Canon S3

[FletchFab5]

Hey Splash...what service is your husband in? I'm a military spouse too

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

LPZ_Stitch! and FletchFab5, thanks for the info!
Now, if I can just get comfortable with it before we leave for VWL in 9 days It is just a little bit different from it's replacement a Kodak DX7440.

No problem!

Just remember to enjoy your vacation and don't spend the whole time worrying about settings! When we went in Sept., I shot 95% of my pictures (the outdoors ones, at least) in P mode with the ISO locked at 80, and I got a lot of keepers. I also keep my S3 on the 'Positive Film' setting in the MyColors menu, it adds a little 'pop' to the colors, but doesn't overdo them like the Vivid modes can.

To make life easier, I set my own Custom "show" mode; ISO 400, Spot Metering, based on Av mode with Av=2.7. That way, I didn't have to spend the first few minutes of each indoor show fiddling with settings; just switch the dial to 'C' and I was ready to go.

Having seen how well Noiseware can save an ISO800 picture, I wish I'd tried using it a little more on the darker rides. I *almost* got a (relatively) clean shot of Cpt. Jack Sparrow in the treasure room at the end of PotC, but the boat hit the bumpy wheels under the water just as I clicked the shutter and it came out complete crap. If I'd pushed the ISO to 800, I might have gotten something decent.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Congrats. And welcome!
Just don't try taking pictures of my kitchen in that florescent lighting. lol I'm still messing with the white balance & flash strength for kitchen color to accurate. You've seen my attempts on the remodeling thread. lol Everything else is great though.

You're safe! You've seen my kitchen photos and how horrid my paint always looks. I promise... I won't barge my way into your house until I have it all figured out.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Hey Splash...what service is your husband in? I'm a military spouse too

Full time & part time Army National Guard. Systems admin (f/t) & communications (p/t) at state headquarters. 25+ years & still counting.

 

[SplshMtn99]

LPZ Stitch, after the holidays, can we have a Depth of Field class? I think it will come in handy for Yosemite & Tahoe. And anything else you think I might need for a CA May trip of all outdoors.

I've finally ventured into Program mode, but its been white balance so far for cloudy & florescent. Cloudy working good. Florescent not so much. I need to remember to tone down the flash too. Its strong sometimes.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

LPZ Stitch, after the holidays, can we have a Depth of Field class? I think it will come in handy for Yosemite & Tahoe. And anything else you think I might need for a CA May trip of all outdoors.

We can, but remember that control over the huge DOF that comes with a small sensor camera like the S3 is really limited. There are, however, some tricks to get some sort of control over it....

 

[SplshMtn99]

We can, but remember that control over the huge DOF that comes with a small sensor camera like the S3 is really limited. There are, however, some tricks to get some sort of control over it....

Go easy on me. ok.
Something I can set & forget would be great if possible. lol

There is a local chasm I can practice on during the winter. But I'll only be able to access the entrance so it won't be awesome shots. Too slippery to be in there during winter. Its all rock & boulders.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Go easy on me. ok.
Something I can set & forget would be great if possible. lol

Here's some quick tips to get you started:

#1) use the largest aperture you can get (2.7 if not zoomed, 3.5 at full zoom) -- note, this won't show anywhere near the shallow DOF of a DSLR, but you should get blurrier backgrounds (especially when also employing #2 and #3, below).

#2) put as much distance between your subject and the background as possible.

#3) stand back and zoom in on your subject, although this will require you to use a higher Av (3.5 vs 2.7), DOF is shallower at higher zoom levels.

#4) use Macro or Supermacro if at all possible.

You'll have to do some experiments to determine how much of a shallow DOF you can get using tip #1, #2 and/or #3. And, of course, you can only use #4 for small things.

Getting a deep DOF with an S3 is easy; set the smallest aperture you can get (8.0 looks like practically 'infinity' to me)....

 

[SplshMtn99]

Printing that out to play with. Thanks.

 

[yearbook50]

I got an S3 back in Jan 07, specifically for a trip to South Africa/Namibia I was taking and I loved using it.

Here are some of my favorites:

Elephant:

Lion w/ Lioness:

Penguin at Boulder Beach:

Cape of Good Hope:

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I got an S3 back in Jan 07, specifically for a trip to South Africa/Namibia I was taking and I loved using it.

Wow!! Those are lovely pictures; especially the elephant at the beach and the Cape. Both my DW and I have a soft spot for penguins, too ... cute little guy!

The elephant really looks like he's checking you out!

The golden sunlight coloring the lions is beautiful, but the pic is just a tad blurry, probably due to the 1/20 shutter speed. But, hey, I'd rather have a slightly blurry picture of lions in the wild than no picture at all! How close to them were you?!?

