Canon Power Shot G5 Questions

[Mom_of_3_Pirates]

I bought a G5 about 3 years ago and at the time it seemed to do pretty well with pics, but any problems, I blamed on the operator. I am not the best and have tried to experiment without any luck. They do not seem to have the quality that I am looking for. I do not seem to have the budget to buy a new camera before our trip at the end of this month.

My daughter is performing at the Capital One Bowl pre-game show and I desperately want to take good pics of her. I'm thinking I will need a better lens than what came with the camera. So, I'm thinking something with a telephoto, plus able to shoot sports of the kids at other sporting events. I also want to take better pictures of the Castle & Osborne Lights during my first Christmas Disney trip. Any advice?

Also, I love the pictures that everybody takes inside some of the dark rides. Any tips? I started to take a picture of the fireplace mantle when you first walk on the Haunted Mansion and got scolded by the CM. Boy, did I want to hide with the ghosts!

Everybody's pics on here are great and I enjoy looking at them and reading how you took them.

Any advice will be appreciated!

 

[klmall]

Were you taking a picture with flash on? I have taken many pics with my G5 inside attractions at WDW with my flash turned off. I took this with my G5 in '06 in Auto mode in a hurry as we were moving to the Doom buggies.

I enjoy my G5 and have felt that using the manual along with Dennis Curtin's "Short Course in Canon PowerShot G5 Photography"
(http://www.shortcourses.com/store/canon-g5.html) really helped me. You can order this as a DVD, paperback, digital download or any combination.

Some of the shots I like best have been in Auto mode but others haven't. Here's a sampling.

I'm planning to replace this camera with a DSLR in a year or so but in the meantime try using the hints in the manual and on this board for fireworks and parades.

 

[Mom_of_3_Pirates]

No, I had my flash turned off so it wouldn't "offend" the ghosts. It seems the minute she saw my camera she was ready to get me. Your photos are really good. I will have to check out that site. Thanks!!!!

 

[Groucho]

Your G5 is what is called a "point-n-shoot" camera and you cannot change the lens on it - you're stuck with what it has now. Sorry...

Decent shots in very low-light like on Haunted Mansion, etc, are virtually impossible with any point-n-shoot due to a much smaller imaging sensor than a DSLR, and even a DSLR generally needs a special high-speed lens to get anything decent, and you still get many throw-aways.

 

[Mom_of_3_Pirates]

Thanks for the input. Maybe Santa will put that new DSLR that I have been wanting under the tree for me this year!

 

[ukcatfan]

I bought a G5 about 3 years ago and at the time it seemed to do pretty well with pics, but any problems, I blamed on the operator. I am not the best and have tried to experiment without any luck. They do not seem to have the quality that I am looking for. I do not seem to have the budget to buy a new camera before our trip at the end of this month.

My daughter is performing at the Capital One Bowl pre-game show and I desperately want to take good pics of her. I'm thinking I will need a better lens than what came with the camera. So, I'm thinking something with a telephoto, plus able to shoot sports of the kids at other sporting events. I also want to take better pictures of the Castle & Osborne Lights during my first Christmas Disney trip. Any advice?

Also, I love the pictures that everybody takes inside some of the dark rides. Any tips? I started to take a picture of the fireplace mantle when you first walk on the Haunted Mansion and got scolded by the CM. Boy, did I want to hide with the ghosts!

Everybody's pics on here are great and I enjoy looking at them and reading how you took them.

Any advice will be appreciated!

First, there is no reason that CM should have said anything to you about pics in the HM. That is without any doubt NOT a photography restricted attraction. They either did not know what they were talking about or they were trying to play the creepy/mean HM role with really bad delivery .

As for the cam, I agree that you would likely need a DSLR for what you are looking to do. For the bowl game, it looks to me that it is a daytime game, so you should have pretty good lighting. It would be best to have a wide aperture telephoto lens for the shots, but you might be able to get away with a typical consumer grade tele zoom lens given daytime lighting. They are typically in the f/3.5-5.6 at their widest aperture. The important thing is to make sure your shutter speed stays fast enough. If you are going to be pretty far from the on field action, then something like 1/250 seconds might be enough, but the closer you are, the more dramatic the movement is relative to the rest of the composition so you might need to go to 1/500 seconds or faster. Also, keep a shutter speed at least as fast as 1/focal length. So, if you are at an effective 200mm, then you should at a minimum be shooting at 1/200 second shutter speed. That is to prevent blur from camera shake.

If a new cam and lens is not in the cards for the game, then just be sure to keep the shutter speed requirements in mind so you can adjust the aperture and ISO to be able to meet the shutter needs.

Kevin

 

[Mom_of_3_Pirates]

Thanks for the extra info, Kevin. I will certainly keep in mind what you said regarding pics with the old camera or hopefully, a new one. Wish me luck. I certainly appreciate all the input everybody has provided!