It could be that your shutter speed is too slow. Whenever you have a slow shutter any type of movement will blurr the picture. In door shots may be good because you are using flash. Does your camera have a manual mode? If so, adjust the shutter speed so that it is faster and also try to stay more steady when shooting. If you still can't get a good shot, get a tripod.
But with slow shutter speed you only get sharp background, everything moving is blurry. I think the problem is with focusing. If you could post few images so I could make sure what's wrong...
Beings that you are getting sharp pictures indoors (assuming using no or short zoom), yet blurry pictures outdoors and occuring during full zoom-I suspect camera shake is your problem. Camera shake WILL ALWAYS be more obvious when using zoom. My advice: mount your camera on a tripod or set on a solid surface and gently press (don't jab)the button. If you are getting better photos this way, camera shake is your problem. When not using a tripod/solid surface you will need to resort to using a faster shutter speed in manual mode. I highly suggest that you read the manual and a basic photography book. If you continue to experience camera shake, you may want to consider a camera with image stabilization in the future. Hope this helps.
I was having the same problem. I managed to solve it by leaving trhe flash on all the time. Its actually a good idea, even if you are in bright sunlight. I was away on vacation just this week and took about 200 pictures. Not one has come out blurry since setting the flash on for all conditions. Hopes this help you. The pictures are really good.
Leaving flash on, for every picture- being a good idea...first I have heard this.;-D Flash is necessary/good but sometimes we want to capture those shadows, a "natural" appearance. I suspect that you frequently have to recharge your battery or at least more frequently, than someone who uses their flash only when necessary. However, if you find, after working with your camera, that you absolutely can not take pictures without it...I guess the approach is better than not having one. lol There are light, inexpensive monopods & minipods available too. I'm not the steadiest of shooters sometimes but I have found that when using a "prop" or increasing my shutter speed; has reduced the amount of blurry shots. Or going back to the "old" method, shooting through the viewfinder. When shooting hand held, I always support the bottom of the camera with my left hand. I also pay attention to my breathing and try to relax. Just like I do when shooting firearms. For me, the flash having to always be on would not be acceptable but that's me. lol An in-focus shot is always better than an out-of-focus shot though.;-D
Funny thing. I have a friend who sells cameras for a living.I bought the one I have on his recomendation, from him. He happens to think that sony is a second rated camera next to Olimpus, which I actually bought today for my daughter. However because the Sony has the Carl Zeil lens in it , its a very good one. He suggested leaving the flash on for about 99% of shots. I was on the Disney cruise this week. They have in each room a book on all the events and aspects of the ship. In the back of the book was a section on how to take good fotos. In it, it tells about leaving the flash on even in bright sunlight. Reason being is that the flash will give you a truer color if you are capturing a darker object in the brightlight. Without the flash that object comes out to dark. With it the object is captured,and with truer colors. Its easy sometimes to lol at things we are not sure about. As far as the battery, well the camera has a built in recharable lithium battery. I have taken over two hundred on the trip and an other 200 at a wedding the day before the trip. None came out blurry, other than one or two due to hand movement. I would imagine that you are using regular batteries because to me that is not an issue. Not once did I run out of battery power when I needed it. Of cource I did plug the charger during the wedding for about 10 minutes, just to be on the safe side. And I did recharge at night.
Has anyone tried the anti-shake digital cameras, such as the Canon S2IS or the Casio Exilim line? Can you shoot without flash in low light with lower ISO and without a tripod, using them? Do they make much of a difference? I have a Canon A95 (without anti-shake) and, being a novice, shot someone indoors without flash, because I liked the natuaral look (the flash seemed to wash details and contouring shadows out); this was my first digital camera experience (just last May) - half of them turned out blurry - I didn't notice when taking them, with my reader glasses looking at the small-ish LED screen; only when I downloaded them. So, again, my question is - does anyone have experience with the anti-shake digital cameras, and, if so, do they make a difference?
I've shot with canon S1 IS and on 10x it really makes the difference. Basically it allows you to shoot at shutter speeds two stops lower than would otherwise be possible.
You have to remember that stabilizer only affects still objects. If your trying to shoot moving objects without panning, the background comes sharp, but for example a jumping kid stays blurry. I use lenses without zoom to get as much light as possible to the camera. Like Canon ES 50mm F 1,4 USM. Other option is to use flash. Not straight, but use roof or wall as reflector. If your using a pocket, apply a piece of tape infront of flash to soften it.
Thanks for the first-hand info, arcanix and for the suggestion to soften the flash Hmmmmh - ?? Question for Hmmmmh - what kind of tape would you recommend - do you mean plain old "Scotch" magic tape? or is there a speacial translucent tape you're talking about?? (My Canon A95 is a "pointer").
seehear88: Obviously it has to be somehow transparent, but by experimenting you can find tapes that are suitable to your camera. If you can adjust flash hardness, try to adjust it also. Sometimes it's also good to bend the tape so it doesn't touch the flash "lens". It kind of distorts the flash even more. Even colored tapes suite some occasions. Hardest part is to get it spread evenly to the entire area. Glue from the tape can mess your flash lens very bad, and depending on the material it can be hard to clean (be careful with strong alcohols!). So don't forget to remove the tape when your finished. Edit:I would guess arcanix means that same Scotch magic tape and it's propably the safest one to start with.
