Help Please! | Camera Issue? Lens? Settings?

I have a Nikon, but what about this to reset defaults ...

 

i probably can't help too much either, because i also have a Nikon, but a couple of thoughts- if it has been good before, I would also suggest trying to reset the defaults and see what happens. On the Nikon the vibration reduction button is on the lens and sometimes the VR gets turned off and then my photos are blurry. i know on the cannon it is on the camera itself, but i am not sure where.
Also maybe the lens just needs a professional cleaning? Maybe something got on the mechanism?
Good luck!

 

1/60 is really too slow for handholding a camera with a baby. Your ISO is pretty high and if maxed out you need more light somehow.

 

I would say it is a few things.

You are shooting at a super high ISO which will make for a lot of grain. That can make your image seem soft. Also, if you are shooting at 1/60 and f1.8 you will have blur basically everywhere but your focus point is. Any movement when you take the photo and focus will jump.
I noticed on my 35mm the focus is really off when I shoot that open with that slow of a shutter speed and higher ISO's. (I try to stay over 1/100 and keep my ISO's under 1600 as much as possible.)
example, my hubby while we were on vaca last week. Neither of us moved when I took the photo but somehow it was blurry. I was at F1.8 and 1/100. My ISO's were low too. Around 800 I think. It is really just hard to shoot wide open with a slow shutter. I was focused directly on his eye and the focus slipped off somewhere into the unknown. haha



here is the crop...

 

Better! Still a little bit OOF but not as noticeable. ❤️

 

You aren't doing anything wrong per se. But based on the settings of your first photo you simply didn't have enough light. As Brenda said higher iso causes grain, and coupled with the very slow shutter speed, you get blur.

Put your subject near a window that is bright ( but not in direct sun) and then play with settings. Mixed lighting isn't going to give you the best results, either.

Aim for a SS of no less than 1/125 and preferably 1/200 or faster. And I would stop down to f/3.2 or so until you get the hang of focusing.

Practicing at night with lightbulbs is not going to tell you much about the ability of your camera.

I think you just need more light overall.

 

High ISO is not necessarily a bad thing. It looks grainy but mostly, it's because of the motion blur. If you nail the focus, make sure it's properly exposed, the high ISO won't matter as much. We shoot the moment and sometimes, that means we are shooting at night, in mixed lighting, etc. but so long as you have a properly exposed and in focus photo, it'll look good.

Yes, try to keep the SS at minimum 1/250 for young kids and 1/125 for adults/older kids. As for aperture, f/1.8 is a challenging aperture to grab good focus because it's such a very thin focal plane. It's best to keep the aperture at f/3.2 or higher until you get better practice at f/1.8.

If you can't upgrade, using the flash but bouncing the light will help you out. I would recommend an external flash but if you can't or don't want to go that route, try a light scoop. It's an attachment that goes on your pop-up flash to help you bounce the light up so you don't get that flashy photo.

 

So, this is a little random. But next to the viewfinder, is a little teeny tiny wheel called the "diopter". Mine got turned one day, on accident. Until I realized it, my focus was always a little off. If this problem is recent, and didn't happen previously, you may want to check it. If it's not recent, then I wouldn't touch it.

**This is not anywhere near as helpful as the light info above. It's strictly because it was driving me nuts when it happened, and a very hard thing to narrow down.

 

The diopter only affects the focus within the viewfinder - it's basically like glasses for the viewfinder. The diopter can be way off for you and crystal clear for someone else. It does not affect focus within the camera or lens itself.

The only way the diopter would matter is if you are manually focusing your camera with the ring on the lens.

 

Yep. Her stats didn't say either way. It was when I was practicing manual focus that I had the problem. I should have specified, sorry!

 

I think the problem is that you don't have enough light for what you are asking. The combination of ISO 3200 AND f1.8 AND SS 1/60 AND dpi72 is never going to give you a crisp image.

You could test your camera or send it in to Canon for calibration, but I'm guessing that it's not the camera. =(

 

this =)

 

For photography, dpi is a non-issue for digital cameras. It's the resolution that is more important for PRINTING the photo, not necessarily the quality of the photo. For crisp image, you have to make sure it's properly exposed and focused - and it all goes back to your ISO, aperture and shutter speed settings.

 

Right...yes....I thinking in terms of printing being the ultimate goal for her scrapbook layouts.

 

For posed portraits, try using a tripod as that can greatly reduce camera shake.

 

While that is a good idea if you have a subject who stays still but for kids, not a good idea. You have to be mobile to take that shot, especially at different angles. I generally only use my tripod for remote shots (if I'm in the photo) or long exposure shots.