# DSLR Help - Blurry Pics



## Rob2006

Hello,

I am sort of a beginner photographer.  I had a Canon Elph S300 for years and took hundreds of pics and some really good shots.  This past November I took the plunge and bought a Nikon D50 with the 18-55 and the 55-200 Nikon lens.  Some of the pics come out good and some dont.  So far the P&S is looking beter than the DSLR.

We just went away on vacation and also a wedding 2 weeks ago and allot of the pics came out very blurry.  I am not sure if I am asking too much from the SLR but with the P&S Canon I almost never had blurry pics.

Most of the of the blurry pics were even in good lighting / daylight.

My settings are 
Matrix metering
White Balance Auto
ISO 200(Day) 400 Night
AF closest or Dynamic (Tried both)

I am trying to find out if I need a faster lens or learn how to shoot better.  What a disappointment seeing pics of my 18 month old daughter as a flower girl and 1/2 the pics are blurry.

TIA.

Rob


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## Tiberius

The fault is definitely not that of the camera or lens - ask any of the D50/D70 users here.  My guess is that it's related to your grip - you have to hold the camera pretty steady.  this guide isn't too bad.  Out of a couple thousand shots I took with the D50/18-55mm combo before eventually replacing the lens, I'd say less than one in one hundred was blurry, and those were easily attributable to my own faults.  In fact, I find that the D50 focuses and shoots fast enough that it often avoids blur I get with point-and-shoots.


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## Rob2006

http://img417.imageshack.us/my.php?image=blurry1gd4.jpg

Nikon D50
2006/07/15 14:34:12.6
JPEG (8-bit) Fine
Image Size: Large (3008 x 2000)
Lens: 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 G
Focal Length: 48mm
Exposure Mode: Manual
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
1/10 sec - F/5.6
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 400
Optimize Image: Normal
White Balance: Auto
AF Mode: AF-A
Flash Sync Mode: Front Curtain
Auto Flash Mode: i-TTL
Auto Flash Comp: 0 EV
Color Mode: Mode IIIa (sRGB)
Tone Comp.: Auto
Hue Adjustment: 0°
Saturation: Normal
Sharpening: Auto
Image Comment:                                     
Long Exposure NR: Off
Wide Panel


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## Alison

Your problem lies in the shutter speed you were using, 1/10 of a second is far to long for most people to hold steady hand held, and very very slow for moving subjects such as people. As a general rule for myself I don't shoot people/children under 1/60th of a second.


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## tekzero

too slow of a shutter if im readin that right  1/10 is too slow for an indoor shot, even with a flash


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## tekzero

o damnit alison we got the same time stamps lol yay


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## Rob2006

How do you change that?


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## Alison

I would take a look at your manual for starters, get familiar with the various controls. You took this photo on fully manual settings, and if you're just starting out in the SLR world you might want to invest in some good books or a class to help learn the basics of shutter speeds and f-stops  Check out [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789496372/sr=8-1/qid=1154399488/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2254469-1011133?ie=UTF8]THIS BOOK[/ame] for a good place to start   Welcome to TPF


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## Rob2006

I took that pic in "P" mode.  The camera chose those settings.  I just tried some pics in Manual mode and I can change shutter speed / aperature.

Maybe its the "P" mode thats not setting up right.  I will try some more pics in "M" manual mode.

Thanks


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## Alison

Actually your EXIF data shows that the exposure was done in manual, at least that's what your data posted here show


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## Luke

you need to learn about aperture and shutter, thats basically the BIG advantage of  DSLR, manual, and ability to change aperture and shutter
if you cbf, then just stick with the point and shoot, its easier and you'll get better results.


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## Rob2006

I dont recall using a Manual mode.  ANd especially tryign it that day for the wedding pics.  I will look at some of the other exif's when I get home tongiht.  

I have thought about selling this SLR and getting another P&S.  Allot of the pics I like to take are quick/spur of the moment shots and to fiddle with Aperature/Exposure the shot would be missed.  Thats why I was using "P" mode but that didn't work out sometimes.

Anyone recommend a GOOD P&S?  I wonder how much I can get for the D50 and the LENS I have.


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## Big Mike

Welcome to the forum.

I think part of the problem is that what you thought was good lighting...was really not very good at all.  Looking at the data from that shot, the shutter speed is 1/10...which we know is too long to get a sharp shot.  Looking at the aperture, it was F5.6...which is at or close to the maximum for that lens.  Then we look at the ISO...it was at 400.  These three things tell me that it was really not very bright at all.  It looks like the flash was used, which would have solved the problem, had the camera been in Auto mode...or had you manually adjusted the shutter speed.

Your P&S camera most likely gave you sharp shots because in lower light, it automatically made the flash fire and set the exposure based upon that.  Your D50 can do the same thing but you have to have it in the correct mode.  Your D50 can do so much more, however...you just have to learn how to use it.

A faster lens would certainly help.  I suggest a 50mm F1.8 lens because it's quite inexpensive as lenses go.  Still, the best thing you can do is to learn about photography so that you understand what the camera is doing.


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## Rob2006

I have the 1.8F 50M.  It does take good shots at times.  I prefer to use a zoom so I dont have to change the lens every few minutes to capture the shot.


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## rmh159

I've read (probably on here) that a good rule of thumb for when to hand hold is taking the inverse of the focal lenght and if you can't get a shutter speed faster than that... you should use a tripod or set the camera down.  

