Blurry Photos w Optio

Hi all,

I am not a trained photographer or anything, and I am in Europe using my PENTAX OPTIO Z10, and in the top left hand corner of my photographs, when I play them back on my camera is a green hand, the shake reduction process. When i had them printed at Costco they came out blurry, only the ones with the green hand in the left hand corner. I was wondering if there is somewhere else i can print them where they will turn out clear, or if i have to change something about my camera. ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS will be extremely helpful!! Thanks

~

Unfortunately, if the photos are blurry, they're blurry. There's not much you can do after the fact. You can try software sharpening, but it usually wont' help much. Shake Reduction is great. But it's not foolproof. If the light is too low, the shutter speed will get slower than it can handle. I can't remember if the Pentax Optio cameras show the shutter speed. But you should check. If it gets below about 1/15th of a second, you'll probably get blurry photos. Without Shake Reduction, below 1/60th second is risky. Try to remember to watch the shutter speed in the LCD when you're taking pictures (if the camera will show it). If it gets too slow, either increase the ISO, use the flash, or use a tripod.

I hope that helps. It may seem like a lot of techy mumbo jumbo. But it will make a huge difference in the quality of your photos. Let us know if you have more questions. We're here to help :)