why does my camera (EOS REBEL XS) take blurry pictures

[plc4d]

why does my camera (EOS REBEL XS) TAKE BLURRY PICTURES?

[kvbarkley]

Isn't that what the focus confirmation light and beep are for?

[Crazydoglady]

Thanks for the info. I tried those links you posted and none of the YouTube videos are available to watch. They are all private. You seem to know what your talking about so i wanted to ask you. I got a canon rebel sl2 and I'm using a canon 75-300mm lens. I'm trying to take pictures of wildlife. Birds and monkeys at the moment. And all my pictures are turning out blurry. My lens is on AF. All pictures are outside. I have my focus selected to the one center square. I'm holding the shutter down half way and it looks perfectly focused and then when i look at the picture after its blurry. How high should my shutter speed be? I just changed it to the highest speed. I would really appreciate some help on this subject. I'm new to this and I'm finding this Camera to be very frustrating.

[kvbarkley]

At 300 mm, the shutter speed should be at least 1/500 for your camera.

Can you post some of the blurry images so we might be able to diagnose the issue?

[ebiggs1]

"I would really appreciate some help on this subject. I'm new to this and I'm finding this Camera to be very frustrating."

On a 300mm lens you need to have a SS that is higher than the reciprocal of 300, or 1/300.  Your camera probably does not have a 1/300 SS so set it to 1/500.  The next higher one.  However, this is the lowest practicable SS you should use.  1/1000 is even better.

Also, if you are using a SL2 you have a crop factor to deal with.  I.E., your 300mm lens appears to act like a 480mm lens does on a FF camera.  The same reciprocal applies. 480mm = 1/480 SS.  Again you don't have a SS of 480 so the next higher, again, is 1/500. And again, even more so in this case, 1/1000 is even a better choice.

Why is this so?  The real reason for this very general rule is "you"!  Most people can not hold a camera steady long enough to get a sharp picture as FL (focal length) increases.  It is why I believe you are getting blurry telephoto shots.  It is called camera motion or motion blur.

If you would post some samples or examples we can tell you for sure if this is the case.

[ebiggs1]

This shot was with a SS of 1/2000.

[Crazydoglady]

wow! Your photo is incredible. So I've changed my ss to 1/2000. Aperture is F8.0 ISO is 6400. Do I always need to shoot on M with these settings?

[kvbarkley]

No, you can use Tv mode and set the speed. The aperture and ISO will adjust to get a good exposure. I am assuming the image was taken *before* you increased the shutter speed, since it clearly (hah!) has motion blur.

Note, too, that the 75-300 is not a very good lens, so don't expect tack sharpness.

[Billyboiam14]

Issue has been resolved. Thank you all.

[wchettel]

I just saved that image to my desktop. I opened the photo with ACDSee and looked at the EXIF data. It shows a shutter speed of 1/8s which is WAY, WAY too slow!

[ebiggs1]

OK, Crazydoglady now we see what the problem is. It is motion blur.  Your settings were not half wrong they were all wrong!   A little humor OK it was  just a little buthelp is on the way.

You shot that picture with 300mm, f32, 1/8 SS and ISO 6400.  No setting was correct for that shot. No one can hold a 300mm lens steady at 1/8 SS.

"... I've changed my ss to 1/2000. Aperture is F8.0 ISO is 6400. Do I always need to shoot on M with these settings?"

No these settings may not be correct either. Here is what you do.  Set the mode to Av and fix your aperture to f8. Set your ISO at 1600, perhaps 3200 if needed. This will make the SL2 get the fastest SS it can for proper exposure.  If you are at 1600 ISO and you notice the SS is falling below 1/500, adjust the ISO up to 3200.  If you see the SS going too fast adjust the ISO down to 800.  These are what we call one stop adjustments. 800 to 1600 is one stop. 1600 to 3200 is also one stop.

Av mode is my most preferred way of shooting wildlife. A fixed ISO is also my preferred way. BTW, kido, almost never too never use f32. Also M mode isn't preferred or necessary.

I want you to go outside, nice day, set the camera to Av mode, f8, ISO 1600. One shot, center focus point only. Average WB (white balance).  Now shoot somethings, doesn't have to be animals. Anything!  a tree or rock or fence, etc. Our goal here is to get sharp photos. Come back and show me some sample of sharp shots. 

You don't have the best lens but it is a good lens.  We have a fellow on the forum that gets stunning results from the very same lens you have.  He may see this and post a sample or two. Now go out and shoot some great shots for me.