Any INDOOR S85 photos ?

King Sachmo said:

Help! I can't decide between the S85 & Canon G2. Does anyone have
several indoor photos taken with the S85? All digicams look great
in outdoor shots. The real challenge seems to be indoor lighting.
Does anyone know where I could find indoor shots? Please don't
refer me to any of the professional review sites. Don't get me
wrong, their photos are the most accurate & scientific way to
compare cameras. However, I won't be taking most of my indoor shots
from a tripod, under controlled conditions with studio lighting.
Does anyone know where I can see some REAL WORLD indoor shots with
the S85 ?

Click to expand...

• In auto mode, it chooses shutter speeds that are too low. In situations with incandescent light, this creates motion blur, and gives objects illuminated by the incandescent light an ugly reg/orange cast.

• You can bump up the shutter speed by using shutter priority. I usually use 1/60 and get OK results, but the white balance is really hit or miss with this. Sometimes its way too cool. Sometimes it's right on.

• The camera assumes you are using fill flash if you attempt to use flash in aperture priority mode. This means that you will get a really, really long shutter speed.

• Focusing in dark rooms, even with the focus assist lamp, is about 50% accurate.

• The flash has very short ragne, about 3M.

King Sachmo said:

Help! I can't decide between the S85 & Canon G2. Does anyone have
several indoor photos taken with the S85? All digicams look great
in outdoor shots. The real challenge seems to be indoor lighting.
Does anyone know where I could find indoor shots? Please don't
refer me to any of the professional review sites. Don't get me
wrong, their photos are the most accurate & scientific way to
compare cameras. However, I won't be taking most of my indoor shots
from a tripod, under controlled conditions with studio lighting.
Does anyone know where I can see some REAL WORLD indoor shots with
the S85 ?

Click to expand...

Helen Betts said:

http://www.pbase.com/helenpb/s85_flash_test

I don't take many flash shots; you can see from this gallery. I'm
not happy with the S85 performance with the flash -- either way too
bright (if at medium or high flash), or too dark (except for the
person nearest the camera) with low flash. I also get the blue cast
using flash in manual mode.

These are shots I normally wouldn't display, but since you asked...

Helen

King Sachmo said:

Help! I can't decide between the S85 & Canon G2. Does anyone have
several indoor photos taken with the S85? All digicams look great
in outdoor shots. The real challenge seems to be indoor lighting.
Does anyone know where I could find indoor shots? Please don't
refer me to any of the professional review sites. Don't get me
wrong, their photos are the most accurate & scientific way to
compare cameras. However, I won't be taking most of my indoor shots
from a tripod, under controlled conditions with studio lighting.
Does anyone know where I can see some REAL WORLD indoor shots with
the S85 ?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

King Sachmo said:

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Those shots are exactly what I was
lookig for. I appreciate you taking the time to post them. BTW they
look very good & I'm impressed.

Helen Betts said:

Here are a collection of S85 flash pictures taken at various times
in differing situations:

http://www.pbase.com/helenpb/s85_flash_test

I don't take many flash shots; you can see from this gallery. I'm
not happy with the S85 performance with the flash -- either way too
bright (if at medium or high flash), or too dark (except for the
person nearest the camera) with low flash. I also get the blue cast
using flash in manual mode.

These are shots I normally wouldn't display, but since you asked...

Helen

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

king Sachmo said:

Help! I can't decide between the S85 & Canon G2. Does anyone have
several indoor photos taken with the S85? All digicams look great
in outdoor shots. The real challenge seems to be indoor lighting.
Does anyone know where I could find indoor shots? Please don't
refer me to any of the professional review sites. Don't get me
wrong, their photos are the most accurate & scientific way to
compare cameras. However, I won't be taking most of my indoor shots
from a tripod, under controlled conditions with studio lighting.
Does anyone know where I can see some REAL WORLD indoor shots with
the S85 ?

Click to expand...

Robert Holloway said:

OK

Here's your answer. I've taken 3500 shots with my old S85 and
nearly 1000 with my new G2. If you go the gallery below and look
through the shots you'll see a series of shots that sound similar
to what you need. No studio lighting, rarely using a tripod. In
addition to the flash you'll see night time shots, outdoor, action,
portrait.

Here's the catch. The ultimate test is to review blind. You tell me
the shots you like and I'll tell you which camera was used

Click to expand...

Robert Holloway said:

My guess is that it will prove that both cameras can take good
pictures and that ultimately the ey of the user is the key. For
those who trash the 85, I would recommend a quick viewing of Ron's
recent Fall galleries. Ron correct me if I'm wrong, but not much
evidence of you flashing this Fall

Click to expand...

