Blur And Low Lighting

bambaphotog

Hello, I am a new to this forum. I shoot with a D3100 in manual, and use natural lighting with a 55-200mm kit lens. I seem to be getting a tiny bit of blur. I don't think my shutter speed is fast enough, and I hate shooting in auto. Can anyone help me, or is this always going to happen when I am in poor lighting situations.

rhino

Assuming your blurry shots are caused by a bit of camera shake, there are a few things you can try. 1) Hold the camera more steadily by using a tripod and turn VR off, or 2) Increase shutter speed if ambient light allows. If not, there still may be a way to achieve a proper exposure with faster shutter speeds. You can increase your ISO but accept the increased noise that comes along with that. If your lens allows, you can increase the amount of light getting to your sensor by selecting a wider aperture.

Riddelske

I'd just like to second on rhino's post. Are you using indoor or outdoor natural light?

Did you buy the D3100 with that lens? I thought it only came with an 18-55mm or a 55-105mm?

Anyway, I just wanted to add a bit about shutter speed. Have you heard of the minimum shutter speed you can use handheld? If you have then sorry to jump in, but let's take an example:

If you're shooting at full zoom on your lens (which is 200mm) then your shutter speed should be no less than 1/320 second. If you do drop below then it will cause blur, so doing what rhino said about ISO will help, but at a cost of more noise.

To find out your minimum shutter speed take the focal length (200) and multiply that by 1.5 then round it up to the nearest shutter speed the D3100 has.

Low light situations can be a pain, but to some it can be a walk in the dark (no pun intended). Don't get to frustrated, as experience will come along. Low apertures can help, but again that comes at a cost. Good glass is costly but can produce super sharp images. The 35mm or the 50mm are top notch lenses.

All the best.