Canon S3

[LaurieG]

I don't know if you CAN turn on the flash in that mode... Off to read the little S5 book...

Boy I hope not! Please let me know what you find.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Boy I hope not! Please let me know what you find.

According to this on-line S3 manual, the flash is NOT available in Sports mode ... don't see why it would be different on the S5.

However, there's nothing special about Sports mode you couldn't duplicate in Av/Tv mode AND have access to the on-board flash. All Sports mode does is enable the Continuous (in fact, you can have High-Speed Continuous if you DON'T use Sports mode) and favor high ISOs to get higher shutter speeds.

If you set your camera in Av mode, open the Av as wide as it will go (2.7) and set the ISO to 200 or 400, and enable the high-speed continuous (button on top near the shutter button), you'll be (essentially) achieving the same thing as Sports mode.

Remember the on-board flash only has an effective range of about seventeen feet or less ... firing the flash at greater distances just wastes battery life....

The reason why (I believe) Sports has no flash is because it's designed for sporting events where you'd normally be sitting in the stands where flash is useless (except for lighting up the backs of the people's heads in the row in front of you).

 

[LaurieG]

The reason why (I believe) Sports has no flash is because it's designed for sporting events where you'd normally be sitting in the stands where flash is useless (except for lighting up the backs of the people's heads in the row in front of you).

Have you been sitting in front of me!
Thank You so much for the info. I would have NEVER figured that out on my own, I am lucky I was able to turn the camera on!! You guys are AWESOME!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

The reason why (I believe) Sports has no flash is because it's designed for sporting events where you'd normally be sitting in the stands where flash is useless (except for lighting up the backs of the people's heads in the row in front of you).

Have you been sitting in front of me!
Thank You so much for the info. I would have NEVER figured that out on my own, I am lucky I was able to turn the camera on!! You guys are AWESOME!

Heh! It's very common, though. You could see the flashes going off non-stop during the Superbowl ... I found myself wondering what was the ratio of people who A) thought their flashes could reach the field to B) just didn't know how to turn them off....

One of the best things about the S3/S5 is that the flash cannot fire unless you manually raise it ... *never* a chance of it "mis"-firing on a Disney dark ride!

 

[WickedWench]

One of the best things about the S3/S5 is that the flash cannot fire unless you manually raise it ... *never* a chance of it "mis"-firing on a Disney dark ride!

I totally agree! I hate using flash, and always had to take the time to turn mine off when I used my old camera. I LOVE that I can use my S5 without worrying about accidental flashes!

 

[Doe]

I have a question about my S5. I keep getting a thing on the screen that says busy with a hand sign. I can't find anything in my manual about it and it's happening so much I'm missing shots because it won't let me take the picture. Any ideas/help greatly appreciated!

 

[Amy]

I have a question about my S5. I keep getting a thing on the screen that says busy with a hand sign. I can't find anything in my manual about it and it's happening so much I'm missing shots because it won't let me take the picture. Any ideas/help greatly appreciated!

Is the camera NOT letting you take pictures? (i.e., you can't push down on the shutter?) Is it a hand with parentheses around it? I have the S3 IS, and that hand symbol means the image stabilization is on, helping to prevent camera shake. If that's the hand symbol you're getting, it's something good!

 

[DueyDooDah]

I have a question about my S5. I keep getting a thing on the screen that says busy with a hand sign. I can't find anything in my manual about it and it's happening so much I'm missing shots because it won't let me take the picture. Any ideas/help greatly appreciated!

I don't have and S5 but it sounds like the buffer is full or the flash is recharging. If it's the buffer, you may be using a very slow memory card or your using the [high-speed] continuous mode. Make sure your memory card has a higher speed factor (it'll say something like X120, although the number may be different). If it's in continuous shoot mode and you aere taking numerous pictures very quickly, you need to set it to single shot mode. This should prevent buffer overrun.

If your batteries are not charged up, your flash will take a longer time to recharge. Ensure your batteries are fresh and, if necessary, replace them if they don't last long.

 

[tiff13]

got up at 5 this morning to take some sunrise pics. sorta disappointed how they turned out

 

[FletchFab5]

what settings did you use? It's a beautiful scene!

 

[donaldsgal]

LPZ_Stitch - I got those batteries and the charger you recommended. It says to charge them and let them run down 4 times so they work to their best capacity. First, do you REALLy need to do this? I got 24 batteries - that'd be a LOT of charging! And secondly, how do you let them run down?

 

[tiff13]

I used custom and then changed the exposure and colour. but i think the ISO was on high

When you're under custom, does anyone know what the P is located under the C in the upper right corner is?

 

[AndrewWG]

According to this on-line S3 manual, the flash is NOT available in Sports mode ... don't see why it would be different on the S5.

However, there's nothing special about Sports mode you couldn't duplicate in Av/Tv mode AND have access to the on-board flash. All Sports mode does is enable the Continuous (in fact, you can have High-Speed Continuous if you DON'T use Sports mode) and favor high ISOs to get higher shutter speeds.

