Sharpness of Moving Subjects Indoors

So I was a wedding photographer for years and shot square format using lots of different techniques both indoors and outdoors. The subject rarely moves unless dancing. So there was lots that can be done.   Now, I shoot a Mark4 and a Mark3 but mostly of my children during their life’s events. Yes I shoot at work (not my primary role but rather an ancillary duty), but typically outdoors where ample light is not a problem.
When shooting my kids at their karate tournaments, it is typically in a gymnasium. Yes there are some windows and lots of metal halide lights. But when trying to freeze the type of a katana during karate forms demonstration, one must crank up the shutter speed.   Like 640 plus. This just kills the ability to use a non grainy ISO. typically at 12,800iso at F3.2 just to keep the exposure in the ball park.
And of course it never fails some mom posts a pic with an iPhone that is tack sharp and I need to hear why are my photos grainy.   Granted the iPhone was not freezing the action to the same degree, but it is pretty damned good.
I guess my question, without using a flash, any recommended settings that will offer good results at freezing the action with keeping the ISO out of the grain.

mgrabow wrote:
Sorry 1D MK4 and 1D MK3. I typically ise a 16-35mm 1:2.8L I have an 85 1.2L but because of how the events are layes out I need the flexebility of a wide angle zoom when close. If I am in the stands I can use a prime but the 85mm requires too much croping in afterwards and makes the problem worse. My bugger zoom is a 4.5-5.6L so that forces me to push the ISO higer. Cant really change my position as I am not the house photographer and I am limitted where I can stand.
16-35mm is sorta wide to get many types of sports shots... though it's better on an APS-H camera like yours when you can get as close as in your example. Plus f2.8 is the max aperture it or practically any other zoom provides. At least it's got USM focus, which is fast in most cases. (Don't know what your bigger f4.5-5.6L zoom is, but I would guess it's the 70-300L that has USM and is also fast focusing, though the aperture somewhat limits it to "good light" conditions).
85/1.2L is a wonderful portraiture lens. But even though it's USM, it is not the fastest focusing or most ideal for sports/action. With such an extremely large aperture lens capable of rendering razor thin depth of field, a "long throw" focus mechanism is used to emphasize accuracy, at some cost to speed. This is not typical of USM lenses. They are usually the fastest focusing. For example, the EF 85/1.8 USM is noticeably faster focusing than the 85/1.2L. 85/1.2L II is faster than the original, but still not as fast as the f1.8 lens (which is also a lot smaller and lighter). EF 28/1.8, EF 50/1.4, EF 85/1.8, EF 100/2, EF 135/2L are all very fast focusing USM lenses. So are the EF 70-200/2.8 and 70-200/4 lenses, though they are one or two or even three stops "slower".
Looking at your shot, I don't see that foucs is likely to be your concern, but see another likely problem... the type of lighting being used. I'm guessing it's either flourescent, sodium vapor or mercury vapor. All these types of lighting are quite challenging for most cameras, because the lamps actually cycle on and off at a high rate (120 times per second in the US, 100 hz in some other parts of the world). This "fools" the camera meter and often the white balance as well. Another reason to shoot RAW, to have more latitude to correct missed exposure or white balance. The relatively recently introduced Canon 7DII has a new feature that's said to be able to compensate for this lighting effect. I haven't used it (yet), but if it works reasonably well it might be a real game changer for those of us who get stuck shooting in these types of lighting conditions often.
You should further research and experiment with noise reduction. I've had the good fortune to get some guidance from someone who did a lot of testing with 7D (original) like my cameras, and has provided a lot of info on high ISO work with them. It's a combination of using extra + Exposure Compensation, using a Noiseware plug-in with Photoshop. and with particularly high ISOs even applying different noise reduction in each of the color channels.
At least you can be certain you're getting much better shots than the folks with camera phones, in the background of your sample shot!

Similar Messages

Canon the 18-55 kit lens cope with fast moving subjects?

