Why do all of my photos look like this!

[niccapo]

They are all blurry, out of focus, shots (see examples) that look great on the thumbnail preview but suck when views full size. :( How can I fix this? Is it user error? I like taking close-ups, is my lens the problem? I'm using a Canon EOS 10D with a TAMRON AF 18-200mm 1:3.5-6.3 (IF) Macro 62 a14 lens. My Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS point and shoot takes better close up photos.

Example 1 (http://imgur.com/H5qpp.jpg)
Example 2 (http://imgur.com/xbCCn.jpg)
Example 3 (http://imgur.com/qpCGF.jpg)

[bohdank]

What was the shutter speed ? What did you focus on ? How close were you ?

[iAMB]

The lighting seems like its not bright enough for your shutter speed if you are hand holding it. What speed are you using? Are you on a priority mode or automatic. Flash? We could use a bit more information.

[kevindar]

there are only two reasons for images to look That blurry. Either the camera is mis focusing, or or your shutter speed is to low. I can tell for sure in the 3rd one, its the shutter speed, as you can see the blurriness. I dont know how new you are to photography, but Understand exposure is a book worth reading. welcome to the forum.

[20DNewbie]

It would help out if from now on when you saved your photos to use the "Save as" option so the exif remains intact so we could see the camera settings.

P&S cameras do a fair amount of processing in camera while a Dslr will only do what you tell it to, providing your shooting jpeg of course.

[JackFlash19]

Exif data por favor! ^ (what he said)

Ya, I'd bet your camera is just fine. It's likely just user error. It takes some time to get used to an SLR right off the bat. These forums are a wealth of knowledge. Welcome!

[gjl711]

Posting with EXIF data would help tremendously, but all three pictures exhibit quite a severe case of motion blur. I'm guessing that it was hand held and with a slow shutter speed.

[tmcman]

You could eliminate camera shake by putting it on a tripod to take a shot.
Or if you make the settings so the shutter speed is high, over 1/250th or if you are really shaky, like me, closer to 1/500th,
then minor camera shake won't show.

[kcbrown]

I can tell you right now just by looking at the first shot that it's camera shake, pure and simple. The blur pattern is asymmetric, which is the giveaway for camera shake. It's harder to tell from the second and third shots (the second one had the camera focusing on the reflection, so the blurriness there may simply be from the screen being less than a perfect reflector), but camera shake is the very first thing you need to get under control.


That means you need to shoot at a higher shutter speed than what you were shooting at. In semi-automatic modes (e.g., Av) you can increase the shutter speed by some combination of opening up the aperture and selecting a higher ISO. In manual mode, of course, you have to set everything yourself.

Try shooting with a higher shutter speed and see if that fixes your problem. Given what I saw, it almost certainly will. You want at least 1/(1.6 * <focal length>) as your shutter speed unless you're using a lens with IS.

[yogestee]

Welcome to the cauldron niccapo.. An educated guess here,,too slow shutterspeed in low light and tungsten light source..

Try shooting in brighter conditions, possibly outside using a subject with texture..

[aridan]

1. slow shutter speed?
2. you are too close to the object and outside the lens' MFD range?
3. too much contrast? (reflected lamp on black monitor)

[niccapo]

Thank you so much for the quick responses. I have the original files so I will post the metadata below (screenshots from Aperture).

1 http://grab.by/3Vb
2 http://grab.by/3Vc
3 http://grab.by/3Ve

[FactionOne]

As above, shutter-speed is your problem.

The fastest one there (first shot) is 1/4. The lens is at it's widest there - 18mm - you'd scrape a passable shot of a static-object at 1/60 (with very steady hands) but I'd be looking for 1/100 or some way above. That's not going to happen on its own though, as you're also at the widest aperture, so there's no way to use a quicker shutter speed but get more light into the lens to compensate (by using a wider aperture). So, you've got a few options:

1) Use a tripod so you can get a sharp shot with slow shutter (if you choose this option, go back to ISO100 to keep image quality as high as possible).

