newbie needs help

[ljay]

I have a new Canon S5 IS and it seems that all my pics other then auto turn out blurry, what am I doing wrong.

I took this one using night shot.

All help appreciated

[i speak in math]

are you using a tripod?

typically, in low light, the camera will set the shutter to a longer time. This leaves a lot of time for your hand to move. Even pressing the shutter can shift the camera in your hand during this time. This will result in a blur.

Try using a tripod or resting the camera on something for low light shots like this.

[inkista]

..you're expecting too much from IS [grin]. That's what you're doing wrong.

To eliminate camera-shake blur (without stabilization) in a handheld shot, your shutter speed should be at least 1/focal_length. So, if you're zoomed all the way in on the S5IS at the 432mm-equivalent end of the zoom, you'd have to shoot at around 1/500s. IS can account for two stops, so if you're zoomed all the way out, the best you can hope to achieve with good handholding technique, is 1/125s.

Your example photo has a 1s shutter speed.

If you're not zoomed all the way in, the typical slowest speed you can get away with handheld is 1/30s (which, with IS gets you down to 1/8s or so). IS is not a tripod. While it can replace a support in some instances, there's definitely a lower bound to just how long you can keep the shutter open and get a motion-blur free photo.

[lissykeeper]

I think the post above have already answered your question. I just wanted to leave you a little encouraging word. It gets better! Promise. Just keep shooting and trying new things. This forum and others like it can be a wealth of information. One last point, even if you use a tripod in low light situations like this you need to use either a remote shutter release or the timer because as i speak in math said just the act of pressing the shutter can cause enough movement to make your photos turn out blurred like the one above. Good luck!

[ljay]

Thank you for your replys. Yes I do have a tripod but was not using it in this shot. I love to take pictures and always have a camera on me, seems that my HP Camera seems to do a better job. I think that my problem is that I am expecting to much. I need to find a place to learn a little more about the camera that I am trying to use.

[PhotoNewt]

Although a full tripod is certainly a better choice, with a small P&S camera you can get much better shots using a sturdy pocket tripod. Need to consider a couple of things; it will help when taking photos of static subjects (such as the one above), and if used on a windy day, a pocket tripod may not keep camera shake fully controlled.

When using a pocket tripod and long exposures, set your shutter to trip with the self-timer function to obtain even sharper images.

[mattopia]

Perhaps this is a silly question, but...

Is the IS feature of your camera turned on? I'm not sure if it's an option in P&S cameras or if it's always on.

[jillybean1138]

Hello. I actually have an S3 IS and for this kind of camera, it really is not bad-you just have to figure it out, like you said. I think someone said something before about the shutter speed so this is not really new, but... You absolutely have to make sure you have a quick shutter speed if you are holding the camera, except of course at night, when you must use a tripod and a slower speed-or if you just want a long exposure, then also use tripod. I have just had to really read the manual and experiment a lot. I think that is also because I did not really know much about photography itself when I bought my camera. Study some of the articles on the Dig Photo School site about shutter speed/exposure and aperature, and then read in your manual about how to use those features. I am assuming you are like I was when I started with this. But don't give up on the camera, it's really not bad once you figure it out. Oh! and the digital zoom can cause problems too-very bad unless you have tripod for this too!

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by inkista

..you're expecting too much from IS [grin]. That's what you're doing wrong.

To eliminate camera-shake blur (without stabilization) in a handheld shot, your shutter speed should be at least 1/focal_length. So, if you're zoomed all the way in on the S5IS at the 432mm-equivalent end of the zoom, you'd have to shoot at around 1/500s. IS can account for two stops, so if you're zoomed all the way out, the best you can hope to achieve with good handholding technique, is 1/125s.

Your example photo has a 1s shutter speed.

If you're not zoomed all the way in, the typical slowest speed you can get away with handheld is 1/30s (which, with IS gets you down to 1/8s or so). IS is not a tripod. While it can replace a support in some instances, there's definitely a lower bound to just how long you can keep the shutter open and get a motion-blur free photo.

To eliminate camera-shake blur (without stabilization) in a handheld shot, your shutter speed should be at least 1/focal_length.

This quote is wrong,because of the crop factor and the small sensor size you will need to set your speed at 3X hand-held-and if you are using a tripod turn IS off or it will still be trying to eliminate shake,therefore producing shake. Regards, Ken

[inkista]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

To eliminate camera-shake blur (without stabilization) in a handheld shot, your shutter speed should be at least 1/focal_length.

This quote is wrong,because of the crop factor and the small sensor size you will need to set your speed at 3X hand-held-and if you are using a tripod turn IS off or it will still be trying to eliminate shake,therefore producing shake. Regards, Ken

I defend what I said. I already worked in the 6x crop factor, when I said that since the film equivalent focal length was 432mm, the shutter speed should be at 1/500s. The actual focal length range for the S5IS's zoom lens is 6-72mm.

Where you're getting 3x, I haven't a clue.