Hi everyone, I'm new here.
I was doing a shoot the other day involving very quick subjects that changed direction a lot (dogs). Got some good shots but the vast majority were badly out of focus which was a real shame. I want to know if this is the lens, the body or my technique that is failing me.
I'm relatively new to photography so it might just be that my settings are wrong or my technique is bad. I'm using the lens wide open, not in live view, with AF servo on on a 600D body. Generally when I focus I just pan the camera round to follow the subject, occasionally squeezing down when I want to shoot.
I am considering upgrading to the 17-55 f2.8 because it's sharp wide open and has a constant and fast aperture and USM and full time manual focus with a proper focusing ring.
Thanks.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Your problems are probably due to a combination of factors. IMO, auto focus performance is determined by three things....
1. Camera AF capabilities. Your 600D has a 9-point AF system. Only one of those points - the center one - is the "better" cross type that's more responsive and tracks movement better. When shooting moving subjects with your camera, it would help to limit yourself to using only the center point. (Note: other Canon cameras have more advanced AF systems. The T4i, T5i, 60D, 50D and 40D all have 9-point AF that looks similar, but all nine points are the "better" cross type sesnors. The 7D and 70D have 19-point AF, with all nineteen cross type. 1DX and 5DIII have 61-point AF, with up to 41 cross type, depending upon the lens used.)
Some cameras are also optimized for focus performance. For example, the 1D series models and 7D have a separate chip driving AF.... while most (maybe all?) other models share AF duties through the same processor that's handling images.
2. Lens auto focus capabilities: Yes, a "USM" (Ultrasonic Motor) drive lens such as the EF-S 17-55/2.8 would be an improvement over your kit lens. It's faster, hunts less and is quieter than a "micro motor" drive such as is used in the less expensive kit lens. (Note: there is a slightly more expensive version of the 18-55mm with "STM" or "Stepper Motor" focus drive, which is better than the micro motor version, but still not as fast as USM. STM lenses are quiet operating and particularly well matched for video.)
A larger aperture lens, such as the 17-55/2.8 (as opposed to your 18-55/3.5-5.6), also delivers more light to the camera's AF sensors, to allow for faster focus and better tracking.
No, forget about the EF 50/1.8.... Sure it's got a larger aperture, but it uses a micro motor and is widely known to be slower focusing, less accurate and liable to hunt more than a USM lens. If you wanted a fast and sure focusing short to moderate telephoto, look at the EF 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 100/2 or 135/2L lenses. These all use USM drive and are much faster and more accurate than the EF 50/1.8. They also have one to two stop larger max aperture than even the 17-55/2.8 (or any other zoom lens), so provide more light for the camera to work with. Using a lens f2.8 or "faster" will give optimal performance on your camera, with that center AF point.
Some lenses simply are not designed to be fast focusing, even though they have larger apertures and USM focus. Macro lenses, for example, have to move their focus group a long, long way to go from infinity to 1:1 magnification so tend to be slower. Also, very large aperture lenses such as the 85/1.2L typically are slower.... by design. Both macro and very large aperture lenses emphasize precision, to deal with shallow depth of field effects, rather than speed.
Other lenses are designed for very fast focus. All the 70-200s, the 100-400, and all the prime lenses 300mm and longer are quite fast focusing. Extreme telephotos such as 500 and 600mm can be hard to get and keep on target, though.
Some third party lenses also make use of focus drive similar to Canon's USM, to help with focus performance. Sigma's HSM and Tamron's USD lenses are examples.
3. User skill is the third key factor effecting focus perfromance.... i.e., your technique.
You mention using "AF Servo"... Just to clarify, yourcamera has three focus modes: One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo... there is no "AF Servo". The correct mode to use with moving subjects is AI Servo. Maybe that's what you are doing already. At any rate, One Shot is pretty much only usable with stationary subjects (there are "pre-focus" techniques where it can be used with moving subjects, but those are fairly uncommonly used). AI Focus isn't really a foucs mode at all... It's supposed to decide for you whether or not the subject is moving, then switch to use the correct mode. I haven't tested this on any recent model, but older ones where I tried it I found a slight delay that causes a lot of missed focus shots. It also simply chose the wrong mode sometimes. It might be worth noticing that the more pro-oriented Canon models don't even have AI Focus... they only offer One Shot or AI Servo.
So, just be sure you are using AI Servo for the best performance when shooting moving subjects.
You also are using way too slow a shutter speed. I would bump up the ISO and try to use 1/500 or faster shutter speeds. 1/320 or 1/400 is very marginal, trying to stop subject movement with something as quick as dogs in action. In fact, the closer you are to the subject, the faster shutter speed you will need to truly freeze movement.
Canon also has noted that the 18MP models are somewhat prone to camera shake blur - probably due to the high density of pixel sites on the sensor - and recommends keeping shutter speeds up to be sure to get a sharp shot, even with IS lenses. There was a white paper about this, on Canon's website. I don't know if it's still available online.
You should be able to get quite nice, clean images at ISO 1600... a full two stop higher and allowing you to use much faster shutter speed. Even so, if shooting indoors there might be areas that aren't as well lit and are hard to get a sharp shot.
You may want to shoot RAW files, so that you can more fully control noise reduction and exposure factors in post-processing when using high ISOs.
A popular technique among sports/action photographers is Back Button Focusing. See this article online, about it: http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/backbutton_af_article.shtml
BBF separates the focusing function from the shutter release button. You instead use your thumb on one of the camera's rear buttons to start and stop focusing. Many users feel this allows more sure acquistion and tracking with moving subjects. You may want to set up your camera to do BBF and give it a try. While it's particularly possible for action/sports/AI Servo shooting, it's actually usable with One Shot, too... I have used it pretty exclusively for some years now.
Using BBF, I start AF well before I want to take the shot, then concentrate on keeping the AF point on the subject right where I want the lens to focus while continuing to track and maintain focus... then take shots along the way. I use the center AF point alone, much of the time. This does lead to overly centered images, so I try to frame a little loosely some of the time, allowing for some cropping to make images less centered. I do sometimes use other than the center AF point... but wouldn't recommend that with action shooting on a camera that doesn't have cross type sensors at the peripheral points, such as your 600D.
I use a pair of 7Ds and a number of fast focusing USM lenses to shoot a lot of sports. With some years of practice under my belt, on avearage I nail focus on 95 to 98 out of 100 shots using this gear with the above techniques. I shot 4000 images at a recent event and marked just over 30 of those as "rejected" for missed focus problems (and I bet at least half of those are my fault... not the gear's). There may be a few more that are marginally acceptible (i.e., can make a nice 8x10 print, but won't look good any larger than that). Still, even if there are 80 or 120 missed focus, that's only 2 or 3%... a lot better than only 10% in focus.
I would say that lens performance qualities and user techniques generally count more than the camera though, or at least can largely make up for any camera short-comings. I got nearly as good results with 50D, and with 30D before that (which have similar AF system to your 600D), and even with 10D earlier than that (a "lesser" AF system than yours).Though I've gotten a few, I haven't had as good luck shooting moving subjects using 5D Mark II (I mostly just use it for stationary subjects).. the 5D Mark III has a much improved AF system and tracks movement far better.
Hope this helps!
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