2) Use flash (so that you are able to use a quicker shutter and still capture enough light to expose correctly (because of course there'll be more of it available)).

3) Bump-up ISO some more (giving the sensor higher sensitivity to available light, resulting in you being able to select a quicker shutter at the same aperture). You're at ISO200 now. Realistically you're going to need to be at something much higher than that. I'd try setting ISO800, Aperture Priority (Av) Mode, and dial in the widest aperture you can - f/3.5 at 18mm (the lens' widest view) - if you're seeing 1/60 or faster, give the shot a go. If you're comfortably quicker than 1/100, try knocking it down to ISO400 to minimise noise in the image.

Another thing to consider, if you're looking for a really sharp shot, is that the lens won't deliver its best results at its widest aperture - you'll probably see things sharpen up considerably at about f/8 - but there's no chance of using that and having a shutter-speed quick enough for hand holding with the ambient light in your example shots - this is when you'd really need a) a tripod, b) flash, c) a very fast (ie has a very wide maximum aperture) lens.

Hope that helps somewhat...

Regards,

Rob.

[SCOTTinNJ]

Confirmed. Your shutter speeds are off the chart low. Bump the ISO to 1600 and open the aperture as wide as it will go (3.5 with your 18-200?). That's the fastest shutter speed you'll get assuming the 10D only has ISO 1600 usable (I don't know about that).

Likely the shutter speed might still be low.

And don't shoot at f/11 in those conditions!

Understanding Exposure, as referenced above, is an excellent book. You should pick up a copy and read it a few times. I've probably read it 10 times and every time I do I pick up something new.

[SCOTTinNJ]

Dang, I type too slow.

[jetcode]

minimum focal distance ... use a macro

[niccapo]

Thanks again. I've found this forum so helpful in starting to branch off from my comfort zone (Canon P&S cameras).

As above, shutter-speed is your problem.
Another thing to consider, if you're looking for a really sharp shot, is that the lens won't deliver its best results at its widest aperture - you'll probably see things sharpen up considerably at about f/8 - but there's no chance of using that and having a shutter-speed quick enough for hand holding with the ambient light in your example shots - this is when you'd really need a) a tripod, b) flash, c) a very fast (ie has a very wide maximum aperture) lens.


I have a tripod that I could use. As far as flash goes, I've heard that it's not good to use your flash too often. Was I misled?

Maximum aperture:
http://imgur.com/oXcQcl.jpg


Understanding Exposure, as referenced above, is an excellent book. You should pick up a copy and read it a few times. I've probably read it 10 times and every time I do I pick up something new.


I'll will pick up a copy of that book at Amazon.com for sure:


Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition) (9780817463007): Bryan Peterson: Books http://bit.ly/TvGkG
Would you recommend these books as good reads for a aspiring DSLR user?


Amazon.com: The Digital Photography Book (9780321474049): Scott Kelby: Books http://bit.ly/m1yiU
Amazon.com: The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2 (9780321524768 ): Scott Kelby: Books http://bit.ly/d879M
Amazon.com: The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3 (9780321617651): Scott Kelby: Books http://bit.ly/cbIvp

[ozziepuppy]

Yes, those are all excellent book choices.

There is also a brand new one out from Bryan Peterson called Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide that is very good.

[caesar2164]

aperture numbers go the other way...

f/22 is the smallest aperture and f/3.5 (for your lens @ 18mm) is the largest...

when shooting either in M, A or Tv there are three things you can modify to change the look of the photos:

aperture, shutter speed, and ISO speed.

in your case I would use A mode and use a the widest aperture (f/3.5) and use something like ISO 800...that should get you an acceptable shutter speed...

but you'll read all about what's above in "understanding exposure"...


edit: I think you should get "understanding exposure" and read that, then play with the camera for a bit taking pictures of everything in every possible lighting situation and see how changing settings affects the camere and the picture. The only REAL way to get better at photography is to take lots of pictures...digital is a boon because you don't waste any money learning... :D

[focus.pocus]

operator error... hand held low light slow shutter speed...

