Motion blur - help!

[blackettstreet]

This is probably a stupid question , I'm pretty much a novice to the subject, but is there any way to get rid of motion blur from photos I've taken? (I'm assuming probably not). Also, how can I stop it in the first place? I have taken various photos of trains going at high speed from close by, and some have been blurred and some not - I don't know why? I'm using a Samsung S1030...

Any help much appreciated

 

[GB]

Is it motion blur or is it just out of focus?

You need a high shutter speed to freeze the subject.

 

[blackettstreet]

everything is in focus but the train.

i am an idiot when it comes to shutter speeds. i have read that you need a higher one for faster moving objects, but i don't know how? i just point and click, and it takes a photo!

 

[142094]

First thing to do is read the manual and learn about shutter speed settings.

I'd also buy a cheap tripod if you can, as this greatly reduces camera shake.

 

[blackfive460]

Assuming you are photographing moving trains, this is due to the shutter speed your camera is giving you not being fast enough to stop the movement of the train.
Rather than be more specific at this point, perhaps you could let us know what camera you have?

 

[SWTCommuter]

The Smart Sharpening filter in Adobe Photoshop CS2 and above can correct motion blur to a limited extent.

As has already been mentioned, you need a high shutter speed to freeze the motion of a train. Your camera has a maximum shutter speed of 1/1500 sec which should be plenty. As a starting point, put the camera in shutter priority mode and set the shutter speed to, say, 1/500 sec. If you work in automatic or aperture priority mode, the camera will probably select too slow a shutter speed.

I hope this helps.

 

[Matt Taylor]

Are you able to upload or attach an image for us to see? How high a shutter speed that you need is dictated by many factors including focal length, speed of the train and available light.

 

[HST Power]

I just stick my camera in 'High Speed Objects' setting, works every time...

 

[blackettstreet]

thanks for all the advice, i'll try that computer program. i'll also read the manual - i have a samsung S1030. here's a picture, taken at about 8:00 in the morning two months ago (the loco doing a fairly high speed):

 

[Donny Dave]

From the attachment, it looks as though the shutter speed is something like 1/50th of a second, which is too slow ....

I'm not sure about your camera, but on mine I use Tv priority, which means I set the shutter speed manually. Unless something is moving slowly, I don't consider a shutter speed of less than 1/500th of a second, sometimes even quicker!

A few examples of what I mean.

http://www.david-perks.co.uk/Motorc...dwell/18799008_C3VnhX#1455999900_D93zWvr-A-LB - 1/500th second.

http://www.david-perks.co.uk/Motorc...dwell/18799008_C3VnhX#1456004474_M8hrMhc-A-LB - 1/750th of a second (the shutter speed is still a bit slow there).

http://www.david-perks.co.uk/Motorc...-2010/16970620_fPRJ4C#1283560663_VXzbq4H-A-LB - 1/1000th of a second.

 

[455driver]

That last picture (of the burn out) could have used a slower speed so the back wheel would have been blurred indicating motion, still nice though!

 

[blackfive460]

thanks for all the advice, i'll try that computer program. i'll also read the manual - i have a samsung S1030. here's a picture, taken at about 8:00 in the morning two months ago (the loco doing a fairly high speed):

Your camera does have a few setting that will help. You should have a look through the manual and find the sections on changing the ISO setting and on setting manual exposure.
As others have said, selecting a higher shutter speed will help to stop motion but you may not be comfortable with setting the exposure manually the so the simplest solution may be to change the ISO setting. If you think you are in a situation that requires a high shutter speed then change the ISO setting (works just like film speed when we had film in our cameras) to a high setting and the automatic exposure on your camera should give you a higher shutter speed. You'll see that displayed on the screen towards the top left. Aim for 1/500th or better.
Be warned that increasing the ISO setting can result in lower quality pictures.
The picture you posted was taken at 1/60th second and ISO 80. Digital photos have this information embedded in the file so you can always check later. Look up EXIF with Google.
Another thing you may try is panning the camera to follow the movement. You'll get a blurred background but the subject will be sharp.
The wonderful thing about digital cameras is that it costs nothing to experiment and while you may not want to do that with the trains you are out to photograph, there are plenty of other subjects that move at similar speeds. You can't beat trial end error to help you improve your photographs.
Good luck!

 

[londonmidland]

Stupid question but what's the fastest shutter speed? I use a JVC Everio GZ-HM300 and according to Flickr, my shutter speed, (I think) is 1/2000. Does that mean I could get a picture of a Pendolino going at full speed without any motion blur?

 

[blackfive460]

Stupid question but what's the fastest shutter speed? I use a JVC Everio GZ-HM300 and according to Flickr, my shutter speed, (I think) is 1/2000. Does that mean I could get a picture of a Pendolino going at full speed without any motion blur?

Depends on factors other than shutter speed such as the angle of the camera, or more correctly, the focal plane, to the train and your distance from it.
Bear in mind that a Pendo at 125 mph equates to approx 180 feet per second.
If the train is travelling parallel to your camera's focal plane it will move about 1 inch in 1/2000 of a second.
Try it!

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Stupid question but what's the fastest shutter speed? I use a JVC Everio GZ-HM300 and according to Flickr, my shutter speed, (I think) is 1/2000. Does that mean I could get a picture of a Pendolino going at full speed without any motion blur?

ZA453 high speed pass by Tim R-T-C, on Flickr

Easy, this is a Tornado jet flying at 400mph with no motion blur. ISO speed is 100 and shutter speed just 1/640.


The best thing to start with is the ISO speed, the OP's camera in particular and most entry level compact cameras do not allow the user to set shutter speed, but almost all will allow ISO speed to be set. This is the speed at which the sensor in the camera will react to light - the higher the setting the quicker the photo can be taken and the sharper a fast moving image will be, but you will find that detail can be slightly lower and there is more 'grain' in the image. The trick is to find the best balance of ISO speed for the lighting and speed of the subject - the great thing about digital is that you can experiment for free and see the results straight away. Go down to your local station and take photos of fast moving and static trains will all of the different settings and see what the results are, obviously feel free to post with any more questions.

I use a JVC Everio GZ-HM300 and according to Flickr, my shutter speed, (I think) is 1/2000.

Is this the video camera, if so, the shutter speed may well be referring to the video modes - for still photography you will get much better results even with a basic digital compact.

 

[mumrar]

Shutter speed varies between each camera, as does your ability to control it. I just got one that goes up to 1/8000sec but you'll need full sun and a wide aperture or a high ISO for that to be used (I did a sunset shot at 1/6400 sec)