Poor video quality, pixelation, flickering on moving subjects in frame

I made a quicktime movie using File>Export>Quicktime Conversion... in FCP using H.264 compression codec with best video quality and 16-bit audio. video was originally captured in miniDV. Self contianed movie was made and looked pretty good in Quicktime, though the edges of moving subjects in frame did have small wavy lines (I assume from interpolation of DV?). Anyway it was acceptable to me (but if there is a fix please advise as I figured this was endemic to miniDV itself.)
Then I created a DVD in iDVD 6.0.3 with several slide shows and two relatively short movies (12-14 minutes in length each). The edges of moving subjects in frame (i.e. persons walking into the frame) now have large square pixelations sort of like this --->( |-|_|-|). At anyrate, the fine wavy lines from the QT movie have become much worse when there is movement, and I'm not talking speed, just any movement like a hand moving in the frame, etc. Otherwise the quality of the video is comparible to the exported movie from FCP.
Does anyone have suggestions for how to eliminate this problem?
thanks!
imac intel core duo 2.16GHz, Superdrive 8x Mac OS X (10.4.9) 3 GB ram

the edges of moving subjects in frame did have small wavy lines
That's normal interlacing. You usually want to preserve those comb lines if your target is TV display which will hide them and use them to make smoother motion.
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCDon_aMacintosh.html#interlacing
But if your target is a computer display, then you usually want to deinterlace them off because they look ugly on a PC monitor.
originally captured in miniDV ... H.264 ... Then I created a DVD in iDVD 6.0.3
No! You should not convert the original DV to H.264 if your final target is a video-DVD!
Just keep it as DV. And take care that your FCP export to DV is bottom field first field dominance because otherwise you get terrible zigzag movement artifacts! ...I don't have FCP so I can't give you more advice on that (mini-DV ->iMovie ->iDVD handle all this automatically).

Quicktime conversion for moving subjects

Hi everyone,
I have filmed cricket and football matches and exported from FCE using quictime conversion (h.264) and then burned a dvd with Toast. The end result is that rapidly moving balls and arms and legs etc seem to flicker and a double image is seen. The rest of the pictures (slow moving/stationary objects) are crystal clear. When i viewed the exported quicktime files on the TV monitor they looked fine. I am wondering if there is a better option than H.264 for rapidly moving subjects, or is the problem more likely to be within Toast? (I burned at 8mbps and 4x)
Thanks for any help!

Export to QuickTime Movie not to QuickTime Conversion.

Moving Subjects In Color

Hi.
I have some footage of a tube station that I have sped up. I would like to have it in black and white, other than the people that are constantly walking in and out of shot. Is there a way of making static things in a shot black and white and moving things (i.e. people) in color?
Here is a screen grab of some of a part of the footage
http://www.olivertom.com/grab.tiff
Thanks in advance.

Not in Color.
After Effects would be a good choice. Motion, maybe.
Assuming you don't have a frame with empty of people, and assuming the camera is locked off, I'd start by building a clean background plate. Then you can start to explore different techniques - such as differencing or rotoscoping.
If the camera is moving you might have to resort to tedious roto work.
I'm sure others here might have a few different ideas, or in the Motion forum or in an After Effects forum elsewhere on the web.
HTH.
- pi

Circling or an arrow over a moving subject

Hello, I was just wondering on how to circle or have an arrow that is focused on a moving object.
Thank you

Also, check out Ripple Training In the Spotlight tutorial at http://www.rippletraining.com/freetutorials_final_cut_prohd.html

Tracking a Moving Subject for PiP

I recorded a two video shoot to merge together - one of the presenter and the other of the powerpoint they gave. I normally put the presenter in a small box to the left, but in this case I was far back enough to get a full body shot. I was going to crop the sides and move it to the far left with the presentation on the right. Only problem was this presenter decided to walk around the stage, which made it difficult to keep them in the center of the video.
I was hoping there was a way via tracking to have Premiere recognize the face and keep that in a spot. That way when he starts to move, the video stabilizes and I don't have to physically track the video.
Is there any way to do that?
[Please choose only a short description for the thread title.]

I think this is a job for AfterEffects, ask in their forum.

Can I erase background of vid and only keep 1 moving subject?

I am working with a football video and need to erase the background as runner is running and just keep the runner. Is that possible with FCP? I have tried garbage mattes and chroma key. I guess I don't know what I am doing but if it is possible, please let me know how to do it. Thanks.

