperture mode where you select the aperture (f number) and the camera will select the appropriate shutter speed and then shutter priority which is you selecting the shutter speed and the camera selects the appropriate aperture. Should also have Manual mode where you control ISO, shutter and aperture. The only way you will find out is by experimenting and reading the manual. Spend some time going through the different modes and settings and you will soon get the jist of it.

DSLR are money pits, it doesnt stop at the camera, there are lenses, flashes, cable releases, filters etc etc. There is always something new on offer that "you cant do without" You have a good little camera so learn how to use it to its maximum potential and then move on. Best of luck;)

Slidinginfinity

Rainbowsend wrote: »

As previously stated your Coolpix will do virtually everything that you want it to do, you just have to take control of it. The auto modes are handy ie sports mode for anything that is moving or needs the action stopped so this would use fast shutter speeds if you leave the ISO on auto it will change accordingly, sport mode can be used in or outside, if in and the light is low the ISO will compensate somewhat but you can also use the flash. Portrait mode is great for isolating your subject from its background so good for people, animal, flowers etc. Landscape for shots that you want in focus from the front to the back of the frame, seascapes, landscapes and also group shots of people.

You should also have aperture mode where you select the aperture (f number) and the camera will select the appropriate shutter speed and then shutter priority which is you selecting the shutter speed and the camera selects the appropriate aperture. Should also have Manual mode where you control ISO, shutter and aperture. The only way you will find out is by experimenting and reading the manual. Spend some time going through the different modes and settings and you will soon get the jist of it.

DSLR are money pits, it doesnt stop at the camera, there are lenses, flashes, cable releases, filters etc etc. There is always something new on offer that "you cant do without" You have a good little camera so learn how to use it to its maximum potential and then move on. Best of luck;)

Yeah, what he/she said.

Mr. Grieves

I'd like to add that an important difference between bridge camera and a DSLR, which is often overlooked, is the sensor size. A DSLR has a far larger sensor (in physical area - ignore any talk of megapixels) than even the most sophisticated bridge camera (with a few exceptions). It's for this reason that photos taken with a basic DSLR and kit lens often look far more impressive than those taken with a bridge camera costing almost as much, even with its super-zoom and a wider maximum aperture.

A large sensor results in lower noise at high ISO, which is very beneficial in situations discussed here, and shallower depth of field for a given aperture. Creative control of depth of field isn't really a possibility with a compact sensor at anything above macro distances.

TheBazman

Just a quick pop back to say thanks again for the feedback

I'm going to spend a bit of time on the camera I have as I have got some good advice here. Also I have seen some pics taken with regular p+s cameras on another thread here and they are very impressive

Cheers

dinneenp

theBazman- can you update this thread after you've tried some of the tips given and let me know which one work, which didn't?

TheBazman

No hassle

Rainbowsend

dinneenp wrote: »

theBazman- can you update this thread after you've tried some of the tips given and let me know which one work, which didn't?

Oh ye of little faith.........they will all work Well maybe not the "fairy liquid" tip :eek: (what was that all about anyway?)

daycent

Rainbowsend wrote: »

Oh ye of little faith.........they will all work Well maybe not the "fairy liquid" tip :eek: (what was that all about anyway?)

It may have been a joke but I can't be sure

Rainbowsend

daycent wrote: »

It may have been a joke but I can't be sure

hmmm..........thinking about it maybe he thought he wanted to know "how to" blur pictures