Canon S3

[Pea-n-Me]

I agree - I really like #3, Amy!

 

[tinkergrumpybuns]

That picture alone makes me want to run out and buy the camera! Great job!

Spectacular photo!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

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

Heh ... it's not *that* bad ... luckily, the ISO button seems to fall fairly easily under the right thumb when attempting this contortion of button presses....

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.

It helps a lot. I use it quite a bit when I'm shooting nature photos and I don't want blown out skies.

Another cool feature is that once you've locked the AE, you can change the settings using the omni-button, but keep the same overall exposure. For example, you can speed up the shutter and the aperture will increase automatically to compensate and keep the same exposure. If you try to adjust too far, I think, the numbers show up in red.

 

[bigAWL]

I got my Canon S3 IS almost a year ago, but I just found this thread. So far I've only read the first 20 pages or so.

...
There is supposed to be a way to get RAW images (meaning no compression at all and split into three channels R/G/B) out of an S3, but I've not found out how to do it. RAW image processing is more "professional," and you need to have good programs (Photoshop, etc) to take advantage of this.
...

LPZ_Stitch, you mentioned RAW mode some time ago, I was wondering if you ever figured out how to do it, or if you found out it was not available.

I've only started to really try the semi-manual modes (full manual can wait a bit). I hope to get some greaet shots for our WDW/DCL trip this summer. Maybe I'll look for something to post here so you all can make suggestions.

 

[AndrewWG]

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.

Amy,

How ya doing? Nice to see you are out playing with the camera again!

This is a tough situation with this shot. You have a wicked (Boston term) dynamic range here with the white statue and the darker flowers. The first thing that you need to do is to pick your subject. It seems like you want the statue in focus only. That would be your subject. However, your "mistake" shot #3 is nice too as it is a bit blurry, but it is still your obvious subject. I like it. Anyways, here is what I would try in that situation. Get a reading from the flowers. Say the camera wants to meter those for 1/125 at f4. Then meter the statue. Say that is 1/400 at f4. Then set the camera to manual and shoot somewhere in between the two. I would try at 1/200 and faster as you seem to want the statue to be in better exposure.

Here is another option. Even on a bright sunny day, you could pop up the flash and just use your metering for the statue which was 1/400 at f4. The flash could potentially light up the flowers in the foreground for you a bit. The statue would most likely not be affected at all by the flash as it is probably too far away. Of course with the S3's fantastic zoom, the flowers may have been far away too, I don't know where you were standing.

Just a couple thoughts.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

LPZ_Stitch, you mentioned RAW mode some time ago, I was wondering if you ever figured out how to do it, or if you found out it was not available.

Actually, I did. I've been using the CHDK "hack" available here: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

This is a program that gets loaded into the S3's memory from an SD card and extends the existing firmware to allow all sorts of fantastic abilities in the S3. RAW is only a small part of it!!

I've used the freeware RawTherapee to process my RAW files and have been quite happy with the results....

 

[bigAWL]

Actually, I did. I've been using the CHDK "hack" available here: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
....

I knew as soon as I posted the question, I would find the answer myself. I read two more pages of this thread (I have a lot to catch up on) and found your "RAW hack" link. I think I'll try it this weekend.

 

[Twingle]

Does anyone here have the Disney camera strap on their Canon S5? I'd like to purchase one, and don't know if the narrow or the wide would work better.

Thanks for any help!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I knew as soon as I posted the question, I would find the answer myself. I read two more pages of this thread (I have a lot to catch up on) and found your "RAW hack" link. I think I'll try it this weekend.

I'd suggest going with Allbest's latest build ... it's got the most incredible stuff in it!

How about 65 second exposures or flash-sync at 1/10,000th of a second!?!

 

[Chris Anderson]

Hey everybody, i just registered here, after discovering this amazing vat of helpful information and end-user input

I'm an S3-IS owner, and i'd like to post some pictures i've taken with it, but it seems there's a restriction on posting images until you hit a certain post count. I combed the FAQs and general guidelines, but didn't see anything to this effect. Could anybody confirm the limitation?

thanks-
chris

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I believe it's 10 posts. So get busy with 9 others, then show us some photos.

BTW,

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I'm an S3-IS owner, and i'd like to post some pictures i've taken with it, but it seems there's a restriction on posting images until you hit a certain post count. I combed the FAQs and general guidelines, but didn't see anything to this effect. Could anybody confirm the limitation?

Just go wish some folks a 'Happy Birthday' over on the Community board and then come back and start posting your pics!

Anybody know why there's a post limit, but that it's so low?

 

[TotalSnowWhite]

If anyone's considering an S5, there's a $50 off coupon at OfficeMax.com. It might expire today, though, so you'd have to be ready to buy.

 

[wdwmom2]

Does anyone use this Canon teleconverter lens and recommend it? Would you post a picture or two showing its use?

Thanks.

http://estore.usa.canon.com/Specification.asp?ITEM_ID=35525

I don't know anything about Canon's teleconverter, but I know alot of people use this one http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VCL-DH17...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1201345847&sr=8-1 .

Here is a link to a thread on the S3 users forum. Several pics to take a look at. http://www.s3users.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6991

I am getting ready to purchase it myself, just haven't clicked on the "BUY" button yet!

 

[ajwomic]

Maybe someone out there can help see what might be wrong with my camera.
While at WDW I noticed that when turning the camera on, instead on going straight to the picture I was composing on the screen the lcd would be solid white and then would fade into focus. A few times it would freeze up like it was busy and I would have to turn it off and back on and then it would be fine. The pics came out fine but it has never done tis white screen thing before.
Alicia

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

That doesn't sound normal ... is the camera still under warranty?

The only time I've ever seen the LCD on my S3 go white is if I'd been taking low light pictures (in Av/Tv/P modes) and turned it on in bright sunlight ... but, the LCD was just showing the scene as it would have been taken -- horrifically overexposed (all white). And, it was never necessary to turn it off/on to get it to work; just set the settings correctly for bright light....

 

[Amy]

It finally feels like spring here in Pittsburgh, so I was out putzing in my garden. I'm determined to get some good bird shots this year, so I had my S3 with me. Here are a few I took today; other than cropping, they're straight out of the camera.

First, some forsythia:

Black-capped chickadee:

I've been seeing lots of goldfinches lately:

I know these photos are nothing spectacular, but I just love using the zoom to get close-ups of the birds. And focusing through the branches is mostly trial and error. I did discover that if I have the lens @ wide angle and then zoom in, it's a lot easier to focus than zooming first and then trying to find the bird in the branches!

 

[ajwomic]

I am not sure about the warranty. It is a little over a year old. I will try to look up the warranty.
Alicia

 

[tinkergrumpybuns]

I know these photos are nothing spectacular, but I just love using the zoom to get close-ups of the birds. And focusing through the branches is mostly trial and error. I did discover that if I have the lens @ wide angle and then zoom in, it's a lot easier to focus than zooming first and then trying to find the bird in the branches![/QUOTE]

Amy , nice shots.
A tip i learned with binoculars, locating birds is to look at the bird as you bring the binoc's to your eyes and keep focused on it. Works fairly well with camera for me. Otherwise i try to remember something about the branch or some other marker near it so I can find it again.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

I've been seeing lots of goldfinches lately:

I like this one - he looks like a cool bird with sunglasses!