Help... People Pics...

[NJpunk24]

Hello,

I'm hoping to get some advice on taking shots of people. I'm using the F10 now as I upgraded from the FinePix 2650. First off, let me say that I use my F10 mostly on AUTO setting. So, that's probably my first wrong doing. It seems to me that taking pictures of people (not moving, just posing for a picture) with the F10 creates a more blury picture than when I would take the same type of shots with my 2650. Comparing pictures I've recently taken with the F10 to old shots from my 2650, the 2650 pics look so much sharper and clearer. Today, I actually printed a couple pics. Some from my F10 and some that were taken with the 2650. Just people pictures. The 2650's printed so much sharper and looked amazing. The F10's were quite a disapointment, to say the least. These are indoor pictures, of people basically standing there posing. Again, I'm not advanced with using the camera. As I said, I basically just use AUTO. It seemed to work great with the old 2650 and now it seems to be blury with the F10. Anyone have tips of taking shots of people? I'm sure my first mistake is probably using AUTO. Anyway, if people have some tips on taking sharp/clear people pictures, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks,
-Mike

[sjseto]

Give us some of the EXIF details. What ISO is the camera using? What shutter speed? With or without flash? If you have the camera on auto, it may be choosing the ISO for you, and I've found that it has a tendency to choose higher ISO's than I would normally like to go with. Higher ISO means generally lower picture quality, although sometimes it's necessary to get the shot. But sometimes, even ISO 1600 without flash in indoor lighting might not produce a fast enough shutter speed to avoid blurry pictures to to camera shake.

Those are my first guesses about what may be happening. If you can provide some of the EXIF details, and maybe post some samples, it would help.

Stephanie

[P_Schneider]

Give us some of the EXIF details. What ISO is the camera using? What shutter speed? With or without flash? If you have the camera on auto, it may be choosing the ISO for you, and I've found that it has a tendency to choose higher ISO's than I would normally like to go with. Higher ISO means generally lower picture quality, although sometimes it's necessary to get the shot. But sometimes, even ISO 1600 without flash in indoor lighting might not produce a fast enough shutter speed to avoid blurry pictures to to camera shake.

Those are my first guesses about what may be happening. If you can provide some of the EXIF details, and maybe post some samples, it would help.

Stephanie

I agree with Steph, we need more info. Personally I went from the 2650, which I loved, to the F10 and found the opposite experience. My F10 is amazing when it comes to detail / sharpness with indoor shots. It does take time to figure out this camera and I would highly suggest that you learn to use manual mode along with the various scene modes. I never shoot in auto mode.

[NJpunk24]

As I said in my original post, I admitted my first mistake was probably trusting the Auto setting on the camera. As for EXIF details... The only details I am aware of, are that the ISO was 800 and the flash was on. The pictures were indoors. I have no idea where else to find other EXIF details. Sorry, but I'm no where near as advanced with the camera as others. I guess I'll be trying my hand at Manual mode and SP mode. P_Schneider and sjseto, thank you for your feedback.

Thanks.

[sjseto]

If flash was on, then the blurry pictures probably weren't due to camera shake, since the F10 usually selects a shutter speed of 1/100s with flash, which is plenty fast enough. Unless you're using slow sync flash, which usually slows the shutter speed down to 1/8s. Don't use that setting for standard people pics unless you have the camera on a tripod or something steady.

Here's a few tips that might help:

Blurry pictures may be due to lack of focus. If you half-press the shutter button and you don't hear the "beep-beep" sound, the camera hasn't achieved focus. If you take the picture without achieving focus, it's going to be at least a little blurry. Sometimes with my F10 I have difficulty locking focus in indoor settings with artificial lighting. Usually I have to focus on a different part of the subject's body (something with strong contrast), or I have to shift my position relative to the subject.

Also, as you said, try taking the camera off of full auto. If the flash and ISO are set to auto, the F10 will usually choose ISO 800. While ISO 800 on the F10 is much better than ISO 800 on other compact cameras, the sharpness and detail won't be as good as with lower ISO settings. Manually set the ISO to the lowest number that you can get away with. The further away you are from your subject and the longer the focal length you use with the lens, the higher the ISO will need to be set. I tend to start at 100 and adjust as needed. I've found that I don't need ISO 800 until I'm about 8 feet away.

Some trial and error is necesary at first. Try not to get frustrated, because you will get the hang of it with practice, and the results will be worth it.

Stephanie

[NJpunk24]

sjseto, thank you very much for the additional input. I'll definitely be using Manual and SP modes much more and will be using trial and error to get better shots. Again, your input is very much appreciated. Thanks again!

[NJpunk24]

sjseto, you mention the 'beep-beep' when using the focus... I've just been playing around with the camera and haven't noticed a beeping at all. However, I've achieved very sharp focus on just some random object test shots. I did originally have the 'beep' sound turned off but turned it back on thinking I'd hear the beep beep when in focus. Is there some other option I need to adjust to hear the beep beep? Or am I just really not achieving pure focus and therefore the beeping won't be there? Thanks!

[CptOfGondor]

For most cameras and even SLRs, you'll get a beep. Sometimes though, no beeps are heard. Like in the case of my Casio, I hear some very quick gear activity and the picture becomes focus.

Always check your LCD preview to make sure AF has been achieved.

[sjseto]

Mike, if you prefer to use your F10 in "silent mode" (i.e. all beeping noises are turned off), then, as CptOfGondor said, you need to check your LCD screen to make sure that the camera has locked focus. On the upper right side of the screen, the !AF icon will be displayed if focus has not been achieved after half-pressing the shutter button. Also, the picture on the screen should look reasonably sharp. However, you can't rely on the appearance of the picture on the LCD for critical focus, because it is simply too small. Afterwards, in playback mode, you can zoom in on the picture to make sure that it's in focus.

If you have the beep turned on, and you don't hear the beep-beep when you half-press the shutter button, then focus has not been achieved. Sometimes, even if you take the picture at this point, the resulting photo will still be reasonably in focus. I think that the F10 does what it can to focus "most of the way" but is warning you that it might not be super sharp.

Because the F10's autofocus uses contrast detection, you will achieve the best success when you aim the center part of the LCD at a part of your subject that has a noticeable contrast between light and dark. You usually can't achieve focus on a blank wall, for example. If you're taking a picture of a person, try to first focus on one of the person's eyes. If that fails (and sometimes it does in dim indoor lighting), then try the lips, then the hair.

If your picture has more than one person in it, don't aim the center of the LCD right between them, or you could end up with the background in sharp focus and the peeple all blurry! Aim the center cross in the LCD at one person first, half-press the shutter button, re-frame the shot to the way you like it, then press all the way. It takes a little longer to take the picture this way, but you'll get more consistent results.

One other thing I would recommend, if you haven't done it already, is to go into the menu and set the AF mode to CENTER. If you have it on MULTI, then the F10 will choose a subject of strong contrast that is near the center of the LCD and focus on that. This is good, I suppose, for taking pictures of off-center subjects. But I don't like MULTI AF because the camera is essentially choosing what it believes should be in focus. Most of the time it will probably be right, but sometimes it will get it wrong. So I prefer CENTER AF, and doing the "half-press shutter button, re-frame, press all the way" method. This way, the camera usually gives me what I want.

Stephanie

[NJpunk24]

Stephanie, thanks again for your excellent feedback and tips! Also, after playing with the different sound settings on the camera last night, I found that the 'shutter' sound has to actually be turned up in order for the beep beep to be heard. It's not connected with the 'beep' sound setting. Wierd... So, at least I know that for future reference as well as the tip from Condor to check out the LCD screen. Thanks again for your help and your tips!