Canon S3

[Soupermom]

I bought my camera two weeks ago when it was $309. How do you go about getting the refund if they've lowered the price?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Call customer service, I've found them to be excellent. Let us know how you make out.

 

[Soupermom]

Thanks. I'll give them a call when I get home tonight. I ended up calling yesterday because my new camera is defective (hairs floating around in the lens), but they are sending a new one!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Stitch, you're killing me!

Settings, please, on the above pictures.

No problem!

Water Drop
Mode: Shutter Speed Priority (Tv)
Shutter Speed: 1/200
Aperture Value: 3.5
Exposure Compensation: +2/3
ISO: Auto
Flash: Auto
White Balance: Auto
The background is DS's Superman pillow, I just wanted something less distracting than the stuff on my counters. Zoomed in, then Manual Focus on the actual spigot part of the faucet, then aimed the camera down a little. Open the faucet to drip about once every two/three seconds. It just took about 20 shots or so before I actually caught a drop I liked.

Roses
Mode: Aperture Priority (Av)
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Aperture Value: 5.0
Exposure Compensation: -1/3
ISO: Auto
White Balance: Cloudy
My Colors: Vivid
Just shot through the open patio door to stay inside and keep the camera dry!

 

[Soupermom]

Sorry...I'm going to hijack the thread for a moment. I spent the weekend taking some photos with my new S3 and now I have a few questions after seeing all of your wonderful photos...

1. Where is the SUPER Macro on this camera? I can find/use the Macro just fine, but I cannot find SUPER anywhere?

2. I took some neat sunset photos last night from our deck...looking out over the field/still naked trees. I played with lots of settings but the sun ended up kind of "hazy" in all of them. Not sharp like it was in real life. Any suggestions? I may try to post a photo...

3. How do you post a photo??? Do you have to have an online account like Photobucket or something? I'm really not familiar with these. Can I just upload from my computer somehow?

TIA! You all are great!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes, sign up for Photobucket. It's free for a while, then you have to pay (but get more options). You might just want to pay from the beginning knowing you'll be using it a lot.

Did you by any chance have the ISO set to "high"? Check ISO button on back. You really have to use a tutorial (IMO) to learn how to use this camera. I've been learning for months and am still somewhat in the dark (pun intended).

Can't answer your super macro question. But refer to the links on Stitch's post page 118. If you follow the camera's links on the link itself, you'll find in-depth instructions for the camera, and you should be able to find what you need. It's a complicated camera to use to its fullest.

P.S. you should order the Short Course book too, post 120.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Sorry...I'm going to hijack the thread for a moment. I spent the weekend taking some photos with my new S3 and now I have a few questions after seeing all of your wonderful photos...

You aren't hijacking ... discussing S3 photography is what this thread is all about!!

1. Where is the SUPER Macro on this camera? I can find/use the Macro just fine, but I cannot find SUPER anywhere?

Press and hold the Macro button for more than one second, and you go into Super Macro mode (icons -- macro; a little flower ... super macro; a little flower with an S in it).

2. I took some neat sunset photos last night from our deck...looking out over the field/still naked trees. I played with lots of settings but the sun ended up kind of "hazy" in all of them. Not sharp like it was in real life. Any suggestions? I may try to post a photo...

Without seeing them, it's hard to determine what's causing the blur. If I had to guess, it's picking a wider aperture (which causes a shallower DOF) and focusing on the trees.

You could try manually setting the focus on the sun (probably just run it up to infinity) and picking a small aperture (highest number) by being in Av or M modes. This might cause the foreground to blur, though, depending on how far away the trees are. If you just want the trees in silhouette, this might work.

3. How do you post a photo??? Do you have to have an online account like Photobucket or something? I'm really not familiar with these. Can I just upload from my computer somehow?

Yes, you need somewhere to "host" your pictures. Otherwise, the DIS would have to store all of these images on their servers which can get expensive. Very few forums allow actual picture uploading,

I just started using Photobucket. My account is still free ... I don't think they charge you until after a certain amount of pics or bandwidth.

You upload the pics (resized) to Photobucket and they provide you with an "album" and auto-create links you can click on to get the proper tags to display here on the DIS (use the link builder) or other sites.

There's also Flickr ([url]http://www.flickr.com/[/url]) ... similar to Photobucket. I don't know much about it. [Edit]Just did a little research and it seems that Flickr is not as ... um, "family friendly" as Photobucket. Their Terms of Service seem more liberal than Photobucket.[/Edit]

 

[AndrewWG]

Sorry...I'm going to hijack the thread for a moment. I spent the weekend taking some photos with my new S3 and now I have a few questions after seeing all of your wonderful photos...

1. Where is the SUPER Macro on this camera? I can find/use the Macro just fine, but I cannot find SUPER anywhere?

2. I took some neat sunset photos last night from our deck...looking out over the field/still naked trees. I played with lots of settings but the sun ended up kind of "hazy" in all of them. Not sharp like it was in real life. Any suggestions? I may try to post a photo...

3. How do you post a photo??? Do you have to have an online account like Photobucket or something? I'm really not familiar with these. Can I just upload from my computer somehow?

