Canon 30D - Why won't it take good pictures?
- Thread starter t5Nitro
- Start date
jeffbrig
Premium Member
Your 30D is defective. Lucky for you, I have a fantastic working Rebel XT that I'd be willing to send you in exchange for your bad-picture-taking 30D. 
Basic hints? Make sure you're not overexposing. Watch which focus points the camera is selecting, do they match what you're trying to capture? Are you getting motion blur? Are you using a "sharp" lens?
Post a few pics so we can see what's wrong...you'll get a lot better suggestions.
Basic hints? Make sure you're not overexposing. Watch which focus points the camera is selecting, do they match what you're trying to capture? Are you getting motion blur? Are you using a "sharp" lens?
Post a few pics so we can see what's wrong...you'll get a lot better suggestions.
KurtsReef
Premium Member
Even with a tripod which if used properly will prevent camera shake 1/20th a second will show movement in your corals making images look soft.
The first shot looks out of focus, it appears that nothing would be in focus no matter what the exposure settings.
Second shot appears to be focused on the darker polyps on the center branch (the polyps on the underside of the branch). That was shot at 100mm and I will assume a 100mm Canon Macro lens? F/5 at 100mm from a few inches is going to have a very shallow depth of field, so those polyps are in focus but the ones closer too us that are better lit are out of the field of focus.
Does that make sense? If you know the distance your focusing from then the depth of field can be determined, it will be smaller than an inch...for instance if your at F/5 and focusing from 8 inches with a 100mm lens your area of focus that will be sharp is only about 2/3 of an inch.
The first shot looks out of focus, it appears that nothing would be in focus no matter what the exposure settings.
Second shot appears to be focused on the darker polyps on the center branch (the polyps on the underside of the branch). That was shot at 100mm and I will assume a 100mm Canon Macro lens? F/5 at 100mm from a few inches is going to have a very shallow depth of field, so those polyps are in focus but the ones closer too us that are better lit are out of the field of focus.
Does that make sense? If you know the distance your focusing from then the depth of field can be determined, it will be smaller than an inch...for instance if your at F/5 and focusing from 8 inches with a 100mm lens your area of focus that will be sharp is only about 2/3 of an inch.
t5Nitro
New member
So I should just back the camera up a bit and not be so close, and then crop it? What about the blur/color. Will I need one of those click buttons with a coord (pro at photography equip. naming 
) to go along with the tripod, so it does not shake? What about the color? Do I need to go to the exposure compensation thing and make it -1 or so and just keep trying by going lower more if needed?
) to go along with the tripod, so it does not shake? What about the color? Do I need to go to the exposure compensation thing and make it -1 or so and just keep trying by going lower more if needed?10" Red Devil
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10905392#post10905392 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by t5Nitro
So I should just back the camera up a bit and not be so close, and then crop it? What about the blur/color. Will I need one of those click buttons with a coord (pro at photography equip. naming
What mode do you use? Can you get higher shutter speeds? If something is moving you want 1/500 or higher, preferrably 1/1000 sec shutter speed. Do you turn off your pumps when you take your photos? That would help with the blurring as well. Also the 30D takes great pictures up to ISO 800 so do not be afraid to go up to this ISO in order to gain faster shutter speeds. A good Noise reductions program like noise ninja will take care of any noise you might encounter at ISO 800. Good-luck and don't give up!
10" Red Devil
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10905392#post10905392 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by t5Nitro
So I should just back the camera up a bit and not be so close, and then crop it? What about the blur/color. Will I need one of those click buttons with a coord (pro at photography equip. naming
P.S.
There is a self timing mode on the camera so you don't need one of those remote shutter cables. The manual is your friend.
I am glad I read this post. After I did I tried NoiseNinja. That is an awesome plugin for Photoshop. It has made a lot of my old hi ISO shots so much cleaner. Thanks for the advice.
Also do what Red Devil says with the timer. I like to use the 2second time when I am taking shots with my 40D. Plus it has a live view mode that lets you see the image on the lcd. Great for macro shots. And as a side point the live view locks up the mirror so there is no shutter shake.
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