What am I Not Getting?

Why are my pictures coming out blurry like this?

Using a Canon 60D with an 85mm Lens. Had my setting in "Manual" as follows:

"M" "1/8" "F10" "ISO 1600"

What should I be doing differently to get this sharp and crisp?

Note that I did not edit the image at all with the exception of reducing the file size. Had the image come out sharp and well focused I think that after editing (I use LR5) it probably could have turned out to be a pretty decent photo.

Your shutter speed is 1/8?? That's the problem. Shoot wider to allow for a higher SS if lighting's that bad.

Sorry to say, but blurry is only one of your worries. My question is why did you shoot it at f/10? Depth of field doesn't seem to be pertinent with this subject. It forced you to use a slow shutter speed, which possibly contributed to movement blur. It also looks like it's out of focus, which would be the second source of blur. Your white balance is way off, as if you shot under tungsten light without correcting in camera or in post processing. The contrast is very low. I don't have a ready explanation for that. Possibly camera settings. All this suggests that your insistence on using manual exposure probably should be held off until you gain more experience.

Bogino wrote in post #16911146
Using a Canon 60D with an 85mm Lens. Had my setting in "Manual" as follows:

"M" "1/8" "F10" "ISO 1600"
.

Well, 1/8th second is nowhere near fast enough for anything that may move, even a cat sitting still will be moving slightly and that is enough to blur the image with such a slow shutter speed. In addition, unless the camera is solidly locked onto a tripod or similar, then there is likely to be camera shake causing blur problems as well.

You used an f/1.8 lens but stopped it down to f/10. This is an ideal case for using a wide aperture to let more light in through the lens and getting a faster shuter speed to killl blur. Using f/1.8 would give you around 5 stops more light, allowing a shutter speed of 1/250th which would be plenty. In fact, if the cat was sitting fairly still, I would shoot at around f/2.8 to give a little more depth of field and still allow a shutter speed of around 1/100th. You would want to have the camera will braced though (resting with your elbows on the floor and keeping things steady should suffice) in order to kill any slight camera shake that could still be present.

As for what you are "not getting", you seem to be entering settings without any understanding of what they do or how they affect the image. Why did you choose f/10? You don't need that much depth of field. Why ISO 1600?, Why 1/8th? Other than you need to balance the f/10 to get correct exposure at the ISO you picked. Decide what aperture you NEED, what shutter speed you NEED, then set the ISO required to allow those settings and give correct exposure. Those settings you used in that shot seem to have been picked at random, with no thought as to how they will affect the result.

Try this book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.

This book will be very helpful to you.

Your 85mm ( assuming it's EF 85/1.8) is already plenty sharp by f2.8, and should be razor sharp by f4. I never use f10 on live things, and rarely even on the landscapes. With this lens ( and I used to have it) I never used a value higher than f4. Typically, most lenses are sharpest at about 2 stops from wide open.

Another thing is the shutter speed. The rule of thumb is to use 2x focal length to avoid handshake blur, and in my personal experience anything alive tends to move ever slightly and I prefer speeds at least 1/250 whenever I can. 1/8 is too slow even for a stabilized lens, I am surprised you can even see his eyes. With 85, realistically, anything below 1/40 is guaranteed to produce visible blur.

Try this shot in Tv mode, and keep the shutter speed at 1/160 or higher if you can. Let the camera chose ISO and aperture.

You need to get the shutter speed faster by either:
- Selecting a lower f/stop
- Pumping light into the scene (flash or natural light)
- Higher ISO.

Seeing as how you're already at 1600 ISO, I probably wouldn't do that. Generally I don't go any higher than f/5.6, unless I'm using studio strobes that can give off a lot of light to overcome a narrower aperture. Seeing as how the background in this picture really doesn't add anything, I would try to blur it out & use a lower f/stop. f/4.0 should keep the cat in focus & start to blur things behind him.

Kudos for asking the question rather than wimping out & going to the full auto mode. I know I wouldn't have been able to get a shot that was even that sharp at 1/8 of a second.

madjack wrote in post #16911181
Try this book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.

This book will be very helpful to you.

Good advise.

ozzmodan wrote in post #16911797
Kudos for asking the question rather than wimping out & going to the full auto mode.

LOL!! That's why it's called "Critique Corner" so we can ask questions and learn. For the record, I did buy the the book which was suggested, Understanding Exposure, as well as took a few more shots using the various suggestions, particularly as it relates to f stop which I now have a better understanding of. Although the picture below may not be the best I think at least I'm headed in the right direction now. Appreciate all the feedback.

Your cat looks,.. displeased.

But yes, getting better

Was that a Custom WB? It looks like you missed your target setting. Info in this might help: Newb quesiton about Auto White Balance

Grumpy cat!

flowrider wrote in post #16912069
Grumpy cat!

I was going to say xD

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

As mentioned, your shutter speed is too low. The general rule of thumb is to shoot a shutter speed of 1/focal length, in this case 1/85 as the minimum.

Opening the aperture up to say f2.8 will give you much more light which will allow increased shutter speed.

White balance is more than a little off too. Just select the WB appropriate for your light source. Don't use AWB.

You're on the right track though. Stick with Manual mode.