VERY blurry pictures. Ok maybe I just don't know how to use the thing, but here's the situation I was practicing in. I was in my kitchen, plenty of light, it was night time. I tried EVERY setting....P, A, S, simple mode. And I was as steady as I could be, and they ALL came out blurry. What am I doing wrong??? I shot with the flash and didn't like the look of the picture. I wanted the natural lighting from the kitchen lights, which thru my viewfinder looked perfect. was my ISO to high? I have no idea what it was set on. Help! I really want to like this camera, but if all I'm going to get is blur then I'm going to hate it. VERY blurry pictures. Ok maybe I just don't know how to use the thing, but here's the situation I was practicing in. I was in my kitchen, plenty of light, it was night time. I tried EVERY... » Read More VERY blurry pictures. Ok maybe I just don't know how to use the thing, but here's the situation I was practicing in. I was in my kitchen, plenty of light, it was night time. I tried EVERY setting....P, A, S, simple mode. And I was as steady as I could be, and they ALL came out blurry. What am I doing wrong??? I shot with the flash and didn't like the look of the picture. I wanted the natural lighting from the kitchen lights, which thru my viewfinder looked perfect. was my ISO to high? I have no idea what it was set on. Help! I really want to like this camera, but if all I'm going to get is blur then I'm going to hate it. « Show Less
880640
Set the control to S (Shutter Priority). Set the shutter speed to 1/30 or faster. Take a picture and if it is too dark adjust the ISO to the next higher number (if it is 100 make it 200). Keep in mind that higher ISO settings will add noise to the image. Really the best thing to do is take out the book for the camera, sit down with the book and the camera and go through each control and setting and understand how each affects the image produced. Plan on a couple of hours going back and forth, trying different things. Then the next time you want to take a picture, you will set the camera and shoot.Best of luck with your photography. Set the control to S (Shutter Priority). Set the shutter speed to 1/30 or faster. Take a picture and if it is too dark adjust the ISO to the next higher number (if it is 100 make it 200). Keep in mind that higher ISO settings will add noise to the image. Really the best thing to do is take out the book for the camera, sit down with the book and the camera and go through each control and setting and understand how each affects the image produced. Plan on a couple of hours going back and forth, trying different things. Then the next time you want to take a picture, you will set... » Read More Set the control to S (Shutter Priority). Set the shutter speed to 1/30 or faster. Take a picture and if it is too dark adjust the ISO to the next higher number (if it is 100 make it 200). Keep in mind that higher ISO settings will add noise to the image. Really the best thing to do is take out the book for the camera, sit down with the book and the camera and go through each control and setting and understand how each affects the image produced. Plan on a couple of hours going back and forth, trying different things. Then the next time you want to take a picture, you will set the camera and shoot.Best of luck with your photography. « Show Less
880641
Did you ever resolve the problem? I'm having the same problem. I can't get a quality picture something standing perfectly still - like my christmas tree! My ISO is set to 100.
880642
Make sure you dont have this camera set to automatic ISO, set it on 100 or 200 ISO(cant use 100 ISO in simple mode) if you have to...any ISO above 100 actualy will KILL your sharp picture in a heart beat...the other problem is, the apture and shutter speed has to make up for what LOW ISO is missing, (you need slower Shutter and larger apture size) will have to make up for the ISO sensitivity and youll get more blur, a tripod helps, even a mono pod to steady the camera a bit...no matter how good your shake control is, it wont be perfect by a mile...I checked the Kodak and found a few quality control problems on the internet reviews, not on this camera have i found any issues with quality... Make sure you dont have this camera set to automatic ISO, set it on 100 or 200 ISO(cant use 100 ISO in simple mode) if you have to...any ISO above 100 actualy will KILL your sharp picture in a heart beat...the other problem is, the apture and shutter speed has to make up for what LOW ISO is missing, (you need slower Shutter and larger apture size) will have to make up for the ISO sensitivity and youll get more blur, a tripod helps, even a mono pod to steady the camera a bit...no matter how good your shake control is, it wont be perfect by a mile...I checked the Kodak and found a... » Read More Make sure you dont have this camera set to automatic ISO, set it on 100 or 200 ISO(cant use 100 ISO in simple mode) if you have to...any ISO above 100 actualy will KILL your sharp picture in a heart beat...the other problem is, the apture and shutter speed has to make up for what LOW ISO is missing, (you need slower Shutter and larger apture size) will have to make up for the ISO sensitivity and youll get more blur, a tripod helps, even a mono pod to steady the camera a bit...no matter how good your shake control is, it wont be perfect by a mile...I checked the Kodak and found a few quality control problems on the internet reviews, not on this camera have i found any issues with quality... « Show Less
880643
A review on the FZ7 indicated that AF (autofocus) needed to be on and just to press the button 1/2 way - wait for AF to work (a fewseconds) - then press full. Solved his problems. 2 or 3 reviewers stated same. Low ISOwas a "gimmee" w/o flash. Try autofocus (you are not using zoom and have light.
