Nikon D80

[Tanzanite]

I just got back from WDWi had a lot of blurry pictures my photos of Eeyore with my daughter were awful .Next day we went to Animal kingdom photo with Turk and Daisy same i am so sad i have to check myPhotopass i hope the photographer got one of Daisy.The one with Turk no photographer .One of the photographers said how can you take a bad photo with D80 .Iam not that experienced with it .Iset it to Auto any ideas what went wrong i do have a lot of good photos also next time will take computer to see so can reshoot.

 

[ukcatfan]

In auto, it probably picked a shutter speed too slow and there was camera shake. Another possibility is that the aperture went too wide and you were not focused on the right spot. Post some samples of the bad shots and we might be able to figure out what happened.

 

[Tanzanite]

Iam not sure how to post pictures yet sorry not good with cameras.I am going to take it to Wolfs Camera.I brought 2 manuals will also readthem next week when kids go back to school.I also probably have a camera to much for an Amerture like me Sorry i dont know if i spelt that right.

 

[Code]

For indoor shooting you have to use the flash unless you have a large aperture prime lens (this is assuming you were indoors)

 

[GrillMouster]

Without seing the pictures ourselves, all we can do is guess. Most likely, the shutter speed was too slow. According to your posts, you know absolutely nothing about photography, so I won't waste my time and your time trying to explain what shutter speed is, how to change it, why you need to change it, and why you may need to change the aperture and ISO settings to compensate for the change in shutter speed. If you really want to learn more about photography, start by picking up Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson and The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Miotke. Both books are $16.47 each at Amazon (or pick them both up together and get free shipping).

 

[orchjoe]

Our very own Mark Barbieri posted an great explanation on exposure here

There are a lot of knowledgeable people here on the DIS that are willing to take the time offer advice and answer questions. So feel free to post your questions and not worry about wasting time. I myself was a beginner when I stumbled onto the DIS photography board.


Bryan Peterson does have two very good books if your are interested in exploring the subject more:

1. Understanding Exposure
2. Understanding Shutter Speed

 

[MonoManBlue]

Never use the 'auto' mode. If you are not comfortable with the S,A, or M modes then at least do yourself the favor of using the "P" mode. The P mode (programmed auto) will give you a lot greater range/flexibility.

 

[handicap18]

I just got back from WDWi had a lot of blurry pictures my photos of Eeyore with my daughter were awful .Next day we went to Animal kingdom photo with Turk and Daisy same i am so sad i have to check myPhotopass i hope the photographer got one of Daisy.The one with Turk no photographer .One of the photographers said how can you take a bad photo with D80 .Iam not that experienced with it .Iset it to Auto any ideas what went wrong i do have a lot of good photos also next time will take computer to see so can reshoot.

We'll need to see the images with the EXIFdata included.

Best bet to post photos here is to get yourself a FREE photobucket.com account. Upload your photos from your hard drive to your account there. You can then copy the link from the photobucket account and paste that link here for the image to appear in your post here.

I suggest photobucket because 1, its free. 2, it will keep the EXIFdata in the image (so long as you don't remove it before uploading) and 3, its easy to use.

You can automatically have your images resized there for 800x600 which is the best size for forum boards like this one.

There could be a number of reasons for getting blurry and out of focus images. Without seeing the actual pictures we would just be speculating on what could have been the issue, but that doesn't necessarily help.

 

[handicap18]

Never use the 'auto' mode. If you are not comfortable with the S,A, or M modes then at least do yourself the favor of using the "P" mode. The P mode (programmed auto) will give you a lot greater range/flexibility.

Without knowing a person's interest and experience it is, IMO, wrong to make a statement to someone asking for help by saying "Never use the 'auto' mode." That doesn't help the situation and could keep them from asking further questions.

The camera makers put AUTO and all the pre-programed ICON modes on the camera dial for a reason. People use them. Not all do, but people do use them. It is perfectly fine to use those mode's. If some people choose not to then that is fine, but telling someone else that they shouldn't use something on their camera is not a good way to help. Again, IMO.

 

[MonoManBlue]

Without knowing a person's interest and experience it is, IMO, wrong to make a statement to someone asking for help by saying "Never use the 'auto' mode." That doesn't help the situation and could keep them from asking further questions.

The camera makers put AUTO and all the pre-programed ICON modes on the camera dial for a reason. People use them. Not all do, but people do use them. It is perfectly fine to use those mode's. If some people choose not to then that is fine, but telling someone else that they shouldn't use something on their camera is not a good way to help. Again, IMO.

Im sorry but I respectfully disagree. There is nothing wrong with going 'auto' but the mode entitled "Auto" has been known forever to NOT work as well as the "P" (programmed auto) mode. Its a fact of the D80 that the 'P' is best for the shooter who doesn't want to do it manually or with the A or S modes. P is still auto, it just has a much better program built in when selecting settings and with the turn of a dial you can adjust the settings. There is NO need to use the actual "auto" mode on the camera.

 

[fhirleighinn]

There is NO need to use the actual "auto" mode on the camera.

