Having a "blurr" problem - 56k :bouncy:

[Steve and Bia]

I have a Canon A620 and I plan on using it for photographing finds at the beach and underwater. It takes great 7.1 Megapixel photos but for some reason if the subject is over 20 feet away it gets blurry. I can never get the focus right! The sample below was shot at 1/60 sec. f/7.1 while I was braced firmly against a wall. The distance is 40 feet. I have others shot at 250 sec. with the exact same result. I've even tried IS0 50 because as it seems to get worse at 400.

I am such a beginner at this!

My question is this: Is it the camera or me? Is it supposed to be like this? Close up shots are great but their nothing like some of the great shots I've seen here! I want to produce good quality pictures I can be proud of and I know I have a learning curve ahead but I want to make sure I'm not beating myself silly with a camera thats "over limited" by trying to make it do things it can't.

Here's the original pic resized

Here it is cropped - See the fuzziness?

And here's the blurr I'm talking about

 

[John in Florida]

the front in order to decide if she should be blurred or not.

 

[RM]

n/t

 

[Gord SW Ont]

If it's set to AiAF turn that mode off as it can cause unexpected results because it determines a number of points the internal processor thinks it should focus on and decides itself which combination to choose.

Most experienced Point & Shoot (P&S) Canon users use central or flexizone focus in the autofocus frame selection method setting. The former works most of the time as the item in the center is "usually" the one most people want to focus on. If you want to focus off center the Flexizone will let you manually select one of nine sections on the LCD to focus on.

I've also noticed that one has to be "EXTRA" careful with these digital P&S cameras to keep it steady both during the half push on the shutter release to well after full release. The sounds you hear are just recorded to give you some audio feedback. They aren't synched as an older SLR where the noises are actually happening and give you good feedback as to what is happening and when. I use tripods, monopods, etc more often with my P&S than I ever did with my SLRs.

Hope this helps.

 

[Steve and Bia]

Thanks a lot for that! Mann, that fixed it! No more blurry images!

Who do I send a check to? That was more help than I bargained for!

My kids... just taken! Ha! (I'm a happy camper)

 

[Steve and Bia]

I'll get her front Monday. She's another Capitol Hill intern. (They all look the same. I often wonder why!)

 

[Steve and Bia]

n/t

 

[John in Florida]

You are blessed!