Blurry indoor photos with 40D? What am I doing wrong?

I got a 40D last month (my first DSLR) and over the holidays tried to get some

indoor photos of family members. Many, toddlers/kids, were moving around and I

got blurry photos. I have been using the camera for a month or so and have not

had this problem yet. But all the other photos were outdoors. I have the 28-135

lens and shot on the P mode and tried to keep the aperture at 3.5 or 4.0 to

keep images brightest. The shutter speed was selected for me at 1/25 or 1/30

and ISO (auto) was 800. WB was on auto as well. I got a few exceptional photos

when subjects were still, but when moving (even slightly) the images were

blurred. The lighting in the house was fairly bright and I would not have

expected to had this much trouble. Is it something I am doing wrong. Should I

have used the camera settings in a different way? Or is it a limitation of the

light gathering ability of the lens? I am learning how to use the camera and

being so new to photography, I dont know what went wrong. Any thoughts

appreciated. Happy Holidays.

For any Action It is Ideal For the shutter speed to be around 1/500 or Greater

Now rules don't always hold true, but for most scenes you want the shutter speed to be at least the reciprocal of the focal length (that is, 1/100th second with a 100mm lens). With a speed of 1/25th second, not even steady hands can keep many shots blur-free.

 

Additionally, subject blur within the picture is greatly exaggerated with slower speeds (such as your mentioned 1/30), as the shutter stays open long enough to record the subject's movement.

 

My best advice would be to bump the ISO to 1600 (or even 3200) or buy a faster (f/2.8 or so) lens.

Dan, your shutter speed was too long. The rule of thumbs is to use approximately 1/focal length, for instance 1/90 of a second at 100 mm. IS helps a bit, one or two stops but it does not stop the movement of your subject. In that case you need a shorter shutter speed. A faster lens may help a bit as well (the EF 50/1.8) or you'll need a flash, preferably not the built-in one but a hotshoe model like Canon's 430/580EX or similar models.

Moving subjects at 1/30 second will almost surely be blurry. As mentioned, you can bump the ISO, get a faster lens (which will cut depth of field), or you could also shoot flash (which has a whole set of disadvantages, particularly if you use the built-in flash). Oh, also you could contrive a shooting situation with more light, such as a large window that lets daylight stream in. My advice would be to seek better-illuminated settings when you have an opportunity (which probably won't be often), and otherwise bump the ISO to at least 1600. A program called NeatImage will remove most of the noise while doing little or no harm to details of the image.

Going ISO 1600 and f/2.8 will allow shutter speeds 2 stops faster at most, which is not quite enough to stop motion.

 

First, try using flash (at around 1/250 shutter speed.) Get a_significantly_faster lens like the 28/1.8 if you don't like the result.

To get a higher shutter speed, use a higher ISO setting, and/or a lens with a larger aperture. The IS system of the lens can keep your camera shake in check, but does nothing to stop subject movement.

For indoor use the quick and easy fix is to get a nice powerful flash like the 580EX II - and use it in Auto mode. Job done :)

Dan,<br><br>

You've had the camera a month, it's time to leave the safety net of 'P' mode and learn to use the 'Creative' modes - 'Av', 'Tv' and 'M'. Now, as you understood in this situation you want a fast shutter speed to try and freeze the motion, to try to achieve this you can use a wide open aperture - so select 'Av' mode to give aperture the priority and use the small dial on your camera to set the aperture to it's lowest number. This does not 'keep the image brightest' as such as the camera now sets the shutter speed accordingly to give what it (the camera) thinks is 'correct' exposure. Now, if you look at the shutter speed it selects indoors you will find that it is pretty slow (1/25s). If your lens has image stabilisation (IS) and you hold the camera steady then you should be able to get a good shot of a stable subject. The rule of thumb (as has been stated) is that you want to aim for a shutter speed of 1/focal length for static subjects BUT you have a crop camera so you actually have to multiply this by 1.6 - so if you have your zoom set at 100mm you will need 1/160s to have a good chance of getting a good image (ignoring IS).<br><br>

ISO, aperture and shutter speed work together. So, if you need more shutter speed but your aperture is wide open then your other option is to boost the ISO up. Aim for 1/500s for moving subjects. So, boost ISO (say to 1600) and see what you get. As you double each ISO increment (100,200,400,800,1600) your shutter speeds should halve (1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500). So, boost ISO, set open shutter using Av, make a stable platform, take a few shots.<br><br>

Your lens is not the fastest so you will find that even this will not get you the best results indoors. In which case you need to invest (in order of priority)<br><br>

1. A good beginner book on photography - you have a $1300+ camera and should know enough to use it - 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson answers most of your questions but it is a bit dated and there may be a more up to date equivalent.<br>

2. A flash can help but it can also bring its own issues. The Canon 430ex is a good choice (Colin's more expensive solution has some advantages but apart from its longer range (more power) you may not notice the others for quite a while.) If you buy a flash then also buy a diffuser - try a 'stofen' as a first option to soften the light a bit. The disadvantage of on-camera flash is it is very harsh, leads to red-eye and a stunned look.<br>

<br>

 

Read <a href="http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_learn_exposure_lowlight.html">this</a> for some more thoughts.