So if you're using a 50mm lens the shutter speed needs to be a minimum of 1/50th of a second which works for me.

I'd also recommend trying out the D50 in other lighting conditions before judging it's performance.  I got one recently and love it... for the most it takes nothing but sharp pics and the ones that are blurry are outside of the camera's control (ie... my twitchy hands in low-light).


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## Rob2006

Some pics come out really good.  Some pics come out blurry.  Even in bright sunlight as well.  It can be my twitchy hands but I never used to have that problem.  The slow shutter speed I can see where the problem would lie.


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## Daniel

You could set your camera to 'shutter time priority', that way you set the shutter time and let the built in light meter calculate the apature for you. Have a look into the manual of your camera how to do that.


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## malweth

I have the most problem with low light scenarios (indoors) and with my son and the dog - seems that they require 1/125 or better!

Dark objects also give me problems - we have a burgandy colored rug and a chocolate lab. Taking a picture of my son and the dog on the rug apparently means I need 3-4 extra stops (I need to remember to change ISO) - this is indoors at 3pm on a super sunny day (white walls & plenty of light coming in).


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## zedin

Well don't sell your d50 to get a point and shoot.  You don't want to have that money wasted since you won't get as much for it as you paid.  While you are learning use the pre-programmed modes on your selection dial.  Those are the little picture symbols on the left side dial.  So the picture of a moutain is for landscapes, the person running is action shots, the person's head with a hat is for portriats, etc..  Those modes should be described for you in the manual.  Just be patient and learn your camera and you will love the d50.


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## Rob2006

Do you think a VR lens would help?


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## Boston®

IF you have 3 lens, I wouldn't invest in another, but rather sit down, read the manual and experiment with it. Use your 50 MM lens more as it will provide wider apertures so more light can come in than those other zoom lens. If you are taking mainly spurr of the moment shots, use the Auto mode, it'll fire the flash if it needs to that way.


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## D-50

I would suggest investing in an expensive VR lens until you fully understand your camera. I tend to shoot in A so I can egt the depth of field I want and not worry about setting the aperature and shutter speed. I always kee my shots slightly unerexposed as well. I find this works well for spur of the moment shots, although in low lighting I would use the 50mm. Dont give up on your camera yet, just keep shooting and you realize how to get good shots.


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## Rob2006

I think I found some of of my problems.  I went into the blurry pics deeper and see that in allot of the pics the focal point is not the subject I wanted.  Rather an object past the subject.  Would dynamic area be better than single area for this?

I did experiment with DOF shots and its tough until I know what F-Stop  matches what ISO and metering. 

I guess to loose DOF I would need to use a slower shutter speed but a tripod.

I took some more pictures in the house of my daughter using a 1/110, 1/160, 1/400 and there is no blur there.  I tried setting the Aperature to F16 and the pic is dark.  I guess crank up the ISO to 1600 but that would be a grainy shot.


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## Luke

Rob2006 said:
			
		

> I think I found some of of my problems.  I went into the blurry pics deeper and see that in allot of the pics the focal point is not the subject I wanted.  Rather an object past the subject.  Would dynamic area be better than single area for this?
> 
> I did experiment with DOF shots and its tough until I know what F-Stop  matches what ISO and metering.
> 
> I guess to loose DOF I would need to use a slower shutter speed but a tripod.
> 
> I took some more pictures in the house of my daughter using a 1/110, 1/160, 1/400 and there is no blur there.  I tried setting the Aperature to F16 and the pic is dark.  I guess crank up the ISO to 1600 but that would be a grainy shot.


okay
you're definately suffering from a lack of knowledge of how shutter aperture and ISO interact.  It's comlex, so I won't teach here, but internet info is readily availible.  My advice is, start using proper auto focus, where you actually choose what to focus on, and get rid of the zoom, the best zoom you have is on your feet, if you have time to change lenses, you have time to walk right up to your subject.  Once you know how to use your 1.8 you can achieve more with Depth of field and sharpness etc.
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## Unimaxium

If you're shooting indoors or in other low-light conditions, you need one of three things: a fast lens (one that lets a lot of light through, i.e. a low f/number); a high ISO (causing the camera to require less light to make an image, at the expense of graininess/noisiness); or a very steady hand or a tripod. If you had been using your 50mm f/1.8, for example, you could have used a shutter speed of 1/100th to get the same exposure, because it lets that much more light in than your f/3.5-5.6. Alternatively, you could have used a high ISO, which makes the sensor more sensitive to light. I'm guessing you had the camera set to Auto ISO, which won't set the ISO above 400. If you had used 800 or 1600, you could have used a 1/20th or 1/40th shutter speed, respectively. These speeds are much easier to handhold. In low light with a slow lens, you have to trade off camera shake for the graininess of a high ISO. It's your choice which to eliminate. But you can't eliminate both without a tripod or very steady hand.

PS: "allot" is not a word (ok actually it is, but not in the way you're using it), and it's spelled "aperture" ;-)


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## xfloggingkylex

I have been experiementing with ISO for the first time and I must say, WOW.  With my Pentax istDL I can take handheld shots in somewhat low light with the kit lense (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6) at 1600 ISO with no problems.  The pictures have some noise so I wouldn't print them, but for capturing moments you want to remember forever, it definitely works well.


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