topic Re: Need advise on how to set up manual in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Need advise on how to set up manual

ersaen5195 — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 04:54:04 GMT

I’ve had a t6i Rebel for a few years now, and I own 3 lenses but don’t feel like I’m getting the most out of my camera. My photos seems to always be blurry when I zoom into them. How can I fix this? Can anyone recommend numbers for the settings I can set to???

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

Waddizzle — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 07:23:28 GMT

That is not exactly how photography works. There isn't any "recommended set of numbers of the settings" that will give you sharp photos. The next best thing, however, are the Automatic settings in the Basic Shooting modes. Let the camera figure it out. But, that takes all of the fun out of it, and usually results in so-so looking pictures.

Without knowing what it is you are doing now, there is no way I can advise you on what to do in the future. Without knowing what lenses you are currently using it, it is hard to advise you on how to use them. Maybe you need a better lens. Maybe you need to stop zooming in real far into photos and peeping at the individual pixels, because that never looks good.

Maybe you need to brush up on the basics. Check out the link in the first post in this thread.

https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/General-Camera-Discussion/Canon-YouTube-Video-Series/m-p/269237

It links to the CanonUSA YouTube channel. They published an "EOS 101" series of 13 short videos, which teach you the basics of photography. You will want to set you camera up on a tripod next to you when you watch them. You may also want to watch them more than once, too. There is a lot of good info to absorb.

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

kvbarkley — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:12:24 GMT

Can you post one of these images? How far are you zooming in?

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

cicopo — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:17:34 GMT

Watch this tutorial a couple of times to get the idea how it all ties together. It's not long & should help a lot.

http://www.canonoutsideofauto.ca/

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

Tronhard — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 18:06:37 GMT

Another good, free tutorial course is available on YouTube HERE for the beginner is by National Geographic Photographer Australian Chris Bray. He covers the whole subject, broken into topics one can view in bite-sized chunks.

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

ersaen5195 — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 19:36:20 GMT

I have a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens, Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens, and the lens that comes with it

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

Tronhard — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 20:11:36 GMT

@ersaen5195 wrote:
I have a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens, Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens, and the lens that comes with it

The first lens is an excellent unit and should render super sharp images. The75-300 lens is aruably one of Canon's worst efforts and to my knowledge does not have image stabilization, something I would expect of a zoom of this range, you would probably get better results by using the 70-200 and cropping...

I assume you mean by "the lens that comes with it" the EF-S 18-55 kit lens? There is an alternative kit lens, the excellent EF-S 18-135 IS STM lens.

I would strongly encourage you to explore the links provided by responders and perhaps consider joining a local camera club or society. If you are serious, consider taking a course if one is locally available.

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

wchettel — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 22:26:00 GMT

Yep! The lens makes a BIG difference in photo quality. I have a Rebel SL2 kit from Costco. It came with 18-55mm f4-5.6 IS STM, 75-300mm F4-5.6 II, and 50mm f1.8 STM lenses. I purchased an EF-S18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM lens a few months later. Even tripod-mounted and with the same exact camera settings, the 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM lens takes MUCH better quality photos than the other lenses.

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

amatula15 — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 00:04:18 GMT

As kvbarkley suggested can you post some images?

That will help troubleshoot some of the issues.

What specifically is blurry (again image would help!): everything or just the background?

Are you using a tripod?

If not, can you try (or use a table or another stabilizer) and see if the images are still blurry.

Are you controlling for camera shake somehow? (that was one of my first issues when I got a Canon SL1 -- I didn't hold the camera correctly/steady so my images could suffer al little as a result).

Are you taking images of fast moving subjects?

I am confident you'lll turn this around and get great images!

Annie

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

ebiggs1 — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 15:33:51 GMT

Just for starters, using your 200mm lens the shutter speed should remain above 1/350 second and more is better. Using the

300mm it has to be above 1/500. Now these are basic starting points for sure. Everything in photography is conditional.

Sometimes it may be difficult to maintain a high enough ISO to use the 75-300mm unless lighting is ideal. The result is a blurry photo. Since you have the best zoom lens made, I would abandon the 75-300mm. Sell it for what you can and move on.

Basically two things control blurry images. The lens and you. The camera plays a very small role in this. It is nothing more than a device to capture what the lens saw and what you told the lens to see.

Samples would be good!

Re: Need advise on how to set up manual

wq9nsc — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 21:56:12 GMT

Agree with Ernie that since you have the excellent 70-200 f2.8, the 75-300 isn't what you want to use. If you feel the need for a little more focal length, then the 70-200 with a 1.4X is still preferable to the 75-300 because the bare 70-200 is so sharp and the degradation that occurs with the extender is so minimal that it still produces great quality.

My usual hiking setup has long been a 24-70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8, and the 1.4X.

Pay attention to the shutter speed as Ernie advised and also PRACTICE releasing the shutter without shaking the camera. Standard assists include bracing your body or the camera against an available object to help you keep it steady. Most of the time I am shooting fast action with fast shutter speeds so camera shake isn't a concern but on those occasions where I am pushing the shutter speed, light, focal length, and ISO combination then I will briefly hold my breath in the moments before I press the shutter release. You may find a combination of mirror lockup, silent shutter mode, and delayed shutter release MAY be helpful to you under some very trying lighting conditions. Since "developing" is free with digital, experiment to find the method that works best for you and then practice that method to perfect your holding/capture technique.

A really common mistake for new and old photographers alike is to get so excited at the possibility of capturing a unique moment that excess haste ends up spoiling that moment with motion blur, a horribly wrong exposure, and/or framing such that a key part of the scene is missing. We all miss fleeting opportunities and I would rather miss it entirely than end up with a mediocre image of what could have been a great scene.

One lesson I learned early in sports photography is that if you are too slow in setting up a key action shot, you aren't going to capture it and at that point the best move is to get a good capture of the result and remainder of the play instead of staying a step behind the entire sequence because of being "focused" on something that already happened.

Rodger