Camera help please.

[LilGMom]

I know that there are some great photographers here so I am hoping that someone can help me or at least point me in the right direction.

I have a Canon PowerShot SX 110 IS that I think I could really love. If I am completely still and taking a picture of something stationary the picture turns out really good. Occaisionally I can take a picture of something moving and it looks pretty good. I do have a few 'action' shots (the ending explosion at LMA or the what from the torpedo at Backlot Tour) that look ok but I am hitting my head on how to get consistently good action shots. I have tried the "Kids/Pets" setting (aka Sports) but have messed with the speed, etc. so now I'm getting streaking and ghostly looking people. Right now I'm trying to get some decent shots of my DS7's basketball games and they are awful. But we have a trip coming up and I'd like to take some good shots of the parades, FOTLK, on Safari, Streetmosphere Performers, etc. so I want to know how to use this camera prior to the trip.

Does anyone know of any good websites that can give a photography newbie some good hints in language a complete novice can understand?

TIA!!

 

[JR6ooo4]

the problem you describe is very common, even with $1000 cameras using $500 lenses.

Low light situations, like a living room or a basketball game require the camera to hold the shutter open longer to get a proper exposure.

Raise the ISO setting on the camera. It takes away some of the quality of the picture (by adding noise etc..) but it helps speed up the shutter.

Lower the aperture setting. This makes a larger hole for light to enter.

or set the exposure compensation to a negative number. the pictures will come out dark, but you will have a faster shutter, if only slightly. then bump the brightness in post processing.

Mikeeee

 

[wdwwishes]

I just stumbled upon some helpful info. about photography and taking pictures on Canon's website. Try www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr It's geared towrds digital SLRs but it's good inormation. Other sources that I use are to simply take my camera and head to the camera shop and talk to the folks there. I've also seen some tutorial videos at camera shops. The best thing to do is practice, practice, practice.

 

[afo]

I'd say the best thing you can do to improve your shots at the moment are to understand how ISO, aparture and speed work with your camera.
Basically, the longer the shutter is open the more movement your lens with catch. For sports or other fast photos, you need the fastest shutter speed possible, while still letting enough light into the lens as possible. To do this (as mentioned above) you can increase the ISO (can lead to noisy images) or play with the aperture settings.
Your best bet is to do some reading, combined with some experimenting with your camera. If you see how 3-4 shots of the same thing, in the same light affect the outcome of the photo when you change the ISO or apreture, you will better understand what you are doing when you make these changes.
A decent website to read up on is: cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.html#english
or
dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/
If you have specific questions, ask. Lots of ppl on this board can try to answer.

AF.