Canon 60D basic tips

pvnachar

Hey,
I have a Canon 60D and 18-55mm lens. Most of the time I use AF with IS on. Only some random photos do I get rich image quality and less noise. Most of the photos are not getting generated like a photo taken with a 18mp "DSLR" camera. Any idea why?

To conclude, clarity of the photos are not up to expectations. Help me out!

ohyeahar

I’m going to guess that the problem is high ISO.
Your probably one of the full auto modes or you have auto-ISO turned on. When there’s insufficient lighting, the camera will bump the ISO to compensate. As a result, you get noisy photos.

If you don’t want the camera to bump the ISO, then you need to shoot in better lighting. This isn’t always practical, so the solution is to lower your ISO. To do that while maintaining correct exposure, you need to provide more light to your camera. One way to do so is to open up the aperture, but there’s a limit to how much you can do so (especially on the kit lens) and you’re probably shooting wide-open anyway. The only other way is to slow down your shutter speed.

Here’s a simple exercise you can do to better understand.

What you need:
A flat surface
An object you can use as a subject to photograph. Anything would do. A toy, a rock, a bottle, etc.

Place your subject on the flat surface.
Put your camera also on the flat surface but with the lens aimed at your subject. Compose such that you’re able to focus on the subject and be able to photograph it without the camera leaving the surface. Liveview makes this easier so go ahead and use it.
Take the shot (we’ll call this Shot 1).

Now, take your camera, switch it to Av (Aperture Priority) mode.
Turn off auto-ISO and set the ISO to 100.
Set a timer release.
Turn off IS.
Compose the shot the same way as Shot 1.
Take the shot. Wait a bit for the timer release to trigger the shutter. Don’t touch the camera until the shutter closes (we’ll call this Shot 2)!

Compare Shots 1 and 2.
You’ll see that Shot 2 is a MUCH cleaner looking shot and looks a lot more like what you’re expecting from a DSLR.

pvnachar

So is it not good to switch IS on?

ohyeahar

IS is only useful when you hand hold your camera.

If you stabilize your camera (on a tripod or just propped on surface), it’s possible for IS to introduce motion blur to your image.

To see what I mean, try this:

Turn on Liveview and turn off IS on your lens. Hand-hold the camera, aim it at something, and try to be as still as you can. Pay attention to the your Liveview screen and you’ll notice that you’re unable to keep the camera absolutely still.

Now turn on IS on your lens and do the same thing. You’ll notice that you still can’t keep absolutely motionless but at least the shakes are more smooth and slower. That’s the IS at work.

Now, set your camera on a surface with the IS on and Liveview on. Don’t touch the camera. It should be completely motionless, but notice your Liveview screen. You can still see movement! The IS is trying to compensate for motion that’s nonexistent. As a result, it’s actually introducing motion to your camera.

pvnachar

Ok! Thanks it was very helpful!

Can you relate aperture, ISO and shutter speed in short? When should I keep low, or keep it high? They are interrelated right?

ohyeahar

I'm glad you asked! See the first post of this thread:
http://forums.cameratips.com/discussion/2177/simple-explanations-with-examples-of-basic-photography-knowledge

pvnachar

Thanks a lot!

MapHobbit

Thank you, very helpful. :)