Canon S3

[daisy2]

Okay first pictures I snapped of my cat Tinkerbell.

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[daisy2]

Sorry for some reason it did not work so I am trying it again.

 

[daisy2]

htthttp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/bonpryr/tinkposing.jpgp://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/bonpryr/Tinkerbellyawning.jpg


Okay sorry guys I am new to posting pictures

 

[daisy2]

Okay I don't know what I am doing wrong but I am going to try one more time.

Here I go the first one is of my cat Tinkerbell yawning..

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Can anyone give me some quick pointers on the areas I should focus (no pun intended!) with the few short days before we go?

I've read the basic camera user guide. Now I'm on to the big book. How did you teach yourself how to use it and how long did it take?

Here's a great site that will help you get a handle on the settings on your camera: www.GoingManual.com ... it's not S3 specific, but it will help you gain an understanding of what the manual settings (Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO) are all about and what effect they have on your picture-taking. I learned A LOT from that site and it's greatly improved my control of the camera. It took about a week or so to really understand what the camera is doing and it's been months of honing that understanding into the ability to take good pictures ... I'm still working on that second part.

Photography, IMO, is kind of like chess; learning the "rules" only takes a short while, but learning what to do with those rules takes experience. Just get out there and start shooting pictures!

You can probably trust 'P mode' -- simply setting the ISO at 80 or 100 and the White Balance to Auto -- for 90% of your Disney photography. Or, actually, for probably 90% of all your photography! You can move into the other modes as there are specific features that you're looking for....

For indoors and night shots, I'd switch to Av mode and set it to 2.7 (the largest possible aperture), and the metering to Spot, and let the camera pick the shutter speed (half-press to see how fast of a shutter speed you're getting and take more than one shot if it's slow -- which it probably will be). You can bump the ISO up to 200 or even 400 if you've got noise reduction software (Noiseware Community is free!) but only use ISO800 if you're desperate for the shot and can live with a lot of noise.

I'd also recommend practicing taking Macro and Supermacro pictures, there's lots of neat little things to photograph at Disney, and learning to use these features without getting frustrated will help ... for some reason, Macro seems "harder" than Supermacro because the focal distance is harder to judge by eye in Macro and you'll get more "yellow box" warnings instead of green box "in focus."

If you've got any other questions, just ask ... we're very helpful, here!

 

[MichelleVW]

Been playing with this camera alot lately and finally having time to get the hang of it and loving it more every day!!!

Here are some baby birds that I found in my barn tonight..

trying to get the hang of portrait mode...

took this one last night of a little girl walking my horse...I think it's too cute!!!

 

[SplshMtn99]

Daisy2, I think this is what you were trying to post based on the URLs above.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Hjd0411, Charlotte's teeth are soooooo clean & white!!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Love the bird, horse and cat pictures!

 

[hjd0411]

Hjd0411, Charlotte's teeth are soooooo clean & white!!!

Yes, she loves her bones - has one almost every day, and those teeth are sparklers!!

 

[LMarge]

Been playing with this camera alot lately and finally having time to get the hang of it and loving it more every day!!!


took this one last night of a little girl walking my horse...I think it's too cute!!!

this is beautiful!! great capture!

 

[TamieH]

I need help. I've had my S3 a few months and get some really good pictures, love the zoom and really love the video function. My main problem is with noise in lots of my pictures. I'm new at this, so I tend to use Auto most of the time until I figure the rest out. I have been using the free noise reduction software mentioned earlier...and that helps a lot, but its a real pain to have to use it so often. I don't know how to post a picture, so any ideas what I'm doing wrong. I have had this with both indoor and outdoor photos. Why do I get noise in these pictures? Are some setting better than others? I figured Auto should work for most everyday photos ok.

We are leaving in about 8 weeks for a Disney cruise, so I'd like to figure this out.

Also, I ordered 2 of the 2GB Sandisk Extreme III SD cards to go with my 2 - 2GUltra II's since I'll need capacity for a 7 day cruise. Does the 4GB card work ok with this camera? I hope the Extreme III is a good, fast card. Many thanks!!!

 

[Amy]

I need help. I've had my S3 a few months and get some really good pictures, love the zoom and really love the video function. My main problem is with noise in lots of my pictures. I'm new at this, so I tend to use Auto most of the time until I figure the rest out. I have been using the free noise reduction software mentioned earlier...and that helps a lot, but its a real pain to have to use it so often. I don't know how to post a picture, so any ideas what I'm doing wrong. I have had this with both indoor and outdoor photos. Why do I get noise in these pictures? Are some setting better than others? I figured Auto should work for most everyday photos ok.

We are leaving in about 8 weeks for a Disney cruise, so I'd like to figure this out.

