Camera help

[LilGMom]

We bought a Sony Cyber-shot 14.1 in May to replace a Sony Cyber-shot 10.0 that had died. I hate to say that I really do not like this new Sony and am tired of the bad pictures. It doesn't seem to matter what setting I have it on but unless I am 100% still or the subject that I'm shooting is 100% still the pictures are coming out fuzzy. This makes shooting pictures at WDW, or anywhere really, particularly tough since I can't ask a parade to stop moving so that I can get a good picture and I can't ask the safari driver to stop moving just so I can get a good picture of the giraffes.

I'd love to get some info or recommendations from any/all camera owners that love their digital cameras. I would prefer a point and shoot and something that isn't overly cumbersome. TIA!

 

[Carl]

Try setting it on "sports" mode.

 

[mrodgers]

Spend more money. Don't look at megapixels to gauge quality.

Those are pretty much the 2 factors in getting a camera that does well. My 2000 Fuji 2mp camera still has better quality than the majority of the sub-$200 cameras on the market today.

Megapixels do not reflect quality, they only reflect file size. The more the megapixels, the bigger the picture and larger the file size. Also, the more pixels packed onto a tiny little sensor of a point and shoot camera. More and smaller pixels means less quality. Just because the new camera is 14mp, that doesn't mean it will be better quality than on old 10mp camera.

Also brand has nothing to do with quality. There are cheap poor quality Sony cameras and more expensive better quality Sony just as there are cheap poor quality Nikon or Canons and more expensive better quality Nikon and Canons.

 

[tazdev3225]

Rather than megapixel size what model is your Sony. I personally own 4 Sony's and love them all. The problem could be the setting you have it on. Without knowing the model though there is little that can be said.

 

[belle&beast]

I have always had good luck with Canon. I have had 2 different elph cameras and now have a dslr.

 

[LilGMom]

Try setting it on "sports" mode.

It doesn't have a "sports" setting. I've tried the "pets" setting because I was hoping that since pets are always on the move that it would mean that it was like a "sports" setting. This camera seems to have a bit longer of a delay than my old one.

Rather than megapixel size what model is your Sony. I personally own 4 Sony's and love them all. The problem could be the setting you have it on. Without knowing the model though there is little that can be said.

The new one is a DSC-W370. I can't find the older one right now but I loved it. It started having issues with the lens and sometimes wouldn't retract, stopping zooming, and started taking fuzzy pictures.

 

[golfgal]

It doesn't have a "sports" setting. I've tried the "pets" setting because I was hoping that since pets are always on the move that it would mean that it was like a "sports" setting. This camera seems to have a bit longer of a delay than my old one.




The new one is a DSC-W370. I can't find the older one right now but I loved it. It started having issues with the lens and sometimes wouldn't retract, stopping zooming, and started taking fuzzy pictures.

Find the setting to adjust the shutter speed-that might be your problem. If that doesn't help, it could just be a lemon. Try adjusting the shutter speed and if you still get blurry pictures, take it back and try another one.

 

[Carl]

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/sony-cyber-shot-dsc/4505-6501_7-33946423.html#reviewPage1
See this review.
The reviewer lists the same complaints as you.
Personally, if I had the option, I'd take it back and get some other camera. As some one else suggested, Canons are quite good.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What do you mean by "fuzzy"? Could you post a picture of what you mean?

Check the ISO and make sure it's not too high.

Food for thought: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

 

[LilGMom]

Thanks for the comments and help. I'm posting some unedited pictures taken by my current Sony, just click on them to see them larger. I was within ten feet of the subjects in all but the picture of the boys with their tree limb. In the tree limb picture I was about fifty feet away and zooming in. These are the best pictures, quality wise, and I'm sure I have a ton of really fuzzy ones on my home computer.





Does anyone absolutely love their camera? If so what type is it?

 

[mrodgers]

Look up the focus points in your manual and make sure your focus point isn't set down on the bottom. Looks like some of the photos the foreground is clearer than the subject as if the camera focus point is down to the bottom of the frame.

Point and shoot cameras are not real good in low light either. All 4 of those images are either in the shadows or are shadowed by the direction of the sun (sun is behind the kids shadowing them as the subject.

The 2 dog photos are high ISO for a point and shoot. 400 and 800 for the 2 photos. I don't set my camera higher than 200 (3 year old "bridge" or "superzoom" camera.) 400 or greater ISO will not be as clear as lower ISO. That is the sensitivity of the sensor in the camera and point and shoot cameras have a very small sensor so quality suffers greatly with high ISO settings. Auto mode will always increase the ISO when shooting like this in shadowed areas.

The 2nd dog image is ISO 800 (way too high for point & shoot) and 1/500s shutter speed. Instead of decreasing the shutter speed, the camera increased the ISO. It would be very easy to cut the ISO down to 200 and lengthen the shutter speed and get a much cleaner image, but you have to know a bit more about photography and using auto-mode isn't going to allow that.

Suggestions.....

Check your focus point in the camera, may be wrong.

Put the camera in Program mode (that's as manual as you can go with this camera.)

Take it out of auto-ISO and use between 80 and 100 when outside and when inside the flash will be needed. 400 ISO is useless. The Program mode will allow you to change the ISO settings. The camera can set everything else, but this will allow you to limit and set the ISO yourself.

Best suggestion would be, take the camera back and get something better. This one sounds and looks similar to the Sony I bought and took back because it just plain old was junk.