The Official "I have a question about photography" Thread

[xzmattzx]

I'm not sure. What settings should I be looking for on the screen?

[Sergei]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

^They're not bad at all. A bit of noise and some softness, but certainly usable. Another part of the equation, in addition to ISO, is shutter speed. Can you control shutter speed on your camera? What about aperture?

A bit of noise is a bit of an understatement. Seems quite bad to me. I don't think my 1600 ISO is this grainy.
But again, it can be fixed. It just won't be crystal clear.
What do you mean by "good enough?" Good enough for what?

[Sergei]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

I'm not sure. What settings should I be looking for on the screen?

What camera do you have?
The shutter speed is the number that looks like 1/x like 1/200 (200th of a second) in good light conditions, or something like 2" meaning 2 seconds.
The aperture is the F number, something like F3.5.
You should play around with them, and learn how they work for the best results.

[i_am_hydrogen]

Originally Posted by Sergei

A bit of noise is a bit of an understatement. Seems quite bad to me. I don't think my 1600 ISO is this grainy.
But again, it can be fixed. It just won't be crystal clear.
What do you mean by "good enough?" Good enough for what?

I meant good enough considering he uses a digicam. If that kind of quality came from a more expensive camera, then I'd judge it more harshly.

[Sergei]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

I meant good enough considering he uses a digicam. If that kind of quality came from a more expensive camera, then I'd judge it more harshly.

Haha, I was asking him, because he asked if the photos are "good enough." So I asked good enough for what? What is he planning to do with them. It didn't really apply to you.

And I'm not judging the photos harshly, they are good, but very grainy. But perhaps that's not an issue for him, depends on what he needs them for. That's why I asked.

[i_am_hydrogen]

Sergei, sorry if I came off sounding harsh, but I didn't really feel mad or anything like that when I made that post. I guess that's one of the problems with trying to communicate on an internet message board.

[Sergei]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

Sergei, sorry if I came off sounding harsh, but I didn't really feel mad or anything like that when I made that post. I guess that's one of the problems with trying to communicate on an internet message board.

Don't worry!

[BuffCity]

ISO 400 on my Canon G5 is about the same as ISO 3200 on the Nikon D200...

It's the lens, the processor and the sensor...you spend more, you get more.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Sergei

What camera do you have?
The shutter speed is the number that looks like 1/x like 1/200 (200th of a second) in good light conditions, or something like 2" meaning 2 seconds.
The aperture is the F number, something like F3.5.
You should play around with them, and learn how they work for the best results.

I have a Canon PowerShot A570 IS.

In Program mode, which I used to take those New Orleans pictures, I have it set on the default settings:
~800 ISO
~Daylight
~Drive mode
~Vivid color
~+/- Flash at 0

[SimFox]

Basically hiking ISO should be the LAST RESORT. As it always leads to lower quality.
Of course you may want to use the effect artistically (but that is an exception form the rule).

High ISOs (and high is a relative term as it very much depends on the size and model of the sensor) not only introduce noise but also effectively decrease resolution.
If you HAVE to use high ISOs then good practice would be slightly overexpose you shots, Noise is normally be found in darker areas. If you shoot too light and lower brightness in Photoshop your darks will be much cleaner.
And always if possible (especially in challenging conditions) shoot in RAW. You’ll have MUCH more room for POST maneuver.

Here is picture made with this principles in mind with Nikon D70 at ISO 1600:

[i_am_hydrogen]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

I have a Canon PowerShot A570 IS.

In Program mode, which I used to take those New Orleans pictures, I have it set on the default settings:
~800 ISO
~Daylight
~Drive mode
~Vivid color
~+/- Flash at 0

Then you don't have control over aperture and shutter speed, both of which, along with ISO, comprise the three cornerstones of exposure.

[Chi-Town847]

Kinda stupid...but anyway.

I've recently been hosted on a website to sell my photography and I have people interested in buying my shots. The site offers enlargements of 5X7 8X10 11X14 12X18 and 16X20.

The vast majority of my shots were taken with a 5.1 MP Nikkon Coolpix 5900..and for some of those the resolution was not the highest...chalk it up to stupidity...

Anyway I'm unsure if the shots taken with that camera can be enlarged to the larger sizes, the largest I've gone is 8X10 for my own personal use, and I don't want to offer bigger enlargements ie above 8X10 if the quality starts to break down...

