Is it better to zoom in optically or shoot wider and crop later to reduce camera-shake blur?

Question

When photographing small deer from indoors, I sometimes have to shoot one-handed while holding a child, so camera shake is a real issue. My camera can either be used at full optical zoom, or I can zoom out and crop later and still keep enough detail for a decent photo.

If the final image shows the deer at the same size, which approach gives less blur from camera shake: using full optical zoom, or using less zoom and cropping later? Assume I only care about blur on the deer itself, not the rest of the frame. The camera is usually in Program mode, so it chooses aperture and shutter speed automatically.

user1943 · Accepted Answer

Assuming you crop to the same area and print to the same size, the amount of camera-movement blur should be indistinguishable between the two cases. Using a shorter focal length will decrease the impact by exactly the amount you have to crop and enlarge.

So, it comes down to other factors. The most important (from the narrow viewpoint of camera-shake blur) may be that your zoom lens may allow a wider aperture at shorter focal lengths, which would let you speed up the shutter, reducing blur.

But in real use, I don't think that's necessarily going to make up for the decrease in resolution.

I think what I'd do is ask the kids to let you take turns taking pictures and holding them. They'll appreciate looking at the pictures, too.

Is it better to zoom in optically or shoot wider and crop later to reduce camera-shake blur?

2 Answers

Your Answer

Related Questions