Another "how do you take pics" thread...

[savs]

I just recently decided to go digital so I bought the Canon Powershot A-95. I'm still playing around with it, trying to learn how to use it properly before my trip. I took it to my dd's band concert the other night and was so disappointed when I got home and uploaded my pics. I had used the auto setting on most of the pics and they came out horrible-really dark. Even when I lighten them, they are just not good. I changed the setting to the "night" setting on a couple of the pics before I took them and they were a little bit better, but still not the quality I would expect. I guess I really need to use all of the manual settings to get better shots, but at this point I don't have a clue what shutter speed and apperture and all of that stuff does.

I think the most important thing when you buy one is just playing around with it and taking shots using different settings to determine what works the best. I just wish I had some fireworks to practice on before I get to Disney.

Good luck in making your choice.

This is the one we just bought...Cannon Power Shot A95.

We also have a Cannon Digital Rebal and I think it is the greatest digital camera around. We use it on all of our sons Hockey games and it is so hard to take good pictures in a cold dark place, but these turn out great. We bought the extra long zoom lens for it and we can get the best "Mommy" (the shots taken upclose) but we do this from far away. We always have everyone else asking for us to take pictures of their kid for them

We decided to buy a smaller camera to take with us to Disney, so that is why we then went and bought the A95. I'm slowely learning a few things about it, but I have many more features to figure out. I can not wait to use the "Fireworks" setting on this one too. I wonder if you would have used the setting for "indoor" if your pictures would have turned out any better. It does scare me to think that we are leaving in 8 days and I have not used my camera (except for a few pictures around the house) and I have no idea if they are going to turn out great or not.

What setting did you have yours on when you took the pictures...L, M1, M2, S......Superfine, Fine or Normal (those things that look like stairs?).

 

[eeyore45]

I have a canon!! Its so userfriendly, and I am so clueless I couldnt tell you what I have!! I do know that dh bought me several memory cards (some store was selling them out - the newer canons use a slimmer memory card - I know I'm not to bright!!)

I am a point and shoot kinda person, and this is so small and light, it fits in my pocket!! (and yep, I've lost it a time or two!!)

I love the photos I get from it!! Now I lost that cute little thingy that lets you upload, or download pictures, but I bought one special at the camera store for $12 so I'm back in business!! I like having 2 or 3 memory cards, because I love looking thru the pics, I dont like the delete feature!! 1,000 or 2,000 pictures is overwhelming! I take my card to the photo store and print pictures, and I can still zoom, crop, redeye out there too!!

 

[Madi100]

just so you know in the Magic Kingdom they have a place where you can take you memory card and download the pictures to a disc. I believe it is in the photo shop on Main Street

Anyone know the cost of this? I'm trying to decide if I want to buy another memory card, take the laptop, or go with this option mentioned. I'd never heard of this one.

 

[Jennasis]

First of all you need to have a decent camera. The $40 digital cam or disposable variety just isn't going to cut it. Invest in a NICE quality Canon or Nikon digital or a good 35mm.

When shooting a person or object always have the sun or lighting source behind YOU the photo taker. If you point your camera at a light source or at a subject with lighting behind them, your subject will come out all shadowed.

Fill the frame with as much of the main subject as possible.

USe the proper film speed when using a 35mm. The lower the speed the more lighting you need (ex: 100 speed= BRIGHT SUN....400/800= EXTREME low light situations).

If using an SLR or digital cam with an adjustable shutter keep in kind that the faster the shutter speed the more light you need and the quicker the picture is taken. So to shoot fireworks use a SLOW shutter speed to allow more light in and a slower picture taken (this will allow you to capture the actual Burst of fireworks). If you can't adjust the shutter, simply hold the shutter open with your finger for the entire burst of the firework you are shooting (really only applies to SLR type cameras).

Your flash WILL NOT help unless you are about 4 feet from the subject.

Be careful shooting at windows or other reflective surfaces. You may end up with a flare.

Blurry photos mean the picture taker was likely moving. Don't shoot pics with your elbows out! Rest your elbows against your chest to steady the shot. Don't try to shoot moving objects with low speed film. For action photos you need at least 400 speed and LOTS OF LIGHT!!!! Shooting action in low light will result in blurred photos.

Have fun!

 

[YEKCIM]

Anyone know the cost of this? I'm trying to decide if I want to buy another memory card, take the laptop, or go with this option mentioned. I'd never heard of this one.

