Canon Cameras

Canon Elph, best setting for sports?

When I try and take pictures, the camera won't focus on one thing and I miss almost every good part of the game. When i put it on not focusing it gets blurry. whats the best setting?

Public Comments

1. There are a lot of different Elph camera models ... if yours has a sports setting on it, then that is the setting you want to use. If it has shutter priority mode, then use it and set the shot to the highest shutter speed you can and still expose the sensor properly (this may mean raising your ISO and accepting some noise in the image) or try using the aperture priority setting and keep the lens wide open and see which shutter speed the camera chooses. If it is faster than 1/250th second, chances are you will get some nice shots without much blur
2. The Canon Digital Elphs have fairly limited functions. Most of the control is by the camera. You cannot manually adjust your shutter speed and/or aperture, only the ISO and a few other things. For best results you need good outdoor lighting. You could turn off the AiAF and use the center focus frame instead. I never use AiAF, because I prefer to know exactly where I am focusing. You can follow the subject with your camera, lock in the focus, then take the shot. Many Elphs do not have a Sports or Action Special Scene Mode. If that's the case, then you should try the Kids & Pets mode (it applies a faster shutter speed). You could try continuous shooting mode. You could also use Focus Lock and AF Lock (look up, Shooting Hard-To-Focus Subjects, in your Advanced User Guide).
3. If it has a sports mode, use it. Be aware, though, that small cameras often have slow autofocus and zoom, and poor low-light focusing. They're not really meant for fast action and you may get poor results no matter what you do. HTH.