Camera Labs

A couple of weeks ago, I was shooting a couple of portraits etc for a friend.

I used the kit lens and selected the lowest aperture for where I was zoomed, and I am unsure where I zoomed to.

I relied solely on halogen spotlights that the ceiling provided.

I can't really post the image without the person's consent, but would like some advice.

The output wasn't great, the image wasn't pin sharp, and the outside of the person's face was blurred as well as some of the background. The result wasn't great.

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Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

Sounds like motion blur? Or incorrect focus? What was the shutter speed and were you on single or continuous focus?

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

Also if U use a large apperture, U lose a bit of detail. I find the 18 - 55mm best at F8.0

Although motionblur is more likely to be the problem here.. try recreating the conditions and checking your shutterspeed. Try not to go below 1/60 of a second when shooting hand held. This is displayed thru the viewfinder as simply the number 60.

If your shutterspeed is to low, U can use a flash. Or possibly increase the lighting. And if prefer you can bump up the ISO.

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550D + 18 - 55mm kitlens
50 mm F1.8
I apologize in advance for my poor spelling..

I appreciate advice about lighting, but I believe that here, that was not the problem.

I used flash for some of the images.

I shot hand held with the camera a distance away from me (live view).

Exif
F/4.5 (minimum is 3.5)
1/10 Seconds Shutter
ISO 400

Canon EOS 500D with 18-55mm IS Kit Lens.

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Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

Your problem fairly certainly lies in the 1/10 shutter speed.

You should have put the aperture down to f3.5 and the ISO up to 1600 or so.

You wont even be able to handhold a shot at 1/10 hence the output "not being pin sharp" let alone would you freeze the action.

For portraits/people shooting I like the shutter to be at least 1/125 or preferably 1/250 to freeze their motion

EDIT:Just noticed you said you used live view. This makes it slower to focus if the person moves a little and also makes it harder to handhold. If you get the camera to your face, and tuck your arms right in then you'll find you can shoot at slower shutter speeds like 1/10 possibly.

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

you can see this effect for yourself, if you set your camera to "tv" and take 2 pictures.. one hand-held shot at 1/10 and one with your camera on a tripod or simply set down on a table

I also overestimated the amout of light these halogen spotlights produce.. they produce verry little light and you will propably find yourself not having any problems in normal daylight..

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550D + 18 - 55mm kitlens
50 mm F1.8
I apologize in advance for my poor spelling..

I can not remember whether I selected it myself or whether the camera did.



Ouch

I think I may have used 1600 before.



I use manual focus the majority of the time, and I agree that once focussed, the subject can move slightly.

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Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

MF in low light with the kit lens and LV? That's pretty hard, try to use the normal AF through the v/f which is much faster.

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Its not there for show, its there to be used.

Wouldnt you rather have a noisy photo than a blurry photo?

Also I agree with Ruben. Why manually focus? Just set it to continuous and select your focus point manually will be more accurate.

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

PS, is there no way you could post the picture?





??

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

Jeremy, how did you get hold of Canon 500D's portraits?

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Nikon D700 & D7100 bodies + Nikkor 300mm F2.8 VR11, 1.7TC, 50mm F1.4G, 16-35mm f/4G VR, 105 F2.8 VR macro, 70-300mm lenses. A couple of filters, Giotto tripod & ballhead. Lowepro Slingshot 302 AW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcarlos/

They're my shot

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

You need a sharper lens!

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Nikon D700 & D7100 bodies + Nikkor 300mm F2.8 VR11, 1.7TC, 50mm F1.4G, 16-35mm f/4G VR, 105 F2.8 VR macro, 70-300mm lenses. A couple of filters, Giotto tripod & ballhead. Lowepro Slingshot 302 AW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcarlos/

Hey, is that a tilt-swirl lens?

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Canon DSLRs: 5D Mark III, 7D
Canon lenses: 17-40/4L, 24-105/4L, 24/1.4L II, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 100/2.8L Macro, 70-200/2.8L IS, 100-400L
Other stuff: Canon 580 EX II, Canon 430EX II, Velbon Sherpa 600R
Apple: MacBook Pro 15", iMac 27", iPad III, iPhone 4S, Apple TV

My deviantART

The viewfinder offers 95% coverage, I believe. Not good.

I find that autofocus does not always focus where I want it to, and I prefer to use manual mostly.

I was considering posting the photo, but I think as we have destinguished the issues (low speeds etc), the question has already been answered.

This has happened with other shots also.

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Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II