Hello, Earlier this morning I went out for a short phototour in Kennebunkport, Me. Not wanting to carry my camera bag around with me, I used my Memory Stick and adapter. Upon arriving home, I was horrified to find all of my shots hopelessly out of focus. I immediatly set up my tripod and took several test shots using the self timer to compare the memory stick with the floppy under exact exposure time, apeture, etc. The test shots in all curcumstances were perfect. This leads me to believe that my technique was off. I had been experiencing a lack of sharpness in my shots and discovered that I was not waiting long enough for the camera to read the lighting situation prior to tripping the shutter. I took great care this morning to give the camera time. Is it possible that I am now waiting too long to trip the shutter? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Larry

-- Larry Yerxa (larz@cybertours.com), August 12, 2000

Answers

Larry:
The FD95 has several modes. It occurs to me that your problem is either:

• Too Slow of a Shutter Speed
• Somehow you turned autofocus off whilst shooting in Kennebunkport

On the FD-95 the camera won't let you take the picture until it thinks the image is in focus. You can, however, depress the button half way and then change your composition - even your entire subject so the focus may no longer be accurate. It all depends on what you were doing and what your subject matter was. For now I would suggest you spend some time getting more familiar with the camera and it's excentricities.

Des

-- Dan Desjardins (dan.desjardins@viewpix.com), August 12, 2000.

I'll bet Dan nailed your problem in his post. Although, depending on the distance and just how much zoom you were using it might be that camera shake was a contributing factor if the 95's stabilizing function was turned off? Sometimes blur can resemble poor focus.

Another thing you might want to consider is adopting a very simple habit. Just stop after taking the photo and switch to play mode and see how it looks to you... I do this with my Toshibas all the time. It beats losing a shot because I jerked or someone flinched, or blinked, or bumped me, etc., etc., etc. -and the beat goes on.... ;-) It only takes a few seconds at most, and is so simple. If you have zoomed playback it's even easier. If you're outdoors use an LCD shade, hat brim, etc. to block the sunlight.

One other piece of unsolicited advice: RTFM-Read The Fine Manual! (Yeah, I know there are alternate expletives oft substituted for the "F"...) I can't stress this one strongly enough! Better yet, get the camera out and try doing what the manual suggests as you flip through it. There is no substitute for doing, but reading in order to learn what to do is very important when dealing with complex devices. If it sounds too simple, surprise -it probably really is... :-)

Good Luck.

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@surferz.net), August 13, 2000.

Gerald, Both you and Des have given me great advice and I appreciate it. Your comment about blur sometimes resembling poor focus caused me to reexamine my print. I think that may be closer to what happened. As for unsoliceted advice, ALL the advice you people offer is taken very seriosly and in the vein in which it is intended so keep it coming. With regard to the manual I have read it ten to fifteen times already and always learn something new at each reading. It's funny how you can miss the obvious when looking for something specific. I also carry in my camera bag what I call my "second manual", the Imaging Resource review of the FD95 first posted 7-13-00. This review has many clearly explained "how tos" many of which I haven't gotten to yet. Again, thanks for your help. Larry

-- Larry Yerxa (larz@cybertours.com), August 13, 2000.

Larry,

I'm sure I speak for Dan and the rest(hope I'm not presuming) who "hang" at the Imaging Resource Forum when I say, you're welcome and we're all happy to help when we can. I think many of us have benefited from the forum and like to give back when we can. And it's fun just to BS.

If I had little gold stars I'd hand 'em out to anybody that actually manages to crack the manual and read it any more... ;-) I'll let you in on a little secret, I'm the type that will sit down and read the manual a few times myself, and I still carry the full manual in my camera bag. :-) There are just so many settings, and so many modes and features on a high end digicam that you're bound to have an occasional question even with a lot of practice.

Good Luck!

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@surferz.net), August 13, 2000.