I have a canon rebel xsi and am having some issues. I'm not sure at all what is going on but here's the deal. I've had it since may and taken some really super shots. The past month or two when I take pictures they are slightly blurry. Maybe one out of every 20 will be as crisp and clear as it should be. I have used auto focus and manual focus while taking many pictures of the same stationary subject trying to figure out what's wrong. I'm sure it's either something very simple that I'm doing but can't seem to figure it out myself. Any suggestions and help would be great! Thanks so much.

In order to help, we need to know about your len(es). Do you have more than 1 lens? What len(es) do you have, and does this problem persist with all your lenses?

What shooting mode are you using? Are you shooting in raw, or jpeg? What are the settings for the photos that were blurry? Can you upload some photos for us to view, and give us the settings for those photos?

Also, is your camera still under warranty?

I will try and give you everything I know. The camera was a present and it is a bit out of my league. It came with the idiots guide to photography but I can't find anything in there about this.

I am currently using the lens it came with EF18-55mm image stabalizing lens. A friend of mine is paying me to take picutres of her wedding at after that I will be investing in another lens (any suggestions? I have a 2 yr old and take tons of pictures of her). I am shooting in jpeg and I usually shot in auto unless I feel like trying something new. Since this problem I've been trying the other settings but and still a bit unsure how to use them so I don't shoot in them much. I will be taking a photography class next summer though. Here's a few that I've taken recently. I could understand a bit better if something in the picture was in focus, but nothing is. That's where I'm confused.

This is one I absolutely loved until I saw it on the computer. The specs on this photo: f/5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO 800.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...0/IMG_3999.jpg

This one I took of my sister and her husband before he left for IRAQ. f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO - 400.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...0/IMG_3791.jpg

This one I actually liked. This was one out of about 11 that turned out okay. f/4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO - 400.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...0/IMG_3847.jpg

DO NOT shoot the wedding! You are setting yourself and your friend up for a disaster. There is a lot more to being a wedding photographer than you realize. You need to know a lot more about professional quality digital photography - you should not be shooting in jpeg or auto modes!

(Shooting in jpeg is wasting 90% of the value of this camera - shoot in RAW! Learn a workflow that works well with shooting in RAW.)

You also NEED better equipment and backup equipment to shoot a wedding for pay. The 18-55 is not suitable for shooting a wedding because the photographer must stand well back during the ceremony and your lens doesn't have enough reach for shooting from that distance. And then there are all the What Ifs. What if your camera starts malfunctioning 5 minutes before they start the ceremony? What if you trip and fall and damage the camera? What if your battery suddenly dies? Any time you agree to shoot a wedding as a primary photographer and *especially* for pay, you need to shoot like a pro - with backup equipment, with a full understanding of the responsibilities. To do anything else will risk both your friendship and your reputation as a photographer.

If you still want to go ahead with this, at the very least get paid up-front and buy a new lens BEFORE the wedding. (All wedding photographers get paid a substantial amount up-front - at least 50% to book the wedding, and most require the balance 7 days before the wedding.) The 18-55 is a cheap lens - there's a reason it's so cheap, it is not a very good lens. Your images will never be any better than the glass used to gather the light. Quality lenses are expensive but they produce better images.

As for a new lens - Good Glass is the best investment. Over the years you will update the body frequently as new bodies come out with new features. But Good Glass doesn't need updating. I own Canon 24-70 f2.8 L and 70-200 f2.8 L IS lenses. I use the 70-200 most of the time - that's my workhorse at weddings. I recently advised a friend who had just bought a 40D to return the 70-200 he bought with it and get the 24-105 f4 L IS lens instead - it's a great lens if you don't need the f2.8 and don't need to get in as close as with the 200. It has a great "everyday" zoom range, excellent glass, IS.

Stay away from the EF-S lenses (such as your 18-55) as they won't work when you upgrade to a better body - they only work in the bodies with tiny sensors. If you forget and try to use them on a larger-sensor body you can break your camera because the mirror hits the back of the lens when you press the shutter.

Now, for your posted images:
I don't know why the first shot is soft.
The second one looks like you may have a bit of hand-held motion blur.

It is also possible that both of those are out of focus due to "front focusing" - an error in the auto focus mechanism of the camera. It would be easier to determine this if you had a bit more foreground in the images.

You said you tried using manual focusing - can you show the example photos you took trying manual focusing?

Here is a focus test for manual focusing. Put your camera on a tripod, at the smallest f-stop, and aim it at a table top with items placed in a line from front left to back right. Using Manual Focus, focus on the item in the front, then the item in the center, then the item in the back. Then move to a middle f-stop (e.g. f/8) and take 3 more shots. Then to a small aperture (f/22). Take all of these shots at the same zoom setting and same composition. Post the resulting shots.

After we analyze the results of this test, then we may also do an autofocus test.

Thank you and I will do that asap. It might be a bit because I don't know that I'll be able to get online for the next few days.

2nd. Don't worry about the wedding. She's my best friend of 20 years and can't afford a pro. She's only giving me $100 to do my best. She's not even wearing an actual wedding dress, it's extremely small and not a big formal wedding. It's in their front yard. I would never do one for big money or for anyone I didn't know due to my lack of photography skills. I'm just helping a friend out.

In the second photo, the rocks seem a little bit sharper in the foreground. I'd guess autofocus is focusing on the wrong area of the image (front focusing as mentioned earlier). I have this camera and have the same issue regardless of lens I use (I have 3 decent lenses). I get the best results using 'Live View' and zooming into the area that I want to be sharpest and manually focus (rather than looking through the viewfinder).

Have you tried the AF/MF button on the lens, just above the stabilizer

They may or may not be back to answer your question. This thread is over 3 1/2 years old. Please watch the dates. Thanks.