Wow, sounds like you've got a lot more tolerance for tedium than I do.
Roto is already so laborious and monotonous, it's barely tolerable, for me. The functionality of this particular matte seems like an ice pick to the forhead. At least in Motion you can click-drag a mask point, or bezier handle at will—and manipulate it, quickly and easily. With this 50 pt. matte, don't you have to go to the "control window", click the little cross hair, then place/edit that point in the canvas? That's fine until you want to adjust it, then you have to go back over to the control panel to re-gain control. You're constantly bouncing between control panel & canvas it seems... Ouch!
Maybe I'm missing something about how this matte works. But if I had to work like that, I'd pull my hair out. I'm not knocking your workflow if you've used this before. I'm applauding your efforts to see it through. Congratulations! You're a far more patient individual than am I!
Though, to the OP, if the Final Cut Suite is all that's available, I'd certainly look at doing this job in Motion.
Yes, AE is going to faster at this, if we're talking about the Rotobrush tool that shipped with CS5. It's not a one-click-wonder. But it certainly does a great "first pass" that you can clean up and refine, after it's done the initial dirty work. But if you don't have AE CS5, it's kind of moot. I think the AE process and the Motion process are going to be nearly the same, regarding time-spent. Either packages' "standard" mask manipulation tools are very similar. (If we're disregarding the Rotobrush.)
Here's a tip, regarding Roto (in any application): it's not always best to use a single mask/matte. Instead, combine several mattes into one. In this instance, maybe 5 individual masks? One for: torso/head, arm, arm, leg, leg. Gives you more flexibility in the long run. And it's no more time consuming than using a single mask.

My canon T3i, on auto-focus or mannual, does not focus properly. Pictures come blurred (not sharp).

I have canon rebel T3i. It was working properlly when i bought. But suddenly its picture quality started degrading. Pictures looked good in camera but when opened in computer, they were blurry with no sharpness. I tried all modes, auto and mannual focus, but all had same problem. I recently baught tripod also to solve the problem, but it had no effect on sharpness. Any help would be appreciated.

The camera focus mode should preferably be in "One Shot" mode which enables a feature called "Focus Priority" -- that feature insists that the camera must lock focus before it will take the shot.
For sports or action shots, photographers often want to use "AI Servo" mode which allows for continuous re-foccus of moving subjects and continuous shooting. But "AI Servo" mode disables focus priority (the camera WILL take a shot when you fully press the shutter button... even if it is not focused. The photographer is expected to know that they need to half-press the shutter until they are happy with focus and THEN fully press the shutter to take the shot when they are ready.
I"m wondering if your camera has been switched into "AI Servo" mode -- if so, you will probably want to return it to "One Shot" mode.
Tim Campbell
5D II, 5D III, 60Da

Why is DVD fuzzy made via iMovie,Media browser, iDVD at professional quality. Original photos very sharp, DVD fuzzy.

I made an iMovie from very sharp photos, moved it to iDVD via Media Browser, Made "Professional Quality" DVD in iDVD. When I play the DVD back on eiher my iMac oxs 10.7.5 "DVDPlayer" or my DVD player hooked to my Sony TV set, the resulting movie from the DVD is unsharp, very fuzzy and very disappointing. I am using Memorex DVD-R discs. The playback colors of the made DVD are also changed from the original photos I used from i Photo.
Is this normal to loose so much sharpness and clarity in going from iPhoto to iMovie to iDVD?

