Nightski

I like the whimsical feel to this, but I do wish the boy was sharper. The whole thing makes my eyes dizzy. The thing is that the still things are blurry too. I wonder if in my hurry to capture this moment I had camera movement, or if my focus is just in the wrong place, or if my DOF is too shallow. What settings would you have on your camera going into a place like this?
ISO 400
F/2.8
1/30 second exposure

This camera is new to me and I can't change the settings quickly yet. I know I just need to get out and shoot with it. It has an electronic view finder and I'm not really sure how the auto focus works yet. It's very different from my Canon cameras.

Feel free to offer tips on using the Fujifilm X100T

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Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

Did you use AF or MF? If you used MF you need to move the little lever that is next to the lens away from the lens until you get a colourless square in the centre of the viewfinder, that is your focus area. Remember it is a split image viewfinder, it will show an image that is somewhat shifted out of alignment, turn the focus ring until the alignment is correct.

Take a look at this:
http://petapixel.com/2013/01/02/a-demo-of-split-screen-and-microprism-ring-focusing-in-old-slrs

Nightski

Thank you Graham. I will do that. I will use the autofocus and I will work with that little lever. I didn't know that. Thank you for the link.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Nothing is sharp. It may be a focus problem or camera shake, if you were hand holding
For myself (and I don't own a Fujifilm camera)
High ISO (3200?)
Aperture Priority - F5.6 to get a bit of DOF
Hopefully you should have a shutter speed of 1/60 which should stop camera shake, but will not freeze the person jumping.

Re focussing - Can you move the focussing point around the viewfinder to locate it where your subject is, or likely to be?
If so then you may be able to use autofocus. Or just manually focus on the near edge of the seat.

Nightski

Thanks Richard ... maybe autofocus would have been better here. It's just that I can't tell where it's auto focusing yet. It's odd. On my Canon, I know exactly where my auto focus points are set. This camera is very different, but I have a feeling that watching that video that Graham provided may help. Yeah .. my shutter speed was way too slow ... unless I had been panning. Can you pan a kid that's jumping from a bench? I wonder.

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

Don't run before you can walk :-D

Nightski

I do that sometimes, don't I?

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

Sandra, If you look at the specular highlights on the Christmas decorations on the left hand side you will see that they are all elongated on a diagonal. This is a clear indication of camera movement.

I own a fujufilm XT-1 and I find it a very good camera but best suited to more deliberate types of shots. The AF is glacial compared to the 7D MkII and it does not track action nearly as well. I believe this is true of your model and, in general, a lot of mirrorless cameras.

In your photo with the subject off to the left, what were your AF settings? If you were using only a small area at the center of the screen, then it is also probable that you missed focus, too.

At 1/30th, the boys motion would have been blurred anyway.

Nightski

Thank you for helping me to see the signs of what went wrong, Birdpix.

blackest Loc: Ireland

I would be surprised if you hadn't read this http://www.kenrockwell.com/fuji/x100t.htm
A few things caught my attention it has a great facial recognition mode which should work well for street photography. For action ken goes for 1/125 and iso 6400.

www.dofsimulator.net pulls up some interesting information
f2.8 hyper focal distance 31.52 fee
f4 is 22 feet
f5.6 16 feet approximately
At f5.6 at the hyperfocal distance 15.76 feet it works out everything from about 8 feet to infinity should be in focus.
your iso was 400 so 800 1600 3200 6400 4 stops to play with
so f5.6 for 2 and 1/125 for another 2
focus preset at the hyperfocal distance and in theory you should be set for this level of lighting and 8 feet to infinity.
That is impressive, try those settings and see how they work out. The theory looks excellent, in practice it will be interesting to see how well it works. (f8 hyperfocal is 11 feet and near focus 5.5 feet) If the low light ability is as good as promised you should see very few blurry images.

blackest Loc: Ireland

I want a new lens :)

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

That might be useful information if you overlook the post from birdpix. None of that information is relevant if you cannot hold the camera still, which is the main reason the image is blurred.
Sandra did not hold the camera still or she punched the shutter release and moved the camera. Even a shutter speed of 1/125 would have only reduced the length of the streaks to a quarter of their length.
It is a forgivable error to hold a light camera too loosely after having become accustomed to the natural inertia of a larger DSLR. You have to be more careful how you hold a lighter camera and you must squeeze the trigger gently.
So the real answer is to go back to basics. Learn how to hold the camera, how to squeeze the shutter release and use a shutter speed that is high enough to accommodate any residual camera shake. You cannot rely on the 1/(focal length) rule for shutter speed - especially with crop sensors.

blackest Loc: Ireland

I agree to a certain extent the lens was 23mm equivalent to 35mm full frame and 1/30th is a bit slow for a stationary subject and photographer. Really this rule works because a small amount of shake at a short focal length makes for a small amount of streak on the sensor but a larger one at longer focal lengths (we resolve circles as points if they are small enough).

I've seen a variation of the 1/focal length rule which suggests
1/ focal length for a stationary subject and photographer
2/ focal length for a moving subject or photographer
3/ focal length for a moving subject and photographer
but which focal length 23mm or 35mm with the aps-c image being magnified more than the 35mm equivalent view any shake is also magnified more which makes it more obvious and so 3/35mm is the same as 1/105mm a shutter speed of 125 or 128 should be enough to eliminate the shake. If you crop heavily then you will have even greater magnification applied which will make the shake become more noticeable.

Yes better technique can steady the camera and reduce the shake but stress can be working against you, making you a bit more twitchy than in more relaxed circumstances. New camera, new type of shooting bound to have an effect. I'm sure that as familiarity with the camera and this type of photography improve so will the steadiness.

How much improvement do you think you will get telling someone they can't hold a camera or press a shutter button properly. Once sandra is confident with that camera there will be no stopping her, and you know it.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I did not suggest that she does not know how to do it. It's just that she did not hold the camera still for this image.
Sandra should not have needed someone else to point out to her that it was not the camera's fault.
If you download the image and look at it, camera movement is obvious in the image. It is even clear in the thumbnail. It is a wonder that everyone else seems to be talking around the issue and trying to find other reasons for the blurry image.
There is nothing that I have said that warrants getting defensive on her behalf.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

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