Slow shutter speed on my Canon EOS 350D

Meena

Meena

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Wilma
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Hi there

I have a Canon EOS 350D and normally use the auto mode (green square) to capture various portraits for indoor/outdoor use. Recently I`ve been having trouble with my blurry shots where I`m not using a flash. As these shots were taken outdoors in overcast conditions I cant understand why they are blurry. I will attempt to post an example.



Doesnt look right.:shake:
 
The lighting conditions were good and the camera selected 1/20th shutter speed and 5.0 aperture.
 
A quick rule of thumb is to make sure your shutter speed in larger than your focal length.
So wack up your iso to make sure this happens. This should help.
 
for low light you need to up the iso

and open the aperture (stop it down to f3.5 if your using the kit lens)


then again you;ll have no control over this if you use the green square of hell, quite why people use it i dont know, try PASM modes
 
whitewash said:
you;ll have no control [...] if you use the green square of hell, quite why people use it i dont know [...]
Click to expand...

They don't either, white. That's the thing: they are clueless yet insist on using a precision instrument that they know not how to control.
They're in waaay over their heads!

The green square is very convenient: you don't have to think. That could be tiring, after all.

:cuckoo:
 
W.Smith said:
they are clueless yet insist on using a precision instrument that they know not how to control.
They're in waaay over their heads!

The green square is very convenient: you don't have to think. That could be tiring, after all.

:cuckoo:
Click to expand...

Oh come on now, that's a bit harsh. I know I havent ever used the dreaded green square... but they will gradually progress... mainly due to coming on forums like this and with our help and encouragement (not our ridicule) try a bit at a time.
 
Took some indoor shots tonight at different shutter speeds. When I use shutter priority mode it sounds ok but there is no image on the camera? Also when I use other modes with no flash the shutter sounds like its sticking or jamming. I have had some blurry pics before but not as much. Feels like I cant use the camera inless with the flash?
 
Thanks for the comments. Easy to see lots of `different`people use these sites. LOL.

I have little time 2 fiddle about with this one as I`ve used my other cameras more.

Cheers
 
I sounds like when using shutter priority mode you have set the speed too fast and it is not getting any/enough light in and creating a black image.

When you use other modes with no flash... it sets the shutter speed for you.......and is maybe setting so slow that you can hear the shutter open.... then shut slowly.. the image will be blurred as the shutter speed is too slow and it has moved in your hands or the subject has moved.

How long have you had the camera... could you take it back to get checked out???
 
Hi Meena.
I assume that this is your first DSLR. The best tip I can give you is to take some time to read the instruction book. It should all become clear then. No pun intended.
 
Had over 2 yrs and warranty run out. Took the photos in the `green square from hell` (ha) tonight and when used in the past haven`t had blurry shots. Could be that the camera needs servicing. Will play around with other modes.

Thanks for the advice Janice.
 
Yes, its my first DSLR used film before.
 
Is the flash popping up or not.? automatically in the green zone? see if you can get it to by the little button at the side of it.........wonder if it is stuck.
 
Hi Janice
Dont like pop up flash. I use Speedlite 420EX and also an additional EF 50mm lens which is fine for close up shots but with no zoom bit limited.
 
Ah ok... just thought that might be your problem... the auto wanting to use the flash but it wouldnt pop up.
 
Yeh pop up flash working ok. Camera in general is excellent condition. Practice makes perfect but need to make sure it aint faulty.

Cheers
 
Meena, couple of points.

When you said it sounded like the shutter was sticking I suspect it was just a long shutter speed.

And when you said in shutter priority the pictures were blank I suspect there wasn't enough light available for the given aperture and ISO settings selected. I would also guess that the aperture value was flashing in the viewfinder when you half pressed the shutter.

Going back to basics.

Photography is all about light and there are 3 things that affect the amount of light that is available for any given shot.

The shutter speed. The more light there is the faster this will need to be.
The aperture. This is an opening inside the lens that controls how much light can pass through. A lower number such as f/2.8 means more light.
The ISO setting which controls how sensitive the camera is to the light it "sees" when the shot is taken.

When you use green box mode the camera will make all the decisions for you but when you switch to Aperture or Shutter mode you get a lot more control over what's happening. To start you on the road to learning how the controls work try this simple experiment.

Set the camera to Aperture mode and then change the aperture so it's at the smallest number, maybe f/1.8 with your 50mm lens. Next change the ISO setting to the lowest value, probably 100.

Now point the camera at darkest part of the room, a corner behind a chair maybe and take a note of the shutter speed. Now point the camera at the light source - the light or the window if it's daytime. Again note the shutter speed. Now there should have been a big difference between the shutter speeds, the first one would have been quite low and the second a lot faster.

Now change the ISO setting to the highest value you can which is probably 1600 and repeat the two experiments. This time you should find that there is still a big difference between the two readings but in both cases it will also be much higher than when the ISO was at 100.

This shows how you can adjust the ISO to increase the shutter speed being used which is important because you need to get a fast enough shutter speed to stop the blurry effects you have described. With your 50mm lens you need a shutter speed of at least 1/50s to prevent your own movement affecting the result and you may need a higher value still if the subject you are shooting is also moving.

At this point I would suggest you spend some time shooting at different ISO settings and noting the shutter speed so you can see the impact it will have on the results. From there do similar kinds of tests but instead of varying the ISO change the aperture setting or switch to Shutter mode and try different speeds to see how the aperture is changed.

Take it one step at a time and it should all start to make sense :thumbs:
 
pxl8 said:
Meena, couple of points.

When you said it sounded like the shutter was sticking I suspect it was just a long shutter speed.

And when you said in shutter priority the pictures were blank I suspect there wasn't enough light available for the given aperture and ISO settings selected. I would also guess that the aperture value was flashing in the viewfinder when you half pressed the shutter.

Going back to basics.

Photography is all about light and there are 3 things that affect the amount of light that is available for any given shot.

The shutter speed. The more light there is the faster this will need to be.
The aperture. This is an opening inside the lens that controls how much light can pass through. A lower number such as f/2.8 means more light.
The ISO setting which controls how sensitive the camera is to the light it "sees" when the shot is taken.

When you use green box mode the camera will make all the decisions for you but when you switch to Aperture or Shutter mode you get a lot more control over what's happening. To start you on the road to learning how the controls work try this simple experiment.

Set the camera to Aperture mode and then change the aperture so it's at the smallest number, maybe f/1.8 with your 50mm lens. Next change the ISO setting to the lowest value, probably 100.

Now point the camera at darkest part of the room, a corner behind a chair maybe and take a note of the shutter speed. Now point the camera at the light source - the light or the window if it's daytime. Again note the shutter speed. Now there should have been a big difference between the shutter speeds, the first one would have been quite low and the second a lot faster.

Now change the ISO setting to the highest value you can which is probably 1600 and repeat the two experiments. This time you should find that there is still a big difference between the two readings but in both cases it will also be much higher than when the ISO was at 100.

This shows how you can adjust the ISO to increase the shutter speed being used which is important because you need to get a fast enough shutter speed to stop the blurry effects you have described. With your 50mm lens you need a shutter speed of at least 1/50s to prevent your own movement affecting the result and you may need a higher value still if the subject you are shooting is also moving.

At this point I would suggest you spend some time shooting at different ISO settings and noting the shutter speed so you can see the impact it will have on the results. From there do similar kinds of tests but instead of varying the ISO change the aperture setting or switch to Shutter mode and try different speeds to see how the aperture is changed.

Take it one step at a time and it should all start to make sense :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Very well put :)
 
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