Anyone into camera's/photography? If so please help me take a decent picture!

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Anyone into camera's/photography? If so please help me take a decent picture!

20 posts & 11 voices | Started 2 years ago by YETIboyJAY | Latest reply from YETIboyJAY

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Pity the apostrophe

YETIboyJAY - Member

I got a Cannon D10 waterproof/shockproof camera for xmas in replacement for a knackered olympus version (mju 720sw).

The camera is meant to be for the outdoors/sports etc. But it does not have a sports mode function!

It is meant to have some fandangled system to stop blurring, but i cant take a decent riding picture! All have the rider as a big smudge.

I have tried it on auto mode or on a custom one with continuous shooting. Both ways are totally blurred.

Can anyone shed any light on this...a setting i dont know about (i know literally nothing about cameras!)

Its a real shame as this is meant to be the dogs danglies in its category. My old olympus was great for riding, it took hundreds of brilliant action shots.

Cheers chaps.

Posted 2 years ago #
5thElefant - Member

Set the ISO to a higher value. The camera will then increase the shutter speed giving less blur. It has a focus lock mode too, turn that on and it will track moving objects to keep them in focus.

Posted 2 years ago #
stuartlangwilson - Member

Panning is worth a try.

Posted 2 years ago #
YETIboyJAY - Member

Ok brilliant i will try upping the ISO. Also how do i lock the focus? Thanks!

Posted 2 years ago #
simonfbarnes - Member

It has a focus lock mode too

what makes you think this enables tracking ? It sounds like it locks the focus...

Image stabilisation does nothing to stop subject movement blurring, only camera shake.

Posted 2 years ago #
Bez - Member

Panning is the answer, not raising the ISO, if you want a sharp moving subject. Keep the rider in the same place in the viewfinder before, during and after the shot - move with them.

Raising the ISO will reduce your exposure time, which makes getting a sharp subject easier, but it'll reduce image quality markedly on a compact camera. And a shutter speed that's too fast has no feel of movement anyway.

To lock the focus, find something (eg the ground) at the same distance as the rider will be when you want to shoot them. Aim at it (preferably using center focus, not multi-point), half-press the shutter and keep it there, move the camera to follow the rider in, keeping the shutter pressed as you move with them, fully press at the point you want, carry on panning, job done. Just a case of planning ahead a bit.

Posted 2 years ago #
YETIboyJAY - Member

Bez, thanks for the tips. Its a real shame as my Olympus to really great action shots on burst mode-around 6 in a row. Almost never blurred.

Anyway i will try the above and hopefully it works.

Pretty crappy how a camera aimed at outdoor types doesnt have a sports mode!

Cheers fellers

Posted 2 years ago #
5thElefant - Member

Panning is the answer

Given the OP said his old camera took hundreds of brilliant action shots I'd assume technique isn't the problem.

Page 82 of the manual covers focus tracking. They call it Servo AF.

Posted 2 years ago #
Bez - Member

Given the OP said his old camera took hundreds of brilliant action shots I'd assume technique isn't the problem.

Of course it is. You can take a photo without "the rider as a big smudge" with a £4 disposable film camera or an antique TLR, so it's not technology's fault. It's just that the new camera isn't compensating for technique in the same way as the old one.

Posted 2 years ago #
andyl46 - Member

When you sat the rider is a smudge, is it movement blur or just out of focus?

For a moving subject, there are two ways of keeping it sharp, panning or high shutter speed (1/160th sec or faster). Prefocussing as mentioned above will be one less thing for the camera to do and should help reduce shutter lag, try shooting fully manually too.

Sport modes are generally just the camera selecting high shutter speeds.

Posted 2 years ago #
Young Dave riley - Member

Not being arsey,but haveyou read the manual?

Posted 2 years ago #
bomberman - Member

reading the manual is a great start!

To get a sharp pic you must:

- Enable AI servo autofocus mode (to constantly track and adjust focus)
- Up the ISO. Ignore what bez says - up it to about 400. you'll get a faster shutter speed that'll give you a sharper shot at the expense of a bit of noise. I'd rather have a noisy sharp pic than a clean blurred pic any day.
- Panning - do it. and practice makes perfect here. do a google search on panning technique; loads of vids on youtube.
- If you're in a dark forest under trees you'll need to use the flash. you can still pan with your subject but the flash will light up the rider and freeze him/her.

Happy shooting!

Posted 2 years ago #
Kit - Member

I like panning shots

Posted 2 years ago #
simonfbarnes - Member

Not being arsey,but haveyou read the manual?

I didn't get where I am today by reading manuals

Posted 2 years ago #
mudsux - Member

I didn't get where I am today by reading manuals

sfb - you're nuthin' without your Nikon.

Posted 2 years ago #
simonfbarnes - Member

you're nuthin' without your Nikon

it has lots of buttons. I press them and it makes clicking sounds.

Posted 2 years ago #
zokes - Member

I didn't get where I am today by reading manuals

And where's that (apart from Lancaster) then, Simon?

Posted 2 years ago #
andyl46 - Member

If using flash to help freeze action, use the rear curtain flash option if your camera has it, it pops the flash at the end of the exposure so helping freeze motion where it finishes in the frame. Otherwise the blurry bit moves away "into the future" from the subject, which can look a little strange..

Posted 2 years ago #
simonfbarnes - Member

And where's that (apart from Lancaster) then, Simon?

it's a quote from Leonard Rossiter's boss in an ancient comedy - the implication being that life is too short for reading manuals

Posted 2 years ago #
YETIboyJAY - Member

Thanks for the help guys. I would read the manual but cant! It came on CD and my netbook i am on doesnt have a damn cd drive arrhhhh!

Cheers chaps

EDIT....Just seen the link above, i couldnt find the manual for anything! Cheers pal

Posted 2 years ago #

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