Olympus E510 E-510 Instruction Manual (English) - Page 25

2 Improving your shooting skills k Shooting guides Basic function guides To familiarize yourself with the camera, you can start off by taking pictures of surrounding subjects, such as children, flowers and pets. If the pictures taken are not to your liking, try adjusting some of the settings below. You can take more satisfying pictures simply by familiarizing yourself with these basic camera functions. Focus: Operating the shutter button A picture can become out of focus when the focus in the picture is on the foreground, background, or other objects in 2 the picture instead of on the subject. To prevent out-of-focus pictures, be sure to focus on the subject you are trying to capture. The shutter button can be pressed halfway down (half-press) and all the way down (full press). Once you are able to operate the shutter button effectively, you can focus accurately even on moving subjects. Improving your shooting skills k Shooting guides Halfway down: All the way down: g "Shooting" (P. 10), "If correct focus cannot be obtained (Focus lock)" (P. 37) Even when the subject is in focus, the picture can become blurred if you move the camera while the shutter button is being pressed. Make sure how to properly hold the camera. The camera is particularly subject to shaking when using live view to take pictures while viewing the subject on the monitor. You can reduce camera shake by using the image stabilizer. g "Holding the camera" (P. 10), "Shooting with the image stabilizer function" (P. 36) In addition to incorrect focusing and camera shake problems, movement of the subject can also cause blurring of the picture. In this case, use a shutter speed that matches the motion of the subject. You can confirm the actual shutter speed and aperture on the displays of the viewfinder and monitor by pressing the shutter button halfway. g "How to use the mode dial" (P. 18), "Preview function" (P. 35), "Live view" (P. 23) Brightness: Exposure compensation The camera automatically determines the aperture value and shutter speed according to the brightness level. This is called auto exposure. However, you may not be able to capture the intended picture with auto exposure alone. In this case, you can increase or decrease the auto exposure setting. Increase the exposure to enhance the brightness of a summer beach or the whiteness of snow. Decrease the exposure when the area to be shot is brighter but smaller compared to its surrounding area. If you are unsure of how much exposure compensation is required, try taking several pictures at various settings and then compare the pictures. g "Exposure compensation k Varying the image brightness" (P. 55), "AE bracketing" (P. 37) EN 25