TIA! You all are great!

Super Macro is the same button as regular macro. I believe that you have to be in any mode other than "auto" to get it to work though. Just set the camera to "P" and hit the macro button and the flower should show on the LCD. Then hold in the macro button for a second and it should change that flower to a different flower with an "S" in it. That is super macro.

Andy

 

[denise5374]

I think you meant to thank LPZ Stitch! - but I agree, getting out and playing with it is the best thing you can do. Also look at some of the links he posted in post 118 and consider ordering the Short Courses book that Amy posted in post 120.

Have fun!

Oops, yeah I meant it to LPZ stitch. Thanks!!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Oops, yeah I meant it to LPZ stitch. Thanks!!

No problem!

Here's another really good site to help you get a hang for what all of the S3's features are for. It's not S3 specific, but just about everything they mention in their tutorial can be found somewhere....

http://www.goingmanual.com/photo/

Check out the Photography Tutorial ... it's got just about everything you'd ever need to know!

 

[Jeanne B]

As of this moment it's $313 but it goes up and down a lot so keep watching.

 

[jenr812]

Update: I ordered it from staples.com Saturday night. The camera itself was $349 but I googled and found a $20 coupon and a $10 coupon (I was able to stack!). Also, they were giving a free Canon photo printer after MIR. The printer prints up to 8x10 I am pleased. The printer will be here tomorrow and the camera Wednesday. I also ordered thru ebates since staples isn't on mypoints, and got $12.57 from ebates, too. So after MIR and ebates, I will be paying less than $10 for the printer.

 

[klmall]

Bumping out of photo polls!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Hey, I had an idea!

Inspired by the awesome pictures Stitch! has taken with his new S3 and posted here, how about the rest of us trying to see if we could do something similar to one of these type of photos (either the glass or the water drip) with our cameras? I know for me, it's not something I've thought much about, but seeing his photos has made me want to try.

Anyone game? Post your results here. Please don't be shy, we're all learning!!

 

[jenr812]

Wow LPZ Stitch - great shots! And awesome idea with the pillow. Thank you for all your help and links. I can't wait to get my camera Wednesday!!!!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Inspired by the awesome pictures Stitch! has taken with his new S3 and posted here, how about the rest of us trying to see if we could do something similar to one of these type of photos (either the glass or the water drip) with our cameras? I know for me, it's not something I've thought much about, but seeing his photos has made me want to try.

Wow! *I've* inspired other DISer photographers!?! Sweeeet!

I think I've finally gotten a handle on the technical aspects of this great camera and now I'm just looking for new ways to put them to use.

I've been looking to that other S3 thread for my inspiration. danielg was kind enough to explain how he got his neat water-drop pics and I did what he did (and shared, here).

I'm really hoping for some nice weather around here (a Nor'easter is blowing through at the moment -- it's cold, wet and windy ... there'd be a ton of snow if it was just a couple of degrees colder!) to get out and find some inspiration in nature.

I'd love to see the S3 thread, here, end up as extensive as the one on that other site ... with both Disney pics and non-Disney pics! By sharing our pics, camera settings and other tricks we'll all learn to be better photographers! Go DIS!

Ohhh! I cannot *wait* to get this camera to WDW!!!! Arrgh! Must! Wait! Until! September!!!!

 

[Amy]

Hey, I had an idea!

Inspired by the awesome pictures Stitch! has taken with his new S3 and posted here, how about the rest of us trying to see if we could do something similar to one of these type of photos (either the glass or the water drip) with our cameras? I know for me, it's not something I've thought much about, but seeing his photos has made me want to try.

Anyone game? Post your results here. Please don't be shy, we're all learning!!

You have GOT to be kidding! I feel like I'm drawing with crayons when I compare my pictures to Stitch's and Andrew's and some of you others on this thread! I just figured out how to set the ISO so auto doesn't take over and change it, and I can't even get macro to work for me (but I CAN get super macro to work), and you want me to do stuff like water droplets and candle-lit glassware??

I'll see what I can do, but don't hold your breath.......

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You have GOT to be kidding! I feel like I'm drawing with crayons when I compare my pictures to Stitch's and Andrew's and some of you others on this thread! I just figured out how to set the ISO so auto doesn't take over and change it, and I can't even get macro to work for me (but I CAN get super macro to work), and you want me to do stuff like water droplets and candle-lit glassware??

I'll see what I can do, but don't hold your breath.......

LOL, Amy. Come on, if I can do it, you can do it!!

 

[polkadotladybug]

any chance you can post some links to the coupons for Staples? also - was it a special printer package? That's a nice price with the coupons and extras!

 

[Granite State Heidi]

Ok, I tried the water drop.....uh, no so good. (hey, at least I tried--practice makes perfect). I'll have to work on it.

Here are a couple of birds from out back....they look pretty good. I love the fuzzy fluff on the chickadee's belly....

As a side note, I was having trouble getting a brightly lit shot at a bowling alley. The "bowler" was lit up well (using the flash), but the "actual lane" in the background was dark. I switched my mode to SCN Night Portrait, and....voila! a perfect shot of the entire scene! I didn't think to use a night setting at any time other than night. Silly me...