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General discussion

Most of the pictures SHAKE

Sep 3, 2004 11:26PM PDT

Hello,

I baught a Nikon Coolpix 4300 Digital Camera from grey market. I always take pics using the Scene Mode. But most of the pictures that I take using hands are shaken. But when I take pictures using tripod the pictures are perfect.

Also, after focus lock, if there is a movement in some part of the focussed object, that part becomes blurred (a wavery effect).

Why does this happen? Is it the problem with the camera? Or is it the problem in me holding the camera?

Kindly advice as I'm a bit worried about this issue.

Discussion is locked

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 4, 2004 12:17AM PDT

You have pretty much ruled out a camera problem if tripod shots are perfect.

With digital cameras we learned a new way to hold a camera. With arms extended in front of us. Not the steadiest position.

Take a few pictures using the viewfinder, with the camera touching your face. The head is steadier than extended arms.

Also, these is a tendency to jar the camera as you press the shutter button. Just like shooting a gun, squeeze the trigger (button).

If you are shooting under low light conditions, the camera may have chosen a slow shutter speed. Just for a test; if your camera has a sports setting, use that setting for some pictures. The sports setting forces a faster shutter speed.

...

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Let me add...
Sep 4, 2004 12:33AM PDT

I've learned that using the viewfinder helps immensely too. But let me add this.

After I squeeze the trigger button, I take care to release and then HOLD that position for a split second longer and not assume the camera is done. The number of smeared shots I take dropped dramatically.

Hope this helps.

Bob

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Re: Let me add...
Sep 16, 2004 3:36AM PDT

GREAT suggestion Bob ! I forget to do that too sometimes, and allways remember after I've lowered the cam and hear the cam still working !

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 6, 2004 11:42PM PDT

I have this same problem, but I knew it was me as I shake all the time. No steady hands here! Happy

I did some research and the best tip I came across was to hold my elbows close to my body, take a deep breath and exhale as I snapped the picture. My pictures have improved dramatically since doing this. I am careful to exhale and click at that time. Almost no more ruined pictures.

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 9, 2004 8:29AM PDT

i guess you need to hold the camera most firmly
try holding with both hands and brace ur elbows some where. instead of the lcd try taking shots with the eye peice and brace the camera against ur face
few things you can try to avoid camera shake:
1.try using a faster shutter speed (manual mode)and open the aperture to compensate
2.try setting a self timer of 2 seconds. this would avoid the shake when the actual button is pressed

and you might wanna go in for a camera which has a Image Stableliser like Canon S1 IS or minolta Z1

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 10, 2004 2:01PM PDT

I have a Minolta Z1 and it doesn't have image stabilization. I wish it did. I took photos at a wedding a few weeks ago and many turned out blurry. I think the comments about faster shutter speeds are probably the ones to look into.

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Additional point
Sep 9, 2004 5:30PM PDT

All those points to date are great. The shake is maybe coming form you pressing the shutter button. If you have a "Bracketing" or "Burst" facility on your camera try using that. One of the burst will surely be nice and crisp.

Also for the instant you take the picture, stop breathing.

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Re: Additional point
Sep 16, 2004 3:48AM PDT

Holding your breath is a popular misconception or "Wives Tale".holding your breath can increase your chances of shakeing. I have a condition called 'Essential Tremmors' and when we test meds, thats one of the tests and allways shake more when holding my breath for any length of time. So if you tend to shake anyways, I woulden't suggest holding your breath.

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Re: Additional point
Sep 16, 2004 5:02PM PDT

I am sorry you have a medical condition, I did not include medical abnormalities in my response.

Controlling ones breath when shooting is a universal technique to reduce the tendency to move. It is used by our Special Forces, Olympic shooters and Archers. Seems reasonable to me to take example from those people. After all photography is a form of shooting

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 9, 2004 11:52PM PDT

Your problem is caused by using an exposure that is too long for the type of subject material you are photographing. As the name indicates, the "scenic" or landscape mode you are using implies subjects that are distant and not moving. And, given the long exposure, you are correct in noting that a tripod results in the best image.

The quickest fix would be to place your camera in "Auto" mode and let the camera decide the best settings for your picture. With this method you will find that you will obtain adequate results MOST of the time. For the best results, changing your camera's settings manually will result in the best pictures. You can also try some of the other pre-programmed modes depending on your subject matter. For instance, the sports setting would be good for any picture that contained objects in motion or needed to be taken in low light conditions. What the pre-programmed modes do is adjust some of the settings I will describe below.

A little lesson is in order. Your digital camera borrows some conventions from their film-based cousins. Film speed, for instance, or AS settings refer in film photography to the sensitivity of the film to light. The higher the AS number, the more sensitive the film is and, therefore, the shorter amount of time the shutter needs to be open to expose the film. In the "scenic" mode you used, the AS setting was probably 100 or 200.

To photograph moving objects, or scenes with lower ambient light settings, you would want to manually adjust your AS settings to 400 or more depending on your camera. I believe yours has a setting of 800. You will find that these higher speed settings will get rid of the "shakes" that you refer to and the motion trails -- but it does come at a cost. The higher sensitivity will result in images that tend to look "flatter" with less color saturation and will often be "grainy".

