G6 - weird outdoor focus issues - help?

Hi -

Typically outdoor pictures have preseneted less of a problem for the G6 for focusing.

However, yesterday I took about 2 dozen pictures outdoors and most of them were in poor focus.

If anyone can speculate what the problems were I would appreciated it. I consider myself a very experienced Canon digi cam user but am at a loss.

All pictures yielded the green focus lock (half depress) prior to finishing pressing the shutter button.

Here is a link to an album - please look at #0859 and 0838 to start, but most of the outdoor shots are not in focus. Nearground, Center and background - non of which are in focus.

P mode, 50 ISO, Center weighted AE. Full 7Mpixel resolution, Super Fine jpeg.
http://www.samsphotoclub.com/share/guest_enter.asp?id=2311510&sid=1971338

THanks for the ideas.

Guy

I use center focus and leave the intelligent focus off. The intelligent focus is flaky at times. I prefocus by placing the subject I want in focus in the center of the frame, press half way, and then re compose and take the shot. I also shoot using "P" "Av Tv or M modes. I never use Auto.

I forgot to include that I always use center focus.

guy

I can't really see the image well enough to make any comments. It doesn't display very large even when selecting an image to view.

sorry-
here are the full resolution photo links
please some comments/answers?
guy

1) http://g.schlact.home.comcast.net/temp/IMG_0838.JPG
2) http://g.schlact.home.comcast.net/temp/IMG_0844.JPG
3) http://g.schlact.home.comcast.net/temp/IMG_08859.JPG
4) http://g.schlact.home.comcast.net/temp/IMG_0861.JPG

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4)

Looks like you have the shakes!! as oppose to a focusing problem with the camera.

photos I believe were all over 1/250th second shutter speed.

I was not moving or noticing any hand shake - this speed should negate anything minor.??

Hand-shake is not always noticeable on our part. It becomes especially pronounced if you're using zoom and the camera has no image stabilization. (Chalk this one up in the shoot-and-learn category for me!)

A couple of questions for you:

Are you sure about the shutter speed? I would double-check that first, especially since there is movement in the subjects you're shooting.

My second question is about the ISO you were using. Sometimes you have to kick it up above 50 to get a slightly faster shutter speed to compensate for movement (both of your subjects and hand-shake, even the slight shake that comes from depressing the button to take the photo).

What do you think? Let us know if this makes any sense to you.

I love my G6, but I'm still learning by trial and (lots of) error!

--
Coogie

Shutter speeds:
all were 1/200th second except #859 which was 1/125.

However not all had movement of subject (ie 838)

When zoomed, if we assume 4x zoom, what speed of shutter is needed to overcome inadvertant (normal) handshake?
say 12 feet
say 40 feet

-guy

repost of links
1) http://g.schlact.home.comcast.net/temp/IMG_0838.JPG
2) http://g.schlact.home.comcast.net/temp/IMG_0844.JPG
3) http://g.schlact.home.comcast.net/temp/IMG_08859.JPG
4) http://g.schlact.home.comcast.net/temp/IMG_0861.JPG

The rule of thumb that I learned from film (35 mm) photography was that for hand-held shots, the shutter speed should be faster than 1/focal length in mm. For the G6 at full zoom, this would be 1/150s or faster (some say twice that, or 1/250s).

I have followed this rule with my S45, S60, and now G6... and it works to an extent. Although I could "cheat" with my film SLRs (I could hand hold amy 500 mm lens at 1/250 s), after 2 years I find that compact DCs are HARDER to hold steady than a SLR... because the shooter's posture is much less steady... Typically, the camera is held out at arms length, with the arms extended away from the body. This position is much less stable than tucking the arms in, with the camera stabilized by two hands and braced against your face. Also, I think the smaller size and light weight (and swivel LCD) of DCs encourages us to try and hand hold shots in postures/positions we normally wouldn't think of with a heavy SLR.

So, you may need to do some experimenting to find the best way to steady your camera for hand held shots... and learn the limits of shutter speeds/focal lengths that you can hand hold.
--
Dave Gard
http://www.pbase.com/gard

--
Bob

Hi Guy.I have a G6,hardly ever use the program mode.I use AV F5.6 center focus,ISO 50 I never have focus issue.Try AV F5.6 it give you a lot more depth of field.It's the sweet spot for my G6.F4.0 works pretty good to.I have a external flash 220EX i always set AV F4.0 for indoor shots.Hope this
tip might help you out.Cheers Bob.

Bob -
thanks for the tip on A 5.6
however I thought that Hyperfocal was only good for Zoom=0?

most of my shots are mostly zoomed in due to distance.

guy