Also, I ordered 2 of the 2GB Sandisk Extreme III SD cards to go with my 2 - 2GUltra II's since I'll need capacity for a 7 day cruise. Does the 4GB card work ok with this camera? I hope the Extreme III is a good, fast card. Many thanks!!!

I noticed on my S3 that I get a lot of noise when I use Auto or Sports Mode - these are modes where the camera sets everything, including the ISO, you have no control. (I think there are a couple of other modes where the camera sets the ISO, too, but I can't remember them off-hand - probably the Night Scene and Night Snapshot.)

What you want to do is do most of your "auto" shooting in Program Mode. This works exactly the same as Auto (just point and shoot), BUT you have the ability to change things. If you're worried about noise, switch to P Mode, then push the ISO button on the back of the camera until you see the ISO that you want to use, and the camera will adjust the aperture & shutter but leave the ISO at whatever you set. I usually keep mine on ISO 100 or 200, bump it up to 400 if I need to if I'm shooting in low light.

There are other things you can adjust in P mode once you're more comfortable with the camera - you can bracket your shots, tone down the flash, etc. I'm amazed at all the neat things this little camera can do!

 

[micki7337]

micki, you will probably be fine on some of the auto settings. Just keep it simple until you get to know the camera better. It took me all winter and spring to finally feel comfortable with it, but others seem to have better luck than I did in a shorter time. Have a nice trip!

Thanks for the advice and vote of confidence. I took a few outside - some worked othes didn't but I'm chalking this up to it was very late into dusk and I was just using the auto setting.

I did take a few macro pictures of some flowers. I have to remember there are other settings to help make better pictures. I used to love taking this type of photo back when I was young. But back then I used a Canon A40 with all types of lens and filters. And for a long time it seemed that every picture I took was awesome. But age definitely changes your perspective and I just haven't taken the time to stop and enjoy the little things - hence my new toy!

I did take a few inside tonight using the indoor setting. Here's a few of what I've done so far.

 

[twokats]

I have a Canon SD550 which I basically gave to my daughter and now I need a P & S for me whenever she is gone with the 550. I have been researching between the S5 & S3. Are there any S5 owners that can give me a reason to go that direction. The price is no problem between either one. I just don't want to get the wrong one and then be disappointed. So far I have been happy with my Canon choices. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
Kat

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

The choice, IMO, between these two cameras really just comes down to are you willing to pay the extra $$$ for the S5? Since price isn't your deciding factor, I'd recommend the S5. However, I don't think you'd be disappointed with either ... they're both great cameras!

Both are excellent cameras and the S5 has several advantages: bigger/sharper LCD, hotshoe for external flash, 4G video file limit, Face Detection, etc.

The only drawbacks (that I see discussed) are that it doesn't have as fast a Continuous mode, doesn't have an Intervalometer*, and is a little noisier (the consequences of even more MP on the same small sensor). However, unless you're always trying to make 8"x10" or bigger prints, you'll probably never notice the IQ differences.

* a neat feature that lets you take time-lapse photographs over long periods of time.

 

[Amy]

I'm a very happy owner of an S3. We were at Best Buy last week, so I was checking out the S5 - I have no intention of buying one, just curious. I really liked the larger LCD screen. Didn't care too much for the hot shoe; if I wanted to cart around an extra flash for my camera, I'd get a digital SLR and all the lenses and stuff that go with it, KWIM?

The 6mp S3 vs 8mp S5 - do you print a lot of large-size pictures that you'd need the extra mp's? And 8mp will use up your SD cards faster than 6mp. (I went from a 3mp Canon A70 to the 6mp S3 and I was in shock at how fast you burn up a memory card!)

Oh, the S5 also had an "Aquarium" setting under the SCN mode on the dial. Do you take a lot of aquarium shots?

 

[twokats]

I have not taken many aquarium shots and don't know that it is on my agenda anytime soon. I use the camera mainly at church and on vacation (which is of course for 95% of the time WDW). Right now the bulk of my pictures are on the computer and I don't print very many. The church ones get printed the most. I am not real concerned with the continuous shots either. If it comes to that I do own a Rebel XT to fall back on. I just want another P&S that is in between the XT and the 550.

 

[daisy2]

SplshMtn99 Daisy2, I think this is what you were trying to post based on the URLs above.


Yes thank you Spalshmtn99. I was having problems with it. Thanks for helping me out.

 

[meliahz]

Sorry . . . A little off subject . . .

I wanted to post my 1st 2 "stitched" pictures. I didn't use the software that came with the camera (it's still sitting nicely in the box) ~ I just used the program we already had (Microsoft Digital Image Pro 10) and it was SUPER easy! Hope it doesn't come out too big!

1st try:

2nd try . . . I played with the "color hue" on this one (the little island right under the coconut tree is "China Man's Hat" ~ it's hidden behind the coconut tree in the first pic):