Tips for getting a in focus shot

[alibi 2]

I am getting about one good shot per dive...I'm having trouble getting shots that are in focus...seems Im getting my best shots when I don't try getting too close and then crop the shot later on the computor...when i try to close in on the shot under water then its fuzzy ..any suggestions it greatly appreciated as Im very new and learning..I have the new Sea and Sea that has the sea and sea setting for underwater...

 

[scottfiji]

hey Alibi

congrats on your new camera

this could be from a number of causes, if you could pick one of your blurry photos, post it her, and also tell us all of the following, we can solve your problem!

- camera type
- distance away from the camera the subject is
- whether the flash is going off or not
- what your flash setting is
- whether you are in macro mode or not
- aperture and shutter speed the camera used for that photo

most of the time the problem is not using forced flash mode, or not being in macro mode

Scott

 

[xaveri]

Leaving aside the possibility of your camera malfunctioning, there are 3 main reasons why you can get blurry pictures.

1. Not enough light: You camera needs light to focus, so if you are diving in the late afternoon or you are inside a wreck or visibility is simply not that great that day, there may not be enough light for your camera to focus. A focus light may solve that, but I've never used one and still get hundreds of correctly focused pictures.

2. The camera focuses on something closer: Sometimes when the water has a lot of particles, the camera ill focus on those instead of on your subject, producing a blurry picture. Just by looking at the picture in the computer you may see the lighted, properly focused particles called backscatter.

3. You are to close for your focus mode: Most if not all cameras these days have at least 2 focus modes normal (landscape) and macro. You use macro mode when you want to take close up pictures. This is where it gets tricky because "close" is different for every camera. Some cameras allow you to use macro mode from 1 inch to 2 feet. Same goes for the normal mode. If you are too close using the normal mode, then the camera will not focus. Look at your camera manual to find out how to engage the macro mode, the icon looks like this one:

Let us know the model and brand of your camera, so that we can help you further, and post some pictures if you can so that we can see what you are talking about.

 

[AndyT]

To continue...

4. Shutter speed is too slow. To get correct exposure your camera could be selecting a shutter speed that is too slow to freeze the action or allow for a little camera movement resulting in blurry pics.

5. Lens fogged up.

Hope this helps, and as said please post some pics for us to look at.

 

[AndyT]

Also give us some indication as to what the conditions were like - viz, depth etc.

 

[xaveri]

To continue...

4. Shutter speed is too slow. To get correct exposure your camera could be selecting a shutter speed that is too slow to freeze the action or allow for a little camera movement resulting in blurry pics.

5. Lens fogged up.

Hope this helps, and as said please post some pics for us to look at.

Nice addition, indeed if the shutter speed is too slow it may cause blurry pictures. That will happen for any type of photos, either macro or wide.

The lens getting fogged may be caused by the condensation inside the camera housing. Depending on how and where you closed your housing, some moisture is trapped inside. When the inside of the housing gets hot, becasue of the flash or the camera simply getting hot, that moisture turns into fog.

A silica dessicant packet should help to keep the moisture at bay. Also closing the camera in a dry, low humidity environment and not opening it again until the end of your dives would help.

 

[fairybasslet]

I was watching a friend of mine set up a shot. She has a Canon dSLR (not sure what model) and I noticed that the red beam was landing behind her subject. I wonder how many cameras to this. Also, with the auto focus, you have to make sure that there is enough contrast between the subject and the background (very hard sometimes, I know) in order for the auto focus to work.

 

[ptyx]

I would add one reason for images to be blurry with that type of camera: shutter lag.

Especially when doing macro shots, the depth of field (i.e. distance from the camera around the focus distance where the subject will be sharp) can be really small - sometimes 1/10 of an inch or even less.

With non-SLR cameras, when doing macro shots it is critical to be absolutely stable and immobile. Otherwise, the camera auto-focus, you fully press the button, lag happens, you move slightly.... and when the picture is actually taken, your subject is out of focus again.

If you're not already doing it, you can try to:

• work on your buoyancy
• brace the camera correctly (elbows against chest - not at arms length)
• have a 'soft' finger on the button, stay relaxed, shot in the pause when between two breaths (chest empty)
• use a smaller apperture: depth of field increase as you close the apperture: f/16 has better depth of field than f/5.6 - but you want to maintain decent speed at the same time (1/30 at least), which requires a lot of light

 

[vladimir]

..seems Im getting my best shots when I don't try getting too close and then crop the shot later on the computor...when i try to close in on the shot under water then its fuzzy

This is the key. As you get closer to your subject your depth of field (focus margin of error) shrinks. You need to use a higher f-stop (smaller aperture) which will give you more depth of field. You will need more light to use a higher f-stop, which will require more strobe, more natural light, or a slower shutter speed (which will create its own focusing problems). Most of us end up getting a strobe, another strobe, and bigger strobes, in that order. In the meantime, try shooting in shallower water or wider angle.

 

[Sparg93]

f/16 has better depth of field than f/5.6 - but you want to maintain decent speed at the same time (1/30 at least), which requires a lot of light
[/LIST]

What is "f/16" and "f/5.6" - sorry, I'm a newbie