Hi
OR the long long answer is something like this:
DVD quality
1. iDVD 08, 09 & 11 has three levels of qualities. (version 7.0.1, 7,0.4 & 7.1.1) and iDVD 6 has the two last ones
Professional Quality
(movies + menus up to 120 min.) - BEST (but not always for short movies e.g. up to 45 minutes in total)
Best Performances
(movies + menus less than 60 min.) - High quality on final DVD (Can be best for short movies)
High Quality (in iDVD08 or 09) / Best Quality (in iDVD6)
(movies + menus up to 120 min.) - slightly lower quality than above
Menu can take 15 minutes or even more - I use a very simple one with no audio or animation like ”Brushed Metal” in old Themes.
About double on DL DVDs.
2. Video from
FCE/P - Export out as full quality QuickTime.mov (not self-containing, no conversion)
iMovie x-6 - Don't use ”Share/Export to iDVD” = destructive even to movie project and especially so
when the movie includes photos and the Ken Burns effect NOT is used. Instead just drop or import the iMovie movie project icon (with a Star on it) into iDVD theme window.
iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not meant to go to iDVD.
They drop every second line in the picture.
Go via Media Browser (and then use MEDIUM - as HD does get a BAD Scale down quality) or rather use iMovie HD 6 from start.
3. I use Roxio Toast™ to make an as slow burn as possibly e.g. x4 or x1 (in iDVD’08 or 09 this can also be set)
This can also be done with Apple’s Disk Utilities application when burning from a DiskImage.
- iDVD - set Burn Speed in iDVD Pref. / Advance - BEST IS NOT BEST - x2 or max x4
- Roxio™ - set in burn process
- Disk Util tool - set in burn process
BEST IS NOT BEST
4. There has to be about or more than 25Gb free space on internal (start-up) hard disk. iDVD can't
use an external one as scratch disk (if it is not start-up disc). For SD-Video - if HD-material is used I guess that 4 to 5 times more would do.
5. I use Verbatim ( also recommended by many - Taiyo Yuden DVDs - I can’t get hold of it to test )
6. I use DVD-R (no +R or +/-RW) - DVD-R play’s on more and older DVD-Players
7. Keep NTSC to NTSC - or - PAL to PAL when going from iMovie to iDVD
(I use JES_Deinterlacer to keep frame per sec. same from editing to the Video-DVD result.)
8. Don’t burn more than three DVDs at a time - but let the laser cool off for a while before next batch.
iDVD quality also depends on.
DVD is a standard in it self. It is Standard Definition Quality = Same as on old CRT-TV sets and can not
deliver anything better that this.
HD-DVD was a short-lived standard and it was only a few Toshiba DVD-players that could playback.
These DVDs could be made in DVD-Studio Pro. But they don’t playback on any other standard DVD-Player.
Blu-Ray / BD can be coded onto DVDs but limited in time to - about 20-30 minutes and then need
_ Roxio Toast™ 10 Pro incl. BD-component
_ BD disks and burner if full length movies are to be stored
_ BD-Player or PlayStation3 - to be able to playback
The BD-encoded DVDs can be play-backed IF Mac also have Roxio DVD-player tool. Not on any standard Mac or DVD-player
Full BD-disks needs a BD-player (in Mac) as they need blue-laser to be read. No red-laser can do this.
HOW much free space is there on Your internal (start-up) hard disk. Go for approx. 25Gb.
less than 5Gb and Your result will most probably not play.
How it was recorded - Tripod vs Handheld Camera. A stable picture will give a much higher quality
Audio is most often more critical than picture. Bad audio and with dropouts usually results in a non-viewed movie.
Use of Video-editor. iMovie’08 or 09 or 11 are not the tools for DVD-production. They discard every second line resulting in a close to VHS-tape quality.
iMovie 1 to HD6 and FinalCut any version delivers same quality as Camera record in = 100% to iDVD
What kind of movie project You drop into it. MPEG4 seems to be a bad choice.
other strange formats are .avi, .wmv, .flash etc. Convert to streamingDV first
Also audio formats matters. I use only .aiff or from miniDV tape Camera 16-bit
strange formats often problematic are .avi, .wmv, audio from iTunes, .mp3 etc
Convert to .aiff first and use this in movie project
What kind of standard - NTSC movie and NTSC DVD or PAL to PAL - no mix.
(If You need to change to do a NTSC DVD from PAL material let JES_Deinterlacer_3.2.2 do the conversion)
(Dropping a PAL movie into a NTSC iDVD project
(US) NTSC DVDs most often are playable in EU
(EU) PAL DVDs most often needs to be converted to play in US
UNLESS. They are play-backed by a Mac - then You need not to care
What kind of DVDs You are using. I use Verbatim DVD-R (this brand AND no +R or +/-RW)
How You encode and burn it. Two settings prior iDVD’08 or 09
Pro Quality (only in iDVD 08 & 09)
Best / High Quality (not always - most often not)
Best / High Performances (most often my choice before Pro Quality)
1. go to iDVD pref. menu and select tab far right and set burn speed to x1 (less errors = plays better) - only in iDVD 08 & 09
(x4 by some and may be even better)
2. Project info. Select Professional Encoding - only in iDVD 08 & 09.
Region codes.
iDVD - only burn Region = 0 - meaning - DVDs are playable everywhere
DVD Studio pro can set Region codes.
1 = US
2 = EU
unclemano wrote
What it turned out to be was the "quality" settings in iDVD. The total clip time was NOT over 2 hours or 4.7GB, yet iDVD created massive visual artifacts on the "professional quality" setting.
I switched the settings to "high quality" which solved the problem. According iDVD help, "high quality" determines the best bit rate for the clips you have.
I have NEVER seen iDVD do this before, especially when I was under the 2 hour and 4.7GB limits.
For anyone else, there seem to be 2 places in iDVD to set quality settings, the first is under "preferences" and the second under "project info." They do NOT seem to be linked (i.e. if you change one, the other is NOT changed). take care, Mario
to get this to work I
Secure a minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up (Mac OS) hard disk
Use Verbatim DVD-R (absolutely no +/-RW)
Set down burn speed to x4 - less burn errors = plays on more devices
No other process running in background as - ScreenSaver, EnergySaver OR TIMEMACHINE etc
and I'm very careful on what kind of video-codecs, audio file format and photo file formats I use
and I consider the iDVD Bug - never go back to video-editor to change/up-date - if so Start a brand new iDVD project
Chapters set as they should - NO one at very beginning and no one in any transition or within 2 sec from it
Lay-out - Turn on TV-Safe area and keep everything buttons, titles etc WELL INSIDE not even touching it !
Try to break the process up into two stages
Save as a DiskImage (calculating part)
Burn from this .img file (burning stage)
To isolate where the problem starts.
Another thing is - Playing it onto a Blu-Ray Player. My PlayStation3 can play BD-disks but not all of my home made DVDs so to get this to work I
Secure a minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up (Mac OS) hard disk
Use Verbatim DVD-R (absolutely no +/-RW)
Set down burn speed to x4 - less burn errors = plays on more devices
No other process running in background as - ScreenSaver, EnergySaver OR TIMEMACHINE etc
and I'm very careful on what kind of video-codecs, audio file format and photo file formats I use
and I consider the iDVD Bug - never go back to video-editor to change/up-date - if so Start a brand new iDVD project
Chapters set as they should - NO one at very beginning and no one in any transition or within 2 sec from it
Lay-out - Turn on TV-Safe area and keep everything buttons, titles etc WELL INSIDE not even touching it !
TO GET IT TO WORK SLIGHTLY FASTER
Minimum of 25Gb free space on Start-Up hard disk for SD-Video Quality and about 4 - 5 times more - if it is a HD-Project.
No other programs running in BackGround e.g. Energy-Saver
Don’t let HD spin down or be turned off (in Energy-Save)
Do not have more external devices connected as is of urgent need. Move hard disks that are not to be used to Trash - Or to be disconnected/turned off
Goto Spotlight and set the rest of them under Integrity (not to be scanned)
Set screen-saver to a folder without any photo
First - then make an active corner (up right for me) and set pointer to this
Secondly - turns on screen saver
Then - to show that it has nothing to show
No File Vault on - Important
NO - TimeMachine - during iMovie/iDVD work either ! IMPORTANT
Lot's of icons on DeskTop/Finder also slows down the Mac noticeably
if a project is in a real hurry
First - Then Start a new User-Account and
Then - log into this and iMovie get's faster too
And let Mac run on Mains - not just on battery
Yours Bengt W