[Brett]

Don't take this wrong, but you actually shot one of them with a 10 second shutter speed? Did you not notice that? I'm surprised it looks as good as it does. You must have steady hands.

You P&S would have fired its flash in these conditions; that's why it would have taken a sharper image.

[niccapo]

Don't take this wrong, but you actually shot one of You must have steady hands.


The camera must have been steadied on a dresser for that one. My hands are not steady especially when taking photos.

[kcbrown]

aperture numbers go the other way...

f/22 is the smallest aperture and f/3.5 (for your lens @ 18mm) is the largest...


Yep.

The aperture value you see is the ratio of the focal length of the lens to the diameter of the aperture. So as you widen the aperture, the aperture value drops.

[Brett]

The camera must have been steadied on a dresser for that one. My hands are not steady especially when taking photos.

Ah. I wondered on that one.

Give this a read: Ben's Newbie Guide to DSLR Photography (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=414088). It covers the basics very nicely, and is a quick, easy read.

[niccapo]

Thanks for the help. Here are some pictures I took this morning. Did I improve at all? Be honest. I set the camera in manual mode. The metadata doesn't stay with the files after upload to imgur.com so I'll post it as text. Side note: Is there an image upload service that preserves metadata? (other than Flickr)

http://imgur.com/I5kUal.jpg ('http://imgur.com/I5kUa.jpg')

http://imgur.com/h3qbFl.jpg ('http://imgur.com/h3qbF.jpg')

1st Image:
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

File Size: 1769 kB
File Type: JPEG
MIME Type: image/jpeg
Image Width: 3072
Image Height: 2040
Encoding Process: Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample: 8
Color Components: 3
X-Resolution: 72 dpi
Y-Resolution: 72 dpi
Viewing Conditions Illuminant Type: D50
Measurement Observer: CIE 1931
Measurement Flare: 0.999%
Measurement Illuminant: D65
Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
Date and Time (Modified): 2009:09:13 08:45:00
Exposure Program: Manual
Date and Time (Original): 2009:09:13 08:45:00
Date and Time (Digitized): 2009:09:13 08:45:00
Max Aperture Value: 4.0
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
Color Space: sRGB

Second Image:
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Exposure: 0.022 sec (1/45)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 47 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

File Size: 1593 kB
File Type: JPEG
MIME Type: image/jpeg
Image Width: 2040
Image Height: 3072
Encoding Process: Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample: 8
Color Components: 3
X-Resolution: 72 dpi
Y-Resolution: 72 dpi
Viewing Conditions Illuminant Type: D50
Measurement Observer: CIE 1931
Measurement Flare: 0.999%
Measurement Illuminant: D65
Orientation: Horizontal (normal)
Date and Time (Modified): 2009:09:13 08:47:08
Exposure Program: Manual
Date and Time (Original): 2009:09:13 08:47:08
Date and Time (Digitized): 2009:09:13 08:47:08
Max Aperture Value: 4.0
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
Color Space: sRGB

[bohdank]

Keep the shutter speeds up there. The second one is reaching iffy territory for many shooters as far as hand holding. Also keep in mind that if there is any breeze, the plants will move and 1/45 is not going to be able to capture a blur free image. Don't be afraid to up the ISO to 200.

[kcbrown]

Keep the shutter speeds up there. The second one is reaching iffy territory for many shooters as far as hand holding. Also keep in mind that if there is any breeze, the plants will move and 1/45 is not going to be able to capture a blur free image. Don't be afraid to up the ISO to 200.

Exactly. The first image looks good. The second one not so much.

It took a little experience for me to figure out that the best approach is to use as much ISO as you need to get the shot. It's much better to have some noise to deal with than to deal with a blurry (but clean!) shot. Noise can be cleaned up to some extent. Nothing can help recover a blurry shot.

So don't be afraid to crank that ISO up, all the way to 3200 if you have to!

[caesar2164]

better!

the first is very contrasty because it's backlit...

the second's shutter speed is maybe a little slow.

I applaud your use of M. If you like it continue, but if you want to think less Av and Tv are great!