Swiss Tony
Well-known member
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Is anyone else disappointed that the S2 is restricted to 36mm on wide angle? I have an S1 and its the only thing I don't like.
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S2 Wide enough?
- Thread starter Swiss Tony
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Simon Zeev
Senior Member
I have an S1 and miss verry much a wide angle lens. I add an adapter and a Kenko 0.65 wide lens.This combo give nice 24.7 eq. lens.The pictures are good enough but less sharp with purple firing in corners.
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zeev
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zeev
Can't agree more. No camera is perfect. But Canon designed a wide angle converter for the S1 and S2. Using other brands adaptors will peobably yield average results but using proprietary lens adaptors should do the trick for those who REALLY need a wide angle.
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bdery
Québec city, Canada
Cool,pix S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
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bdery
Québec city, Canada
Cool,pix S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
johngeek
Leading Member
I only care about wide angle for occasional architecture, and architecture doesn't move.
Stitch assist works dandy for panoramics to simulate a much wider angle lense.
Stitch assist works dandy for panoramics to simulate a much wider angle lense.
Mark N
Leading Member
I agree. You have more flexibility stitching pictures together and can simulate an even wider zoom without the PF and CA from add-on lenses.
But use Autostitch instead of the Canon Stitch Assist, it is easier and works much better. I have been redoing all my panoramics with Autostitch and am very impressed. All the stitch lines that Stitch Assist leaves blurry or jagged, are gone. Perspective is corrected much better too. You can walk along taking pictures of a building every 10-20 feet and Autostitch will piece them together. You don't even need to arrange them yourself, just make sure they overlap a lot like you have to do with Stitch Assist anyway.
I forget where I got it, but it's free and somebody here on this forum mentioned where to get it. Do a search for "Autostitch"
MjN
But use Autostitch instead of the Canon Stitch Assist, it is easier and works much better. I have been redoing all my panoramics with Autostitch and am very impressed. All the stitch lines that Stitch Assist leaves blurry or jagged, are gone. Perspective is corrected much better too. You can walk along taking pictures of a building every 10-20 feet and Autostitch will piece them together. You don't even need to arrange them yourself, just make sure they overlap a lot like you have to do with Stitch Assist anyway.
I forget where I got it, but it's free and somebody here on this forum mentioned where to get it. Do a search for "Autostitch"
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MjN
I personnally use Panorama Maker that came with my Nikon Coolpix, and from what you say it works like Autostitch. I've never seen a line or blurred area or anything else when stitching, the files turn out as one large and perfect image. The contrast, WB and exposure are corrected by using the EXIF data, which ensures well lit images without overexposed areas, as sometimes happen when you change your angle from the sun.
I don't know if it's free, but it works really well.
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bdery
Québec city, Canada
Cool,pix S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
I don't know if it's free, but it works really well.
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bdery
Québec city, Canada
Cool,pix S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
Xoltri
Active member
I find that the Canon stitch assist does a better job if you don't rely on the auto stitch feature, and instead use the manual stitching to select cooresponding parts of the image. You will get better results this way, but if this autostitch program is as good as you say I will give it a shot.
ftgchan
Well-known member
Hi Swiss Tony,
Some of the replies seem to indicate panormic stiching as wide angle. Imaging taking a group gethering and stiching??? Imaging an informal portrait with a scenic back ground. There are not that many digicam with wide angle lens, Canon Pro-1 is one. Nikon 8400 is even wider. I am a wide angle person, when I was using film camera, the Nikon 20mm (90 degrees) was my favorite with the F3. For me, 36 mm is not enough for normal use. WA is not just for architecture!
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Francis
Some of the replies seem to indicate panormic stiching as wide angle. Imaging taking a group gethering and stiching??? Imaging an informal portrait with a scenic back ground. There are not that many digicam with wide angle lens, Canon Pro-1 is one. Nikon 8400 is even wider. I am a wide angle person, when I was using film camera, the Nikon 20mm (90 degrees) was my favorite with the F3. For me, 36 mm is not enough for normal use. WA is not just for architecture!
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Francis
johngeek
Leading Member
Agree that pano stitching isn't the ideal, a 24mm (or less) to 380mm (or more) zoom would be much better. The next time I see one like that with IS in the $300 price range I'll certainly buy it. 
But you can't have everything.
And actually, I have "stitched" large group shots. You wind up shooting a few times anyway because someone always blinks.
Load the right and left image into photoshop (or whatever.) Increase the canvas size enough, overlap the right and left images, and carefully erase on the top layer to get the border. Then start working on the blinks and the ones that were looking away at the time. (An absolute must with kids.
But you can't have everything.
And actually, I have "stitched" large group shots. You wind up shooting a few times anyway because someone always blinks.
Load the right and left image into photoshop (or whatever.) Increase the canvas size enough, overlap the right and left images, and carefully erase on the top layer to get the border. Then start working on the blinks and the ones that were looking away at the time. (An absolute must with kids.
Swiss Tony
Well-known member
- Messages
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Hi,
I did like the idea of a super zoom and I really enjoy it, but I bought it as my only camera and as an all rounder. I could just do with it being a little wider for group shots and landscapes without the hassle of stitching.