Z3 Compact scenes not working in manual camera mode

Hi. That's my problem: when I use manual camera, the scn button is grey and not working, so the HDR. They worked when I bought the phone, at Christmas... No mod root etc. Please help me!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

http://support.sonymobile.com/global-en/xperiaz3compact/userguide/Using-still-camera-settings/
It has to be set on Manual mode at 8mp
HDR
Use the HDR (High Dynamic Range) setting to take a photo against strong back light or in conditions where the contrast is sharp. HDR compensates for the loss of detail and produces a picture that is representative of both dark and bright areas.
This setting is only available in Manual capturing mode.
ISO
You can reduce image blurring caused by dark conditions or moving subjects by increasing the ISO sensitivity.
Auto
Sets the ISO sensitivity automatically.
50
Sets the ISO sensitivity to 50.
100
Sets the ISO sensitivity to 100.
200
Sets the ISO sensitivity to 200.
400
Sets the ISO sensitivity to 400.
800
Sets the ISO sensitivity to 800.
1600
Sets the ISO sensitivity to 1600.
3200
Sets the ISO sensitivity to 3200.
This setting is only available in Manual capturing mode.
Metering
This function automatically determines a well-balanced exposure by measuring the amount of light striking the image you want to capture.
Centre
Measures the centre of the image, and determines the exposure based on the brightness of the subject there.
Spot
Adjusts the exposure in a very small part of the image that you want to capture.
Face
Measures the amount of light on the face, and adjusts the exposure so that the face is neither too dark or too bright.
Multi
Divides the image into multiple regions, and measures each region to determine a well-balanced exposure.
This setting is only available in Manual capturing mode.
Image stabiliser
When taking a photo, it can be difficult to hold the device steady. The stabiliser helps you by compensating for small movements of the hand.
This setting is only available in Manual capturing mode.
Preview
You can choose to preview photos or videos just after you shoot them.
Unlimited
The preview of the photo or video appears after you shoot it.
5 seconds
The preview of the photo or video apears for 5 seconds after you shoot it.
3 seconds
The preview of the photo or video appears for 3 seconds after you shoot it.
Edit
The photo or video opens for editing after you shoot it.
Off
The photo or video is saved after you shoot it, and no preview appears.
Face registrationYou can register faces with the Camera application so that the viewfinder automatically focuses on these faces when they appear in the viewfinder.
Flash
Use the flash to take photos when lighting conditions are poor or when there is a backlight. The following options are available when you tap the flash icon in the camera screen:
Auto
The camera automatically determines if the lighting conditions require the use of a flash.
Fill flash
Use this setting when the background is brighter than the subject. This removes unwanted dark shadows.
Red-eye reduction
Reduces the red colour of eyes when taking a photo.
Off
The flash is turned off. Sometimes photo quality can be better without the flash, even if lighting conditions are poor. Taking a good photo without using the flash requires a steady hand. Use the self-timer to avoid blurred photos.
Torch
A torch or camera light is turned on when you take photos.
Scene selection
Use the Scene selection feature to quickly set up the camera for common situations using pre-programmed scenes. The camera determines a number of settings for you to fit the selected scene, ensuring the best possible photo.
Off
The Scene selection feature is off and you can take photos manually.
Soft Skin
Take photos of faces using an enhanced beauty effect.
Soft snap
Use for shooting photos against a soft background.
Anti motion blur
Use for minimising camera shake when shooting a slightly dark scene.
Landscape
Use for landscape photos. The camera focuses on distant objects.
Backlight correction HDR
Use to improve details in high contrast shots. The built-in backlight correction analyses the image and automatically adjusts it to give you a perfectly lit shot.
Night portrait
Use for portrait photos taken at night or in poorly lit environments. Due to long exposure time, the camera must be held still or placed on a stable surface.
Night scene
Use when taking photos at night or in poorly lit environments. Due to long exposure time, the camera must be held still or placed on a stable surface.
Hand-held twilight
Use for taking hand-held low-light photos with reduced noise and blur.
High sensitivity
Use for taking photos without a flash under low light conditions. Reduces blur.
Gourmet
Use for shooting food arrangements in bright colour.
Pet
Use for taking photos of your pet. Reduces blur and red eyes.
Beach
Use for taking photos of seaside or lakeside scenes.
Snow
Use in bright environments to avoid overexposed photos.
Party
Use for indoor photos in poorly lit environments. This scene picks up indoor background lighting or candlelight. Due to long exposure time, the camera must be held still or placed on a stable surface.
Sports
Use for photos of fast-moving objects. Short exposure time minimises motion blurring.
Document
Use for photos of text or drawings. Gives the photo increased, sharper contrast.
Fireworks
Use for taking photos of fireworks in all their splendour.
This setting is only available in Manual capturing mode.
"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." Kurt Cobain (1967-1994)

