Looking for Help with Blurry Pictures on S2IS

[mattm911]

Hey all..This is my first time here and I am coming to you as a newbie with a question about my new Canon Powershot S2IS.

I just got this thing after giving up my Kodak 5.0 as it produced crappy pics and hardly any zoom.

Problem: I cant get a focused picture at all. I am basically trying to take pictures of my son (8 mos) he moves a little but even at a stand still the pictures ar horrid (blurry and distorted)

I looked in the book, but really cant figure out (all the factory settings are there) what I am doing wrong?

Any help for a newbie to Canons? I hope that someone can help!

Also any idea what the ideal setting would be for my picturetaking?

Thanks , I look forward to your replies and look forward to getting myself aquanted to the group.

Matt

[XOO]

Read the S2 Tip listed in this forum. Get out of Automatic mode and try "P" for starters. Work at it and the pictures will be sharp as a tack. There is a learning curve with the S2. Stick with it and it'll do you proud!

[iplayazi]

Try posting the pic maybe more help can be offered

[cvicisso]

Just thought I'd throw my $.02 in since our situations sound very similar.

I recently got an S2 also (via the infamous 'Dell deal'), and for me it was a step up from a Canon A70. I mostly shot the A70 in full auto mode and it always did a decent job for that purpose. My wife and had our first child less than a year ago, so I decided to step up to something with a little more horsepower (and take videos all in one package - the video feature was a big one for me). I thought I would learn more about photography along the way as well.

Bottom line - I'm having the same problem with focusing on fast-moving-babies! :eek: I have learned a ton on this forum... however... I still can't seem to get that focus down. Baby's face always seems to be blurry.

Things I've tried so far:

- Whenever I'm tempted to shoot in 'auto' mode - I always shoot in 'P' mode instead. This allows me to do things like adjust the ISO (I don't dare go over 200 with the S2 though), change the white balance, etc.
- I've tried shooting in 'Av' mode - using a smaller aperture (larger number) so that the depth of field is greater (relatively). This seems to work well - more stuff is in focus. But it often forces me to use a flash - which I try to avoid.

Anyway - I'm anxious to hear what tips people have too.

[XOO]

Just thought I'd throw my $.02 in since our situations sound very similar.

snip
Anyway - I'm anxious to hear what tips people have too.
Just to throw my 2 cents as well. Realize I'm also trying to master the focus issue. But in what you described, I'd experiment this way (not all at the same time, but experiment):
AF on single focus rather than continous.

Continuous (or burst) mode. Maybe refocusing between frames might lock on and you'll get a few good ones out of a lot of bad ones - that's the way I take my bird shots.

Less zoom may give greater DOF.

Prefocus then lock the focus.

Lastly try the focus bracketing (will give 3 shots regardless of burst mode setting)

If you haven't tried the above maybe one of them will be the ticket.

Good luck,

[cvicisso]

XOO - thanks! I tried your suggestions and I've already noticed sharper images. I found the focus bracketing the most interesting - I didn't know I could do that with the S2! It is a tad limiting because you still have to manually focus, you can't use the flash (but I don't like using the flash anyway), and there is a long pause while the camera writes from the buffer to the SD card (I MUST get a faster card!)... but it seems to work really well. Coupled with your other advice (less zoom for more DOF and keeping the focus 'locked'), one of the three shots (from focus bracketing) seems to be pretty sharp. Thanks again!

[cdifoto]

I don't own the S2 but I do have a dSLR and I shoot auto races from about 20 feet so I know how to capture movement. Hopefully I can help.


Try using wider apertures (smaller f numbers) so that your shutter speed is increased. Maximize the ISO ("film" speed) as much as you can without getting too much noise. If you keep your shutter speed up around 1/200, you should be able to freeze the baby's movement.

I've used a combination of settings at the track. I've shot completely in aperture priority (Av) so that I guarantee a certain depth-of-field with ISO at 100 in daylight, and when it gets dark I switch over to shutter priority (Tv) so that I have a guaranteed shutter speed to freeze action, while setting my ISO as high, or almost as high, as I can get it.

I'm not sure if you can control all of these settings with the S2, as I said I don't own it, but if you can, try it.

(Samples in my gallery - auto racing as well as my almost 1 yr old nephew)

[cvicisso]

Try using wider apertures (smaller f numbers) so that your shutter speed is increased. Maximize the ISO ("film" speed) as much as you can without getting too much noise. If you keep your shutter speed up around 1/200, you should be able to freeze the baby's movement.It seems like when I'm shooting indoors - even with a lot of daylight coming in from windows and large patio doors - I just can't get enough light to get the shutter speed that fast even using a huge aperture (2.7). If I'm in 'P' mode - it simply blinks the red flash icon at me. In Tv mode - it can't open the aperture enough (max is 2.7) and in Av mode - the shutter speed is pretty slow. I guess I'm stuck with the flash?

Also - after I looked closer at my focus bracketing results (from earlier advice), it seems like the 'one' picture of the three that always seemed to be in focus was the one that I had manually dialed in. Is the auto focus on the S2 really that bad that we have to manually focus to get a sharp picture?? Crap.

cdi-buy, I don't think the problem (at least in my case) is baby movement - it's just plain out of focus when I rely on the auto focus. If there was a manual focus ring (instead of the pain-in-the-neck method on the S2), this wouldn't be as big of a deal to me.

Is there hope?

