Congrats Mary!

I hope you figure it out well enough to teach it to me! ;)

Beth,

I bought the Canon EOS 20D and still playing with it. Is there a book for the EOS also that you would recommend.
Thinking of taking a course at a local camera shop on digital photography especially with the EOS.

Alicia

Alicia, I don't know about the books, since I just got this thing yesterday, but I did spend a couple of hours in the wee hours this morning on www.photoworkshop.com and it was a fabulous tutorial if you haven't already done it.

I'm having a hard time getting good indoor pictures that aren't coming out blurry...with the tripod. The dang flash keeps popping up, and when I put it on the no flash mode it focuses OK, but not great. Any thoughts? Coming straight off a point and shoot, it is going to take time to learn all the manual focusing, so I need to know this camera can do the trick without me being a camera whiz.

I asked about this in a rebel forum and they thought I was nuts wanting to know why I would want to take portraits without a flash when portrait photographers had all sorts of flashes.

Mary I just sent you an email.

Alicia, I figure with the three of us we can beat this thing!

The one book I recommend is:
Canon EOS Digital Rebel it is a series in the Magic Lantern Guides.

It is much easier and comprehensive than the manual.

Two sites I recommend:

for anyone shooting photo reference:

Glowluzid's Portrait Tips

for Canon owners:

Photoworkshop

Have fun!

Hi Mary,

Thanks for the link, no, I haven't gone there yet. I haven't tried to take pics yet without the flash. I am not having a problem with blurriness but I will try to take some without the flash and see what happens. I don't have a photo shoot for a couple of months (thank goodness).

For what I paid for this camera it should be able to whistle "Dixie" and I'm sure it can, just have to learn all of it's capabilities. When I download the pics they are coming out way too dark, look ok on the LCD screen on the camera though. I then have to lighten them up in photoshop. Guess it is something to do with the white balance.

I have an old Minolta SLR with a portrait lens that takes incredible portrait shots and a Canon Rebel point and shoot. The digital, once I get the hang of it will be a time saver. No need to run back and forth to the processor.
Alicia

Hi Beth,

My camera is the Canon EOS 20D. You and Mary have the Rebel? I know they are pretty similar. I will check out the info, thanks so much.
Hard to keep up with all the new electronic, digital, poddie, faster, smarter gadgets. Trouble is, my brain is not on the same fast track as the new toys.
Alicia.

Alicia, like all LCD screens what you see isn't always what you get. So check and see if when the images is up (after it was shot) you can push an information button. This should give you a histogram that displays the accurate information for exposure.

The Rebel also has an auto feature for bracketing white balance and f stop exposure which is helpful it takes nine images for each shot if you use them both at the same time - light, med, dark - red, normal, blue. I just pretty much keep my white balance on auto.

I am getting very frustrated with trying to figure this out. It isn't like they are so blurry that I could't paint from them if I had to, but I shouldn't HAVE to. And considering I didn't have this problem with my fuji point and shoot, it is wearing my nerves down. When rooting around on Rebel forums they are telling me I need another lens. A 55mm 1.8? I know, that in the long run, if I ever get the hang of an slr that I will be glad I did this, but right now I want a point and shoot..especially since I have to take pictures tomorrow....maybe I'll be using the fuji for the time being and erasing the dots in photoshop until I get the hang of the slr.

Beth and Janel..what other lenses do you have besides the 18--55?

Mary I have a 28 x 200 to help with distortion, your lens shouldn't be causing any bluring. I'll send you a pm for more details.

Hi Mary... I've got a Rebel with the 18-55 and a 55-200 lens. There's a little AF/MF switch on the camera side of each lens, you might want to check that yours is set to AF (Auto-focus). Set the dial at the top of the camera to 'P' (no flash) and you should be able to basically point and shoot.

When I first got the 55-200 lens, I thought I'd gotten a bum lens because just about all of my photos where just slightly blurry. Realized later on that the heavier lens was a bit much for the tripod so the camera was vibrating when I pushed the shutter button. I've since tightened all the adjustments on the tripod and now use only the remote trigger release to trip the shutter and the pictures come clear. (If I need to adjust the camera, I'll give it a slow 10 count once done before taking any pictures.) Hope this helps!!!

