Newb help with a P&S

[analog_kid]

I'm not much of a photography guy. All I want is to take decent pictures in *most* lighting situations. I using a FujiFilm Z1. Probably not the greatest camera in the world, but I bought into the hype of being able to take perfect action shots and amazing shots in low light. I have found from my personal experience with this camera, I either have no idea how to use it, or it really sucks in either of these cases.

Don't get me wrong, it takes beautiful pictures in lots of natural light, but inside, at dusk, or actions shots all come out dark and blurry(a steady hand might help too).

It doesn't matter what settings I change on the camera, I always get dark, blurry, abstract photos in low lighting. Is there anything I can do to remedy this? I'm not looking to snap magazine covers, I just want decent pictures! Thanks for any ideas! (I'm checking out some of the links in the photography help thread but a lot of the content is a little over my head. Also browsed the "How to Use flash thread".)

[rickw]

Are you shooting in auto or manual? With or without a flash?

[analog_kid]

Are you shooting in auto or manual? With or without a flash?


It depends. I usually take a shot with Auto mode and go from there. If the picture looks over exposed I turn off the flash. I'm not big on going to manual as I don't really know what I'm doing.

[liege]

The lower the light, the longer the exposure/larger opening of the aperture(f stop, to let in more light). The larger aperture setting narrows the depth of field which means most of the photo will be out of focus save for that which you purposely focused on. The longer exposure will obviously blur any action shot. When you set your camera on auto it more than likely will look for the best combination of the two.

Do you have a setting for night shot/low light/action on your camera? What does the manual tell you to do?

Does your camera allow you to add an external flash?

[ouch]

Most P&S's have notoriously slow lenses. Couple that with feeble, redeye inducing flashes, and you have a losing combination.:cursing:

[analog_kid]

The lower the light, the longer the exposure/larger opening of the aperture(f stop, to let in more light). The larger aperture setting narrows the depth of field which means most of the photo will be out of focus save for that which you purposely focused on. The longer exposure will obviously blur any action shot. When you set your camera on auto it more than likely will look for the best combination of the two.

Do you have a setting for night shot/low light/action on your camera? What does the manual tell you to do?

Does your camera allow you to add an external flash?

Yes, it does have a night shot setting. However, unless I place the camera on stable surface and use a timer, it comes out blurry as even the slightest movement causes a terrible picture. Really not very practical.

No, I can't add an external flash.

I do have a setting for high-speed shooting, it's on or off.


Most P&S's have notoriously slow lenses. Couple that with feeble, redeye inducing flashes, and you have a losing combination.:cursing:

That's my main gripe with this camera, I was told it should excel in low light and action shots. I can turn off the red-eye reduction, it usually is off.

The shutter speed does range from 1/1,000 to four seconds, though I can't control this even in manual mode.

I can control exposure compensation -2 to +2 EV in one-third-step increments.

I can also adjust ISO in the values of: Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, and 800.

Does any of this help me? Can I improve my pictures by learning how to use the camera and it's settings a bit better or am I doomed?

[rickw]

If you set the ISO to 800, that is the fastest film equivalent. See if you can set the flash for a single burst and not a red eye elimination. If the flash fires, the equivalent shutter speed is 1/1000 or faster. However the range is very limited. Probably 10 feet or less. In reality, there is no such thing as low light action shots. In normal daylight, faster shutter speeds and panning with the motion will spot the action. The greater the distance, the less effect the apeture has as far as to focus(depth of field).

[liege]

I looked at your camera on DPReview.com and it seems other people don't like the low light feature, either. The camera came out in 2005 and so is ancient by tech standards. You might consider buying a new camera but a P & S camera will not produce good photos in low light conditions. Do some research on the above sight. They have very good, in-depth reviews. Your research will be rewarded.

[Xavier]

If this is the camera you are using FUJIfilm Z1 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Fujifilm/fuji_finepixz1.asp) then here is possible solutions for your low light problem:
Get a mini-tripod or table tripod
Set ISO to 800
Take several shots with different exposure setting (go full stops +1 and -1).

As for action shots, you really need to know how many frames per second it takes. And from what I can see this camera is not meant for sequential frame shooting. Either way a P&S would do OK with action shoots, but not great, hence alot of blurry images.

It would really help to see one photo example to know in what direction to make the adjustments. Unfortunately, with a small P&S its about working with its weaknesses, but once you know your limitations you can get decent images out.

[analog_kid]

If this is the camera you are using FUJIfilm Z1 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Fujifilm/fuji_finepixz1.asp) then here is possible solutions for your low light problem:
Get a mini-tripod or table tripod
Set ISO to 800
Take several shots with different exposure setting (go full stops +1 and -1).

As for action shots, you really need to know how many frames per second it takes. And from what I can see this camera is not meant for sequential frame shooting. Either way a P&S would do OK with action shoots, but not great, hence alot of blurry images.

It would really help to see one photo example to know in what direction to make the adjustments. Unfortunately, with a small P&S its about working with its weaknesses, but once you know your limitations you can get decent images out.

I took some photos last night but forgot to post them! I will get them up this evening. I played around a bit and I did get some decent shots. I found that it's most important to have the camera perfectly still, as any movement when the shutter is going 2 seconds kinda blurs things. Just a little.:biggrin:

[Xavier]

Looks like you are taking the right steps.