Canon SX10

[Cinbride]

So I know I won't get results as good as DLSR's but if feel like I'm missing out on the details that should be in photos? Can someone help. Shot in P. Also can I and should I get filters? I shoot a lot outside during summer and my daughters face washes out alot.

 

[VVFF]

So I know I won't get results as good as DLSR's but if feel like I'm missing out on the details that should be in photos? Can someone help. Shot in P. Also can I and should I get filters? I shoot a lot outside during summer and my daughters face washes out alot.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z104/sept07baby/IMG_2772.jpg?t=1269135728

Well, technically there isn't a whole lot wrong with that photo. But I can offer some tips:

1. Use fill flash to bring your daughters face out of shadow. Yes, flash is useful in daylight. Just pop up the flash and let it fill in those shadows

2. Some shots benefit from longer focal lengths. It can be cute to use wide angle(all the way zoomed out) on babies as it distorts the pictures in sometimes cute ways. I think you really want a nice picture of her face, so in that case step back a ways and zoom in a bit. This will change how the picture looks.

3. Decide what type of picture you are taking. If you want to shoot the babies face then frame the picture tighter. If you want a fuller body shot then frame the hands in the shot. Tilting the camera to get her other hand in the shot would look better than being tilted the other way. In general, try to get the horizon straight unless going for creative composition(like getting her hand in the corner of the frame).

 

[Cinbride]

thanks for the reply. I was told before I can always crop them later and zooming in will blur them. So I tried not to zoom in. Will there really be that much difference if I took this picture with an entry level dslr? I am kind of kicking myself for getting the sx10 if I could have just bought an entry. I thought I would have to mess around w/ manual focus which I found untrue. So I mean I could always sell my current one for an entry, but don't know if it would be worth it? the shutter speed would be nice. thanks again.

 

[VVFF]

thanks for the reply. I was told before I can always crop them later and zooming in will blur them. So I tried not to zoom in. Will there really be that much difference if I took this picture with an entry level dslr? I am kind of kicking myself for getting the sx10 if I could have just bought an entry. I thought I would have to mess around w/ manual focus which I found untrue. So I mean I could always sell my current one for an entry, but don't know if it would be worth it? the shutter speed would be nice. thanks again.

No no no definitely don't kick yourself. The S/SX series is a great camera to learn on. I did. It has everything you need to familiarize yourself and when you feel that this camera is limiting you, you can move up.

About zooming, that's not true. What people were referring to is "digital zoom". Optical zoom causes no blur. The digital zoom kicks in only once you exceed the 20x optical zoom range(which is REALLY zoomed in). You can disable digital zoom in the menus of your camera and you will never have to worry about it ever again. But by all means ZOOM!

Cropping later is equivalent to digital zoom. This is why people say to not pay attention to it. However, this reduces image quality. Optical zoom cannot be done by cropping afterwards.

 

[Cinbride]

awesome. I believe it was on here I was told this was a good camera comparable to entry dslr. I think I just see all these amazing photos by great photographers on here and go wow maybe a better camera would be better. But that gives me something to ask for at christmas right? haha that way my dh doesn't kill me for yet another camera. I have a little studio set up for portraits of the kids and I love messing around with that stuff but lets face it in nice weather we are mostly outside and they are always on the move. on a side note should the i be up on my screen? I swear I didn't see it there before but maybe not?

thanks again

 

[VVFF]

awesome. I believe it was on here I was told this was a good camera comparable to entry dslr. I think I just see all these amazing photos by great photographers on here and go wow maybe a better camera would be better. But that gives me something to ask for at christmas right? haha that way my dh doesn't kill me for yet another camera. I have a little studio set up for portraits of the kids and I love messing around with that stuff but lets face it in nice weather we are mostly outside and they are always on the move. on a side note should the i be up on my screen? I swear I didn't see it there before but maybe not?

thanks again

I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. Should the I be up on my screen? Perhaps you can clarify?

Trust me, you can grow a lot with the SX10. Don't think for a second that you can't go farther with it and that a DSLR is the only way to get there. Honestly a DSLR can result in worse photos if you aren't ready for the switch.

Now lets see some pictures with a little zoom used on them. You don't have to zoom way in...just a bit. The lens on the SX10 marks the focal lengths in mm on it. If you zoom in to the 85mm mark you are at "ideal" portrait focal length. Try it out, just make sure you have plenty of light(like outdoors). When you zoom in it does become tougher to keep the camera steady when lighting is bad.

 

[Amy]

Hi Cinbride! I see you're from PA - whereabouts? I'm from the Pittsburgh area.

I have the SX10 IS; I upgraded from the S3 about a year ago. I've been on the fence for a LONG time about making the jump to a dSLR. But I know I'd get infected with GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), and come fall we'll have 2 in college at the same time, so a dSLR just isn't in the budget right now.

Anyway, you asked about the "i" in your viewfinder. That's a good thing! The IS in the camera name stands for Image Stabilization, and the "i" in your viewfinder means it's turned on. It's supposed to help you get sharper photos when you're shooting at shutter speeds where you might get a little shaky.

As for that adorable photo of your daughter, I didn't see anything wrong with it. Yes, fill-flash will get rid of some of the shadows, but I don't think the shadows are that bad. (But that's just my opinion) If you try fill-flash and it's over-exposed, you can adjust the amount of flash - press the "func.set" button on the back and in the menu that comes up, about half-way down is the flash adjustment.

It's a good camera, and once you get the hang of it and learn all the things you can adjust, I think you'll like it. The main area where it's lacking is low-light photography.

Any other questions, just ask away!

 

[Amy]

Oops!! I was wrong about the "i"! I just looked it up in my Short Courses book (you might want to get one yourself - go to www.shortcourses.com and search for your camera - very helpful!!). The i is for I-Contrast. And you might want to turn it off. Quoting from my Short Courses book:

Canon's i-Contrast function analyzes the exposure, dynamic range and other image characteristics of a shot. If necessary, it boosts brightness of dark areas such as shadows, to bring out detail without overexposing and losing details in lighter areas. Noise reduction automatically reduces noise in the adjusted areas.

Now, this sounds like it's what you want - it'll automatically lighten up the dark areas of you photo. But reading further in the book:

You can have photos adjusted as you capture ethem, but they are permanently modified and depending on the scene the results may not be what you hoped for. To avoid this you can adjust copies of the images after you capture them.

and

The effects of i-Contrast are somewhat unpredictable so check your photos carefully and only adjust important images in playback mode where you can save copies.

I checked my camera, and I don't have i-Contrast turned on, and I guess this is why. If you use Canon's Zoom Browser to download your photos to your computer, you can brighten up dark areas to some degree. Or you can get a copy of photo editing software (I have an old version of Photoshop Elements) and adjust your photos that way.

Sorry for the mis-information!! Good thing I decided to look it up.

 

[Cinbride]

thanks for the info. I will turn it off and see if there is a difference. I played around alot with it today and am really happy with the pictures I got. They seem clearer. I shut off the digital zoom. I got one of our dog and I think it is pretty comparable to some pics I've seen with dslrs. (we are south of pittsburgh; near new stanton. thanks for all your help. I will make sure to come back if I have any other questions.