My advice includes everything already said, but I want to add my method.

 

First, you should get a good external flash for the camera. Sorry, but you will find it is money well spent, and will allow the full potential of the camera to be used.

 

I shoot all indoor flash on Manual. Set the shutter speed to anything reasonable, like 125th or so, put the aperture where you want it for the best depth of field and then let the flash expose the scene for you. With the on camera flash, distances will be limited and lighting will be harsh. If you get a good flash, you can light whole rooms by bouncing off the ceiling or walls, and the lighting is much more flattering.<div></div>

Prolly, flash is the answer. The pics at the link below were taken with 40D, Sigma 17-70 and 580 EX Flash set on ETTL.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisnewell4444/Christmas2007/photo#s5147921873308322002

 

HTH

I also recommend flash. A flash like a 430EX has plenty of power - chances are you won't need the 580. In a pinch, the pop-up flash works well too.

 

You can point the flash directly at the subject. In this case, consider a diffuser for softer light. You can try and bounce the flash off of the ceiling (if it is white) for more even lighting.

 

P mode is fine. In fact, it may work better than AV because in many cases you may not care about underexposure of the background. With flash, P will keep shutter speeds up so as to minimize blur (at the expense of underexposed background) while AV tries to expose the background correctly, which may cause subject blur. If you find that underexposed backgrounds are a problem, try bounce flash.

 

Some folks like to shoot indoors with "natural lighting" without flash. The arguments for this are that natural lighting can be more moody (e.g. candle light) and that flash disturbs the subjects. The arguments against natural lighting are that interior lighting adds reddish colors casts, light levels are very low, and the direction of lighting is often less than optimal. For natural lighting you'll need a fast lens (f/1.8 or better). IMO, by all means do experiment with natural lighting, but for general family photography you're much better off with flash.

Use a Tripod/Monopod indoors !

Jos and Colin have it right. Flash, maybe faster lens like 50 1.8.

 

Henry, I don't see how tripod will help with moving kids.

 

You should be fine even with a 430EX, bounce it off the ceiling for nice even soft light. Open window shades in daytime to let in more natural light. In the evenings you'll have a combination of flash and tungsten light, so use AWB unitl you learn more about balancing flash/tungsten, dragging the shutter and gelling your flash to match ambient light.

"Use a Tripod/Monopod indoors !" - Good idea - you can tie the kids to it to stop them moving around, then they won't be blurry ;)

>> Or is it a limitation of the light gathering ability of the lens?

 

Yes, it is. Your lens is a very versatile lens especially with IS but it is slow (meaning it needs lots of light). The IS is great and compensates for this but it only helps camera shake, unfortunately it is no help with moving subjects. When you were outside you had a lot more light, and probably were not shooting moving subjects (so the IS worked really well).

 

As mentioned, Flash is a great solution, but it can be cumbersome, especially with young kids. You could get yourself a "faster" lens instead. The Canon 50mm f1.8 only costs about $70 (www.bhphotovideo.com) and is about 3 times faster than your 28-135mm. So for example, a shot you are taking now at 1/30th second would be at 1/250th sec using the same ISO with the 50mm, this would prevent a lot of motion blur. 50mm may be a bit long on your 1.6x crop camera but it is so inexpensive you can hardly go wrong.

This is an issue relating to photography in general, and has nothing to for with what camera you are using.

 

P mode hurts more pictures than it helps, especially in low light.

 

Take a class and/or read a book ad you will probably get some idea of how to get the most from any camera.

 

If all you want is auto, I would sell the camera and get a point and shoot, as you will doubtlessly get better results.

 

Keith

Thanks for the insights Keith! I thought I made it pretty obvious that I am new to photography and trying to improve my skills. I appreciate all the other responses as they were actually helpful. I will spend time adjusting the ISO to higher levels and see if that helps and try other modes of priority also.

Hi Dan I havnt really read through all your comments but i use a 40d also .i shoot in AV ( aperture priority ) for most things with an iso of 100-200 ..i dont really like using flash indoors for portraits ( does anyone ?! ) so i find shooting near a window with natural light produces excellent results. keep your aperture as low as possible for fast moving subjects ( child speed !)and make sure your AF mode ( on page 76 in the handbook)is switched to AI This means the lens will focus on still subject then refocus if it moves...<div></div>

Thanks Loren. Good points.

>>> i dont really like using flash indoors for portraits ( does anyone ?! ) <<< (LI)

 

I do: and often. And I think you will find many others who do, also.

 

Yes, flash can be very creative, especially if one learns techniques for: flash fill with daylight; manual exposure flash; diffused flash; reflected flash; multiple flash; and dragging the shutter.

 

Using Window Light ONLY can also be very creative; and is the oldest lighting technique, taken from the original Portrait Painters.

 

IMO Window Light ONLY is one of the most challenging of all Photographic Portrait Lighting techniques, because, as painters had infinite control over exposure latitude: both film and digital sensors are, by comparison quite limited and limiting.

 

WW