Canon EOS Rebel xTi

[johnscel]

My Rebel is taking blurry pictures.  I have watched several videos and tried to solve the problem but I am not having any luck.  Here are a few that I have recently taken.

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

Do you see how confusing this can be?  All these inner web "experts" can't even come together on how you should start out.

They all have their idea of the correct answer. 

As I suggested just leave the XTi in the P mode.  Take your time to learn how it is working.  Don't mess with the other settings that will only make it more difficult to see what went right and what went wrong. Remember KISS ?

A lot of the time the camera is smarter than the photographer.

The camera records the settings it used to take the photo.  You should look at it.  After a while you will begin to see what works and what doesn't.  But if you don't choose my way and you mess up the settings, you now know how to reset the camera!  Get it back to square one.

[jrhoffman75]

"As one poster replied suggesting, use P mode. That is correct.  Don't use Sports mode.  Actually there is little reason to ever take the Rebel off P mode. For now!"

I would propose that this is 180 degrees out.

When one is starting out I would recommend the icon modes so they can see what the best settings are. As the OP noted, in Sports mode he saw that AI Servo, high shutter speed and continuous shooting were appropriate. "P" mode would not do that.

One can make all those settings in "P" mode, but you need to know what to do.

Out of the box "P" mode will set One Shot AF, Single Shot drive and a shutter speed => than 1/focal length and as low an ISO as possible given the widest f/stop. None of those settings would be appropriate for field hockey. A perfect combination for taking snapshots of family.

[johnscel]

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!  I can't wait to take more photos now.  🙂

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

Do you see how confusing this can be?  All these inner web "experts" can't even come together on how you should start out.

They all have their idea of the correct answer. 

As I suggested just leave the XTi in the P mode.  Take your time to learn how it is working.  Don't mess with the other settings that will only make it more difficult to see what went right and what went wrong. Remember KISS ?

A lot of the time the camera is smarter than the photographer.

The camera records the settings it used to take the photo.  You should look at it.  After a while you will begin to see what works and what doesn't.  But if you don't choose my way and you mess up the settings, you now know how to reset the camera!  Get it back to square one.

[TTMartin · Accepted solution]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Do you see how confusing this can be?  All these inner web "experts" can't even come together on how you should start out.

They all have their idea of the correct answer. 

As I suggested just leave the XTi in the P mode.  Take your time to learn how it is working.  Don't mess with the other settings that will only make it more difficult to see what went right and what went wrong. Remember KISS ?

A lot of the time the camera is smarter than the photographer.

The camera records the settings it used to take the photo.  You should look at it.  After a while you will begin to see what works and what doesn't.  But if you don't choose my way and you mess up the settings, you now know how to reset the camera!  Get it back to square one.

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I own an XTi, I physically had it in my hands and was checking the settings it used when in Sports 'running man' mode.

There is nothing more KISS then setting it to the Sports scene mode.

Because as another poster pointed out, P Mode, isn't going to set your camera to AIServo, and P Mode wont automatically put your camera in continuous shooting mode. And P Mode wont automatically choose a high enough shutter speed for moving subjects. 

And if you are going to have to do all those settings you might as well shoot in Av mode with f/5.6 (wide open for your lens) and adjust your ISO to keep your shutter speed at or above 1/500  Just remember to set your camera to AIServo, and put your camera in continuous shooting mode

So if you want KISS just use the Sports mode.

And as I suggested if you are confused by all the different advice try one way for a period or portion the game, then try the other way(s) for the remaining portions. Then when you get home, look at the photos and decide what works best for YOU!

[johnscel]

Got it! 🙂

[johnscel]

🙂 haha I started to get a little confused when I began reading the different advice. So I kept saying just leave it on P until you are smarter with the camera. 🙂

[johnscel]

That is what I tried doing this summer but I think I watched too many videos on this and got to a point that I could not remember what I had done to get certain pictures. I decided to take my daughter's and a friend's daughter's senior pictures. Many of them came out great but then there were some that I wished had come out great because they were amazing minus the blurry. So until I get use to looking at what the camera does I am going to stay in the P and sports mode safe zone.
Thank you for your help. 🙂

[Waddizzle]

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@johnscel wrote:

That is what I tried doing this summer but I think I watched too many videos on this and got to a point that I could not remember what I had done to get certain pictures. I decided to take my daughter's and a friend's daughter's senior pictures. Many of them came out great but then there were some that I wished had come out great because they were amazing minus the blurry. So until I get use to looking at what the camera does I am going to stay in the P and sports mode safe zone.
Thank you for your help. 🙂

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The bottom line is simple.  If you're having fun doing it, then you're doing it right!

[ebiggs1]

"A lot of the time the camera is smarter than the photographer."

You can see how truthful this statement was.

"So until I get use to looking at what the camera does I am going to stay in the P ...."   

[Waddizzle]

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@jrhoffman75 wrote:

"As one poster replied suggesting, use P mode. That is correct.  Don't use Sports mode.  Actually there is little reason to ever take the Rebel off P mode. For now!"

I would propose that this is 180 degrees out.

When one is starting out I would recommend the icon modes so they can see what the best settings are. As the OP noted, in Sports mode he saw that AI Servo, high shutter speed and continuous shooting were appropriate. "P" mode would not do that.

One can make all those settings in "P" mode, but you need to know what to do.

Out of the box "P" mode will set One Shot AF, Single Shot drive and a shutter speed => than 1/focal length and as low an ISO as possible given the widest f/stop. None of those settings would be appropriate for field hockey. A perfect combination for taking snapshots of family.

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The things you cite as positives, are exactly the reasons why I think "P" mode is better for new users. Sports mode isn't simple.

One Shot mode is far easier to use than AI Servo, most especially with a camera with just 9 AF points.  It takes practice to hold a shutter halfway without firing the shutter.  I'm not good at it, and doubt if I ever will be at my age.  One Shot is simple point and shoot mode.  AI Servo is much more complicated, and requires more knowledge to use successfully.

Another big issue I have with Sports mode is that you cannot manually select the center AF point.  The camera automatically selects an AF point for you, most often the AF point with the nearest object to the camera,  I think that not only will the keeper rate be higher using the manually selected center AF point, but camera operation will once again be simpler.  You press the shutter, and the same AF point lights up, exactly where you aim it.  Point and Shoot.

In Sports mode, the camera will typically drive aperture as wide open as it can, in order to achieve its' fast shutter speeds.  This can be a good thing, provided you are cognizant of benefits and drawbacks.  I would rather influence shutter speed by adjusting the ISO manually.  And, if "P" selects a shutter speed that is 1/focal length, then that would be a good thing with a long lens, which is typically used for shooting sports.