David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

Chapter 5. The Anti-Blur Chapter

What separates a lousy photo from a great one? Well, there's the subject matter, the lighting, the composition—all that artsy stuff that depends on you, the photographer. But some of the greatness depends on the camera itself: namely, color and sharpness.

Ah, sharpness. It's the Holy Grail, isn't it? "Wow, this is such a nice, sharp photo!" someone might say, admiring your prints. Or: "Too bad it's a little blurry." (Software can help to sharpen up a picture a little. But if it's actually out of focus or blurry, then there's no hope.)

As you've probably noticed, blurry pictures are more likely to occur in these situations:

• In low light. Less light comes through the lens; the shutter stays open longer to compensate; there's more time for jiggles to happen; blur results.

• When you're zoomed in. Zooming in magnifies the scene—and amplifies your hand jitters, too.

• When the camera is moving. Of course, bouncing along in a car or on a bike is one sure recipe for blur, because the camera itself is moving while the shutter is open. But even if you're standing in one place, the ordinary, very tiny jitters of your hand can also be enough to introduce blur.

• When the subject is moving. Any movement in your scene can turn into blur if the shutter speed isn't fast enough to freeze it. (More on this in a moment.)

Tip

This chapter is all about eliminating the blur caused by motion, either by your camera or your subject. Blur that results because your camera isn't focused ...