Originally posted by SMM
I have been shooting in manual mode on my S602, and it always seems to request for slow shutter speed. That in turns caused my pictures to blur because I seems to have serious instability. (argh! I need image stabliser) :rbounce:
Is there any way to get around the hand shake problem? i.e. May be I should use the shutter priority setting?
1. Practice hand holding technique, as mentioned by binbeto. With proper hand holding techniques, I can handhold a Leica M6 down to 1/8s with a 50mm, a Nikon D1X with 85/1.4 at 1/30s, Nikon F100 with 70mm at 1/30s.
2. For digital cameras, using optical viewfinder/EVF helps quite a bit if you are using low shutter speeds. Trying to hand hold a camera away from your face can be unstable.
3. Lean against something (e.g. pillar) or brace your elbows on something (e.g. table, parapet etc). Again, hold your breath and gently squeeze the shutter release.
4. Certain cameras are easier to handhold than others due to their design. The super compact ones like the Ixus, etc are probably harder to handhold at low shutter speeds. F602 should be quite okay, tho I have not tried. I have tried hand holding a Coolpix 950/990 down to 1/4s.
5. You don't really need IS to get sharp pictures if you practice good hand holding techniques, though it helps in some instances. The Leica shooters never need IS, so are the Nikons, Minoltas, Pentaxes, etc. ;p :rbounce:
6. Set to continuous mode and shoot off a series of 3-5 pictures at one go, without letting go of the shutter. One of them should be sharp.
7. Last resort, use monopod, tripod, beanbag, rest the camera onto something, etc and use self timer/cable release. But then, now that you eliminated camera shake, you need to take care of subject movement too!
Regards
CK