5D Mark iii AF system - necessary for hobbyist photographer?

I take pictures of just about everything, including running/playing children. My biggest complaint about my current camera (a high-end point-and-shoot. Definitely time to upgrade!) is that it doesn't focus well on moving subjects, nor does it focus well in low-light conditions (or do anything in low-light conditions, really). I would like to purchase the 6D, but if it's going to give me trouble every time I try to focus on moving people, then it's not worth 2000 dollars. The 5D Mark iii apparently has amazing AF but, honestly, it almost seems overwhelming to me. My choices are a crippled AF or a complicated AF, and I'm not sure what to do. As a hobbyist photographer who often shoots moving subjects, will the 6D be adequate? Or should I buy the 5D Mark iii and just plan on spending a good amount of time with the instruction manual?

Wow, thanks for your advice, everyone! And you're right; money doesn't buy skill so I shouldn't waste an extra thousand as an attempt to make up for my weaknesses.
My camera is essentially attached to my hip; I take it everywhere and shoot anything that interests me at the time. However, I can pinpoint two conditions in which I spend the most time shooting. I photograph a LOT of events, maybe half of which are indoors with varying lighting conditions. I also enjoy taking pictures at night in the city - people and stationary objects/settings. I currently use manual focus for night and low-light indoor conditions (which is frustratingly difficult when people are moving), and I use a tripod and long exposures for most of my night pictures (which is limiting). Even then, the pictures rarely turn out as sharp and vivid as I would like. The thought of a camera that can produce better quality images in the dark or low-light AND that can AUTO focus in said conditions sounds marvelous, and that's the reason I'm aiming for full frame. It sounds like some of the crop sensor cameras may be better than the 6D for all the events I photograph, given their AF capabilities, but I'm okay with sacrificing some AF (within reason) and some cash for quality night and low-light shots. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking that full frame is necessary for all this though? I just read reviews and saw sample images and was impressed with the pictures coming out of full frame cameras in low-light and night conditions. I don't have hands-on experience with crop sensor cameras though, so I may be underestimating them. Please correct me if I am wrong in any of my assumptions!
Anyway, given my desire for nice low-light/night performance and AF performance with moving subjects at events, the 5D Mark iii is tempting. However, from what I've read and from what you all have told me, it sounds like the 6D will be a good fit for me while the 5D Mark iii is probably excessive. You asked about my budget. I have saved up 6,000, which is a lot, but perhaps not so much when considering that I currently own no photo equipment other than my point-and-shoot and my flimsy tripod, haha.

Just bought T5i looking to get zoom lense

I am a novice with a camera. I just bought a T5i kit that has a zoom lense 55 to 250. I am considering the sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG APO OS HSM. Because it is almsot twice the zoom. I am also thinking of getting a 1.4x canon teleconverter for the canon 55 to 250mm lense instead of the sigma, I know the canon 1.4x will decrease the picture quality but how much is the question. So which lense do I buy?
I am going to use it for my granson's hockey and football games and I love to take picture of birds in the wild. Any and all thoughts would be apreciated.
Joe
Joe

The tele converter won't work on the EF-S 55-250 zoom.
For indoor sports like hockey, or for any sport played at night, it is a challenge to get good shots cheap because you have dim light and moving subjects together. You need a wide aperture to let a lot of light in, and that tends to be expensive.
This one, the Canon EF 135mm f/2 would work well for the sports but would be short for birds unless you lure them in close with a feeder : http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-135mm-f-2.0-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
It gives a very wide aperture, letting like 8 times more light in than your kit zoom can, and it gives razor sharp images. It costs 1/2 of what the 70-200 f/2.8 IS 2 costs, and is twice as bright, though shorter and less versatile. See http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-2.8-L-IS-II-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
Scott
Canon 6D, Canon T3i, EF 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS mk2; EF 24-105 f/4 L; EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; EF 85mm f/1.8; Sigma 35mm f/1.4 "Art"; EF 1.4x extender mk. 3; 3x Phottix Mitros+ speedlites
Why do so many people say "fer-tographer"? Do they take "fertographs"?

