Beating the blur blues...

[Greg K.]

I have a l'il Canon A95 that I like a LOT. But often, when I try to take natural light or low light pics, no matter how hard I try, they come out a tad blurry. Not unusable, but just enough to make you notice and squint and groan.

I have been eyeing the Canon SD 700 IS (which has been gently calling my name every time I pass it in the electronics store... ).

But before I take the plunge, does anybody have any advice for minimizing that irksome blur on an otherwise excellent little camera, the A95?

I already have a Pentax dslr that I like to use, too, but I'm looking for something that can slip into a fanny pack or take out to a nice dinner (at Disney World, perhaps? ) and not look like a total photo geek.

TIA!

 

[captaincrash]

At the risk of coming across as....

.... as a simplistic series of ideas... try carrying a tiny pocket tirpod or clamp pod. When shooting - set the ISO manually at ISP 100 assuming your digicam can handle a longer exposure ... and use the self timer. We ARE talking about low light subjects with not a lot of movement. And if there IS movement in the subject then - with low light you can get some interesting results. IE - for fireworks - whether it is aerial or sparklers being twirled by kids - try f8 or f11 and a long 1 second or longer exposure (with nothing else illuminating the frame). Or - with moving car lights (obliquely) then this paints a nice image for motion. For that I would try bracketing widely to get increasingly longer trace lines in the movement.

Aside from that - you need to keep the camera from pushing the ISO too high to compensate for your lack of illumination. That will contain the grain and the clamp/mini-pod and self-timer should tame the movement.

Short of utilizing that - you need to brace very firmly against a fixed object like a concrete wall or metal post - OR whatever presents itself. In the absence of that you need a full sized tripod or maybe a monopod. But that would be silly considering the compact nature of your digicam.

These images below were taken with a minipod or in the case of the latin quarter shot - I used one of the metal posts visible in the photos as a handy minipod with a slow shutter - manual set to a low ISO and medium aperature.

I used to have a Canon G-1 as my primary - I had a minipod that had a velcro strap that doubled as a sort of strappable clamp. Let me see if I can google an image of the minipod...

The silver pod above was exactly what I had on my G-1 semi-permanently. I added a velcro strap sometimes which was carried in my bag as I recall. Eventually - the rubber tip of a leg broke off and I bought another minipod to replaceit. So if you go this route - be careful of the vulnerable feet.

Hope this helps.

 

[Greg K.]

Thanks, cap'n! Good tips. I have a l'il tripod that I've used from time to time and it fits fairly well in my fanny pack. I'll try to stop forgetting about it and use it more often... I was wondering if upping the iso would help any, or hurt...how about boosting the shutter speed???

 

[YEKCIM]

...poor man's image stabilization:

Fifteen bucks from buy.com. I figure it will get me by, and will probably come in handy about 9PM when my blistered dogs and creaking back need a little support.

~YEKCIM

 

[Kelly Grannell]

boost the ISO, if the noise is too bad for your taste, just download Imagenomic Noiseware Community Edition to get rid of the noise. It's free and it's very good.

 

[Greg K.]

boost the ISO, if the noise is too bad for your taste, just download Imagenomic Noiseware Community Edition to get rid of the noise. It's free and it's very good.

I got me that fancy schmancy Noise Ninja for $35, remember? I'm a Mac boy. It works like a charm though -- one or two clicks, and poof! No more noise! Love it.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

there ya go, fancy ninja boy!