[cdifoto]

It seems like when I'm shooting indoors - even with a lot of daylight coming in from windows and large patio doors - I just can't get enough light to get the shutter speed that fast even using a huge aperture (2.7). If I'm in 'P' mode - it simply blinks the red flash icon at me. In Tv mode - it can't open the aperture enough (max is 2.7) and in Av mode - the shutter speed is pretty slow. I guess I'm stuck with the flash?

Also - after I looked closer at my focus bracketing results (from earlier advice), it seems like the 'one' picture of the three that always seemed to be in focus was the one that I had manually dialed in. Is the auto focus on the S2 really that bad that we have to manually focus to get a sharp picture?? Crap.

cdi-buy, I don't think the problem (at least in my case) is baby movement - it's just plain out of focus when I rely on the auto focus. If there was a manual focus ring (instead of the pain-in-the-neck method on the S2), this wouldn't be as big of a deal to me.

Is there hope?


Try turning off the Image Stabilization. Also, if you can use the slowest shutter and let the aperture blink and still snap the shot (not sure if the camera will let you), you can always adjust the brightness/contrast in the included software.

When I shot this pic:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b100/nftn/spinout.jpg

I had to ignore the aperture and let it blink. The pic looked darn near black on preview but when I got home I adjusted it. This is really really low light though... ie after dark, just 2 halogens on a telephone pole.

[cvicisso]

Try turning off the Image Stabilization. Hmmm... I'll try it, but that seems counter-intuitive. What will that do for me?

Also, if you can use the slowest shutter and let the aperture blink and still snap the shot (not sure if the camera will let you), you can always adjust the brightness/contrast in the included software.
Yep - the S2 will let me shoot the pic. I hadn't thought of adjusting the images later... I'll give it a try. I've got PhotoShop... but I'm certainly no pro at it. I was hoping the camera would 'take great pictures' without having to touch them up later. Oh well...

[cdifoto]

Hmmm... I'll try it, but that seems counter-intuitive. What will that do for me?

It'll speed up the reaction time if your camera. Or at least it should since that's one less thing the camera has to compute.

Yep - the S2 will let me shoot the pic. I hadn't thought of adjusting the images later... I'll give it a try. I've got PhotoShop... but I'm certainly no pro at it. I was hoping the camera would 'take great pictures' without having to touch them up later. Oh well...

I have yet to take an image that didn't need at least some kind of adjusting to make it "perfect".

PS: I forgot about this:

Try pressing your camera's button halfway down to lock focus before getting the actual shot. You may be experiencing the delay between focusing and the *snap* of the image. If the camera has an AI Servo mode for Autofocus, use that and as you hold the button halfway, the camera will continually maintain focus while your subject moves. Also, try to anticipate the movements the subject makes. It helps you determine when and how long to prefocus.

[cvicisso]

It'll speed up the reaction time if your camera. Or at least it should since that's one less thing the camera has to compute.But I thought the whole purpose of the IS system was to allow sharper pictures (due to less shake from the user)?I have yet to take an image that didn't need at least some kind of adjusting to make it "perfect".Makes you wonder what we did 'back in the day' before digital photography, eh?
Try pressing your camera's button halfway down to lock focus before getting the actual shot. You may be experiencing the delay between focusing and the *snap* of the image. Yeah - that's one that I had figured out already. :D Nothing frustrates me more than someone offering to take a picture of my wife and I, and having to explain to them to squeeze the button half-way until it focuses, blah blah blah... They can never seem to grasp the concept however. And they always feel it necessary to look through the little cheesy viewfinder (not as big of a deal with my S2 as it's an EVF) instead of looking at the freaking LCD on the back of the camera!

Oh well.

[cdifoto]

But I thought the whole purpose of the IS system was to allow sharper pictures (due to less shake from the user)?Makes you wonder what we did 'back in the day' before digital photography, eh? Yeah - that's one that I had figured out already. :D Nothing frustrates me more than someone offering to take a picture of my wife and I, and having to explain to them to squeeze the button half-way until it focuses, blah blah blah... They can never seem to grasp the concept however. And they always feel it necessary to look through the little cheesy viewfinder (not as big of a deal with my S2 as it's an EVF) instead of looking at the freaking LCD on the back of the camera!

Oh well.

IS can really only be useful when your subject is absolutely still. When you're following it or its moving, IS doesn't do any good because it's for shake, not tracking. Of course, I'm not sure exactly how much your subject is moving so IS could possibly still be used...that is if the movement is minimal.

The primary reason for your blurred photos is the shutter speed not being fast enough to freeze all the action. Since I don't know your exact conditions, I can't tell you how to get the speed up, but you may want to invest in a flash with a bounce head so you can get the light to hit the wall and come back down, thus being less harsh than the dreaded built-in head-on flash you said you hate (and I hate too). Flash isnt always bad, and it can help get shutter speed up when lighting conditions are insufficient - it's just another expense.

[JTL]

For moving subjects, the manual suggests setting the AF to "Continuous" to "track" the subject. I don't think that the AF is really fast enough for this to be effective, and you would still need a fast enough shutter speed...but to be honest, I haven't tested this extensively. Maybe if we ever get a day in the big city that humans can actually go outside, I could try out some controlled tests...but New York feels more like Venus these days and it's no fun to go out shooting...

Maybe try experimenting with continuous AF and see what happens...if someone else gets to it first, I'd be very interested to know the results as well...