Photofocus

This is the subject line of many emails that come to my inbox. Beginners seem to suffer the “blurry” picture problem more than any other so here’s a quick little post designed to help cure the problem.

First, there’s nothing wrong with your camera. It’s up to you to tell the camera what to do so concentrate on your shutter speed. Try not to use shutter speeds between 1/30 and 1/8 second when taking a handheld photograph.

Most DLSR (digital single lens reflex) cameras, there is a mirror that moves out of the way to allow the light to hit the sensor. The movement of the mirror will cause vibration and this makes the picture come out blurry. Try to use a shutter speed that is at least equal (or near) your focal length. If you’re using a 50mm lens on a Nikon D60, allowing for the 1.5 crop factor, the EFL or effective focal length of the lens is 75mm. So try setting a minimum shutter speed of 1/100th of a second when handholding to avoid blur.

You should consider using a tripod (or even a monopod,) and the mirror lockup feature (if your camera offers it) to reduce camera shake if you want the sharpest pictures possible at low shutter speeds.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store