Blurry pictures

Are they out of focus or just blurry because those are two different things?

Have you tried using the 'motion' setting on the camera when taking pics? I imagine if your toddler is like mine, their moving around quite a bit. The motion setting helps minimize the blurriness that occurs when the subject is moving. The motion setting on my Canon camera looks like a person running. See if that helps then report back.

I briefly looked through your manual and couldn't find the mode either. You might try shooting the same pictures in 'macro' mode to see if that helps, since most of your pics are probably close-ups. The instructions are on page 29 of your manual if you need help.

Hi Carla, I agree with Ron that focus and blur are different phenomona. Blur is due to motion; focus is due to incorrect focus setting for the distance of the subject.

Your clarification about your toddler's hand being blurred when the rest of the image is not suggests that at least in that case we are talking about motion. But when you say that half your pictures are blurred, I wonder if perhaps both aspects are not at work in your images.

Let's take blur first. A photo is a moment in time. It is intended to capture that moment, and still any motion that might be going on during that moment. To do that, the shutter speed has to be fast enough to stop the action. I got into digital photography to do exactly what you're doing, but a generation removed. It was my granddaughter that spurred my acquisition. Still, trying to still her in photos takes a fairly fast shutter speed. At the same time, I like to not use flash as it intrudes on the family activity in ways that flashless photos don't.

But less light means slower shutters and more blur.

Let's back up. Blur can come from two sources: subject motion and camera motion. And at slower shutter speeds both are exacerbated.

Some people inadvertantly move the whole camera when they press the shutter button. This is usually discernable by a short vertical or nearly vertical blurring motion to the whole image. If some of your pictures exhibit this characteristic, be aware and try to hold the camera more still. You can rest your elbows against your body, or rest the camera on the back of a chair, or lean against a door frame. There are lots of ways to hold yourself and your camera more still.

The other is to have the subject hold more still. I don't know how interesting a hog-tied toddler would be as a photo subject to you, but I like to take candid shots when she is immersed in playing with a toy or watching a tv show. But action shots are certainly required.

So, if you can slow down the subject, you have to both hold the camera still AND shorten the exposure time. Auto programmed cameras generally do a good job of balancing shutter speed and aperature to create a good exposure, but you can try the "Program AE" modes for a faster shutter speed setting. The compromise will be a wider aperature. This will reduce the depth of the focal plane... and this introduces the other source of unclear pictures... focus.

An out of focus picture is the result of the camera not having time to complete the auto focus, or the subject moving between the time the focus is "grabbed" and the shutter being opened.

Most modern cameras have a two step shutter release button. Pressing the button about halfway down engages the auto exposure and autofocus features that set the shutter speed, aperature and focus for this particular exposure. Pressing it the rest of the way down releases the shutter and takes the picture with these settings. If too much time elapses between "grabbing focus" and exposure, the subject could have moved out of the focal distance that was true at the time the button was halfway pushed.

Another cause of out of focus photos is that the infrared transmitter or eye were covered at the time the shutter release button is pushed half way down. The way auto focus works is to send out an infrared (none-visible, abbreviated IR) beam and time it's reflection. The further away the subject, the longer it takes for light to bounce back from it. This can be translated into an accurate range (or distance) setting. Having this system work requires that the IR beam be not blocked and that the IR detector not be blocked. So watch out where your fingers and thumbs are as you hold the camera.

Next, the camera has to have time to move the lens to the right focal length for the detected subject distance. A mistake some people make in using an automatic camera is not being aware of this two stange shutter button. If you press the button quickly and in all in one motion right past that halfway point when the settings are detected and made, the exposure may occur while the lens is still moving into focus with the resulting picture being out of focus.

Lastly, I've found that when my batteries are near low charge, the focus is apt to be off. It takes power to operate the electronics correctly and drive the servo motor to move the lens to the right focus position. So change your batteries before they are totally drained and the camera stops completely.

Rick

Funny related story. I had a camera (Fuji) that at the time was expensive ($999) - and 50% blurry pictures. Drove me crazy!

One day a friend just mentioned, ever think it was a bad camera?? I sent it in and they repaired what was wrong - obviously something from day one.

There are so many settings & controls, we just assume it is something WE are doing wrong. 'Sometimes' it isn't operator error.

Tom Arnold

Tom,

I completely agree with you. Gadgets are becoming so complex that it's nearly impossible to tell if the product you have is working properly or not. Sure, it doesn't take a degree in rocket science to know it's broken if it won't turn on, but what about when half your pictures are fuzzy?

I really hate defective products that work well enough that you don't really realize it's defective. You only figure it out when your warranty is up.

Did you ever think to ask for half your money back instead of getting it fixed? You did say half of the pictures turned out good. 50/50 isn't bad odds!