P.S. If you press the shutter button half-way down, the camera should beep and if you're looking through the viewfinder, the autofocus 'dots' that are activating will blink red. You can use this to see what your camera is focussing on. (this works on the on the wired remote too) Unless you manually change the settings, I think the camera will focus on the nearest contrast that's in one of those dots.

Mary,

When I got my Rebel the photos were all blurry at first as well. I had to learn how to hold it correctly first of all (like it shows in the manual - as to not interfere with the focusing). I also had a good tip from a friend when holding it yourself - bring your elbows in and rest them against your body tightly. It gives you a bit of support. It seemed to me that it was just getting used to the weight mostly.

I still havent gotten a great tripod for my longer 70-300 mm lens. Necessity has taught me how to hold that monster myself and get a fairly clear shot though. Well, maybe 50% of the time. I havent had a shoot yet where I needed the longer lens so I am just practicing. I got this one yesterday from our vehicle and kind of rested it against the window that was half way down. I have no idea the distance, but I was pretty far away it seemed.

There is nothing inherently blurry about "SLR" images. Also, you should not need a different lens. Take the camera outside in the daylight (set it up as Terri suggested) find something specific to focus on and take some pictures. Compare the focus to the ones you are complaining about.

My memory is that focusing in low light is not a strength of the Canon digital rebel. However, in the type of light that would be adequate for your purposes the camera should perform OK.

Kim, I didn't realize you had one too, maybe between the three of us I will get this.

Beth, thanks for the instructions. How do you like the only model available this morning?..LOL. She was VERY cooperative.

The manual focus thing still didn't turn out so great, but putting it in autofocus and turning off the flash produced this.

I did it this way with my children, and didn't get anything nearly this clear in the same light, so Im not sure what that means.

Mike, You must have been posting while I was resizing that picture. That one was much better than anything else so far, so there is hope that I will get used to it.

Today is the last day for the canon rebates, if I do buy another lense it will be a 200 instead of 100 rebate. So, I am trying to decide if it is a necessity or not to go ahead and get something in addition to what came with it.

My guess is that your children are moving. It only takes a little and children do not understand the concept. When you are shooting at 1/30 of a second It doesn't matter how still the camera is if the subject moves a silly millimeter.

I would make your decision based on whether or not you want another lens, not on the expectation that another lens will fix a blurring problem.

So then what is the answer? A better lense that will shoot faster in low light? I think that is what the canon people were trying to explain to me about the 50mm 1.8 lens. I mean, lets face it, children are what I do, and they do MOVE.

It is true that some lenses gather more light than others. I generally associate those lenses with big bucks. But you could compromise, forgo the zoom and get a faster "fixed" lens without the zoom. This would be less money.

Personally I would not like to operate without a zoom. I've shot a bushel basket full of kids with a standard zoom lens.

Also, your new camera has given you the gift of additional ISO power. If you bump the ISO up to the 600 range you will find that your shutter speed has increased sufficiently to stop the small movements. Try this.

Mike I don't think anyone told Mary that a long lens would take care of blurring. I mentioned distortion and I think it would be tough to shoot a portrait figure without one in the size of studios we all seem to have.

Mary I learned on my last shoot that I am cropping the age group at 8 or 9 years old for shooting indoors. I am not going to invest in a elaborate lighting system, thus the little guys will blur, I don't think Mike was talking about shooting indoors with an ISO of 600.

I think you should price out what the lenses cost and see if it works in your budget. You'll use it, so it wouldn't be a waste. I don't put my shorter lens on much. I don't see a real difference in the "light" allowance for my lenses to make that determine a decision like yours.

It was lovely talking with you today. I love to hear a southern accent every now and then! ;)

That IS what I was suggesting. It's these higher ISO's that make shooting in lower light possible. But, increasing the ISO number is only a means to increase the shutter speed.

