Archive for November 5th, 2009
Options when you want to ensure blur-free pictures:
Correct Camera holding
Slight camera movement, particularly when shooting at the long end of your zoom setting or in Macro mode, will cause the picture to be blurred. The longer the focal length of the lens, or the more zoomed-in you are, the more likely that camera shake will be visible. Use two hands to hold your camera, brace your body, or using a trusty tripod are all tried-and-tested methods for reducing camera shake.
Shutter speed to the rescue
Another solution is to increase the shutter speed. The rule of thumb is the minimum speed used to ensure no camera shake is “1/” over the length of the lens. This means that if your are shooting with a 200mm (35mm equivalent) lens then you use a shutter speed no longer than 1/200 second.
A digital solution
There are times when a tripod may not be an option, and you can’t select a faster shutter speed due to low-light conditions. With this mind, some manufacturers are adding shooting aids to their cameras that increase your chances of sharp pictures. The Nikon version of the technology is called the Best Shot Selector (BSS). When activated, it allows the photographer to shoot a range of images of one subject in a row. All the pictures are stored in the camera’s memory and analyzed for detail. The software then compares each of the frames and determines which single image contains the best overall sharpness. This is saved to the camera’s memory card and the rest are discarded.
Slowest shutter speeds to avoid shake
The lens-to-shutter-speed settings to use to avaoid visible camera shake are: lens (mm)/slowest possbile shutter speed (sec) 201/20; 501/50; 001/100; 2001/200; and 3001/300.
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