880644
I think you need to use the "M" manual mode to set it. Otherwise, using the "S" setting allows the camera to prioritize the highest shutter speed under the conditions with the aperture to adjust to the correct exposure. When the aperture is at the maximum, the the shutter adjusts to a slower speed for the correct exposure.
880645
Thanks but what I'd like to understand is how it can be working perfectly one day, shut off while not in use, then the next time I turn it on, the image on the LCD screen is blurred, I haven't even pressed the shutter release yet, (and wouldn't due to the blurred and dark image). How can that happen? Why is there a need to adjust ISO settings when they haven't been touched?!
1089975
It would really help if people learned a little about photography. You have stepped up from a pocket point and shoot to a camera with many more features. The problem with the blurry shots is normally lighting. If the lighting is bad the camera has to increase the shutter speed so the picture will properly expose. When the shutter speed increases you can get image blur if the subject is moving. Photography is a world of give and take....you can not simply press the shutter button and get the perfect picture no matter what the conditions are.
1259982
HORRIBLE! I have taken about 300 pics of elementary school basketball....90 % of them are blurry, or too bright. I tried every setting?? So far I am very frustrated with this camera! There is supposed to be image stabilization? Also, the only "motion" or "action" setting I see is the pet setting?? I am sure part of the problem is that I am a total amateur photographer, my point is this is not an easy camera to use.
170329
I haven't written a review, and haven't even read the other reviews (yet), but I am *definitely* having the soft focus and out of focus problems you are referring to. I can take 10 consecutive pictures - same lighting/angle, etc. and maybe one will be a good picture, 4 not so good, and 5 completely unusable. I wonder if certain models cause this, or if some of these were just defective. I bought because of all the positive reviews, but wish I would've spoke up when I first received my camera.
615090
I don't like this camera. I shoot inside and there's tons of light coming through the living room window and it's still grainy. I think a video camera is just one of those things you can't go cheap on.
871930
You need to use auto focus if you don't want to manually focus in and out on close ups or long distance shots. It sounds like you zoomed to fast and it couldn't adjust fast enough or you have it set to some weird manual setting. This happened to me that's why I am trying to offer advice.
790038
Have you tried changing the ISO (the equivalent of film speed)? Perhaps it's set too low. I'd try either 400 or 800 if you're shooting indoors. Also try either the sports mode or night (not night tripod) in the Scene Position. I've had no problems with shooting indoors without flash and I get pretty good pics. If the lighting is extremely low, I prop the camera on something. If the kids are moving fast, either use flash or the settings I mentioned above. I've not had any problems with the picture quality indoors with mine. Hope this helps.
