ClumsyMonkey.net

I have a question for anyone who knows stuff about cameras. In the spring I got a more advanced camera than my old point and shoot and I've been playing with settings in an attempt to learn how to use it. I've noticed that when I take photos of Raine or Steve playing the guitar their hands come out blurry when the rest of the picture is clear and focused. What do I need to adjust for speed or whatever to fix this?

ISO probably needs to be adjusted up. Try it at 800 or 1600 and see how that helps.

Up your shutter speed: 1/1000 and higher

Or more simply if you have a sports mode or a little icon of a dude running use that setting.

If that doesn't help will asked 3 of my friends. They take concert photos for bands..

Thanks guys! I don't have the sport setting. I looked for that first because my point and shoot had it. I'll try the ISO and see if that helps. I think it's on 200 or 400 right now. I've never tried it higher.

Gail, if you could ask anyways, that'd be great. Thanks

Politely ask them to stop moving so much.

She should be able to just move to a faster shutter speed and then open the aperture a little, right? Or is this camera not that advanced?

Yes that's what needs played with.
Problem is when I switch into those manual settings on my camera the picture turns out grainy.

I always take lots of pics of the same thing just on several different settings and pic which comes out the best.

Your best bet is increasing the ISO or purchasing a faster lens (if its a DSLR). Increasing the shutter speed won't help you. Your pictures are blurry because your camera has to decrease the shutter speed in order to properly expose your shots. Increasing the shutter speed will result in sharper photos but they will be quite underexposed. I don't know what kind of camera you have but this is what I would do. Put it into manual, or aperture priority (A), bump the ISO to 800-1600, and force the camera to shoot at your lowest f-stop. It will probably be f 3.5 or f 2.8. If your camera still can't produce clear images, there is really very little you can do aside from getting close and using a dedicated flash.

Hope that helps, or at least explains a bit. Also, I'm assuming that you are taking these pictures indoors and not outdoors. If you're outdoors, then increasing the shutter speed would help.

I am looking into getting a new camera. I have been using a Canon Digital Elph SD630 for several years which is fine for the everyday but I need a higher quality camera for night shots, etc. I was recently at a concert and wound up using my cell phone because I was able to get better photos with it than my camera.

I have limited photography experience but would like to learn more. Any suggestions on a high quality yet reasonably priced camera would be greatly appreciated.

What would you consider reasonably priced?

So far I have been checking out some $500-600 Nikon DSLRs. I am hoping to stay around that range.

Well, you'll be happy to know that any Nikon DSLR is an excellent camera. I assume you've been looking at the Nikon D3100. It should do quite well in low light. However, in order to maximize the quality of images you take, you will need to shoot in something besides "Auto." Shooting with auto will force your camera to use flash; something you don't want at a concert.

Saying that, I should warn you that night shots are difficult even for experienced photographers. No camera will be a magic fix. There are a number of reasons why images are blurry. You need to be able to pinpoint why, in order to make adjustments. Regardless, the Nikon will be a huge step up from the camera you currently own.