I've had a few people who own basic digital point and shoot cameras ask me why their photos of their kids (playing, running etc..) always turn out blurry, even on the "sports" setting in broad daylight. When shooting moving flowers, people etc...why do a lot of point and shoot cameras fail in this aspect? Is there something that I can tell them that will help it. Is it user error? I do not own a point and shoot myself, so I have not encountered that problem. Just curious if anybody had any suggestions. Thanks.
They have to be careful to hold the camera still when they take the picture maybe? Sounds simple, but some people don't realize how much they are moving when snapping pics.
I think Rebecka nailed it. Many (most?) P&S shooters hold their cameras at arms length. It's very difficult to hold the camera steady that way.
You might suggest they use their camera's peephole viewfinder. If the camera doesn't have one, they should brace their arms or camera against something. Also remind them to press the shutter button gently.
Ask them to try setting the camera on something and take a picture that way. Should prove out whether or not it's camera shake. The other issue might be that the shutter lag from the time they press the button, to the time the picture is taken, is long enough that they start moving or start shaking before the camera is done.
I think I can help "verify" the solution. My wife has a Canon P&S (don't recall the model) with IS, but the IS is a little slow to engage and you have to watch for it. Very often the shots are blurry if you press the shutter before the IS is engaged, especially as you stretch the lens.
Ditto Hank. My wife can't hold a camera steady so when she tried using my old 350D it did not have an IS lens and she couldn't get any decent photos. So she then bought a Nikon superzoom with their VR built-in anti-shake mechanism and that works great for her. I think she brought back several thousand flower shots from England this May. However in low light settings even with the VR she's getting fuzzy shots and just this afternoon asked me about using my old tripod. I may yet steer her to using the 350D with an IS lens on the tripod--Larry
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5 repliesI've had a few people who own basic digital point and shoot cameras ask me why their photos of their kids (playing, running etc..) always turn out blurry, even on the "sports" setting in broad daylight. When shooting moving flowers, people etc...why do a lot of point and shoot cameras fail in this aspect? Is there something that I can tell them that will help it. Is it user error? I do not own a point and shoot myself, so I have not encountered that problem. Just curious if anybody had any suggestions. Thanks.
You might suggest they use their camera's peephole viewfinder. If the camera doesn't have one, they should brace their arms or camera against something. Also remind them to press the shutter button gently.
Cheers,