I still think its a shame because the zoom on the S2 has been extended to 12 times but I think its gone to the wrong end.
Hey thats just my view.
I did like the idea of a super zoom and I really enjoy it, but I bought it as my only camera and as an all rounder. I could just do with it being a little wider for group shots and landscapes without the hassle of stitching.
I still think its a shame because the zoom on the S2 has been extended to 12 times but I think its gone to the wrong end.
Hey thats just my view.
Yes. It's one of the main reasons I may not buy one (SD cards are the other).
28-300 would be preferable to a 36-432.
Lee Jay
I do.
Such as? Name a camera that's 28 - 280 or more with IS and is as small as an S1.
Lee Jay
You do realize you're not representative of the market for these cameras. If you were, then the S2 would be wider.
As it is, it's targeted for reach, not wide angle capacities. Usual wide angle customers have specific uses for their cameras, pretty specialized and not mainstream
There are none, but there are some 28mm cameras (and even wider) that are as small as the S1. And with a wide angle, the use for IS diminishes.
A wide lens is much more complicated to build than a long tele lens. The image is larger, which means either a larger CCD or a longer lens shaft to allow the image to converge. It's also more expensive because you have to correct for abberations.It also needs to be larger to preserve a good aperture.
All of this means that preserving the S1's size and adding a wider lens would be almost impossible, if you also want to preserve image quality and long zoom reach. And since the last is the key seller (have you ever heard anyone say "look how wide my longzoom goes!" ?) there is no willingness from any camera maker to make such a camera.
The Pro1, Nikon 8400, and Olympus 8080 are the cameras closer to what you seem to want. But they also have their flaws. The Nikon 8800 also has an IS and 28mm lens, but look at its price. And it's bigger.
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bdery
Québec city, Canada
Cool,pix S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
I don't agree.
28mm isn't specialized. 16mm is specialized. 28mm is the stadard zoom on all SLRs (digital and film).
Not at the long end of a 28-300!
This is the real reason the P&S cameras don't have good wide angle - cost, not marketing.
Yes. Tamron 18-200 and 28-300. Tokina 24-200. Canon 28-300. Sigma 28-300, 18-200, 18-125.
Lee Jay
Mark N
Leading Member
I didn't really have the patience to use manual stitch with all my panos, try Autostitch, it takes a while to crunch the data, but the result is good with no effort.
bdery,
I wish I had a copy of the Nikon Stitch program to try...
Is it available on their web site?
MjN
bdery,
I wish I had a copy of the Nikon Stitch program to try...
Is it available on their web site?
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MjN
Mark N
Leading Member
I feel for you, man. But I'm still happy they went the way they did.
Maybe Panasonic or K-M will cover you with another version of their 12x IS cams. They seem to have all the flavors out there.
MjN
Maybe Panasonic or K-M will cover you with another version of their 12x IS cams. They seem to have all the flavors out there.
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MjN
Care to elaborate? That's pretty short for an argumentation
for the moment, I seem to have Canon, Panasonic, Konica-Minolta, Nikon, Kodak, and Fuji on my side... but what do I know...We're not talking DSLR here, but digicam. Sensors are much smaller, and standard is 35 mm.
I was refering to the wide end.
Which is the same. "How much will people be willing to pay for such a camera?" and then "does it fit the production costs?" Marketing meets design, and pronto! you have a camera.
Again, you're comparing oranges and apples. A DSLR isn't the same thing. And any of those lenses costs the same as the whole Powershot S2. When people buy a long zoom, they expect to see a flea on the back of their dog at 500m. They don't expect to be able to frame the whole sears tower from its doorstep. Having a 16-500mm camera would be wonderful, even more so if it shot 800x600 movies in MPEG-200, had an universal hotshoe and fit in a shirt pocket, but the limitations of cost, size, weigth, along with what most people want (trust me, Canon has focus groups like everyone else) carries the day.
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bdery
Québec city, Canada
Cool,pix S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
Mark N
Leading Member
Then I wouldn't buy it, it would no longer satisfy the general market, it's target market, and not sell as well. More specialized users like yourself can still get the Pro-1 with CF! And the Nikon 8400 and 8800 are supposed to be wide too. And the 8800 has IS! Go Nikon!
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MjN
The software Nikon provides is Called Panorama Maker, developped by Archos (not sure of the spelling). I don't know if it's free, but since it comes bundled with all Nikon cameras I know of, I guess that you could at least get a trial version.
All I mentionned is transparent to the user (use of EXIF data), it only said so in the manual. But the results are very pleasing. For a taste, go to my webshots library (in sig), select Cuba and look at the two "Holguin" pics. Pretty much what you can expect from such a software.
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bdery
Québec city, Canada
Cool,pix S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
All I mentionned is transparent to the user (use of EXIF data), it only said so in the manual. But the results are very pleasing. For a taste, go to my webshots library (in sig), select Cuba and look at the two "Holguin" pics. Pretty much what you can expect from such a software.
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bdery
Québec city, Canada
Cool,pix S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
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