Travel Photography - Pictures are Blurry All the Sudden

I have been using Panasonic DMC-ZS3 for a while and I have been satisfied with it. However for the current trip, its pictures are blurry and I can't figure it out why. :( Has it gone bad on me? Has anyone else had similar problem? If the camera has gone bad, I won't be getting another Panasonic model for sure. I guess I'll stick with Canon...

Dirty? Condensation in the lens?

I am unfamiliar with that camera, but does it have a AF/MF switch? The last time I had similar problems I had inadvertently switched the autofocus off on the lens.

I am guessing the macro function got switched on. Usually indicated by a flower icon on some models.

If you'll post what you consider a good shot and a blurry shot, we'd have at least some solid information to go on. Right now guessing what is wrong is just that – guessing.

Cheers,
T.

my money is on drop damage

my money is on drop damage

I would have thought he would have known if he dropped it.

Fingerprint on lens?

Blurry how? Out of focus? Motion blur?

Drink less while taking pictures? :D

Could also be a battery issue. In my personal shots, I can tell when my batteries are starting to die as the quality of the shots goes from excellent to good to meh.

Could also be a battery issue. In my personal shots, I can tell when my batteries are starting to die as the quality of the shots goes from excellent to good to meh.

Really? You too? And shots taken with 3rd party batteries make worse shots than those with name brands.

But more importantly, memory cards. As they start to fill up, the quality of the shots go from good to bad to horrible. [My technique is bad, so I never get "excellent" pictures even with full batteries and empty memory cards.]

I have the same problem ... albeit on an iPhone. Pics were crystal clear and now they are all grainy. I recognize this is an iPhone, yet the difference in pic quality is very noticeable.

It wasn't dropped or anything and I've cleaned the lenses ... yet nada! :(

What gives?

I have the same problem ... albeit on an iPhone. Pics were crystal clear and now they are all grainy. I recognize this is an iPhone, yet the difference in pic quality is very noticeable.

It wasn't dropped or anything and I've cleaned the lenses ... yet nada! :(

What gives?

We all know iPhone only last until the next version comes out. If yours is an iPhone4, expect it to stop taking pictures altogether when the 5 comes out. If yours is anything <4, then consider yourself very lucky.

I would have thought he would have known if he dropped it.

drop damage isn't necessary from one big drop...

drop damage isn't necessary from one big drop...

If the problem emerged suddenly I would think there would be a single trigger.

Agree, sounds like something is either turned the wrong way or something is out of alignment.

Traveling with National Geographic photographer Tomasz Tomaszewski, he had some rules of thumb NGS photoggers go by that he shared in some of his workshops:


Never delete images from a memory card in camera (delete at home when they are downloaded - you risk file handle and pixel storage fragmentation);


keep them well protected from electromagnetic energy in particular;


if possible download to hard drives or / and optical media.


Many of the problems I have seen traveling relate to dirty lenses; jarring and alignment loss / collimation problems; camera / photographer movement; internal dust on the taking sensor or back of the lens. (Think of proper camera holding - if you have any sniper or shooting training, the skills carry across quite well.)

Really? You too? And shots taken with 3rd party batteries make worse shots than those with name brands.

But more importantly, memory cards. As they start to fill up, the quality of the shots go from good to bad to horrible. [My technique is bad, so I never get "excellent" pictures even with full batteries and empty memory cards.]

I find it hard to believe that pictures get blurry as the memory card is almost filled up.

Could you have accidentaly pushed buttons that changed the resolution from fine (best quality) to coarse (smaller picture files)?

I find it hard to believe that pictures get blurry as the memory card is almost filled up.
Me too. ISO got changed to something low so the shutter speed drops and you're getting motion blur?

Drink less while taking pictures? :D

I take my best night pix after 0.5L of Pilsner. Found out in Prague :).

What were you doing with only 0.5L, waiting for another one? :D

That said, I much prefer Krusovice to Pilsner (assuming Urquell)