If the blurring is caused from either camera shake, or from subject movement, and not some inability of the camera to focus in low light, then it is a faster shutter speed that will win the day.

The following is an excerpt from this "ISO experiment" thread:

http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=4472

As the ISO goes up so goes the shutter speed and your ability to ward off the blurrs. Of course you only want enough speed to get the job done. If you can get your shutter speed up around the 100 range you should be OK. However, with a squirmy kid I like to have more of a cushion. I would shoot for a SS of at least 150-200 with young kids.

With my Nikon I can set it to "Auto ISO." I can pick a minimum SS and the camera will automatically adjust up the ISO until it achieves the minimum desired SS. I don't know if your camera has this, it might. I think your camera will produce a quality image at these higher ISO's. Not true with the point and shoots. They only go to 400 ISO. check out the quality of the images shot at very high ISO's at the above link.

If you shoot young kids at a SS of less than 100 you will get very spotty results. I think your shot of the doll tells a lot.

Sorry Mike a blond moment.

I was thinking ISO - shutter speed. Duh! I totally forgot this camera had the ability to change this, so that's an even bigger duh! It also looks like it doesn't have problems with noise until you set the ISO for 800.

Hey this why you are the photography moderator!

The only setting I have really learned to use on the camera so far is the manual P mode and then I change the white balance accordingly.

This whole ISO is greek to me, BUT - I have been in low light where an increase in shutter speed would keep the blurs away. Now that I think I get what you all are talking about - can someone tell me how to change the shutter speed on mine? Without changing the rest of the settings?

Thanks!

Hi Kim... This is new to me too, but I've been playing with it since reading these comments this afternoon. Changing the ISO works just the same way as changing the WB. The ISO button is the same as the 'up arrow' (like the WB button is the down button), just hold the up (ISO) button down and turn the little dial gear at the top to adjust the ISO. I wish I'd understood this sooner!

Kim,

That little dial on the top of your camera just to the right of the viewfinder should have one setting marked "T" (Time). If you place the dial to this setting you will be in shutter speed priority.

Notice that if you select this mode you can then dial in the shutter speed up or down. But it's not that simple. The shutter speed and the aperture (the hole that opens up and lets light into the camera) are dynamically linked. When you change the shutter speed the aperture will be changed as well. It is the combination of these two components for any given amount of light that gives the proper exposure.

I apologize for the following, the question was not that complicated. I just have to get this out of my system.

Let's assume that your subject and scene has "X" amount of light. The camera evaluates that scene and based on the sum of all it's settings produces a shutter speed / aperture combination which will satisfy those settings and produce what it thinks is a balanced exposure. In other words -- how wide shall I open my shutter (aperture) and how long shall I leave it open (shutter speed).

If you then come along and say that you're going to take your shutter speed and increase it by "Y" amount, the camera says fine, if you are going to give me less "Time" to gather the light that I need I'm going to increase the size of my aperture, which will let more light in and thus bring the exposure back into balance. No problem -- until you make a request of increased shutter speed (which is really a reduction of time) that requires an opening (aperture - 2.8, 4.5, 8 ... 22) that the lens cannot physically produce. What the camera then tells you is -- you can take this picture, but, I can't open wide enough with this short a period of time to produce a balanced exposure. Your little meter inside the viewfinder will begin to indicate an underexposed condition. Whew.

You can also go through this same exercise in the "A" aperture priority mode. I won't put you through that. But, each has it's own reason and purpose for being.

I don't think that's the best way to manage shutter speed for our purposes. I think the best way to manage shutter speed is through the ISO setting. By increasing the ISO you can increase the shutter speed and leave the aperture alone. I believe that the EOS Rebel will produce a usuable image at 800 ISO. But, you should only increase the ISO until you get the speed you need and no more. If you don't have enough light to to produce a decent shutter speed with 800 ISO you should wait until tomorrow.

Most of us know when we are in those low light situations. There are actually precious few things that I change when I go out with my camera. One thing I'm always considering is the light that I will be encountering. The way I have figured out how to manage that light is through the ISO setting.

