Fun with the Canon A80.

[Danman]

Seriously, I am. I've been trying to take some decent pics with this camera like other people on this board do. I can't. Here are some test pics, I'm still trying to get this blurry out of my pics, here are some test pics.

Meh.
With Flash on.
Not that bad, I wish I could of gotten closer, I couldn't.
Bleh, blurry.
The only one IMO that came out.

Edit with new pics:
A little better.
Also a little better.

 

[iamwiz82]

Did you have macro on? If you look at the one with the flash that it focused on the petal on the right hand side, in the background.

 

[moshquerade]

re-size those babies!

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you have macro on? If you look at the one with the flash that it focused on the petal on the right hand side, in the background.

Yes I do.

And Mosh, no; I'm lazy.

 

[brigden]

Keep practicing and eventually you'll start firing off sweet shots.

Here's a pic of a rose I took when I first got my A40.

Have fun!

 

[moshquerade]

where's your pic cashman?
flowers? we don't need no stinkin' flowers!

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you have macro on? If you look at the one with the flash that it focused on the petal on the right hand side, in the background.

Yes I do.

And Mosh, no; I'm lazy.

Then you are just too close. How far from the flower were you?

 

[Eli]

Some tips..

Use macro mode for closeups if you aren't already. That looks like it may be your problem.

Make sure the camera is not zoomed at all for closeups.

Obviously, the more light the better. The camera will use higher shutter speeds, resulting in less chance of you moving(Even the slightest movement while the shutter is open will blur the picture).

Don't hold the camera out infront of you with your arms outstretched, fold your elbows close in to your body and make sure you physically try and stop movement.

Take lots and lots and lots and lots of pics. Whenever you take a pic of something, take at least 10 pictures of it. That's my strategy. Change your position, settings(If you dare go into manual mode), etc. Your chances of getting a good pic when you do this increase a lot. I find that about 75% of the pics I take aren't up to my quality standards, but there is usually one or two that are good if I employ the above technique.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you have macro on? If you look at the one with the flash that it focused on the petal on the right hand side, in the background.

Yes I do.

And Mosh, no; I'm lazy.

Then you are just too close. How far from the flower were you?

Pretty close up. I just went back and took two more pics, I think I did a little better.

A little better.
Also a little better.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you have macro on? If you look at the one with the flash that it focused on the petal on the right hand side, in the background.

Yes I do.

And Mosh, no; I'm lazy.

Then you are just too close. How far from the flower were you?

Pretty close up. I just went back and took two more pics, I think I did a little better.

A little better.
Also a little better.

Hmm..

The 2nd one is good, but the camera focused on the background, so you may have been too close.

IIRC, the A80 can focus down to 2". If you are 2" or more away from the flower and it is blurry like that, make sure you aren't zoomed at all.

 

[iamwiz82]

Those are still way too blurry. Try backing up a few inches. Macro mode on your camera is good up to 2 inches or so, I would imagine.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you have macro on? If you look at the one with the flash that it focused on the petal on the right hand side, in the background.

Yes I do.

And Mosh, no; I'm lazy.

Then you are just too close. How far from the flower were you?

Pretty close up. I just went back and took two more pics, I think I did a little better.

A little better.
Also a little better.

Hmm..

The 2nd one is good, but the camera focused on the background, so you may have been too close.

IIRC, the A80 can focus down to 2". If you are 2" or more away from the flower and it is blurry like that, make sure you aren't zoomed at all.

Yea, I wasn't zoomed in. The other five pics I took all came out blurry, I just don't have a steady hand, I shake.

 

[iamwiz82]

Well, it's blurry even with the flash, so it seems as if it is not focusing properly. Have you tried focusing it manually?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you have macro on? If you look at the one with the flash that it focused on the petal on the right hand side, in the background.

Yes I do.

And Mosh, no; I'm lazy.

Then you are just too close. How far from the flower were you?

Pretty close up. I just went back and took two more pics, I think I did a little better.

A little better.
Also a little better.

Hmm..

The 2nd one is good, but the camera focused on the background, so you may have been too close.

IIRC, the A80 can focus down to 2". If you are 2" or more away from the flower and it is blurry like that, make sure you aren't zoomed at all.

Yea, I wasn't zoomed in. The other five pics I took all came out blurry, I just don't have a steady hand, I shake.

Ahh, yeah.. that can definately be a problem. Use the flash if you can.. increase your lighting. That's about all you can do.

I recommend a tripod and/or monopod.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Well, it's blurry even with the flash, so it seems as if it is not focusing properly. Have you tried focusing it manually?

What mode should I go in? I was in the P mode, Program AE as it says in the manual. I found out this takes a little better pics. Suggestions?

 

[iamwiz82]

Have you tried setting it to auto first? Program AE lets you control ISO, white balance, metering, focus, continuous shooting, exposure compensation, etc.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Well, it's blurry even with the flash, so it seems as if it is not focusing properly. Have you tried focusing it manually?

What mode should I go in? I was in the P mode, Program AE as it says in the manual. I found out this takes a little better pics. Suggestions?

I find manual focus mode to be almost completely worthless, because you cannot tell if you are truely in focus on the little LCD screen. It looks like you are, but when you look at the pics.. even if you're slightly off, its noticable. The only time it could be perhaps useful is if you're all set up with a tripod, and use a tape measure....

I know that the G5 has a magnified area in manual focus mode, so you can see if you're actually in focus better. I don't know if the A80 does that or not.

You have gotten some non-blurry pictures, but the camera just didn't focus on the intended subject. Keep playing. You'll get better as you get to know the cam.