The good news is that since your photographs are digital, you can process the images after the fact and fix many of these problems. There are a number of great plug-ins and programs available to help fix digital images. I can personally recommend the plug-ins available from Kodak. There are two versions, a Professional and standard flavor. The GEM filter is specifically designed to remove digital "noise" from your images.

Another convention borrowed from film cameras is the concept of F-Stops. Like the AS settings, the F-Stop affects the amount of light the film is exposed to. In film photography the F-stop refers to how wide the shutter opens. The bigger the F-Stop (higher the number) the wider the shutter opens and the greater the amount of light over a fixed amount of time (length of exposure).

Typically, in outdoor/motion photography you would adjust the film speed (AS) and not the F-Stop. But in a more controlled setting (portraits/still-life), you could open the F-Stop and still keep a low film speed to compensate for low light and still not have to resort to extraordinarily long exposure times.

So, what's the bottom line? Digital film is free to develop... so experiment... experiment... experiment. Many editing packages will report the settings used in your images (AS, F-Stop, Exposure). Use your camera's pre-programmed settings and then examine the settings the camera chose and why. Also, I recommend buying several higher capacity memory cards. If you can afford it, the added capacity will allow you to shoot in RAW mode. The advantage is that RAW mode records exactly what the lens sees (regardless of what AS number or F-Stop is selected). You can then experiment after the image is taken by adjusting exposure times, F-Stops and film speed. Have fun.

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 10, 2004 12:32AM PDT

Can you expand on what you mean by the last paragraph - "RAW mode records exactly.....REGARDLESS of AS and F-stop"?

Thanks

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 10, 2004 12:55AM PDT

Good stuff there agrafixman! I think it is less confusing for new users of digital cameras, to refer to ISO number instead of AS number since that is the term in use today. Also, if memory serves me correct, a high f-stop eg: f8, f16 etc would
give me a smaller lens opening , allow less light and increase my depth of field.

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 10, 2004 3:10AM PDT

You are absolutely correct - as the F stop number increases, the effective lens aperture decreases in size and therefore lets less light through the lens. Also, the depth of field increases as the F stop number increases

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 16, 2004 11:17PM PDT

My bad... you are both correct. Got it reversed. In my defense, I am NOT a film photographer and spent my first few months like our original poster trying to figure all this "stuff" out.

As for the RAW mode question... RAW mode records EXACTLY what the chip sees -- even before all the settings are applied. When you talk about shutter speed and film speed, etc. on a digital camera -- these are all "imagined" conventions. There IS no shutter or film, only a photosensitive PC chip that records the light entering the lens. The film speed and aperture, etc., are processes applied to the image after it is recorded. RAW mode allows you the opportunity to go back to the base image and apply different settings to see which result in the best image.

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 10, 2004 3:27AM PDT

Taking pictures without shaking is like shooting a gun accurately. Focus, take a breath, then exhale. At the end of the exhale take the picture. This is good on a static subject like still lifes, landscapes and still portraits of our favorite people. I've used this method for years with my film cameras using all speed films down to 25. You must remember to stay calm, picture taking is fun memorable.

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 10, 2004 5:26AM PDT

Yep! It is you and how you hold the camera and push the button. Try pushing the shoot button slower than usual so as not to jar the camera or at least not as much as you normally do. Another neat trick to prevent jarring the camera is to use the TIMER if the camera has one. All you have to do is hold the camera steady and let the timer do the shooting for you without any jarring!! Happy

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 16, 2004 3:32AM PDT

When you take a picture, get comfortable, feet spread apart.Leaning against a tree or side of a building helps, but make sure the camera is level to the landscape. Hold the camera with both hands and hold it gently but firmly to your eye.(don't give yourself a black eye tho ! ) When you take the picture, breath normally, DO NOT hold your breath but breath in slowly. Firmly press the shutter down squeezeing it down in one movement.DO NOT JERK the camera.Most people generly jerk the camera up and down or side to side and blur the picture, or at least moving the picture out of frame. I have a older Sony, with a jitter guard that guards against that sort of thing. But growing up with the 35mm I wasn't so fortunate. When you buy a camera, still or video, spend the extra bucks and get the jitter guard (I forget the real name for it)It's well worth it ! Ever seen a video with the shakes? Makes me airsick ! LOL

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Re: Most of the pictures SHAKE
Sep 16, 2004 5:09AM PDT

I gree with agrafixman's comments. I think the main problem here is the scene mode. If I am correct, the scene mode is "Landscape" or some camera indicates with an icon of "twin peaks". This mode is suggested for taking scenery like mountains, scenery ...more for still life pics. And its exposure time is slightly longer than normal. I have tried with my hands stabilizing it but failed in countless attempts.

So the best thing to do is to try to AUTO mode first and see how your pics turn out. Even in the AUTO mode there are default settings which you can manipulate with them to get most out of it.

I think most compact digi cameras and meant for point & shoot users. Canon Coolpix 4300 is one of them. Of course like Canon, most come with packed features in which if one is curious enough to explore and play with the features, amazing shots can be achieved compared to the AUTO MODE. And with the software provided(if) with the package, one can get even more out of RAW pics.

Jacky