Digital camera help

With a 22 month old son and another daughter on the way (next month!) a digital camera is essential, however my Canon Powershot A520 (top rated on Consumer Reports) is fuzzy at times (see image below)

I'm no expert on digital cameras, what kind of feature should I be looking for in a digital camera to prevent the "fuzziness" when my kid(s) are in motion and I want to capture the Kodak moment?

What you are looking for most likely is image stabilization. You could also manually play with your settings and see what you get in regards to exposure- your existing rig may meet your needs. It also just may be that you are a little shakey on some shots. Even low light will affect the speed of the exposure and your ability to hold the camera steady enough. So it could be technique.

But there are a lot of additional variants of exposure tied into the AE mode with the new stabilized cameras to cut the blur of shots like yours..

I have several high end cameras and use some IS lenses and I still get a blurred shot now and then.

Here is a shot with an IS lens I did last week and you can see just a little blur on the wing tips

IS mainly prevents blur due to camera shakage. You need a faster lens to stop motion blur.

Ebola said:

IS mainly prevents blur due to camera shakage. You need a faster lens to stop motion blur.

Click to expand...

Not exactly.

What I think you are getting at is that faster lenses have wider apertures that allow more light in and allow for faster shutter speeds which stops the action.

However, A good amount of blur is related to the ability to keep the camera steady at slower shutter speeds or longer focal points. This lack of stability sets limits on lenses and is why you see tripods in use.


IS will allow for handheld operation at several stops lower then without. So really IS is not just about shake. It is about redefined limits.


Of course blur can actually depend on other factors like focusing, or a moving target. In some cases you may also need a higher ISO- which in digital, induces noise.

Which is why I again recommend checking your technique and working with the camera settings, light, etc. Flash is your friend.

Again: Your existing camera may meet you needs!

But if I were looking to buy a digital camera I would make sure it had IS.

I think what ebola was going at is a faster shutter speed.

Wandls canon took that pic at 1/15 sec @ F2.6. If he sets the shutter for 1/250 (more if you have enough light) should be less motion blur.

You already have a decent camera.

Digital Camera side by side test pictures I took

The rest is reading the manual to figure things out. Practice test shots with different settings after you read up on what they are:

yeah you need a faster shutter speed, this will mean that the pic will come out a bit darker though

Thanks for all your responses! Forgive me but I should clarify......I actually took that pic in post #1 with the fast shutter speed and it still is that blurry....

When I use flash, I don't have much of a problem with a blur...however my camera takes an average of 6-7 seconds to "reload".....when I don't use flash (like post #1's pic) the pictures turn out blurry even in a fast shutter speed setting.

I'm looking for a camera that without the flash still can minimize any blurry issues while my kid(s) are at play....

If that makes sense hehe

I would go for one of these if I were going to buy a point and shoot. Most everything about them seems right to me.

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3989/camera-test-panasonic-lumix-dmc-tz3.html

Or this for more$$$

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3267/camera-test-panasonic-lumix-dmc-lx2.html

But I have no first hand experience with either. For all I know they suck, but they do look nice on paper.

Edit: Heres a pic shot with the lx2, they have IS as well as a fast Leica lens.

wandl said:

Thanks for all your responses! Forgive me but I should clarify......I actually took that pic in post #1 with the fast shutter speed and it still is that blurry....

When I use flash, I don't have much of a problem with a blur...however my camera takes an average of 6-7 seconds to "reload".....when I don't use flash (like post #1's pic) the pictures turn out blurry even in a fast shutter speed setting.

I'm looking for a camera that without the flash still can minimize any blurry issues while my kid(s) are at play....

If that makes sense hehe

Click to expand...

Your image was of a moving subject in a low-light situation, i.e., indoors. There are three issues at hand here:

1. CCD sensitivity. With film cameras you had a choice of various ASA (or ISO) ratings for film (lower numbers = less light sensitive). Higher ASA film, however, had more "grain" than lower ASA film. With digital cameras, the CCD is more flexible and the camera can select the ISO automatically (or manually, if you prefer) but there is a analogous issue with "noise" at higher ISO levels. Different models have varying levels of maximum sensitivity and noise (Your camera has a maximum sensitivity of 400 ISO). Digital SLRs typically have a wider range of sensitivity and produce less noise at higher ISO settings.
   
2. Shutter speed and available light: Faster shutter speeds do not allow as much light to reach the CCD. Using automatic or shutter-priority mode n low-light situations, the camera will usually use the fastest possible speed at the widest aperture setting in order to provide enough light to the CCD, given the maximum ISO. If you are taking a picture of a moving subject (such as your example) and the resultant shutter speed is too slow, the image will be blurred.
   
3. Relation of depth of field (having both close and far objects in focus) and aperture: Another thing that contributes to the blurriness you perceive is reduced depth of field due to lower aperture settings. Remember, the wider the aperture, the less depth of field.

Your camera has a maximum aperture setting of 2.6 (remember that the lower the number, the larger the aperture, hence the more light admitted to the CCD). Digital SLRs can take advantage of fixed lenses with apertures of 1.2 (or lower, for specialty lenses), which will allow for a faster shutter speed. This, coupled with more sensitive/"cleaner" CCDs provide better performance in low-light situations. All of this, however comes at a cost.

Bottom line is this: In low-light situations with moving subjects, you'll need to use a flash. Even the best cameras (digital or not) have limitations in this respect. If you're ready to pony up $$$, you can get a professional-level SLR and lens which will allow for better performance in low-light situations. Were it me, I'd just use the flash