using canon powershot S5 IS

mantru

hi guys,

I have purchased the canon S5,however i would like some tips how to use the camera effectively...by this i mean i have read the manuels but trying to remember all the settings is not possible....i would like the S5 users to help me a bit...how do i use the iso settings or simple tips...it might take some time to master all the settings....i was reading the below thread...so i thought i should as well ask questions regarding canon S5....

Tips and tricks on photography

The_Londoner

Great Camera.. I bought one few weeks back and so far have only used it for product shots for our website.. Try this link below.. It has some great tips and tricks that may be useful..

http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=TipsAndTechsAct

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spicetrekker

Well I dont have an S5 but have used a S3IS and a few other superzooms like Panasonic Fz 18; I think the great advantage of digital photo - is almost zero incremental costs and immediate resulsts . Given this I suggest take your camera and shoot the same scene at the same time with different setting, try Auto, then options around PASM etc. and see the results your self. I remember when I started using a film camera - I used to notedown in a diary the ISO rating, F-stop etc used for each click and then compare the processed resluts to see the imapct of the options selected

Nick-H

I have an S2 IS!

About the only hint I can offer is that 99% of the time I keep mine set to "P", not "A". It does all the same point-and-shoot stuff, but "A" switches off some options.

I still get confused about the exposure metering modes, because I think the symbols (rectangle with/without dot/circle whatever) are confusing --- sampling is good for most things, but useless for photographing a bird on a branch against the sky. Then you need spot, or even use the special button to fix the exposure while pointing the camera at the tree truck, then photograph the bird. These shots seldom come out really good for me; I guess the nature photographers have special techniques! One of those must, of course, be to get as many pics as possible, with different exposures.

The superzoom lens makes it a wonderful camera for bird and nature shots. I have pics of seals on a Cornish beach taken from the top of a cliff. Their faces, their expressions, are all clear. The IS makes it possible to get these pics handheld; I doubt that I'd capture anything but blur with an old 35mm camera using a 400mm lens and no tripod!

The ultra closeup is good too, but you'll quickly discover that you can't use the flash on a subject just a few inches away from the lens, as it will be in the shadow of the lens. I also find the flash too bright for closeup; I usually us the option to reduce its intensity. Focus is critical for these macro pics. I have too many pics of blurred beatles with some ultra-sharp bark just behind them! Difficult to control this, without traditional-type manual focus control.

Focusing in low light is not good --- S5 any improvement? this criticism has been made of this camera since the S1! The manual focus is very hard to use, although better than nothing if your subject is stationery, or asleep.

How's the lenscap? I picked up an S5 at an exhibition, and they seem to have redesigned it ...but it didn't seem any more inclined to stay on than the S1/S2 auto-fall-off cap!

Spicetrekker... curious that almost all that information is recorded with the picture, and can be seen in File Properties, but not the ISO number! It's recorded by my Nokia phone camera! However, that is something I just about never change, but keep to Auto. I have increased it for long-exposure pics at night, but the image quality soon decreases with the increased digital noise. I'd be more inclined to use either exposure compensation or to manually change aperture or shutter speed.

I use just about none of the 'scene' stuff, but hey, its all there to experiment with! Stitch is fun, and I do use that for panoramic landscapes.

Mantru, let us know how you get on. There's always some temptation to upgrade, though a camera is something that should last for years and years (bought mine in 2005).

The great thing is that, in those three years, I have taken thousands of photos. It would have only been dozens if I was still using film.

99.999% of my photography is point and shoot!

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mantru

thanks guys for the reply...iwas reading the below site where they have mentioned about the exposure etc....
http://www.danheller.com/tech-longexp.html

as far as i understand the image zone that is the auto,potrait,landscape,scn,mov ie mode are all automatic....however
how do we use the creative zone they are P,TV,AV,M,C modes are they all manual modes ??do i get the option to make changes in exposure,aperture ,iso etc.....

Nick-H

AV --- you set the aperture, the camera chooses the shutter speed. best if you need to control depth of field, eg keep you subject in focus against a soft background, or the opposite, having as much in focus as possible

TV --- you set the shutter speed, the camera chooses the aperture. If you need, for instance, as fast a shutter speed as possible for a moving subject

M --- you set both. Old fashioned manual photography!


A[auto] and P are both automatic, but P allows you to use far more items in the Function Menu, eg exposure compensation, flash intensity, ISO, effects.

I keep my camera set to P, and mostly just point and shoot

mantru

hey guys...this is my first pics with this camera...its a panoramic view of Haridwar...

Attached Thumbnails

   

spicetrekker

Mantru: The other thing you can do with digital cams these days (at no cost; you could do it with films also but costed you) is Bracketing.

Which means you could take a series of photos of the same subject/ scene with the only one parameter changing , typically the exposure. Once you see the results it will help you get a better idea of settings to use in various light conditions, also it will ensure that you dont miss that "Kodak" moment.

Does S5-Is have bracketing??

mantru

i guess the camers has...I am yet to find out Spice...i guess it will be eventually...when i get better understanding of the manuels..yes i did try our over and under exposure...with nikon camera ...as well this time i have used the av and tv options as well...have to chk when i get time what is the difference in the end results....

Hyderabadi

Are those single shots that are cropped or multiple photos 'stiched' together?

Nick-H

I was going top say, nice bit of stitching!

It looks like he used the panoramic option, and the included Stitch software

mantru

Hey hyderabadi its a multiple photos stiched together......

Hey Nick ....mantru is she not he...i clicked the photos using the stich assist option and later joined them using the software....is ther an option in the camera to get it in one shot as well.......let me know if there is one...

mantru

some info on this site as well..........

http://www.dptutorial.com/exposure

Nick-H

Sorry!

Hyderabadi

Great job then!

You could always take a wide angle picture at full resolution and a small aperture and crop it rectangle to get the pano effect.

But that would be cheating.