Madi,

My suggestion would be to get an extra memory card. I wouldn't personally take the time to d/l to laptop, or mess with trying to get your photos burned to a CD in The World; would take valuable time, and probably costs an arm and leg, as well. You can do all that stuff at your leisure, once you get home. When we went in December, we took two 512MB cards, plus the 32MB card that came with the camera. We filled one of the 512's almost completely, but that is all, and that is 5 full days and nights "in the parks". I'd say two 512's or a 512 and a 256 should suffice, especially if you edit on the fly. As stated earlier in this thread, you can get some pretty good deals on memory cards at www.newegg.com or www.zipzoomfly.com. Both are reputable online retailers who also offer pretty good deals on cameras, too, by the way, if you know exactly what you want. Just as an example, NewEgg currently has a 512MB CF card for $24 after MIR and an SD card for $26.50 after MIR! What is that, about 4 or 5 rolls of film?? And the cards are reusable. Another good site for those who are contemplating a digital camera purchase is www.steves-digicams.com. Loads of good info available there, including reviews on the most popular models.

~YEKCIM

 

[Madi100]

Madi,

My suggestion would be to get an extra memory card. I wouldn't personally take the time to d/l to laptop, or mess with trying to get your photos burned to a CD in The World; would take valuable time, and probably costs an arm and leg, as well. You can do all that stuff at your leisure, once you get home. When we went in December, we took two 512MB cards, plus the 32MB card that came with the camera. We filled one of the 512's almost completely, but that is all, and that is 5 full days and nights "in the parks". I'd say two 512's or a 512 and a 256 should suffice, especially if you edit on the fly. As stated earlier in this thread, you can get some pretty good deals on memory cards at www.newegg.com or www.zipzoomfly.com. Both are reputable online retailers who also offer pretty good deals on cameras, too, by the way, if you know exactly what you want. Just as an example, NewEgg currently has a 512MB CF card for $24 after MIR and an SD card for $26.50 after MIR! What is that, about 4 or 5 rolls of film?? And the cards are reusable. Another good site for those who are contemplating a digital camera purchase is www.steves-digicams.com. Loads of good info available there, including reviews on the most popular models.

~YEKCIM

Thanks! That is probably the best solution. The laptop is just one more thing to worry about. The service is probably expensive. And, it's always good to have an extra memory card. We have a big one, not sure how big, but I have filled it So, I'll go with that option. Thanks for the websites. I will check them out.

 

[WillCAD]

Since I got a laptop I have been takign it to WDW with me on every trip, even before I got a digital camera. Sure, it's one more thing to pack, but it comes in very handy for getting on the net to check my email, look for updates on the boards (and post a few myself), look up reference material, check weather at home, and type up trip notes.

Once I got a digital camera, I naturally started downloading all my pics every night. I also love being able to view my pics, crop them, and delete the bad ones without having to hook up the camera to the TV, which doesn;t always work. And being able to post a pic or two on the boards is fun, as well.

 

[eeyoreforever]

Were you using the flash? I have a Nikon 5700 and LOVE it. One thing I discovered early is that I get much better pics with the flash off.

Actually, the flash was on because I was mostly shooting in the auto mode. I assumed the camera would pick the best settings, but apparently not.


Savs - my settings were on M2 and fine. Would it be better if they were on something else?

When I looked at the pics on the LCD screeen, they looked fine, but once I uploaded them they were dark. This puzzled me also because I assumed that if they looked good on the LCD, the pics would be good.

Someone mentioned looking at the pictures on the tv. Can I take my cables and plub my camera into the tv at Pop and view my shots each night so I'll know if I need to try to do some retakes?

 

[savs]

Savs - my settings were on M2 and fine. Would it be better if they were on something else?

When I looked at the pics on the LCD screeen, they looked fine, but once I uploaded them they were dark. This puzzled me also because I assumed that if they looked good on the LCD, the pics would be good.

Now I'm just learning on this camera also, but if I'm reading the Manual right (yes, I'm reading the manual ) it shows that the M2 is using a lower grade of Resolution. That is why it looks good on the LCD screen but then when they were blown up to a bigger size to look at on the computer they didn't look as nice.

This is just my opinion, if someone knows more about this kind of things...please let us both know.

 

[tzuhouse]

Actually, the flash was on because I was mostly shooting in the auto mode. I assumed the camera would pick the best settings, but apparently not.

Just try keeping in auto mode, but turning flash off, if you can. Everything about my camera is still auto but I've turned the flash off. May not work for you, but definitely helped me.

Mary

 

[WillCAD]

Actually, the flash was on because I was mostly shooting in the auto mode. I assumed the camera would pick the best settings, but apparently not.


Savs - my settings were on M2 and fine. Would it be better if they were on something else?

When I looked at the pics on the LCD screeen, they looked fine, but once I uploaded them they were dark. This puzzled me also because I assumed that if they looked good on the LCD, the pics would be good.

Someone mentioned looking at the pictures on the tv. Can I take my cables and plub my camera into the tv at Pop and view my shots each night so I'll know if I need to try to do some retakes?

The TVs at Pop Century do have RCA inputs on the front, so if your camcorder, digital video, or digital still camera has RCA outputs, you can hook it up to the TV and view your imagery.

