how to not blur?

[DriveATransAm]

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice (naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts . however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?

 

[gt50]

The only way to get high shutter speeds is more light. You may want to look into purchasing a flash. I just got my 5600 yesterday. I was able to get good shots indoors even at 1/1000. I need to play with it more though.

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur
the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital
camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the
shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice
(naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost
black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts
. however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots
at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to
get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?

 

[Jim Peterson93425]

You can push the iso up but anything above 200 will start to get noisy. Or maybe just skip that extra cup of coffee in the morning and take a deep breath. I've posted a bunch of handheld shots taken in low light at http://www.pbase.com/jkp/tokyo In some cases I found something to rest my arms on.

Jim

p.s. I assume you are aware of the fact that the flash will only fire if you manually open it up. Shutter speeds of 1/30 on auto mode sounds like the flash is off.

 

[Russell Whyman]

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur
the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital
camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the
shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice
(naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost
black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts
. however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots
at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to
get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?

Hi

I think the problem you have with the flash is due to the fast shutter speed. Because you are at 1/1000 sec it means that (certainly indoors) the only light source capable of illuminating your subjects is the flash. In effect you have cancelled the effect of any ambient light which is too low at that speed to have much effect.

In addition to this the light falls off very quickly from any light source including the flash. If someone is twice as far away from the camera as your main subject they only get half as much light (inverse square rule) and this makes a lot of difference in your pictures.

I can't think of a solution I'm afraid except play with reducing the shutter speed until you get a decent compromise (assuming you don't want to spend a fortune on a studion lighting/flash system).

--
Russell
D5 http://homepage.ntlworld.com/russell.whyman1
D7i http://www.russellwhyman.co.uk

 

[DriveATransAm]

i know : . i wonder how a real fast shutter speed would work outside in the nice day light. i was basicallly trying to get a focused/still picture by upping the shutter speed, which obviously adversely affects the lighting situation. my main problem is trying to get steady pictures

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur
the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital
camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the
shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice
(naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost
black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts
. however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots
at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to
get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?

Hi

I think the problem you have with the flash is due to the fast
shutter speed. Because you are at 1/1000 sec it means that
(certainly indoors) the only light source capable of illuminating
your subjects is the flash. In effect you have cancelled the effect
of any ambient light which is too low at that speed to have much
effect.

In addition to this the light falls off very quickly from any light
source including the flash. If someone is twice as far away from
the camera as your main subject they only get half as much light
(inverse square rule) and this makes a lot of difference in your
pictures.

I can't think of a solution I'm afraid except play with reducing
the shutter speed until you get a decent compromise (assuming you
don't want to spend a fortune on a studion lighting/flash system).

--
Russell
D5 http://homepage.ntlworld.com/russell.whyman1
D7i http://www.russellwhyman.co.uk

 

[Tony37642]

For indoors, try to hold real steady at the slowest shutter speed and widest apature. If using flash, try to get your subjects within the same distance from your flash unit if possible. Using ASA 200 might be helpful in both instances. In your instance, I would try to turn on as much room light as possible and try balancing the ambiant light with the flash, so I would open the lens aparture as wide open as practical and still keep some depth of field so your subjects are still in focus and let the camera set the speed. This means using a tripod or resting your arms on something so you won't move the camera. If you are using the flash and a long exposure and don't hold steady, you will get ghosting or a brighter image followed by a blurred image.

You said this was your first digital camera but did not tell us your prior experience level. Hope you don't get offended by some basic advice: You know of the rule of thumb for shooting speed and focal length? It goes something like this, if you are hand holding the camera, your shooting speed should be the "same" or faster than the f stop for steady non-blur photos. So if you are shooting at 1/125 sec, your focal length should be at 100 but no more than 125. So at 200 mm zoom length, you should be shooting at 1/250 sec.
Tony

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur
the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital
camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the
shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice
(naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost
black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts
. however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots
at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to
get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?

Hi

I think the problem you have with the flash is due to the fast
shutter speed. Because you are at 1/1000 sec it means that
(certainly indoors) the only light source capable of illuminating
your subjects is the flash. In effect you have cancelled the effect
of any ambient light which is too low at that speed to have much
effect.

In addition to this the light falls off very quickly from any light
source including the flash. If someone is twice as far away from
the camera as your main subject they only get half as much light
(inverse square rule) and this makes a lot of difference in your
pictures.

I can't think of a solution I'm afraid except play with reducing
the shutter speed until you get a decent compromise (assuming you
don't want to spend a fortune on a studion lighting/flash system).

--
Russell
D5 http://homepage.ntlworld.com/russell.whyman1
D7i http://www.russellwhyman.co.uk

 

[Randy Z]

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur
the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital
camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the
shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice
(naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost
black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts
. however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots
at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to
get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?

