sheena Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) Have only had my Canon SLR a few days & am mainly trying to get it right with taking sharp pictures of my moving border collie. I am using the manual setting "TV" & understand to get a really sharp image of a moving dog I need to have a fast shutter speed. However in normal morning daylight it wont allow me to have any more than about 1/200 before I have to increase my ISO to more than 100. I have it set on Al servo & the focal point on automatic. The white balance is also set on Auto. Would it make any difference if I changed the white balance?? To get really good sharp images of moving dogs do you need really strong sunlight & a tripod I will go back & watch the instruction video in case I have missed something, but thought someone might have some tips. This is the best I could get this morning...the park is in dappled shade but is still quite light.... f5.6, 1/160sec & ISO 200 Edited February 5, 2011 by sheena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 1/160 is not fast enough to freeze action. You need to be up around 1/400 or faster Photography is all about trade-offs. If you're shooting in dark conditions, crank the ISO up - that's presumably why we spend some money on good bodies Even the older Canons (400/450) will do nicely up to ISO 800. A well exposed image at a high ISO will look better than an underexposed image shot at a low ISO but pushed a few stops in post. And it takes a lot of "noise" in an image to actually show up in a print. Remember that our brain plays tricks -what we think is "enough light" or a "quite light" really isn't according to our cameras! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 As well as kjas comments above where was your focus point? Was the little red square on your dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniek Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Auto focal point will pick up whatever is closest to the camera. You need to pick one and use it as the focus point. I like a speed of 2,000+ to get a sharp action shot - but them I'm old and doddery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Oh, and no, white balance won't make a difference. I missed that you were letting the camera choose the focal point. Choose one - probably the middle one until you get comfortable - and stick with it. And again, don't be scared to up the ISO - I will even shoot higher ISOs in daylight hours if I need more shutter speed. Sometimes you just need to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huga Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Yes yes - up the ISO. I tend to use between ISO 600 and 800 outdoors if I am shooting moving things. And a nice quick SS. Agree about choosing the focal point too - don't let the camera decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 Thanks guys,...that's a lot of information. I have always been frightened by high ISO ever since I fiddled with my then, compact camera & it came out horrible & grainy. This camera's ISO goes from 100 to 3200, so I will do some experimenting...see how I go about 800. The shutter speed goes up to 1/4000, so I imagine you would have to have a very high ISO to match that ?? I have changed the focal point to just the one in the centre...I had it on auto before. The viewfinder shows a flashing number when the shutter speed doesn't match the ISO, so I guess that takes a bit of guess work out of it...just have to be more bold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 The thing is to PRACTICE!! Take 100 shots..and save the best two or three ..... then do it again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubiton Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Put the ISO on 400. Put the camera on which ever auto setting lets you pick the shutter speed. Stick the shutter dpeed on 1/1000th Pan with dog dont hold the camera still - practice on cars on a busy street with the panning if you need to as dogs are smaller and move 'faster'. Try to have the sun behind you as this will help the depth of field and have more chance of getting the focus sharp. Zoom in so the focus points see the dog as the main thing in the image not the surrounds. In the posted pic the cameras sensors will say the a frame and the tunnel are filling up most of the image so will focus on that. You can set the sensor to centrepoint only but that starts to get a bit technical first up - get the exposure right first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 I'm taking this all in guys ;) This morning I took the same A Frame shots with 1/1250, but had to put the ISO on 1600, which is the next one past 800 & central Focal point. Dog was a lot sharper, but a bit dark, probably noisy. Maybe I might have better luck when the light is brighter...too hot at the moment. I have put my name down for a 2 x 2 hours of tutoring...might help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogfan Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Or you could edit it in an editing program /shame I had a go at editing it for you Also played with the colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 LOL no shame in editing. Editing is and always has been part of the photography process But you can't create nice sharp focus where there isn't any. the above edit appeal more, but it's still not in focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 ..take TIME ... do it again & again . take many shots.. using slightly different settings each time.. then go with what works .. and do some reading ... you might find some helpful bits in this series CLICK HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 I took this photo of her on the same settings, but she was more in the light. I have cropped it & cloned out the "whatever" she had been rolling in, but I am rather pleased with it. I don't think I will ever get a sharp picture of her because she is such a "soft" dog. Maybe I should borrow a kelpie of cattle dog from someone....might take the camera to training tomorrow afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 A bit more light is very helpful Were you putting your focus spot right on her eye? Are you running your image through some sort of sharpening when you resize (absolutely necessary especially if you are shooting RAW because the camera doesn't do any of that for you like it will in jpeg...and what it does in jpeg may or may not work how you want it to without further tweaking). Good for you for getting out and doing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted February 6, 2011 Author Share Posted February 6, 2011 A bit more light is very helpful Were you putting your focus spot right on her eye? Are you running your image through some sort of sharpening when you resize (absolutely necessary especially if you are shooting RAW because the camera doesn't do any of that for you like it will in jpeg...and what it does in jpeg may or may not work how you want it to without further tweaking). Good for you for getting out and doing it! I was putting the focus spot in the middle of her side...should I be putting it on her eyes?? I am shooting in JPEG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) Being a soft dog is nothing to do with being in focus... :D She is gorgeous ..and it looks as if she is beautifully groomed!! relax.. take heaps of pics... then take heaps more ... no hurry , perfection in a day or two is not important.What is important is you get to know your camera by taking many photos on many settings...see which you like,and see which ones look best a tip. focus in on an eye .. if that eye is sharp & clear... then we are happy , to put it simply There are some good tips, & interesting angles if you CLICK HERE edit - saw you were focussing on her side. hmmm.. why ? Unless you want to count the hairs in her coat, or look for burrs ... focussing on her side is not necessary ;) Put the focus point on the bits of her that hold her personality.. the bits used for communicating ... her eyes not an ear, not the nose tip .. focus in on those lovely eyes :D Edited February 6, 2011 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Yes, you need to put the focus point on the bit you want in focus. That would almost always be the eye - and almost always the eye nearest you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naomi Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 This article helps with focusing on a particular area: link Basically if you want the eye in focus, first frame the eye in the center of the image and half click the shutter. Your camera will focus on this point and if you keep the shutter half pressed down you can move the camera and frame the rest of the body how you like, but the camera will remember the focal point was originally focused on the eye and it will remain in focus. Hope that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubiton Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) Dunno if you take my advice BUT please let us know what settings a photo was taken on. If its on a low shutter speed or really high ISO the photo will not be as sharp. See my prevoius post for settings that wil give you a nice sharp image in full sunlight. Focus on a spot that has contrast so point the focus sensor on a part of her coat that is both white and brown. If you have 5.6 aperture or higher depth of field will keep the rest of the dog in focus on a side on or slight angle. And hold your breath when taking the photo (serious this does help). Focus on the eye in a close up head shot but it wont matter in a wide shot as long as you have some depth of field. If the photo is being taken on something like 1.8 then you have no hope of the whole dog being in focus as the depth of field is took narrow. Edited February 6, 2011 by rubiton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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