In need of some advice..

[Brook730]

We are going to WDW in about a month and I am going to borrow my friends camera it is a Canon powershot SX120is. I had her led it to me now so I can play with it a little bit and get used to it but does anyone have any good pointers on getting the best pictures with it? Also for the life of me I cant figure out how to do muli-shot I only really want it when DD is meeting characters because I always seem to get it a second to soon or to late and miss the great shot. So any help would be awesome.

 

[Brook730]

actually scratch that I may not be using that camera every time i turn it on it says lens issue restart camera... So I am in the process of talking DH into getting me a new camera has anyone used the fujifilm FinePix S3200???

 

[hakepb]

Feature wise, that looks like a nice camera.

This shows all of the menus in shooting modes:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/canon/powershot-sx120-is/record-screens-menus-12.html

You would be looking into the function menu, Drive mode (currently single).

Tips? Start with basic photography. Frame the subject (not crooked). Make sure the subject is in focus. And pay attention to lighting (its better when the sun is behind you and most magical near sunrise or sunset.

For spontaneous kid shots (during rides or play) there is a kids or per setting. For staged shots with characters there's portrait. There is a fireworks scene, but that is usually a 2+ sec exposure so you need a tripod or table to hold the camera dead still.
An advanced photographer would be getting into the shutter or aperature priority modes in many scenarios but that requires more understanding of photography.

 

[hakepb]

actually scratch that I may not be using that camera every time i turn it on it says lens issue restart camera... So I am in the process of talking DH into getting me a new camera has anyone used the fujifilm FinePix S3200???

What do you like about the Finepix s3200?

If its just price, I would much rather have the Panasonic ZS20 or ZS15 for a much more responsive camera:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-zs15-tz25

 

[Brook730]

actually its because aarons (rent to own) only has that one and I am desperate we leave on the 5th of next month and I don't think I can save up enough between then and now to get a camera atleast this way I would have some camera with low payments.

 

[hakepb]

actually its because aarons (rent to own) only has that one and I am desperate we leave on the 5th of next month and I don't think I can save up enough between then and now to get a camera atleast this way I would have some camera with low payments.

It might just be me, but I don't think that camera is worth payments. (Would the total sun of payments be more than a nicer camera?) One review said it was relatively slow. At least Fuji seems to make better "cheap" cameras than Sony or Nikon (their higher end are nice, but their cheap are..really cheap)

Honestly, I would just get a few disposable film cameras. Film has a higher resolution than any point and shoot..and you don't get saddled with something you don't like. Also use Photopass as much as you can. That gets you pictures you can view online for a while.
I fully understand the stress of a very very tight vacation budget because I've been there.

In the still less cost than a new camera department, there may be options like Kingdom Camera rentals. I have never used them, but it sounded interesting in some recent threads. If you get the discount code from the disneyphotoblog, you can rent a DSLr (and be able to take seriously amazing pictures) for just under $100 for a week. You do have to take more care of the camera to prevent any damage charges, though.

 

[photo_chick]

actually scratch that I may not be using that camera every time i turn it on it says lens issue restart camera... So I am in the process of talking DH into getting me a new camera has anyone used the fujifilm FinePix S3200???

I got my daughter the Fuji S1000, a predecessor from a few generations back to the S3200. It's a slick little point and shoot. Even though hers is a few years old it's still a great camera. I personally wouldn't hesitate to get one of the later versions if I were in the market for a relatively inexpensive point and shoot.

Honestly, I would just get a few disposable film cameras. Film has a higher resolution than any point and shoot

Not really with 35mm film. You'll get better results with a 35mm SLR and nice lenses than you will with some digital point and shoots, but that's because of higher quality optics and not the recording media. Disposable 35mm cameras are barely a step above those cheap key chain 640x480 digital cameras they sell. Now if you're talking medium format and large format it's a different story. But 35mm... for what you'd spend on film and processing you can have a solid digital point and shoot that will yeild better images in auto mode.

 

[Brook730]

well after all the issues with getting a camera a friend of mine just got a better camera and gave me hers that she only used once and only took maybe 10 pictures with. Its not because it was a bad camera but because her DH found her a awesome camera two days later and surprised her with it for their anniversary. So now I have a 14.1 megapixel 15x optical zoom GE power pro. So I hope it will be a good camera for my trip. Have any of you used this camera before?

 

[Brook730]

well I was playing with the camera and it seems to be alright atleast for what am going to be using it for I was surprised with all of the features it has it even does fish eye.. here is one of the pictures I took this morning with it.