sony A200 help!

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mysterio84

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ok i have received my camera today and i love it!!

im taking photos around the house and im trying to take ones where the subject is clearly in focus and the background is blurred.

obviously with the camera set in AF it does a great job but once i switch it to MF i cannot get the subject into focus and the background blurred!!

I have read the manual back to front and it says to set the aperture low and the shutter speed automatically adjusts itself, but i still cannot get the subject into focus!!

apologies if this is a simple question but im racking my brains!!

thanks
 
Being in manual focus (MF) or auto focus (AF) should not effect this.

You don't mean on the dial wheel that in 'Auto' it is OK, but in 'M' it does not work, do you?

If so in 'M' you need to choose a low f-stop and then you adjust the shutter speed to obtain the correct exposure.
Or in apeture priority, you choose the low f-stop and the camera will choose the correct shutter speed.
 
no not on the dial wheel i mean there is a button on the side of the camera that has af and mf, obviously when it is in af it does what i want it to do on its own but in mf i cannot get the settings right!!!

i can change the f-stop but not the shutter speed!!
 
What setting is the dial on top on ? If in Auto or Apeture priority (AP), then it should not matter if you are in AF or MF, the exposure settings should not change if you flip between the 2 focusing methods.

If you are in shutter priority, then you control the shutter speed and the camera decides the f-stop.

If in manual, you set both the f-stop and shutter speed.

I don't think if you are in Auto or AP that you can change the shutter speed.
 
most of the time i am in A.

The other thing i have noticed is when i zoom in on something its really blurry and i dont know how to get a decent focus on it.

i havent stopped playing with it but i still havent really worked out how to do things.

I dont want to use the auto settings because that defeats the object!!

thanks
 
yes i am using the focus ring on the lens, for example i was trying to shoot a dove that had landed on top of a statue in the garden, so i turned the ring to zoom in and all i could see was a blur, no matter how hard i tried i couldnt get it in focus!
 
mysterio84 said:
yes i am using the focus ring on the lens, for example i was trying to shoot a dove that had landed on top of a statue in the garden, so i turned the ring to zoom in and all i could see was a blur, no matter how hard i tried i couldnt get it in focus!
Click to expand...

It sounds you are using the zoom ring, the MF focus ring is at the very front of the lens about 2mm wide.
 
i think your getting a little confused mate, when in manual focus mode, you twist the lens as you normally would for it to zoom in and out, but in order to focus it, you have to twist the ring right on the end of the lens, furthest away from you. It twists independantly of the lens, and will allow you to focus the shot.

Sorry for the poor technical terminology, i only know the answer to the above because i am a complete novice and only figured out how to manual focus yesterday!
 
when you say mf focus ring where is it because the only thing that turns on the kit lens is the wide part that has lots of ridged lines on it!!
 
mysterio84 said:
yes i am using the focus ring on the lens, for example i was trying to shoot a dove that had landed on top of a statue in the garden, so i turned the ring to zoom in and all i could see was a blur, no matter how hard i tried i couldnt get it in focus!
Click to expand...

the lens should have 2 rings on it. One which zooms and the other which manually focuses. If you are zomming in you need to also use the focus ring once you have reached the desired focal length. Is this what you are doing?
 
ok the area indicated by the red arrow is what i am turning, i canot for the life of me get any more of the lens turning!!

IMG_0791.jpg
 
ok i think im with you now guys!!

im a complete noob!!!

ok when i zoomed in it was all blurry but now if i turn this part where the second arrow is it seems to focus!!!


am i right in thinkin this as it does turn!!!

IMG_0791-1.jpg
 
im slightly embarrassed now!!!!

but thanks all for your help i can now at least try to get some better photos!!!

it all makes sense!!!
 
one more thing!! if the camera is in the P, A, S, M setting i will be bale to turn the manual focus but when it is in the other settings such as macro, landscape etc etc i wont be able to turn it?
 
Remeber the "blurry background" is down to your aperture setting.

Generally speaking a wider aperture(smaller number) lessens the area in focus, separation between the object you are shooting and the background helps as well.
 
'' taking photos around the house and im trying to take ones where the subject is clearly in focus and the background is blurred.

obviously with the camera set in AF it does a great job but once i switch it to MF i cannot get the subject into focus and the background blurred!!''


You dont need the camera in Manual focus to get this effect, Just use AF to focus on the subject you want in focus and set the aperture to the largest available (smallest f number) and take the picture - the amount of DOF (how much is is focus) will depend on the focal length of the lens used , the aperture used and how close to the object in focus you are .

Have a look Here for an explanation and DOF calculator
 
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