Auto mode is a tool like any other feature on the camera, which can work or not work depending on the situation. There are people that will say NEVER use matrix metering as it is alway 0.7 underexposed. That is not actually the case either (but getting off the topic...). you have to know the situations to use a feature and to not use a feature.
The auto mode can be used very well, and if you want the camera to automagically use the flash for you it will work great. But if the pictures came out blurry, and the flash did not fire, I would suspect that the D80 was in P mode not Auto.
Setting the auto ISO feature may have helped the pictures if a faster shutter speed was needed.
But typically, you want the shutter speed to be faster than 1/x where x is the length of you apature. So If you were using a 70 mm lens, you need to take a picture of a least with a shutter speed of 1/70. That will not be enough to "stop" action, expecially if they were on a ride, and you may need to be more like 1/500.

 

[Code]

Im sorry but I respectfully disagree. There is nothing wrong with going 'auto' but the mode entitled "Auto" has been known forever to NOT work as well as the "P" (programmed auto) mode. Its a fact of the D80 that the 'P' is best for the shooter who doesn't want to do it manually or with the A or S modes. P is still auto, it just has a much better program built in when selecting settings and with the turn of a dial you can adjust the settings. There is NO need to use the actual "auto" mode on the camera.

And I respectfully disagree with you. "P" is not an auto mode.. it merely takes care of both aperture and shutter speed, and still leaves all other settings to the user (metering, focus, WB, ISO, etc). For someone that is completely in the dark on photography, it still leaves a lot of things open to screw up. Auto mode definitely has a place for beginners.

 

[MonoManBlue]

And I respectfully disagree with you. "P" is not an auto mode.. it merely takes care of both aperture and shutter speed, and still leaves all other settings to the user (metering, focus, WB, ISO, etc). For someone that is completely in the dark on photography, it still leaves a lot of things open to screw up. Auto mode definitely has a place for beginners.

There is also a reason its called "programmed auto" refer to your manual and you will see this......

 

[Code]

Programmed Auto (Canon, Nikon, Olympus), Programmed Exposure (Sony), or Hyper-Program (Pentax).. doesn't matter what it's called, I'm just not sure why you would recommend to someone that doesn't know what any of the settings on their camera do use it over full Auto mode.

 

[MonoManBlue]

Programmed Auto (Canon, Nikon, Olympus), Programmed Exposure (Sony), or Hyper-Program (Pentax).. doesn't matter what it's called, I'm just not sure why you would recommend to someone that doesn't know what any of the settings on their camera do use it over full Auto mode.

Well....I'm going to get blasted for this, but i'm beyond the point of no return so its not a big deal for me. I find is VERY hard to believe that someone who purchases a mid-level DSLR has ZERO experience with cameras. That is unfathomable to me. Even if you have used a simple P&S then you know about what you should need a flash, if you've EVER used a basic film camera, then you should easily be able to tell about ISO. Nobody purchases this camera and have NO idea as to what they are doing, thats a recipe for crappy pictures and never liking DSLRs. With P mode on the D80 it selects the best combination of settings (aperture and shutter) for the given situation. If you don't like that, say you want soft water for instance, you can turn the dial on the back of the body and this symbol will appear (P*) and it shows you've changed the settings, but it still keeps the correct exposure. You can even leave "auto iso" on in P mode.

With auto mode, what you see is what you get. If the lighting conditions aren't the best, then you'll get subpar shots but the camera will try its hardest to give you all its got. But it still won't look quite right. Most shots with a dslr require some amount of effort. Whether it be changing your shutter, your aperture or your iso, we have these cameras because we enjoy having the control of doing what we want.

The point is, you are very limited to what you are going to get with the auto mode, whereas the P mode will give you a lot more options and often times, allow you to make a picture that looks better. The D80 is no slouch of a camera, nobody can deny that, so any subpar pictures it takes, is (and i'm sorry but I mean no offense) the picture takers fault for not knowing the correct settings. On Auto, you can't choose those settings, on P mode, you can at least edit the cameras 'guess' to get something more of what you are looking for.

Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[wenrob]

Oy, you guys are going to scare the OP off....

OP, like suggested, get yourself a Photobucket account and post your pics. It's very easy to use. These guys are extremely helpful and can tell you what to do or not do to get the pics you want.

 

[YesDear]

I had posted on another thread that I had read on another board someone that had never had a digital camera before and purchased a D700 and about $3000 worth of lens and SB8900. NO experience.

So I find it very possible that someone would purchase a mid level DSLR without much experience.

OP I agree that we can give you some better advise if you get an photobucket or other account and let us see what your particular problems are.

There are some days thay my pictures just do not come out the way I want them.

 

[MonoManBlue]

I had posted on another thread that I had read on another board someone that had never had a digital camera before and purchased a D700 and about $3000 worth of lens and SB8900. NO experience.

So I find it very possible that someone would purchase a mid level DSLR without much experience.

how often do you think that happens?

 

[Code]

Why don't you take this to another thread if you insist on pressing the issue... wenrob is right, the original poster is going to run screaming from this board

 

[ukcatfan]

Why don't you take this to another thread if you insist on pressing the issue... wenrob is right, the original poster is going to run screaming from this board

MonoManBlue,

I would not mind if you took it to another board completely. The bickering thing is not typical of what we do around here. I do not remember you being around here all that long, but I have seen too many posts by you recently that just seem to stir the pot. Please do not tarnish our board. I am not saying that you are not welcome here, but just check your arguing at the door.