If you set your camera in Av mode, open the Av as wide as it will go (2.7) and set the ISO to 200 or 400, and enable the high-speed continuous (button on top near the shutter button), you'll be (essentially) achieving the same thing as Sports mode.

Remember the on-board flash only has an effective range of about seventeen feet or less ... firing the flash at greater distances just wastes battery life....

The reason why (I believe) Sports has no flash is because it's designed for sporting events where you'd normally be sitting in the stands where flash is useless (except for lighting up the backs of the people's heads in the row in front of you).

Just a quick note as I don't check this thread out everyday anymore like I used to. I would guess that the flash is unavailable in Sports mode because the camera is trying to set as fast a shutter speed as possible in this mode. This will most likely cause the flash sync of 1/250 sec (S5 IS) to be exceeded. I am guessing that Canon just turned off the flash in this mode to make it simple and avoid confusion and frustration. I could sit here and try to explain flash sync until I was blue in the face but the best thing to do if you don't know what I am talking about is to google flash sync. My explaination wouldn't do it much justice. In a nutshell, if the shutter is faster than 1/250 sec, only part of the photo will be illuminated by the flash, causing a very undesirable photo to be taken.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

LPZ_Stitch - I got those batteries and the charger you recommended. It says to charge them and let them run down 4 times so they work to their best capacity. First, do you REALLy need to do this? I got 24 batteries - that'd be a LOT of charging! And secondly, how do you let them run down?

I didn't do that with mine and I haven't had any problems.

However, if you wanted to do it, I'd recommend putting them in some toys or a couple of flashlights and just leave them on until they go dead. You could also put them in your camera and shoot tons and tons of video!

 

[HLAuburn]

My mother in law made my daughter a beautiful heirloom Easter dress this year, and I wanted to do some outdoor shots at Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile. I really haven't had a chance to use a lot of my Canon S3's features, and I know even less about lighting etc, so I'm just looking for some very basic tips on outdoor photography of children, particularly with the S3.

What time of day is best? Where should the sun be relative to me (or her)? Is there a mode you prefer to use for these type photographs?

Any advice, tips, suggestions etc would be great! Thanks!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Usually the best light is within a couple hours of sunrise or sunset ... it's less harsh and has that beautiful golden tint. Sunlight around noon usually casts unflattering shadows on people.

I'm no expert on portrait photography, but you'll probably want to be shooting in Av mode to get the most control over the DOF (Depth of Field) ... shoot with a large aperture (low Av value) to get the shallowest DOF for that DSLR-like subject-in-focus-but-background-blurry look.

It's hard to do with a small sensor camera like the S3, but by backing away and zooming in you can do pretty well.

You'd probably want her looking in the direction the light is coming from, but not directly into the sun so she has to squint. It might also be nice with the sun behind her and use some fill flash to even out the shadows. A nice feature of having as much available zoom as you get with an S3 is the ability to stand back and just capture pictures of your daughter checking out the flowers (or whatever there is to check out) ... that way you'll have more than just posed pictures, too....

Pro's use reflectors to enhance the light, but I'm not familiar with their use. Maybe someone else will have some suggestions.

Good luck!

 

[AndrewWG]

I'm no portrait pro either, but I do know that alot of professionals stay out of any direct sunlight all together. Get into lit shadows like under a tree and you will have better results.

 

[Amy]

You know how the green square in the viewfinder is used for both focusing and metering? I need to double-check in my Short Courses book, but isn't there some way to focus and meter separately with the S3? I went to the spring flower show today, and I (unknowingly) took some photos that illustrate my problem. It was a bright, sunny day. (by the way, all 3 shots were taken in Program mode, no exposure compensation)

Photo #1: I focused on and exposed for the statue; the flowers are way too dark, but they're a little blurry which is what I wanted.

Photo #2: focused on and exposed for the flowers; now the statue is washed out.

Photo #3: I had the green square (is there a technical name for it??) a little on both the flowers and the statue, so the metering is a little dark for the flowers and a little light for the statue, but unfortunately the focus is on the flowers, not the statue (and I wanted the statue in focus and the flowers blurry).

Ideally, I'd like the statue from photo #1 and the flowers from photo #2 (but blurry from depth of field). Is there some quick way to compensate for this? I know I could always use Photoshop to combine the 2 photos, but it'll be very difficult with all the detail in the flowers.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I need to double-check in my Short Courses book, but isn't there some way to focus and meter separately with the S3?

You need to lock the exposure (link to AE Lock in online manual) ... it's aim at the area you want exposed properly, then half-press the shutter button and then (while still half-pressing) push the ISO button ... you should get a * on the screen. Then, you can recompose (getting a new focus) and when you full-press it will use the exposure settings you locked previously. IIRC, the lock only lasts for one shot.

You could also remember what settings the camera picked and switch to Manual mode and duplicating them.

BTW, the pictures are still really good!

 

[Amy]

You need to lock the exposure (link to AE Lock in online manual) ... it's aim at the area you want exposed properly, then half-press the shutter button and then (while still half-pressing) push the ISO button ....

....and stand on my head while twirling a flaming baton....

Thanks, Stitch! I'll have to write myself a little cheat sheet the next time I'll be taking pictures with lots of lighting contrasts.