 

[yearbook50]

The elephant really looks like he's checking you out!

That would be because he charged at us about 30 seconds after that picture.

The golden sunlight coloring the lions is beautiful, but the pic is just a tad blurry, probably due to the 1/20 shutter speed. But, hey, I'd rather have a slightly blurry picture of lions in the wild than no picture at all! How close to them were you?!?

Yeah, I knew it was a bit blurry but it is kinda hard to take good pictures on an open aired vehicle, but I still like it I was a bit closer to the lions than I would have liked to been. I want to say I was about 100/200 feet from them.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Yeah, I knew it was a bit blurry but it is kinda hard to take good pictures on an open aired vehicle, but I still like it I was a bit closer to the lions than I would have liked to been. I want to say I was about 100/200 feet from them.

They would have been blurry because I would have been shaking!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

That would be because he charged at us about 30 seconds after that picture.

That must have been amazingly cool! Scary as anything, I'd imagine, but cool nonetheless!

Yeah, I knew it was a bit blurry but it is kinda hard to take good pictures on an open aired vehicle, but I still like it I was a bit closer to the lions than I would have liked to been. I want to say I was about 100/200 feet from them.

Again ... amazing!! I wouldn't pass up the opportunity for a shot like that even if I had to crank the ISO up to 800 and Noiseware the heck out of it later! How often in your life are you going to be < 200ft. from wild lions!!

Sure, it's not going to make the cover of National Geographic, but what's a tiny bit of blur against capturing a memory like that!?

Great work!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

even if I had to crank the ISO up to 800 and Noiseware the heck out of it later

That's exactly how I got these last night. Overall, I thought they came out pretty well considering.

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[LPZ_Stitch!]

That's exactly how I got these last night. Overall, I thought they came out pretty well considering.

They look great to me ... especially the snow-covered boat!

Sometimes I really think we get way too caught up in the "noise" issue....

 

[SFLTIGGER]

Finally got my photobucket account set up. I took these the other night, just playing around.

Our tree shot Auto

Our tree topper w/ vivid color

2000 WDW ornament shot w/ macro & vivid color

Also shot with macro, no color adjust, -2 flash

Does anyone have any suggestions for settings for shooting Osborne lights?

 

[suwoogie]

I've done it. I asked for the Canon S5 for Christmas and it arrived yesterday. I grabbed it out of DH's hands and opened it before he could wrap it and put it under the tree. (hey, I needed to see if was in good shape)

It is totally overwhelming! There are too many manuals for it!!! LOL. I guess I'll take a deep breath and dig in and hope that it will all click at some point. (pun intended)

But first I have to give it back so he can wrap it and I can pretend I'm surprised on Christmas morning.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Does anyone have any suggestions for settings for shooting Osborne lights?

With or without a tripod?

With: I'd go in Manual Mode, setting Av = max (2.7 or 3.5 depending on zoom), ISO=80, and Tv=2-4 sec. depending on what scene you're trying to get. And, I'd see what the camera "thinks" of the settings by using the half-press of the shutter button. If you see a red -2, it means you're way underexposed. If you see a white +2 it means you're way over exposed. I think for a bright Christmas light display, a little underexposed would be best (maybe -1/3 or -2/3)....

Without: I'd try Av mode, setting Av = max (2.7 or 3.5 depending on zoom), ISO=400 and hope the camera can get a Tv of 1/40 or faster (about the slowest you can go hand-held and still get a decently sharp pic). It might also be worth using the FUNC menu to set a little Exposure Compensation to underexpose by -1/3....

This also depends a lot on how steady your hands are; the Canon's IS is good, but it's not perfect. I've seen sharp images taken, hand-held, at even slower shutter speeds than 1/40, but it's harder and you've generally need to take more shots just to get one "keeper".

Noiseware is your friend when shooting at 400 or 800.

 

[SFLTIGGER]

I've done it. I asked for the Canon S5 for Christmas and it arrived yesterday. I grabbed it out of DH's hands and opened it before he could wrap it and put it under the tree. (hey, I needed to see if was in good shape)

It is totally overwhelming! There are too many manuals for it!!! LOL. I guess I'll take a deep breath and dig in and hope that it will all click at some point. (pun intended)

But first I have to give it back so he can wrap it and I can pretend I'm surprised on Christmas morning.

I'm sorry to hear that I got away with keeping mine out, DW wanted me to wait, but we are leaving for WL next Thursday. I convinced her we HAD to have it for WDW.

Also, thanks again LPZ_Stitch! your advice is invaluable! Will try to post some pics when we get back!