Canon S3

[bob100]

the supermacro mode is good but just zooming in -

 

[housemouse]

Hope this shows up. I'm not much good at posting photos.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

One question....what type of camera case does everyone have for this camera?

I use a "mid-sized" Samsonite camera bag I got at Wal*Mart for about $15. It's about the size of a small lunch bag; easy to carry or hang from the back of DS12's wheelchair with all his other stuff.

I adjusted the internal padding (it's attached with velcro) so my S3 (w/Lensmate adapter) sits in the big top pocket sideways with the right-hand grip facing up ... it's secure and has plenty of space for everything (two filters in cases, Raynox DCR-250, spare batteries, 5 spare SD cards, lens cleaner and rubber lens hood) but my mini-tripod and Raynox DCR-1540PRO.

Pulling the camera out with one hand is also quick and easy....

 

[bob100]

I also use a samsonite case from walmart but I chose the belt-loop model, I can carry it hands free on the waist (I had to rip out some of the inside pockets)

 

[Dodie]

Shot this quick picture of our 7-month-old puppy Greta in the backyard this evening using the portrait mode on my S5.

 

[bob100]

on Virginia Beach,
playing around with photoshop light and color

 

[ferretxxxferret]

Shot this quick picture of our 7-month-old puppy Greta in the backyard this evening using the portrait mode on my S5.

Great Picture! What a beautiful puppy!

 

[Flanigan]

One question....what type of camera case does everyone have for this camera?

I use a bag I got from Target, it has the name 'Denali' on the front of it, I'm not sure if that's the brand or the style for the brand. Now that I have the adapter tube on I set the camera in with the lens/adapter tube up, and there's still space for a filter. It has some front pockets where I keep extra memory and batteries.

 

[bob100]

here's a "bokeh" pic

 

[juligrl]

here's a "bokeh" pic

Oh, I like that perspective.

 

[Flanigan]

I went downtown with DW, BIL & SIL yesterday. We parked the car pulled out the camera and a set of extra batteries, wrapped the neck strap around my arm and walked around. I took some pictures of different random things see a selection below:

Columns on a government building:

Wandered down an alley and found this sign :

Found this painting on a steel security door in the same alley:

All told we spent a total of about 4 hours downtown. We walked around for a while, ate, and enjoyed ourselves. Might have to wander around with my camera more often.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I hope you don't mind asking you specific questions. It's hard for me to sift through the tips to find just what I need. I am still very unsure of how to get the best shots from my camera: CANON S3 IS / S5 IS

I want to take the best picture of the castle at night and the night time parades. We're going to MNSSHP too.
I really need someone to tell me specific directions; for this shot set your camera to...etc.

I don't know if you can do that though. My biggest problems is knowing what and how much light to use in a situation. I don't know the terms like aperture & ISO. I've experimented with them, but I don't want to be fooling around in Disney and miss the perfect shot LOL.

Also, is it depth of field? Where the subject up close is super crystal clear and the background blurry-How do I do that with my camera?

So I don't know if you can help me or direct me to the specific answers I need, I just though I'd ask.

Thanks so much

I received this PM with some questions about shooting with an S3/S5. I have never used one, so I am posting the message here in the hopes that it gets better responses. I will give a few generic answers, but I don't know how they'll work with that particular model.

To get the best shots of the castle at night, you really need a tripod or something that can hold the camera steady. In a pinch, you can set it on a trashcan or something. Don't try using the flash. It's useless for things that aren't really close to you. You might want to use a timer mode so that you aren't touching (and shaking) the camera when the picture is taken. For night shots, keeping the camera steady is the biggest challenge. If you can't do that, no settings are going to help.

Depth-of-field is the range of things in your picture that are in focus. What you want is "shallow depth-of-field." That means that your subject is in focus but things in front of or behind it are not. You achieve that by using the widest aperture possible. Your camera will probably do that for you automatically if you set it into the mode for taking pictures of people (often called "portrait"). It also helps if the background is far away from your subject.

I recommend that you experiment with your camera taking shots in similar situations to what you expect at the park. No amount of thread reading compensates for hands on experience. If things don't work the way you expect, post pictures of your problems and ask.

You might also want to read Pea-n-Me's The Learning Curve thread. It's geared towards beginning shooters. You can also look at the technique threads under the Equipment Recommendations / Photo Techniques thread.

 

[Frantasmic]

For night shots with the S5, you don't really want full auto because you will get above 200 ISO which this camera is not that great at.

So, learn your terms quickly. Or learn your night scene quickly.

This camera will take amazing pictures in the day with full sunlight. At night, the amazing may reduce to decent. You are likely to get nice color shots, but they will appear grainy. Find a noise reduction program as that will help, but still your pictures may not be as crisp as you'd like.

 

[bob100]

I agree with the previous posters, experiment ahead of time with night shots to familiarize yourself with the settings. The scene modes work as well as the "creative" settings such as Av mode on the largest aperture (f2.7), higher ISO levels also work and "noise" reduction software helps in making the final pics better.

 

[Mom2Lindsey]

I have been experimenting since I've gotten it in April. Not so much with night shots though. I just wish there was some sort of rule book for the different cameras for taking pictures in disney. Just with the different scenarios and suggested settings. I just want something fool proof I guess.
Full sun I'm not worried about for sure. Just the crispness...I took these today at a park.

 

[Mom2Lindsey]

Today at a park I was practicing my picture taking of dd and some birds.

 

[Mom2Lindsey]

Here's the latest from my camera
Today at a park I was practicing my picture taking of dd and some birds.

 

[Mom2Lindsey]

I am having the same problem too.I think I need to purchase the other book and learn how to use my S5IS features alot more before we go on our trip in December.

Being lazy and not reading back...what book were you talking about? PM please

 

[Amy]

I've got the S3, and for night shots, I've had the best luck using Sports mode. Your pictures WILL be noisy and you'll have to run them through Noiseware, but you'll get decent shots. A tip I got from these boards (I think it was Sharon?) - use continuous shutter and take about 3 photos each time. You might move a little on the first one, but the others will be steadier.

Here are some I took during our trip in Dec. 2007, all used Sports mode:

As for the night-time parade, it's almost impossible. This is the ONLY photo that turned out good for me; you just don't have a wide enough aperture on the S3 to capture moving objects.

 

[Flanigan]

The alley where two of the pictures in my previous post were taken. The pictures below were also taken in that alley.

The gas meter for a business, I just liked the look of the gas pipes heading different directions.

This shot was not posed, we were just walking down the alley and found these shoes sitting on this pipe, exactly as shown.