Fuji S6000fd...Suggestions or Tips?

[luvmy2sams]

DH and I finally made the plunge and ordered a new camera. We're currently suffering with an archaic Canon A40 and can't wait to actually be able to (hopefully) take some decent shots. Our Fuji should arrive next Tuesday, so we'll have plenty of time to practice before our October vacation.

We're a little concerned about the lack of image stabilization. Any tips on overcoming or at least controlling this? We've ordered a gorillapod to use in certain cases and are hoping that most around the house shots won't be affected because OIS is missing. Almost bought the Canon S3 because of this but in the end having a great low-light camera won out.

There's lots of great information on this board, and I'm working to read through , but thought it would be nice if some fellow owners could post their tried and true tips here.

Thanks!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

The things you need to know are pretty much the same for any "bridge" camera, and they're the same skills you'll need if you ever get into a DSLR, too.

Learn about exposure. Here's a great site: www.GoingManual.com ... your camera has full manual controls so take advantage of them! By learning how to control your exposure, you'll be less at the mercy of the camera's Auto mode -- though they're usually pretty good, you can almost always do better by knowing what settings are best for certain conditions. There's also a book "Understanding Exposure", that's very good and very popular.

The s6000fd makes up for it's lack of IS by taking advantage of it's ability to take cleaner shots at higher ISOs so you can get higher shutter speeds. In anything but the lowest light conditions, I don't think you'll have any problems. The trick (just like all P&S cameras -- but on a lesser extent with a Fuji SuperCCD) is to always shoot at the lowest ISO you can get away with....

And, if you think some of the pictures you take are too noisy, you can always use noise reduction software -- Noiseware Community is free!

Good luck with your new camera!

 

[luvmy2sams]

Thanks for the information! I'll definitely check out the link to give myself a refresher course. Once upon a time I was a photographer for a yearbook and could train anyone on how to set up a camera to try for that great shot, but I've slept and had two kids since then. Dusted off my old Canon 35mm the other day and realized that I needed a trip to the optometrist because I couldn't get a picture in focus anymore.

Hopefully once the kids are a bit older, and we've got less stuff to cart around the parks, I'll be able to go all out on a DSLR. Figured the Fuji would be a fantastic way to reaquaint myself with an old love.

 

[YEKCIM]

You may also want to PM forum member, "Spinning", who has this same camera. Before going dslr, I had (still have, actually) a Fuji S5200. One recommendation I would make is to try out the "chrome" color setting. I like the vibrancy of the colors it produces. You can see some of my July 06 WDW pix made with the S5200, all in Chrome mode, via the link in my sig, below.

~YEKCIM