When will Sony release the new firmware 14.3.A.0.761?

I'm getting tired of my Xperia Z1 camera. It's super grainy and blurry. Superior Auto mode doesn't help. In Manual setting the ISO and Red-Eye Reduction option don't work. They are unclickable.
My Xperia SP works a very liiiiiiittle bit better in Manual settings > Resolution 2MP (4:3), Night Portrait scene, Flash OFF. But with the Xperia Z1, it seems like there's no other way or option to take even a single good picture.
Sony Software Team..... PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, fix it!!!!!!!!!
Hopes Xperia Z1 and SP are not my last phones by Sony brand.

Here are some tips to effectively utilize your Z1 camera: (based on my personal experience)
1. Increasing ISO setting increases camera sensitivity w/c means lesser blur when taking moving subjects. Take note, you must get the right setting for this. ISO algorithm increases sharpness therefore more noise and grainy pictures if tweaked badly. It is best to set ISO setting to "AUTO" mode. This setting increases the chance of getting the right or acceptable ISO setting in Z1.
2. More chances of getting beautiful shots when Z1 recognizes the scene or environment. You will notice some icon under your viewfinder if Z1 successfully recognizes the scene. Some samples of this icons are flower for macro or closeup shots, a candle for low light conditions, mountain for landscapes etc. Do not take pictures when a man moving icon is displayed, this means the camera is not steady. Always enable the "image stabilizer" option for stabilty. Try moving the phone left or right or find a better place or angle to take pictures until it recognizes a scene. Remember Z1 only optimizes the scene when it does recognize it.
3. Do not use superior auto if you already know your scene. Sometimes superior auto fails to suggest the right SCN. For example you go outside of your house on a bright sunlight, you already know that it is sunny. Then superior auto indicates a face icon w/c means soft skin or face detection. This is not right, instead go to manual mode tap SCN and use HDR backlight correction, that setting is more suitable strong backlight scenes. Always use the SCN option in manual mode if the options available there fits your environment or scene. What if the scene you are taking does not included in SCN option in manual mode? Then it is time to use superior auto in these situation. If I'm not mistaken, superior auto uses the BIONZ processing algorithm w/c is optimized for up to 32 different SCN. Some of the optimized SCN included in the BIONZ processing algorithm are the low light SCN symbolizes the candle icon, flower icon for macro shots etc. These settings are not available in the SCN manual mode and can be used only in superior auto mode. Remember superior auto only uses 8MP not 20.7
4. Use superior auto in most low light conditions.
5. If you do not prefer using the manual SCN options. It is best to set the white balance options first before tweaking other options in manual mode. Set the right light condition for the right scene. Select the sun icon when shooting unser the sun, fluorescent icon in inside the house or under a fluorescent lamp, bulb if shooting in a bulb lighted environment etc and you'll be stunned and shocked with the Z1 camera capabilities.
Hope this helps (Y)

Action zoom lens

I have a Rebel T3i and I go to a lot of sports games, so I need some suggestions for action/zoom lens. I'm obviously not a professional photographer haha (: so I have to scratch off those large telefoto lens that the professional photographers use at games.

It's not that the professional photographers WANT to spend all that money on those high-end lenses... but there are attributes which set those lenses above the others.
The f-stop describes the size of the opening in the lens (the physical aperture) relative to the length of the lens. The larger this opening is (the smaller the ratio) the more light the lens can collect when the shutter is open (and as a side-effect... it also produces a shallower depth of field ... that's the range of distances at which a subject will appear to be more-or-less in acceptable focus.)
If these are outdoor games played in mid-day... lots of sunlight, then any telephoto lens will do. For fast moving subjects its always nice to have fast moving focus motors (Canon's "USM" motors are the fastest, followed by the "STM" motors... the lenses which don't indicate "USM" or "STM" are the slowest.)
However... if you are shooting either indoor games or outdoor night games played under artificial lighting then collecting enough light to allow for a fast shutter speed can be a real challenge. To address that, low focal-ratio zoom lenses are ideal (e.g. f/2.8 zooms lenses) but these lenses aren't cheap. To create a low focal ratio means that the diameter of clear aperture has to be large as compared to the focal length. That means that each lens element must be physically bigger than it would be in a typical lens. This creates a problem because large lens elements work like prisms near their edges in that they try to split light into their constituent "rainbow" wavelengths. To combat that issue (which they refer to as "chromatic abberateion" or "color fringing") they have to create extra corrective elements. That means these lenses are not just bigger and wider, but also have more physical glass in them and are more difficult to make. This results in a more expensive lens.
The professional sports photographers would much rather buy inexpensive lenses... if only they could get away with it.
If your'e shooting ourdoor games... the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM may do the trick. If shooting in less favorable lighting (indoor games) then the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II is certainly a fantastic (but not cheap) lens. The EF 70-200mm f/4L USM is a MUCH less expensive alternative but it's 1 stop slower (it collects half the light when the shutter is open). For outdoor games a longer focal length is desirable... usually around 300mm.
Tim Campbell
5D II, 5D III, 60Da

Sharpness of Moving Subjects Indoors

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for