You may already be aware:

You have an "ShutterPriority" mode, in which you can tell the camera to use a certain shutter speed (say 100 or 250), and the cam will adjust the aperture and flash comp to suit.
--
Z-Man

 

[Bill Cook]

Photography is always a series of compromises. First rule to learn is a rule of thumb which says that the shorest exposure time you can hand hold is the reciprical of the focal length of your lens (in 35mm equivalents) in seconds. As an example at 28mm that would be about 1/30 second. At 200mm that would be 1/200 second. Some of you young turks with nerves of steel might be able to do better and many of us old farts (myself included) can't do as well.

The second is the shorter the exposure the wider the aperture and the wider the aperture the shallower the depth of field. That is to say that F3.5 the devialtion between the distances of your subjects and the camera to maintain acceptable focus is less than if you were stopped donw to F7.7.

Third subject motion can cause no end of havoc at slow shutter speeds. Try to shoot toward or away from the action not at right angles to it. Learn to anticipate when the "peak" of theaction will occur. When a person jumps straight up there is a breif instance when they get to the top of the jump that they are essentially motionless, thats the peak, thats when you take your picture. Almost all actions have a "peak" use it.

Don't expect to much from the miniscule flash unit in the camera. It is good only for subjects within a 3 to 10 feet from the camera. If you want to illuminate subjects further away you need a more powerful unit.

Remember that light follows an inverse square law. If your main subject is 5 feet away and is properly illuminated with your flash an object 10 feet away will get only 1/4 as much light and be two stops under exposed (probably almost black). Conversely an object 2.5 feet away will get 4 times as much light and will be two stops overexposed.

As I said photography is a compromise. How you make those compromises work for you instead of against you is what makes you a photographer rather than a snapshooter.

Bill Cook

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur
the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital
camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the
shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice
(naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost
black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts
. however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots
at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to
get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?

Hi

I think the problem you have with the flash is due to the fast
shutter speed. Because you are at 1/1000 sec it means that
(certainly indoors) the only light source capable of illuminating
your subjects is the flash. In effect you have cancelled the effect
of any ambient light which is too low at that speed to have much
effect.

In addition to this the light falls off very quickly from any light
source including the flash. If someone is twice as far away from
the camera as your main subject they only get half as much light
(inverse square rule) and this makes a lot of difference in your
pictures.

I can't think of a solution I'm afraid except play with reducing
the shutter speed until you get a decent compromise (assuming you
don't want to spend a fortune on a studion lighting/flash system).

--
Russell
D5 http://homepage.ntlworld.com/russell.whyman1
D7i http://www.russellwhyman.co.uk

 

[*isteve]

Apologies for stating the obvious...

One really cool feature of the D7/D7i is the ability to flip the UVF upwards and shoot looking down into it, with your arms braced against your chest and the lens cradled in your left hand. This not only provides a better hight for portrait shooting but steadies the camera quite a bit.

Forget about fast shutter and flash - the flash is fast enough to freeze the action - go for more depth of field to ensure a better focus.

Steve

 

[Pabletto]

In addition to this the light falls off very quickly from any light
source including the flash. If someone is twice as far away from
the camera as your main subject they only get half as much light
(inverse square rule) and this makes a lot of difference in your
pictures.

Nope, if someone is twice as far away from the camera as your main subject they only get A QUARTER as much light (inverse square rule). At least this is what the inverse square rule says.
The inverse square of 2 is 1/4!

--
Pabletto

http://www.pbase.com/pabletto
(samples taken with the MINOLTA DiMAGE 7)
Last update 26 February 2002 (MORE food photos)

 

[DriveATransAm]

i thought that the camera adjusted all settings based off of what you changed? like if you changed shutter speed, it would adjust apature and iso and all that good stuff automatically, unless you went and physically changed those settings. is this correct?

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur
the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital
camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the
shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice
(naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost
black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts
. however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots
at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to
get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?

You may already be aware:

You have an "ShutterPriority" mode, in which you can tell the
camera to use a certain shutter speed (say 100 or 250), and the cam
will adjust the aperture and flash comp to suit.
--
Z-Man

 

[Chris Goldsmith]

Ummm, this may also be obvious but maybe you should consider using a tripod. I believe I am correct in saying that most professional photographers use a tripod FAR more often than us amateurs, and look at the results. Using a tripod allows you to use any combination of shutter speed and aperture, and forces you to compose more carefully. Just a thought.

Chris...

so im playing around with my new 7i- its really hard to not blur
the picture on automatic mode. this is my first "real" digital
camera so im still learning what everything does. when i bump the
shutter speed up to 1/1000 the pictures come out really nice
(naturally) but everyone that the flash doesnt hit is almost
black. the good part is that there is no noise in the black parts
. however, they shouldnt be that dark. on auto it only shoots
at about 1/30 shutter speed and of course it blurs . any way to
get the shutter speed up in doors without everything being so dark?