I need help with my DSC-T9 for dark and smokey places

[MolSpace]

Okay, I've been getting some problems with my T9. Everytime I take pictures in the dark and smokey places like the club, they always came out blurry. But it only happens when I take the pictures from the dancefloor or anywhere near it. But the rest always came out good.

I just got this camera about a month ago or so, and this camera is like my baby to me. But I still don't know the right settings for the places I mentioned above. I want them to come out good and clear, even though not as perfect but at least not as blurry.

So, I guess my question is... What is the right settings on my camera to take the pictures from the dancefloor or even inside the club where it's smokey and dark. I've read the manual, but I couldn't find such things. I tried different settings, but still they came out blurry.

Please help, I'd really appreaciate it if you could help me on this one.

Thank so much in advance!

MolSpace

P.S. Sorry guys, this is my first post here, so I'm now allowed to post pictures or any clickable links until I have at least 15 porsts. But if you'd like to see the pictures I took for examples, please email me at molspacenow@gmail.com or send me an IM through here.

[famjad21]

I'm not sure what the exact problem is but here's what I'd try. Your camera has these auto-focus modes available for this type of shot--5 Area Multi-Point AF, Center AF, 5-Step Manual. I would experiment with the manual modes.
If you're using flash in a smoke filled room, you will get some interesting particle reflections. You might experiment with the various flash modes or try a slave flash offset to the side.

Keep a record of what you try against the shot number and see if you can get something you like. Then you'll know exactly what to do in the future.

[MolSpace]

Hi famjad21,

Thanks so much for the reply. I sent you a PM to the link of the pictures for you to check out what I did wrong and must correct.

Thank you!

Mol

[famjad21]

Hi Mol,

There are at least two problems:

1. Exposure
2. Smoke particles

1. The flash on the camera is good to about 10-15 feet. As your subject gets beyond that distance the camera is not getting enough light. That's why some of the pictures are washed out. Try some manual modes to get the maximum output.

2. The smoke is reflecting some of the light back. It's probably fooling the auto-exposure into thinking the subject is much closer and therefore you're under-exposing the real subject. This is a difficult problem and I would suggest setting up some slave flashes to each side of the subject (or hold one high and to the left or right at a high angle but off the camera's axis: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

Angled light will not reflect back so much. These will probably extend your range a little.

I'm not sure if this will solve your problem but may be worth a try.