All this has been learned(?) through years of trial and error, not out of an experts book or in an experts class. If someone has a better way to do it I'd sure be ready to listen.

Very, very, very slowly, I think this is trying to sink in.

That long winded explantation that you needed to get out, was just what I needed.

Terri - thank you!

Mike - thank you - thank you. Do not apologize at all - as slowly and dumbed-down as you can explain it is how I need it! I know all this is in the guide, but it doesnt explain what ISO, etc,, actually IS - so this is priceless in helping me to understand.

Now - I found no T next to the viewfinder or anywhere - either I am blind or its different here. But - you said it wasnt the best way - so I'll just ignore that part (except now I understand what you mean! Praise the camera gods!). I am going to experiment with the ISO today for sure.

There are still many buttons here I dont get. For example - whats the AV +/- ?

Or - what are the buttons that show a + - with a little magnifying glass around it? I am thinking those might be when seeing the photo - to zoom in and see how clear it is?

The histograms(?) that I have seen Marvin talking about - not sure where/how that is on this camera either. My Menu, Info and Jump buttons have never been used. Ive pushed them all, but not for any good reason.

And what about the little button beside the display that is a light bulb?

On the actual dial for the settings at the top - Ive used the auto landscape one and the other auto settings. For portrait work Ive used the manual P setting - but the others: TV, AV, M and A-DEP - I have no clue.

These questions should keep anyone busy who is interested in answering them!

Thank you again!
Kim

OMG Kim, I am laughing so hard right now I have tears in my eyes.
I have a new name for you and me..

DUMB AND DUMBER. ;)

I could have written that post.

If the shoe fits..... ;)

Are you sure you dont want to go blonde?

If you depress this button it will turn on the overhead light in the room where the camera is presently. If you are outside it will totally block out the sun.

The "Tv" is what I meant to say not "T." The "T" by itself stands for "Time Travel" which I am going to use now to take me back to a time before I was in this thread.

I think you girls are messing with me.

Noooo!

Seriously - we are not messing with you Mike. We are truly THAT dumb. OK - I admit - the lightbulb question was dumber than usual, but the rest is real!

I just took 35 photos of a pretty abused Barbie. Im going to post a few and show what I figured out.

Ok - I took this photos by the window in an upstairs bedroom. It is overcast, but fairly bright outside as it is snowing here. I searched the whole house for a doll, but apparently my daughter has hidden them all as she had friends over this past weekend and doesnt want to be caught playing with dolls still. I did find this one in my son's room. I am not going to ask.

This first one is set to the WB setting that shows a cloud in front of the sun. The photos in order are ISO 100, 800 and 1600. (the others were still blurry). This is the setting I would guess would be best with the lighting, but I am not sure.

I am sorry they are so small - I didnt want to take up much room on the forum with my stupid experiments. But - it might help Mary?

This one is the WB setting that is a rectangle with lines coming from it. The book does not tell me what kind of lighting this is for. This ISO is 400 and the clearest one.

KIM, you are killing me this morning. LOVELY MODEL you got for yourself there. But I think my baby doll is prettier.

But seriously, your test is teaching me something.

This one is the WB setting that shows a circle and two wedges beneath it. Again, the book does not tell me what this means. The ISO I've posted here is 800.

Ok - this one is the WB setting of AWB (auto) and the one I posted is the ISO of 1600 - it was the best one.

This is the WB setting that shows the little house with shade and its the ISO of 1600 - again the best.

Would you mind standing her up and maybe taking her top off?

I wont bother posting the ones I took of the bulb lighting and the sunshine - since those were obviously the wrong choices. I did them just to see. The sunshine one wasnt terrible though at 1600 ISO.

I know they are hard to see here, but from my computer it looks like the WB setting of the cloud in front of the sun at an ISO of 800 was the best one.

:D

Actually - her top and bottom are painted on the Barbie. Thank goodness since it was in my son's room. Besides - Cynthia might yell at me. ;)