The shutter is staying open to long, I think

<p>I have a D200 and I have kinda played with the settings a bit but I forgot what the setting were on previously when I was getting actually decent pics. I now go to take a pic of someone cutting a cake at a retirement ceremony and all but the cake is blurred due to the motion. The f-stop is 8 and ISO is at 800 but when I look through the lense it shows 250. What am I doing wrong?</p>

<p>250 should be fast enough for a cake cutting. Hate to sound harsh, but 1) get a book on basic DSLR photography, 2) read that manual.</p>

<p>[[ The f-stop is 8 and ISO is at 800 but when I look through the lense it shows 250.]]</p>

<p>It meaning the shutter speed or it meaning the ISO?</p>

<p>Could you upload a sample JPG photo of the problem you're having with EXIF data intact? </p>

<p> </p>

<p>I guess it is the shutter speed. I used to use Auto but have recently ventured out to learning the settings which I thought I had and now do not. My husband used it last and I kept it as is but here is one of the photo's.</p><div></div>

<p>yikes, I just typed an answer, and it disappeared!<br>

Your shutter speed on this is only .8. You could have used a flash, or changed to like F4. Are you using an IS lens? That would help some. Or....use a flash..........<br>

Try Bryan Peterson's book, "Understanding Exposure" to learn the connection between all three items, ISO, F-stops, Shutter speed. </p>

<p>The EXIF info on your photo indicates "Aperture-priority AE, 0.8 sec, f/8, ISO 250." A shutter speed of 1/8th second is WAY too slow to hand-hold the camera and not see the "shakes" you have here. I don't know about the lighting where you were shooting, but without flash assistance you would need an aperture bigger than f/8 (smaller number) and/or a larger ISO to be able to get a shutter speed fast enough to allow you to hand-hold the camera. I'd say to stick with "auto" until you completely understand the relationship among f-stops, shutter speeds, and ISO ratings in getting OK exposures.</p>

<p>i think you probably changed the picture mode from "P" to "A", and set the aperture the F/8. if you look at the top LED, in the top left corner you see a letter, P, A, S or M. makes sure it's on P, then get the book about exposure.</p>

<p>Download Opanda software so you can see the EXIF Data and you will know what settings you used on your camera in previous shots. Read your manual and practice using different settings. Also, at the bottom of this page under FAQ, is information about posting a photo into a thread, that will help you with sizing and such.</p>

<p>While the other responses have answered your question as to the true camera setting when the photograph was taken and hence the cause of your problem. I would also suggest that you check to see if your ISO is set to Automatic or if the camera's ISO was set to 250 manually. <br>

The other posters are right about taking some time to review the manual and/or other sources for gaining a better understanding. But instead of stopping to shoot in these more "manual" modes, I would suggest you doing it more and reviewing the results with each shot. Practice around the house and out in the yard, bother your family, always taking pictures of them in different lighting situations. After about a week of doing this, you will be amazed how quickly you will learn what to do and what not to do. Then spend another week doing the same thing, but that week, determine before you take the picture what result you want to achieve? Sometimes it is nice to catch motion in the shot while also using the flash, doing this in aperture priority mode will allow you to show both the image's movement and still capture a sharp "base" image. Come up with other goals as well.<br>

Don't be scared to play around, you will learn so much faster and become so much more confident in yourself this way. Probably getting more enjoyment. Since you are shooting digital, it doesn't cost anything to take 50-100 pictures a night for a week or two. Best of luck and have fun.</p>

<p>Thank you for all the responses and helpful answers. I didn't think that the picture would come out that large of a file since it was taken on JPEG normal not NEF RAW like I usually do for post processing purposes. There are links and books you all have listed that I will spend time looking through as well as the manual. I just want to get more familiar with settings so I can be more flexible as well as knowledgeable about photography and not just always sticking with the auto. Again, thanks.</p>

<p>Heather - As Chris mentions, experimentation will be the key. Take lots of pictures and keep notes. Look here for a simple discussion of exposure: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1033&thread=17605931. Good for you that you want to know about the details rather than just letting the camera's auto settings make the decisions.</p>