Okay so I am a super bad blogger. I logged onto my google reader today and there were 67 new messages and I was reading all of your blogs thinking about how you all are so good at updating your blogs and I'm so...well, NOT. Oh well. Life of a single mom trying to work enough to support her two kids...not a lot of spare time for fun things like blogging.
But seriously...I need you all. I am having a camera dilemma. I take lots of pictures of my kids. If you know me in real life and are fortunate enough (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) to be on my monthly email picture list you realize that I take A LOT of pictures. And I do a lot with them too. I send them out, I use them in tons of photo albums and in my videos I make for my kids. My point is that it is necessary for me to have decent pics. And now that my daughter is moving ALL THE FREAKING TIME, I am having a really hard time getting a decent shot of her. They all come out looking like this:
And that is unacceptable for me. I have a little crap point and shoot camera right now. Well it isn't crap, but I am wondering if it is time for me to invest in a decent one. Right now I have the Canon PowerShot SD980 IS, if that means anything to anyone. So here's my question to you all: What do you use? And how user friendly is it? I want something that I can still point and shoot but I want to have clear pictures. Does that exist? I don't think I have the capability to figure out those lenses and how to focus it myself so it would need to be something that still has an "auto" feature but perhaps in the future I can look into how to use some of the manual features. I am thinking of spending between $500 and $750 but definitely no more than $1,000. But I certainly don't want to shell out that kind of money with no research, so I am coming to you all first. You all take fabulous pictures. Tell me your secrets...I want to stop seeing my daughter's face looking like this...
HELP!!
9 comments:
I used to use a very similar Canon. I upgraded last year to a Nikon D3000 (dslr) and I love it! It has a guide feature on it to help you get the kind of pictures you want. It also has auto shooting on it so, you can use it without knowing how to shoot on manual mode (but learning to shoot on manual is fun!) It falls within your price range too. No video and you have to use the viewfinder to take the pictures, but that is pretty standard with a dslr. Some people complain about lots of "noise" at higher ISO, but being just a momagrapher I have had no problems with it!
Hi - I'm a long-time reader of your blog. I'm also a divorced lesbian mom, I'm raising a 13 month old little boy by myself. I've gained alot of strength from your blog over the past year - thank you.
I'm happy to finally have a chance to offer YOU some advice. :)
1. If you're not interested in learning a ton about photography but still want to upgrade your camera, check out a zoom-lens reflex camera. It's sort of a step in between the point and shoot you have now and a DSLR. The benefit here is that you get a slightly better lens and sensor than a point and shoot, without the complexity and expense of lens kits.
2. I think one of the reasons you're getting so much motion blur on the images you posted is because you're taking pictures indoors. There just isn't enough ambient light in your house that your camera can use to stop the motion and give you a sharp image. If you stick with your current camera, take your kids outside early in the morning and shoot away. The cloud cover is going to provide enough even light to produce some sharp images.
3. If you DO make the jump to DSLRs - check out the Canon Rebel line. You can find one in your price range and the nice thing is that, while you can shoot in full automatic mode, you have the option of expanding your knowledge and growing the more manual settings of the camera.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Anne
If you know your subject will be on the move while you're shooting you might want to use the sport (looks like a running man) setting vs. auto. You might have more luck and catch less blur.
I have a cheap Kodak so no real advice on that. Just wanted to say that a) sometimes I feel like a bad mommy because I blog when I should be playing with the kids or even when I should be working. Kudos to you for keeping your priorities straight. and b) I set a personal record for taking 278 photos of my two children in the month of July. Can you imagine if we were still using film?
I also have a Canon PowerShot (different model) and I had that problem when I first got it. Try this: if you press the button about halfway down, that should make it focus on your subject. Then press it all the way to take the picture. Worth a shot! You might not even need a new camera. Although I definitely see the allure of a fancy, shiny new tech gadget. :)
I had the same problem with the blur. My kid still rarely stops moving. I have a Fujifilm camera (it's SLR-like), but I don't have it on me now, so I'm not sure of the model number. It's big and bulky and not the kind of camera you can stick in your purse and have on you to us at moment's notice. It has an auto feature, and lots of other options to create the perfect picture. But all I ever really use is th Auto and occassionall the Night time option.
The feature you need to look for is the "delay". Look for a camera with a tiniest delay between the time you press down the shutter button and when the picture is taken. Also a ZOOM feature is important, especially as the kids get older and play sports. Then you can get great shots from the side lines and frame your pictures nicely around your subject.
I'll be looking for something smaller so I can carry it with more more often.
I hope you find a camera that captures every moment perfectly.
Our camera is very bulky and annoying but it's worth it to me for the result. Because like you, we take way too many pictures of them almost daily. We have an SLR - Cannon Rebel XSi. I think we paid $800 & it came with 2 lenses. Good luck!!
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I take over 1000 pics each month of The Trio - I have a little canon point and shoot for tucking into a bag - but for everything else, I use a Nikon D40 - it was below the budget I wanted to spend and it's awesome (smaller body fits into my hand nicely). I researched the hell out of cameras, joined message boards, etc. Everyone and everything pointed me to a lower end body (less features, I'll never use all those fancy features on $$ cameras) AND a nicer lens - I'd get one nice lens, always put your money in your lens, not your camera body (which will be outdated in 6 months anyways). I got mine at B&H photo online - best prices I could find. With the money I saved on the camera, I got a bunch of accessories!! Check out http://kenrockwell.com/
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