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s2 Is it me? Do I expect too much?

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Freetronk

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Hi

I have had my S2 for a couple of months and have taken SOME great pictures, but I am finding that soooo many pictures are not quite in focus, or there is a lot of movement blur despite trying evrything I know how even in great outdoor light (including Auto). My old A40 would happily snap people walking and my dog moving it's head without this blurring, is it me? or is it difficult to get action shots (even slow ones)?
Don't get me started on indoor, slightly dim outdoor light and focus hunting!

Any tips would be appriciated. I expected to have to (want to) play around to get the best shots but I thought as a point and shoot simple stuff would look good.

As I said I do have SOME great pics but the amount of 'failures' is a bit off putting.

--
Freetronk
 
NEVER take pictures on auto

if you pick a 1/2000 shutter release you wouldn't even see a 120mph moving car blurred on your photo

you should experiment more and see shich is best
 
I do experiment and i've tried fastest shutter speed etc. but it's as if it makes no difference which is really puzzling to me.

Thanks for your reply though.
--
Freetronk
 
A thought!
Do most people shoot with IS on all the time?
Would this make a difference if I switched it off?

Thanks
--
Freetronk
 
As another poster stated, play with it. Shutter priority mode is best for anything that requires a fast shutter, since you get to pick the fastest available. Also, don't forget to flip the flash up if you're within fifteen feet or so on Auto. I've had pretty good luck with Auto and Program, but I know the limitations. You may also need to pay attention to your technique in holding the camera. I think some folks do expect miracles from the IS. While it really helps, it won't correct it all if you're really jittery. (Make sure you don't have it turned off.) Higher ISO might help, but you'll probably run into noise. I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say. If none of this helps, you may have something wrong with the IS and a call or e-mail to Canon might be in order. It would help if you told us what mode you're using and under what conditions the blurring seems worst. Go back to the manual and see if that helps.

Kitt
 
Freetronk said:
A thought!
Do most people shoot with IS on all the time?
Would this make a difference if I switched it off?

Thanks
--
Freetronk
Click to expand...
Sorry for the other post. I must have posted about the time you did and didn't see the point about having tried everything. Another fellow posted here that he had dropped his and it rattled, indicating that something was broken in the IS system. I think the sensor kind of floats and if this is impaired in any way, it may be even worse than no IS at all. If you're convinced it's not you, call or write to Canon. If you go back through this group and elsewhere, you'll see some pretty fantastic shots done with S2's, especially low light.

Kitt
 
Freetronk said:
focus hunting!
Click to expand...
If the S2 is hunting to focus, you probably have Continuous Autofocus on, which is the factory default. You will have much better success for most photo taking if you switch Continuous AF to Single Autofocus! Be sure to use the 2-step shutter release button correctly to lock focus and exposure where you want it.

There are lots of tips about improving focus compiled by users. Links to many of those tips are here:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/canon-s2-blog/canon-s2-tips.htm

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Canon S2 IS & A510, Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm
 
Freetronk said:
Hi
I have had my S2 for a couple of months and have taken SOME great
pictures, but I am finding that soooo many pictures are not quite
in focus, or there is a lot of movement blur despite trying
evrything I know how even in great outdoor light (including Auto).
My old A40 would happily snap people walking and my dog moving it's
head without this blurring, is it me? or is it difficult to get
action shots (even slow ones)?
Don't get me started on indoor, slightly dim outdoor light and
focus hunting!
Any tips would be appriciated. I expected to have to (want to) play
around to get the best shots but I thought as a point and shoot
simple stuff would look good.
As I said I do have SOME great pics but the amount of 'failures' is
a bit off putting.

--
Freetronk
Click to expand...
Maybe it's BOTH of US as I had the same exact experience with the S2 which was frustrating because when it did work, the picture was Absolutely Stunning....
--
Kimnicho
http://kimnicho.smugmug.com/
smugmug code: 13ZCJZatfoLSQ
 
Gail's comment about single focus is great advice. Continuous focus really isn't a great enhancement to photography.

I had the same problem with my G6 when I first got it. For the first couple months, I was getting very few "decent" shots. I had moved up from an A20 that always gave me great shots. What I found out is that the G6 is an advanced point & shoot. It actually requires the user to know something about technique and settings, whereas the A20 made those decisions itself (mostly by using a fast shutter speed and small apeture setting - more often than not, the subject will be in focus that way).

Once I started practising with the settings - I would sit in the yard, focus on a subject and take shots at every setting (over and over and over) - I started to figure out what settings worked for what circumstances.

Those instances in the first months, when I thought "well, I've found the limit to the camera", turned out to be me not knowing the right settings. Now, I have found that the camera can do just about anything, once I figure out the settings to use.

Also, each camera has different "premium" settings. The G6 does great landscapes at F5.6, but using F5.6 on the XT is total cr*p for landscapes. The S2 will have it's own "premium" setting for landscapes. Check the forum for advice on what apeture works best for different shots on the S2. Another trick is to take several shots using P mode, then look at the settings. If, when you're taking landscape shots, the P mode almost always uses F5.6, then move into Av mode and take some at F5.6, 5.0 and 6.3. You'll find that you're in the range for the best quality landscape shots. Do the same for other types of shots and you'll start figuring it out.

I took well over 2,000 shots before I started getting more decent shots than bad ones. Now, I can almost always get a decent shot and the number of WOW shots has gone up by great amounts too.