Is there anyway online I can find out how big I can enlarge the shots before the quality degrades without going to a lab and ordering prints and waiting several days to find out if I can enlarge X print to whatever size?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[BuffCity]

I had no problem getting an 11x14 out of a 5mp Canon point and shoot. I just always shot at 50 or 100 ISO to minimize noise. Will you be able to get a 16x20 out of the files you uploaded, I simply don't know. Perhaps someone with more graphics experience could add something...

[Chi-Town847]

I uploaded all the shots to Walgreens online photo service and it warns you if you try and enlarge a picture that shouldn't be blown up.

Apparently all my shots make the 16X20 Problem with 20X30. Yay for me.

Thank you for your input

[Ursyn]

It is not directly connected with photography but I hope you'll be able to help me.
I'd like to create a simply website but I don't have any idea how to do it. Maybe do you know where can I find some free templates?
I'm thinking about something like that: http://www.pbase.com/pse/root but I don't want to create any account on pbase, flickr and other similar websites.

[xzmattzx]

I took this picture yesterday evening. I went a little lower than the default ISO of 800, and went to ISO 400. Should I try and go even lower for point-and-click night shots? Or will it always be a "Why bother?" scenario? Should the lighting take part of the blame for any problems with the picture?

[SimFox]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

I took this picture yesterday evening. I went a little lower than the default ISO of 800, and went to ISO 400. Should I try and go even lower for point-and-click night shots? Or will it always be a "Why bother?" scenario? Should the lighting take part of the blame for any problems with the picture?

It is still quite noisy in darker spots. So as I've said earlier go for as low ISO as your camera can get, but that would automatically mean long exposure times, which in turn would call for tripod to get sharp image.
What it basically mean is that there is no miracle cure. You gain something you loose something. Or to keep it all you'll need to add something else.
I.m not reading you on whole "why bother" issue... Why bother what? to make pictures?

I would strongly recommend to you to read you camera manual and löearn about the modes it has. Pure Auto mode will more often then not fail, particularly in difficult situations. Learning manual modes is very easy and will save you tons of grief!

I personally always keep my camera in Aperture priority mode as it allows for control of the DOF (depth of Filed) - when you can have you subject sharp and the background all blurry. This effect probably wouldn't be very strong on a small camera you have but it is still a good place to start.
If, however you photograph something very fast moving you may want to go for Shutter priority and let camera adjust other parameters for you.

[xzmattzx]

It turns out that I can play with apeture and shutter speed. They are in Manual mode. The default settings under Manual mode are ISO 1600, 1/400, F4.5, and no flash. How can I change these around to make point-and-click nighttime pictures look pretty good?

Originally Posted by SimFox

It is still quite noisy in darker spots. So as I've said earlier go for as low ISO as your camera can get, but that would automatically mean long exposure times, which in turn would call for tripod to get sharp image.

What it basically mean is that there is no miracle cure. You gain something you loose something. Or to keep it all you'll need to add something else.
I.m not reading you on whole "why bother" issue... Why bother what? to make pictures?

Makes sense that I would lose something if I gain something, especially for a camera that isn't for professionals. As for the "why bother" comment, I meant that to be "Why bother trying point-and-click pictures at night?" in full.

[Raleigh-NC]

About your last comment, I have to say "keep trying". A shot not taken is a shot missed. Besides, you train yourself to work better under difficult conditions. I have been there, done that, and now I feel happy having a dSLR and a tripod Still, I would love to train myself in taking good low-light shots with my not-so-capable P&S camera. Eventually, I will get it right

[SpartaRoolz]

Originally Posted by Srakovski

I need some help
If I do not use auto mode and switch to other modes such as landscape, portrait, will the super steady shot feature be on? Cuz when I tried using the landscape mode, there weren't any "steadyshot" and my pictures turned out blur, how do I solve this problem?

Next question, When im using the auto mode, why is it that before i actually click to snap the picture (pressed halfway to focus), the picture becomes darker than the normal view?

I really hope you can help me answer these questions as it would be of great help to me and I will truly appreciate it Thanks!!

I own a previous Model (S2 is) and to get the IS feature go to the menu button (under the camera icon) you should be able to turn it on and off there. and your second question It gets darker due to the auto focus that they use in the point and shoot camera. Not really sure why it does that.

Also, make sure you take the lens cap off before you turn it on because it will eventually weaken the motor that sends the zoom out if you don't.