1613607
Hi there, I own this camera since this April and took around 8000 pics since, about half of them in very low light. With this camera, you do not even need to use the flash in 99.9% of the cases. (this is why I chose this camera in the first place) In case it's really dark and you don't have any lightsource, you can use the flash and it is sufficiently strong so your photos will look good. But usually, you really don't need the flash at all. I made perfect shots (photo and video) in dark dimmed pubs as well as beautiful nightshots walking around NYC all without using the flash. But if you insist, it's there, and it's perfectly fine. Hi there, I own this camera since this April and took around 8000 pics since, about half of them in very low light. With this camera, you do not even need to use the flash in 99.9% of the cases. (this is why I chose this camera in the first place) In case it's really dark and you don't have any lightsource, you can use the flash and it is sufficiently strong so your photos will look good. But usually, you really don't need the flash at all. I made perfect shots (photo and video) in dark dimmed pubs as well as beautiful nightshots walking around NYC all without using the flash. But if you... » Read More Hi there, I own this camera since this April and took around 8000 pics since, about half of them in very low light. With this camera, you do not even need to use the flash in 99.9% of the cases. (this is why I chose this camera in the first place) In case it's really dark and you don't have any lightsource, you can use the flash and it is sufficiently strong so your photos will look good. But usually, you really don't need the flash at all. I made perfect shots (photo and video) in dark dimmed pubs as well as beautiful nightshots walking around NYC all without using the flash. But if you insist, it's there, and it's perfectly fine. « Show Less
1215022
I've found that the camera takes blurry pictures indoors, when the subjects are more than 6 feet away from the flash, when the handshake mode is on, or in general low light. The blur is not hand motion, it is color dithering from the too-small sensor, too-slow lens, and poor color processing. As for motion blur, even in sunlight I have to hold the camera extra still. I have had better luck with 64 speed slide film and an f4.0 lens.
1186464
Night sky pictures can be tricky. You need a tripod to avoid camera shake because of the long exposure. Even pressing the shutter button will create enough shake to cause blurry results. I usually use the shutter delay to assure that the camera is very steady after I have pressed the button. Next you'll need to have the correct camera settings. If you haven't learned manual mode you'll need to learn that. First thing is, you'll want to set your lens for manual focus. Focus all the way out to infinity. The ideal settings for night sky and milky way shots is having a wide open aperture (the f/#). Forr your 18-55 that will be f/3.5. This allows the maximum light to enter your lens. Next you'll want to set your ISO. You'll want to go as high as you can without degrading the image with high ISO noise. With the t5 I would go any higher than 1600. Next you want to set your shutter speed. I shoot my milky way pictures at 30 sec exposures. If you keep your shutter open any longer than that, you'll start to get star trails. And shorter than that and you're losing potentiolal light. Next you want to zoom out as wide as you can go. The most important thing is the f/# the lower the better. Besides that, it will be a combination of ISO and shutter speed. I used the 10-18 f.4.5-5.6 lens and wasn't pleased with my results because the aperture doesn't open wider than f/4.5 the only advantage youd have with this lens is that you can zoom out to 10mm which is fun. I ended up returning my 10-18 lens and saved a little more money to get a lightly used Tokina 11-16 f/2.8. I'm blown away at the clarity of this lens. And the f/2.8 aperture let's in 2x as much light. I hope all of this helps you. Once you get that first successful night shot, you'll be addicted. Good luck
558336
Shutter lag time.... I don"t know, or even how to calculate that. But the first pictures were at my Daughters dance. I thought i just didn't know how to run this midget camera but most of those pictures were very blurry.
1082487
Thanks very much for the info., Les. I actually returned my camera when even Panasonic tech support couldn't fix the problem, but I later learned it was not a defective camera. I'll be buying it again in the near future as I think it's a great camera, and I'll be saving your message in an attempt to figure it all out. Also, too bad there's no flash button on the camera and that you have to go to the menu to fiddle with it. That's weird! (and too bad it doesn't pop up automatically, like my Sony) THANKS AGAIN! Jeffroar
662386
I did have some trouble at first with the lighting in different rooms, but I found that if I take the reference pictures in different places, it worked much better. Take your 16 pictures, delete some of them, and take more in a different location (another room, day/nite, or outside). As for the color overall, I haven't had much trouble. As with any camera that has no flash, the more light, the better.
662610
`I have experienced this as well, especially with inside photos, no flash comes out too dark, flash is too light. There is an adjustment to the amount of brightness on the flash, just haven't "played" with the camera enough to be proficient at it.
1290789
You could probably change the ISO/shutter/aperture settings to compensate for low lighting, but I usually set it to Auto mode, and I feel it's not bad. I can still see relatively well although it's rather noisy/fuzzy (it hardly bothers me, but I usually try to avoid low lighting anyways).
226986
I am not a professional either. I bought the flash only because I was asked to take pictures at a evening wedding and I needed extra light. I know very little about photography and cameras. Someone just suggested that I buy it. I'm sorry, but I really don't have the answers you need.
741422
Hi, I don't have advice- but have the same problem! I'm frustrated that I purchased this camera and now can probably not return it!!! Good luck!! let me know if you find any tricks to get better pictures.