I have a decent Canon camera but it’s not an SLR. It takes great pictures. Sometimes.
Lately I haven’t wanted to take any pictures with the flash but if I don’t they usually come out blurry, on ANY setting. I can take 15 pictures and get 2 good ones.
Mind you, the caveats to this include: I am inside with varying degrees of natural lighting, I’m usually trying to photograph a moving child and I don’t REALLY know how to use my camera properly. I guess.
I’m sorta lobbying around here to get a new camera because we have a baby coming and I don’t want every picture of her to be blurry or with the flash. But a new camera isn’t free. So, I either need to figure out what I am doing with this one or… well, I don’t know what.
I do know I’m frustrated. That’s for sure.
click to enlarge and see that the middle one is blurry but has better lighting. Serioulsy, I can’t win…P.S. Isn’t that a killer dimple??
You could always check ebay for a slightly used one. I have to tell you we got our first digital SLR when BG was born. It is something you will never regret.
ooooh I HATE it when my pictures don’t come out!! It is VERY frustrating!! The husband always has really GOOD LUCK when it comes to getting opened or returned items at Best Buy….maybe you could peruse the aisle and get lucky??!! Too bad the Circuit City left TOWN!!!! That made me MAD!!! 🙂 Hope you are doing well, sorry I haven’t been in touch lately!!!
LOVE THE DIMPLE! You’d think in 2009 they’d have camera for people like us who don’t know how to operate camera….”point and shoot” they say, if it were only so simple.
Such a little cutie! Lovin’ it!
I love my Nikon…even though it was somewhat expensive it was so worth it. I take the girls’ pictures now instead of paying so much to go get them done somewhere.
I agree with the others–maybe look on Ebay and Amazon usually has some that are used or you can find great deals on them at Amazon sometimes.
Let us know what you decide!
Good luck! I’ve loving my DSLR. Now, to get rid of some blurriness, if you aren’t using a flash, you really need a tripod. Even harder to get those moving kids with that!
I second/third the EBay & Amazon suggestions. You never know the deals you can find there, and that’s where I do a LOT of shopping! The dimple is awesome regardless of blury-ness/lighting/flash issues!
I feel your pain, I struggled with this same thing and still do even with my DSLR. The key is that your hands shake and when you use manual settings the camera doesn’t adjust for this. The best thing to do is to a) play with all the settings, Fstop, whitebalance etc using the AV setting or if doing moving child, use TV to get the right one for the light you are working in and b) set the camera on something solid or brace your arms against something solid.
I am no expert, believe me, but my pictures have gotten better by doing these two things! Good luck and honestly before you invest in a DSLR I would learn the manual settings on your existing camera, they work the same and then you won’t go through the disappointment I did when my photos didn’t suddenly become professional when I got my DSLR. OR maybe you have more reasonable expectations 😉
I bought my rebel xs off of craigslist for 300. It is the base model, but it works. All the pictures on my blog have been taken with it. I sold a few things on craiglist to help pay for the cost and then used about $100 that I had daved on my own. With the economy the way it is, people are selling anything they can to make ends meet, so you could get a really good deal on a used dslr. If you are wary about buying one used, you can meet at a camera store and have it inspected before you buy it. I bought my used macbook that way. The seller had it wiped at the mac store, and I met him there to pick it up. Good luck!
We have a Nikon D40. I love it. We got a super deal at Christmas last year. It was a kit with the D40 body, 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses, two instruction DVDs, and a camera bag for less than $700.
PS- I just e-mailed you another secret!
I love my Canon XSi! I know what you mean though, all my pictures didn’t turn out like I wanted prior to getting a newer, faster camera!
I also do some post-editing in Photoshop, which can help sharpen up blurry pics a bit.
Such a little cutie:)
I have been trying to take better pics lately. So hard…my camera is smarter than me:P
I have a Panasonic Lumix and while it’s not a manual camera, it takes amazing pictures with a ton of settings! Easy to use too!!
Good luck!
regardless of the camera, that is one DELICIOUS dimple…. the kid is pretty cute too.
Check your manual and see if you have an ISO setting. My nikon cool pix has that setting but I think they assume no one will use it takes some digging to locate it.
Anyway, if you can control the ISO setting bump it up as high as it will go. Usually with a 1600 ISO you can get decent shots indoors without a flash….but they will be grainy if you try to blow them up.
That IS a killer dimple.
I hope your camera woes work themselves out. I feel ya.
Whether he’s blurry or in a shadow, that little one sure is a cutie!!
He’s looking older. So cute!
Ooooh, I feel for pain! I longed for a new camera for a looong time before I finally sprung for my Nikon, but I have not regretted it for a moment since then!
Does your current camera work in manual or aperture priority mode? If so, try raising your ISO and setting your aperture/fstop wide open – hopefully that will compensate so that your shutter speed can be fast enough to avoid blur even in less than ideal lighting.
And the other tip – post processing! A couple clicks in Photoshop or Lightroom, and those darling side shots of your dimpled boy could be real winners!
And finally – watch for sales! there are some good deals out there!
LOVE the dimple!
I got my Nikon right before the 3rd child. Best decision I made. And now I feel bad that the other 2 dont have quite as many cute photos of them as babies.
One word – EBAY! 🙂
I got my DSLR (Nikon D40x) one month before baby #3 was born and I couldn’t be happy. I love it. Go get one, NOW!!!!
I love my DSLR, it’s totally worth the investment, especially with #3 on the way. I’d suggest Craig’s List as well. We sold my old DSLR that way.
Oh man – I hear you cluckin’! I had a GREAT (canon) point and shoot…and then it broke…which led me to REALLY want an SLR, but seriously – money doesn’t grow on trees…does it? Or does it? 🙂
I do know that I had good luck with my P&S shoot on the “A” setting. But you’re right – that’s not a good setting for moving “objects.” Good luck and happy camera shopping!
A DSLR is the only way to be able to control that! And, if you get one you will NOT be disappointed! The Nikon D40 is really inexpensive (relatively), but still a great camera & expandable too!