For those not familiar with the terms, RCA cables are the common audio-video cables that are often used by VCRs and various types of cameras to connect to TVs, and they look like this:

 

[Margaret West]

Does anyone have this camera? I got one for Xmas and I love it! I have been using it to take action pics at baseball games. I have gotten a few good ones. I would like to know if anyone has used this camera to take pics of fireworks and what settings you used. My goal for this trip in May is to get good pics at Wishes, Illuminations, and Fantasmic .

 

[eeyoreforever]

Just try keeping in auto mode, but turning flash off, if you can. Everything about my camera is still auto but I've turned the flash off. May not work for you, but definitely helped me.

Mary

I'm sure I can turn off the flash - I just have to figure out how to do it. I wish I knew someone who owned this camera that could just teach me everything I need to know. I've read the manual a couple of times now, but nothing seems to be sinking in.

WillCad-Thanks for the info about the tv's at Pop. The cable that came with my camera has the one plug on the end like the picture you posted, but the other end has two thingies on it-not three like the pic. Mine are black and yellow. Do you think this will work?

 

[savs]

I'm sure I can turn off the flash - I just have to figure out how to do it. I wish I knew someone who owned this camera that could just teach me everything I need to know. I've read the manual a couple of times now, but nothing seems to be sinking in.

When you look at the back of the camera, it has the round button that you push to go left, right and it has the little "lighting down arrow" at the top of the button. If you push that until you see that symbol with a circle around it and a line going thru it in your LCD monitor at the top...that means the flash is turned off.

I hope this helps

 

[eeyoreforever]

When you look at the back of the camera, it has the round button that you push to go left, right and it has the little "lighting down arrow" at the top of the button. If you push that until you see that symbol with a circle around it and a line going thru it in your LCD monitor at the top...that means the flash is turned off.

I hope this helps

Okay-that was so easy. I must have missed that in the manual. If you learn any neat tricks or tips or just general useful info,(like maybe the best settings for Spectro, inside shows, etc.) would you mind pm'ing me and sharing? I leave at the end of May and would really like to be a little more proficient.

 

[Vinnie The Pooh]

Memory cards are cheap especially if you deduct the cost of what you would have spent on film. You could get about as many pictures as 28 rolls on a 512MB card. 28 Rolls * 36 = 1008 pics 512MB card could hold 1000 500K pictures. A 1GB 2X as much. A 1GB card costs about $100.00

 

[prncess674]

I bought a Canon Powershot Digital Elph and love it! It's an itty bitty digital camera, and my goal was portability. I hate lugging around a big camera. This one slips in my pocket and even when I went to a formal occasion it dropped into my little velvet evening bag. Since it is so small I can take it everywhere!

If you decide to go digital practice before your trip. Play with all the settings and understand what each of them does! For example my camera has a "night effects mode" which is great for taking distance shots at night (this comes in great for dark shows, parades, and fireworks). A flash on any camera only works withing maybe 15 feet. Check out this photo taken from the top of a hotel in Rio de Janeiro at night.

The other great thing about digital is you can see the results instantly to know if you need to retake that special photo.

 

[dbenlee]

I have a couple of questions regarding digital cameras...

Firstly, I know you can get photos downloaded from your camera to a CD at Disney World, but is there anywhere on site or in the parks where you can buy an extra memory card if need be?

Secondly, I have been told not to pack undeveloped film in a bag you intend to fly with because the airport x-ray machines could wipe the photos. Since we are a strictly digital couple now we don't need to worry, but does anyone know if the same applies to photos stored in a camera or on different memory cards?

Thanks.

lal32, you can buy extra memory cards at WDW, but I wouldn't advise it. Like others have mentioned, they are much more expensive and it would be cheaper to buy them before your trip.

As to you other question, you don't need to worry about airport x-ray machines affecting your digital cameras. The x-rays will not harm your cameras or the images stored on them. If you are still worried about that, request that they hand check your carry on with your camera instead of running them through the x-ray machine.

 

[tzuhouse]

You might try searching for your camera on ebay. We found a dvd that had been created by some unknown group, specifically on my camera. I've watched it several times. It covers all the menus, buttons, what combinations of a button and switch will do, etc. I have found it invaluable. I can only assume they do it for many different digital cameras. Think we paid $30.00 or so for it.

Mary

 

[WillCAD]

I'm sure I can turn off the flash - I just have to figure out how to do it. I wish I knew someone who owned this camera that could just teach me everything I need to know. I've read the manual a couple of times now, but nothing seems to be sinking in.

WillCad-Thanks for the info about the tv's at Pop. The cable that came with my camera has the one plug on the end like the picture you posted, but the other end has two thingies on it-not three like the pic. Mine are black and yellow. Do you think this will work?

Yup.

Not being familiar with the A95, I had to look up the users manual on Canon's web site, and it says that the yellow RCA connector is for video, and the black one is mono-audio. The other end, with the single connector, goes to the camera.