Canon Powershot SX30IS blur??

[CruisingLover]

I have looked & looked and can not figure out how I can blur the background of a picture. I have the Canon PS sx30is. Can anyone help?

[TheOldBear]

I have looked & looked and can not figure out how I can blur the background of a picture. I have the Canon PS sx30is. Can anyone help?

 

There will be limits on what you can do based on the small sensor size in the camera. The basic step is to use Aperture Priority [Av] exposure control instead of full auto or programed modes.

 

Then select a wide [small numeric value] aperture [from 2.7 to 3.5], frame your subject and shoot.

 

You may find that this either restricts your zoom range [zooming out the lens gets darker even if wide open] or there may be too much light [can't get the shutter fast enough]

[dileep]

On some cameras Portrait Mode will have a similar effect.

[setsail]

Also, zoom in somewhat on the foreground or get closer and be sure to press the shutter half way(you get the green bracket) to focus just on that point, then press the rest of the way for the shot.

[setsail]

http://www.ehow.com/how_12060368_blur-background-canon-sx30.html

[awboater]

Three things will result in a shallow Depth-of-Field (DoF), what you call background blur.

 

1. The closer the subject, the shallower the DoF

2. The longer the focal length, the shallower the DoF.

3. The wider the aperture of the lens, the shallower the DoF.

 

All three things work in conjunction with each other.

 

A DSLR is vastly superior in this regard as due to #2, (as a result of larger sensors) DSLR focal lengths are almost 6 times as long as the equivalent compact camera focal length.

 

While your ability to do this with a compact camera will be limited, try this:

 

First, start out by zooming in (towards the telephoto end) as much as you can and still maintain the proper composition of your subject. You may have to balance using the longest focal length with the closest distance the subject is to get the maximum effect.

 

Then open the aperture as much as needed.

 

For instance, with your camera, the zoomed in position (150mm) @ f/8, and a subject (focus point) 40ft away - the DoF will be about 2ft. If you back your subject up to 80ft, the DoF will be about 7ft.

 

Similarly, if you zoom to the mid-point position (about 70mm) @ f/8, and the subject 40ft away, the DoF will now be about 8ft.

 

Finally if you zoom out to the wide angle position (4mm) the DoF will be around 1ft to infinity regardless of the subject distance or aperture.

 

So never use a wide angle lens for a shallow DoF.

 

The focal length will trump aperture and subject distance, which is why you want to start out with the longest focal length you can use first.

 

Hopefully you will at least get some semblance of a blurry background.

[awboater]

By the way, the focal lengths I mentioned in the examples are 35mm equivalents, and take into account the crop factor of your camera.

 

With the SX30; the physical length of the wide angle lens is 24mm, which is a crop factor equivalent to 4.3mm on a 35mm camera, and your physical telephoto focal length maximum is 840mm, which is equivalent to 150mm on a 35mm camera.

 

I used the 35mm equivalents of your lens as it "normalizes" them and required for the DoF calculator I used.

 

At any rate, (1) use a long focal length, (2) get up close, (3) open the aperture and you will get the best results for a blurry background.

[knittinggirl]

I think selective focus works better if you're close to your target. One other thing I tried with my DSLR was to zoom completely, and set the ap to wide open.