just bought a canon s100

[chimommy]

Does anyone have any tips for shooting with it at disney? I have not done any photography (besides point and shoot) since highschool (which was a long time ago). Just wondering if anyone has tips for manual settings for dark rides, fireworks, parades, ect. Should be arriving in the mail soon... can't wait!

 

[havoc315]

Does anyone have any tips for shooting with it at disney? I have not done any photography (besides point and shoot) since highschool (which was a long time ago). Just wondering if anyone has tips for manual settings for dark rides, fireworks, parades, ect. Should be arriving in the mail soon... can't wait!

All photography is about composition and light.
So learn the very basics of composition, specifically the "rule of thirds."
There is some useful information in the stickies on the board, but also just look at great pics on instagram and flickr. Learn how to frame your shots for the best effect.

On to specifics:
Dark rides: Very very hard to capture much on a point and shoot. So go with low expectations. Some rides are easier than others -- For example, Small World is well lit, and I have found it nearly impossible to get anything on Peter Pan. Great Movie ride, Pirates of the Caribbean are somewhere in between:


DSC01290 by Havoc315, on Flickr

So settings for dark rides -- Pump up your ISO to its maximum. 6400 is your camera goes that high. Then I shoot in shutter priority mode, and I find the fastest shutter that still will capture the picture. A slower shutter speed will let it more light, but it will be impossible to focus since you're moving. So even with super steady hands, you really can't shoot faster than 1/40-1/60 range.

Parades: The most important thing is your own location. Position yourself somewhere close. If you are just zooming in to get parade bits and pieces, you're missing out. Get somewhere along the route, right in front.

Fireworks:
As long as your camera has manual settings, you can get a great fireworks shot. It's just a matter of set up.
You will need a good unobstructed location, and you will need a tripod. I used a small gorilla pod with my point and shoot. It's cheap and fits in my pocket. I fasted it to the railing at Epcot World Showcase. Some sample pics:


DSC01385 by Havoc315, on Flickr

Let's talk settings. What makes fireworks photography different -- To get great shots, you need to take the picture BEFORE the fireworks. If you wait to click until you see a beautiful sky, it will be too late.
To capture the streams of light, you need a slow shutter speed. And with that slow shutter speed, you need absolute steadiness (the tripod).

Step 1-- Find a good position with a good sight line, set up your tripod.
So step 2 -- I go full manual. Turn off every automatic setting. Turn off image stabilization, turn off noise reduction. Turn off everything.
Step 3 - Set your ISO low -- Around 100. You need to find your sweet spot for aperture and shutter speed, but I use aperture of 10 and shutter speed of 6 seconds.
Step 4- Set up the shutter release on a self timer (2 second timer). Advanced dSLR users will use a remote control to set off the shutter. But if you don't have a remote control, then use the self timer. Otherwise, you will shake the camera by pressing the shutter button.
Step 5-- Just keep clicking. Even if it is in between great blasts, just keep clicking. And each time, hope that you will get good stuff in your time slot and frame.
Step 6 -- End up with 40-60 pictures, and delete the 30-50 that are no good. And hopefully, walk away with 5-20 great shots.

 

[Porktitioner]

Here are a few examples taken with the s100.


Disney's Electrical Parade by Porktitioner, on Flickr S

This was taken in S mode set at 1/60.


Hollywood Tower Hotel Lobby by Porktitioner, on Flickr



This was taken in P mode.


White Burst by Porktitioner, on Flickr

This was taken in S mode set at 1/60, Handheld.

Minor post processing done in Lightroom. Check the EXIF data for details. Congrats on the new camera.

 

[Shutterbug]

Does anyone have any tips for shooting with it at disney? I have not done any photography (besides point and shoot) since highschool (which was a long time ago). Just wondering if anyone has tips for manual settings for dark rides, fireworks, parades, ect. Should be arriving in the mail soon... can't wait!

By a spare battery!! Or even two.
I have come to find the battery very short lived.