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Fun Stuff => MAKE => Topic started by: Peter Harris on 05 Mar 2007, 23:52
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Anyone know how to use a normal digital camera (namely, a Canon PowerShot A530) and take non-blurry pictures without the flash? When I take outside shots with the flash on auto, it works fine without flashing. But inside, or whenever it wants to flash, if I turn off the flash it lengthens the exposure time and unless my hands are super still (not always an option in my comic), the picture comes out slightly "smudged."
Anyone have any ideas how to remedy this?
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I have no experience with cannon cameras, but a quick google search may have turned up your answer. Hope this helps!
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1938
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Alas, I think the TV setting it's asking for is a feature on a higher model of the PowerShot. Le sigh.
Thanks anyway.
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My camera is a Nikon and it does that too. It's fine in brighter light, but if I'm using it with low quality lighting, if I don't use a tri-pod, it's probably going to be blurry. So it's either the lighting bothering your camera or your camera is just picky, like mine. I have no idea how to help you fix this other than suggesting a tri-pod if you can use one for whatever you're taking or setting it on something stationary.
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Tripod or better lighting.
No matter how still your hands are, you're not going to take a non-blurry picture if the exposure time is greater than 1/30th of a second.
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I did a little more research to try and help you out... The 530 seems to have 3 shutter modes. Switching between them is about the only way you can alter how the shutter functions... I would need the instruction manual to tell you exactly how to change these modes. the 540 model has 2 more modes, but they were deemed a little too complicated for a camera where they wanted to keep it as user friendly as possible. (As well as give another reason to pay $100 for the only slightly different model.)
That seems to be all I can get for you from google, but good luck! What is your comic anyway? I would not mind having a look at it.
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I think a tripod is your best bet. A good one shouldn't be too expensive, will last you for the rest of your life, and will be useful if you ever film videos or are taking pictures of yourself. I have my dad's old one, so I didn't pay for it, but I think they're a really good investment.
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Or if you're cheap like me, rest the camera on a stack of books, a spray can, the ironing board, a bookshelf. It still works!
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What is your comic anyway? I would not mind having a look at it.
Well, I introduced it in the "Plug yr comic" thread and tried to not overdue it, but SINCE YOU ASKED...
TellingTallTales.net (http://TellingTallTales.net) - A Not-So-Graphic Photographic Graphic Novel.
The tripod suggestions, while useful, accurate and helpful, are unfortunately a little unfeasible. The nature of the comic makes anything as organized as a tripod difficult - a lot of our shoots occur in places where they don't like photography (the next story arc takes place in an arcade, where they frown on taking photos of the machines), so some of the shots are taken on the sly.
I guess I'm just going to have to bend over the counter and let my local Shutter Bug store give it to me any way they want to. Don't really want to buy a new camera, but that's ART!
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No matter how still your hands are, you're not going to take a non-blurry picture if the exposure time is greater than 1/30th of a second.
1/60th is recommended for tripodless-photography.
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The guide I use is 1/focal length. With a 300mm lens any small motions you make in that 300th of a second still show up a whole heap because of the small angle that you're getting on the sensor. Longer times for shorter focal lengths (wider angles). This kinda breaks down a bit when you start changing the size of the film/sensor, and the size of the film also changes the field of view so it ends up being pretty close to 1/(the 35mm equivalent of the focal length). So about 1/50 for normal, 1/30 for wide angle and 1/90 for zoomed in.
Edit: Get a tripod though. A good tripod is right up there with the smell just after rain and the feeling when you've just driven to work (right by the beach) at 10 am and it's a warm, clear windstill day and they say "We really don't need you today, it's gonna be quiet" and you have your boardies and towel right there in the car.
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on most digital cameras you can change the ISO, put it up around 4-800 and you'll get better results.
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You also get orders of magnitude more noise which might play hell with the filter he's using for his comic. If you run the images through NoiseNinja (http://www.picturecode.com/) or something like it you can probably get it to play nicely.
Unless you like digital noise, which I kinda do (real digital noise though, not the photoshop noise filter).
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we haven't talked at all about changign the aperature... something like f3 might help. I love the 80mm lens for my mamiya b/c I can go to f1.8
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If you can't do a tripod, the best idea is to find places with good lighting and leave the aperture wide open.
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Hey, man, loved the arcade arc. I personally thought the photos turned out great, but maybe that's just me. Anyways, I don't know what you're doing, but keep it up. Looks like you maybe fixed the problem already? And if whatever you're doing still won't work in some light settings, I have a couple of more ideas:
It's cheaper to use digital, since you can delete what you don't like and have that space back, but if you have low-light problems again, or fast-motion problems, I would suggest getting a film camera with a light meter and automatic exposure time, then buy really fast film, 1600 or more, which your average digital can't do. Then, stuff'll be sharp in lower light. Of course, aperature and zoom considerations still apply. I would say, use the widest angle you can, because more light gets on the detector that way. Then, you can zoom digitally on ye olde computer.
Well, if you're ever in the market for a new camera, I reccommend pawn shops. I got an easily $800 camera and lens set at a pawnbroker a couple of weeks ago for $80, just because it was used and a little old. The aperature and exposure are automatic though, and it came with a 300mm lens, fisheye lens, and I slapped on my old 28-70 lens for good measure. So now I'm snapping me come great high-def photos of things going by at 80mph (in the "slow" lane). But my point is that switching to film can be cheap, and then you can have even higher ISO than your average digital, still automatic. (Except for the focus, unfortunately). Otherwise, if you're shopping for a new digital camera, there's one, the "Canon Powershot S5 IS" which, while expensive, offers all of the above, with autofocus, on a digital platform.
Just figured I'd try to help out in case you ever wind up taking pictures somewhere even darker, like in a lasertag arena (can you do that, man? That would be great).
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one option not mentioned yet is looking into a remote trigger. I have one for my digital camera..it's a nifty little remote thing, that I point at the camera, press a button, and the shutter releases.
occasionally, the mere pressing of the button will jolt the camera a bit, so having a remote trigger eliminates that movement. I'm a fan of it...but you'd have to do some research to be sure your camera is compatible with a remote trigger.
Good luck!