Hi Steph! Since you just got the camera and don't have much time to experiment (isn't the Hannah Montana concert coming up soon for you?), I'll try to make it as easy as possible, based on my experience with my Canon S3. I don't fully understand all the technical stuff either (although I've gotten MUCH better since I've been hanging out on this board!
), so I hope the "pros" will bear with me and my explanations.
When taking a picture, ISO, aperture and shutter speed all combine to create the correct exposure for taking a photo. You can have various combinations of the 3 and have the lighting (how bright or dark the photo is) basically the same, but end up with diff. results.
First of all let me say I have read the book not all of it but quit a bit of it anyhow. I messed with it a little bit as well.
I don't really understand what you all are talking about making ALOT of*noise* , I am assuming you are not meaning the shutter when you take the picture but maybe you are.
The ISO has me all confused first of not sure how to know what setting etc etc.???
You're correct, "noise" has nothing to do with hearing noises from the camera, it has to do with graininess in the photos. Which is where ISO comes in. Remember in the old days of using film, if you were taking photos in bright sunlight you bought a roll of ISO100 film, but if you knew you'd be shooting in low light you'd buy ISO400 or 800. But the "faster" ISO400 or 800 film caused grainy pictures.
Same thing with digital cameras (and the size of the sensor inside your camera also have something to do with graininess; I think it was Groucho who had a detailed explanation of this somewhere on the Photo Board) - your camera can boost the ISO (either automatically or you can set it yourself
in certain shooting modes). My boys are both in the high school marching band, so I take a lot of shots at band competitions at night under football stadium lights. So I use Sports mode on my S3. Sports mode uses a fast shutter to stop action. But in order to have enough light so I don't end up with dark photos, the camera opens the aperture as much as it can (2.8 or 3.5 when zoomed), and if that's still not enough light, then it'll boost the ISO to 800 or 1600. (Note that in Sports mode on the S3 - and I assume the S5 as well - you can't manually set the ISO.) This results in grainy photos. I don't know how well you'll be able to see the graininess on these small photos, but here's a shot from Festival of the Lion King; look right around the flames on the end of his stick and you'll see the grain:
That's why a lot of us run these kinds of photos thru Noiseware (which you can get download for free) - it smooths out the grain, and you'll end up with this:
Next... there is this F2.5 that can be changed etc etc. what does that all mean in short term and how do you know what number to have it on??
HOw do you decided the speed it should be at is higher faster or is it actually slower??
F2.5 refers to the aperture, this is how big the opening in the lens is and controls how much light is let in. Some of the really fancy lenses have apertures that range from F1.8 clear down to F11 or F16. Think of this like measuring cups - 1/2 cup is bigger than 1/4 cup; an aperture of F1.8 is wider than F11, so F1.8 will let in more light. So if you're taking photos in low light (light a concert) you'll want to use as wide an aperture as possible to let in as much light as possible.
When you mention "speed", are you asking about the shutter speed? This is how fast the shutter opens and closes; open longer lets in more light BUT if you want to stop action (like at the concert), you'll need a fast shutter. Again, think of measuring cups: a shutter speed of 1/10 of a sec. is slower than 1/125 of a sec.
I am taking the girls to Hannah Montana ... its inside and I am sitting fairly far back. I am going to assume that there is alot of movement on the stage with it being a young active singer and her kind of music.
How do you decide what setting is best???
I have taken some basic pictures and that but really can not grasp teh meaning of some of these setting adjustments and what exactly they mean and how to make it the right setting for what I am doing.
I am not asking to rewrite the handbook though it seems like that maybe
.
I am a hands on learner I need to see it to get it so this book it bugging the you know what out of me!
Guess I just got a camera that really I am not used to after my Kodak easyshare! I hope someone can help me out and if not I guess I will figure it out at some point
Thanks everyone in advance if you can help me out!
I love the camera so far though
After all that, my advice: since you're still fairly new to the camera and don't have too much time to play around with all the settings, do what I do and shoot on Sports mode. You'll stand a better chance of getting decent shots. They'll be grainy, but all you have to do is run them thru Noiseware and they'll look great. Another tip that Sharon Lowe posted here a while back: turn your shutter onto continuous shooting (a small button on the top of the camera). I've found that helps tremendously in getting sharper photos - you might move the camera just a tiny bit when you first press the shutter and blur the shot, but when using continuous shutter your 2nd and 3rd shots will be sharper.
Did I help a little, or confuse you more?
You took such beautiful pictures. I know this has probably been asked but how did you take your firework shots? I used night snapshot with continuous shooting and they came out pretty good. I like to see how other people take theirs. Thanks so much!
I would take your camera to a camera shop and they should have one you could try out on your camera to see what is most comfortable for you! Good luck!
(The only ones I tried were Night Snapshot, Sport and Auto, no tweaking, but no luck either) What setting do you find are best for these pictures? 