Here's my gallery: http://www.internetartistguild.com/gallery/index.php?cat=10010
 
Toedtoes said:
Here's my gallery:
Click to expand...
I used to cringe back in my painting days when someone came up to me and said "I like the frame." So please forgive me for focusing on some of the frames for you fine photos. So.....is there a tutorial somewhere to learn how to make "Borderless Wonders?" They are really dynamic.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Canon S2 IS & A510, Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm
 
Thanks Gail! I appreciate the complement very much.

I started doing the borders after I overheard a photographer say that his instructor told him to "get out of the box" and "draw outside the lines". So I went home and started playing in photoshop.

I've gone mostly by instinct. I use the rulers to keep the border widths as even as possible, and I usually use the rectangle selection tool to create the different border sections. I almost always pull a color out of the image for the borders for continuity. One of the important things for me was looking at the image to find what part to bring outside the border and if it made sense to do so. Some images just don't work. I always use layers to create the borders (I use one layer for each border color) - that way if I screw it up, I can just delete that one layer and not lose all the border parts. As for the different widths, I just go with what I'm in the mood for. For patterns, I tend to either use the paintbrush tool with a "wacky" style (not the usual circular one -mostly I use the square spongy one) and paint a second color onto the base; or I use the layers and add a satin pattern to it, changing the size of the pattern to my liking.

I have plans to try circular or oval borders and possibly some of the custom shapes (if they don't look too "cutesy").

It's a great way to turn an OK photo into something WOW. I always liked my ladybug photo, but it didn't really pop before I added the border. Now, it's one of my favorites.

I'd love to see where you take the idea. I ended up in a different direction than the photographer I overheard and I know there are so many other directions that I've completely missed.
 
Hello,

I am looking at getting a long zoom camera and having been researching for months.

Almost all the S2 examples I have seen on this forum have focus problems including the examples I saw on this tread.

When I look at the Pro1 examples they are almost always very sharp with good color.

From what I have seen so far I would buy the Cannon S2. When I looked at the S2 the EVF was so bad that I can see why it is hard to tell when something is in focus.

The pictures from my Cannon S50 rarely has a focus problem and my old 1MP Oly never had focus problems either.

To say that you have to take hundreds of pictures to learn how to use a good camera is not true.

Program mode works great in a good camera for most conditions and if it does not then there is something wrong with the camera.

I have a friend that bought a Oly 750 and the all the picyures I have seen from are good. Both of my camera's pictures where good from the start.

--
DDR from Colorado
S50
 
Keep practicing.

Also remember that auto mode is an average setting that gives you a little bit of everything : aperture, speed, etc. I never use it.

For action shots (when subjects are moving), you can either use a wider aperture, or a faster speed. Set Safety Shift to On, and try different settings. The camera will compensate if it wannot work with what exposure values you're setting.

As for indoors, first make sure the flash is on auto. Then make sure the AF beam is on, and that you don't block it. Then make sure you have a contrasty subject in front of you. I've never had real problems when focusing indoors. One other thing you can do is use hyperfocal settings : set the zoom to widest angle, set MF to about 2 meters, aperture to f4, and everything from 1 meter to infinity will be in sharp focus no matter what you do (there can still be motion blur though). If you do that, you cannot use the zoom though, you have to set a different hyperfocal distance for each zoom position. You can save this setting in the C mode and always be ready to shoot indoors.

also, use the right WB setting. Auto is good for outdoors, but not good for difficult lightings. Use Tungsten, fluorescent, sunny, cloudy, etc, when you can. Leave the flash on auto, it's best this way (that's the Zero position on the Flash compensation ruler).

for examples of worthy action shots, taken at full telephoto, look at my aperturehead gallery (down here). You'll see the S2 can work well enough.
--
bdery

Québec city, Canada
C A N O N S 2
C O O L P I X S Q
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder12
http://community.webshots.com/user/beder122
http://greatbern.fotopic.net/
http://www.aperturehead.com/bdery
 
The only focus problems I am finding is at the longest zoom range (naturally, where the dof is smallest), especially in low light. I guess with the pro1 you wouldn't have that problem partly because it doens't have such a long zoom. Still, it is a bit annoying. I agree, though, that the auto mode is pitiful. I wish they had done a better job with that for those instances where somebody else is using your camera who doesn't have a few weeks time to familiarize themselves with it.

Seppo57
Dale Roy said:
Hello,

I am looking at getting a long zoom camera and having been
researching for months.

Almost all the S2 examples I have seen on this forum have focus
problems including the examples I saw on this tread.

When I look at the Pro1 examples they are almost always very sharp
with good color.

From what I have seen so far I would buy the Cannon S2. When I
looked at the S2 the EVF was so bad that I can see why it is hard
to tell when something is in focus.

The pictures from my Cannon S50 rarely has a focus problem and my
old 1MP Oly never had focus problems either.

To say that you have to take hundreds of pictures to learn how to
use a good camera is not true.

Program mode works great in a good camera for most conditions and
if it does not then there is something wrong with the camera.

I have a friend that bought a Oly 750 and the all the picyures I
have seen from are good. Both of my camera's pictures where good
from the start.

--
DDR from Colorado
S50
Click to expand...
 
Hi!

I´m not a expert, but from what I can see I think your problem is the shutter speed! For example, on the last picture the girl is moving too fast, so you need a faster shutter speed. The man is completly on focus!

Daniel Pereira
 
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