Waving hand/ handshake alert. Sony DSC-P200

[rjseeney]

TOOOOOO many people are educating me.. and ON NOTHING.. pls pls tell me what information can one get from this post. All i understood was.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of any assistance...I'll excuse myself from this thread

[Doris]

Sorry I am french, may be I don't understand your question, but.. what is your question??

smitha wrote:

does it mean Sony has a Problem ???

Yes, it's true that in low light conditions (without flash and even with flash) the Sony cameras often use lower shutter speed than Canon SD cameras. Then it's true that it may be a problem because you have to be more carrefull to avoid shake. But in an other hand Sony cameras use a lower ISO too, and then the image quality is better in low light conditions (if you are able to avoid shake off course!)
In low light conditions without flash, you CAN'T have both high shutter speed and low ISO !! (or buy a bigger camera !)
The Canon SD camera are builded for beginners: higher shutter speed in low light, then less shake problems, but less good quality in low light !
Once I've compared my P200 pictures with a SD500. In high light the SD500 pictures were very good, but in low light ALL my P200 pics were better !
More, the P200 also has a manual mode (no manual mode in Canon SD) then if you want, in M mode you can set almost the same setting than the SD Cameras :
Higher shutter speed and higher ISO ( or set only a higher ISO in P mode. The speed will increase automatically )
Then you will have less problem with shake (as SD cameras) but of course your image quality won't be as good too. You have the choice...

But in low light and short distance (less than 3 or 4m) I highly recommend you to use the flash. That will both increase the shutter speed and decrease the ISO. But in Auto mode with flash, the P200 use a lower shutter speed than SD cameras too (1/40 for P200, and 1/60 for SD Canon). Then even with the flash you have to be more carrefull than SD to avoid shake. Here i think the Canon choice (1/60s) is better, so in low light I recommend you to use the flash and select 1/60 or 1/80 in M mode. Then you will have both very good image quality and no more problem with shake !

Hope that helps

[JimC]

Doris wrote:

But in low light I highly recommend you to use the flash.

It sounds like the Original Poster istaking photos in a stadium (mentioned in a previous post), so it's advisable toleave the flash turned off there (otherwise, the camera is going to underexpose since flash range is too short). Without a different camera, these would be my suggestions (basically, what others like rjseeney already suggested).

* Set ISO speeds higher (and use tools like Neat Image or Noiseware to reducenoise later. Using higher ISO speeds will let your camera use faster shutter speeds. Shutter speeds that are too slow is whatcauses blur in low light if you've got Autofocus Lock (and a well lit stadium is low light to a camera).

* Use a Monopod or Tripod. This will help to reduce blur from camera shake (which may be abig contributing factor). It won't help to reduce blur from moving subjects.

*Don't use any more optical zoom than needed (more light reaches the sensor through the lens with your model at wider zoom settings).

* Take lots of photos to increase your number of "keepers" since motion blur will be a problem, trying to take more photoswhen the players are relatively still.

[smitha]

JimC and Dorris.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUTS. I had a learning.. esp: the comparion of Dorris and Knowledge primer of JimC.

thank you once again for all your time...



Jim, one correction pls.. cud you please change that "he" in your post to "she". Just kidding.

thank you all, you guys rock !!

[PicGuy]

smitha wrote:

Hi All,

i recently purchased a Sony DSC-P200. Well, I like the camera very much but it has a problem.

When i switch off flash and use it in dark , or when I use SL mode of flash, a HAND appears in the CCD screen indicating that it is shaking and resulting in a blurry picture. The documentation says that it is a waving hand/ handshake alert.

When taking low light pictures you should use the view finder and not the LCD screen to compose and take the shot. Since your head is inherently stabile holding the camera up to your face/eye will also stabilize the camera body. I have very few blurry pictures in low light conditions when using this method. Try it.

[psgraham29]

Just a thank you to all that posted in response to smitha's message. I too get blurry pictures from my cameras at night or low light in some situations. Other times it was great. I knew about holding the camera still. Your other suggestions such as not zooming in were very helpful. I hadn't thought about it that way.

Thanks again.

-Pam

[z4nc]

I should of read this threadbefore returning my P200, very informative and helpful. Aftergetting 6/10 good indoor shots (without flash4 were blurry), I gave up on the P200. I was replacing and comparing toan olderNikon 4MPand after taking the same pics under same conditions (back to back) the Nikon was clear 9/10 times..so my uneducated reaction was to play with ISO, and after that failed, return the camera for a Sony W7, which is the biggersibling(nice LCD)but less suceptible to the blurr shake..