King Sachmo said:

Help! I can't decide between the S85 & Canon G2. Does anyone have
several indoor photos taken with the S85? All digicams look great
in outdoor shots. The real challenge seems to be indoor lighting.
Does anyone know where I could find indoor shots? Please don't
refer me to any of the professional review sites. Don't get me
wrong, their photos are the most accurate & scientific way to
compare cameras. However, I won't be taking most of my indoor shots
from a tripod, under controlled conditions with studio lighting.
Does anyone know where I can see some REAL WORLD indoor shots with
the S85 ?

Click to expand...

Ron Parr said:

Robert Holloway said:

OK

Here's your answer. I've taken 3500 shots with my old S85 and
nearly 1000 with my new G2. If you go the gallery below and look
through the shots you'll see a series of shots that sound similar
to what you need. No studio lighting, rarely using a tripod. In
addition to the flash you'll see night time shots, outdoor, action,
portrait.

Here's the catch. The ultimate test is to review blind. You tell me
the shots you like and I'll tell you which camera was used

Click to expand...

Rob, first let me say that you have a lovely family and that I
enjoyed your favorites gallery very much.

This one is a little too easy for me b/c I know when you got your
G2 and I think I can also recognize S85 noise from G2 noise.

I won't spoil the fun...

Member said:

My guess is that it will prove that both cameras can take good
pictures and that ultimately the ey of the user is the key. For
those who trash the 85, I would recommend a quick viewing of Ron's
recent Fall galleries. Ron correct me if I'm wrong, but not much
evidence of you flashing this Fall

Click to expand...

Thanks for the plug! They haven't managed to catch me flashing on
film yet...

Actually, I've come up with an example of how my S85 botches flash
shots in auto mode. I'll try to post it later if I have time.

Ron

Click to expand...

DougK said:

-- Doug --

King Sachmo said:

Help! I can't decide between the S85 & Canon G2. Does anyone have
several indoor photos taken with the S85? All digicams look great
in outdoor shots. The real challenge seems to be indoor lighting.
Does anyone know where I could find indoor shots? Please don't
refer me to any of the professional review sites. Don't get me
wrong, their photos are the most accurate & scientific way to
compare cameras. However, I won't be taking most of my indoor shots
from a tripod, under controlled conditions with studio lighting.
Does anyone know where I can see some REAL WORLD indoor shots with
the S85 ?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Ron Parr said:

OK. Here are a few examples (S85). It truly pains me to post such
terrible shots (and I'm not just talking about the color, folks)
but I'm doing it in the interest of science, not art.

The first was taken in full auto mode in a dark restaurant. It's a
perfect example of a few things:

1. How the white balance and 1/40 second exposure conspire to give
the shot a red cast. Neither of us naturally have a ruddy
complexion.
2. Why you should never take people shots in wide angle. My wife
and I look like we're in a fish bowl.

Gotta love that 5:00 shadow...



Here's an example of what it looks like when touched up a little.
(Yes my wife is naturally very fair and my complexion is somewhat
olive.)



Now, here's an example where I gave my Dad the camera and set the
exposure to 1/60 in shutter priority. Notice that there is no red
cast here. (Sorry about the tacky wallpaper; it's my parents', not
mine.)



I find that the 1/60 trick works in many but not all cases.
Sometimes increasing to 1/100 helps, but sometimes it makes things
too blue. It's pretty clear to me that white balance just doesn't
work well with the flash on the S85. The 1/60 thing is just a hack
that works most of the time.

I have similar shots taken back to back in a relatively dark house.
The auto mode shots have a bad red cast, but the 1/60 shots are
close to reasonable. I'd post them, but I haven't asked the
subjects for their permission. The differerence is pretty similar
to what I achieved manually on the first two shots above. You'll
need to take my word for it...

Ron

Click to expand...

Ron Parr said:

OK. Here are a few examples (S85). It truly pains me to post such
terrible shots (and I'm not just talking about the color, folks)
but I'm doing it in the interest of science, not art.

The first was taken in full auto mode in a dark restaurant. It's a
perfect example of a few things:

1. How the white balance and 1/40 second exposure conspire to give
the shot a red cast. Neither of us naturally have a ruddy
complexion.
2. Why you should never take people shots in wide angle. My wife
and I look like we're in a fish bowl.

Gotta love that 5:00 shadow...



Here's an example of what it looks like when touched up a little.
(Yes my wife is naturally very fair and my complexion is somewhat
olive.)



Now, here's an example where I gave my Dad the camera and set the
exposure to 1/60 in shutter priority. Notice that there is no red
cast here. (Sorry about the tacky wallpaper; it's my parents', not
mine.)



I find that the 1/60 trick works in many but not all cases.
Sometimes increasing to 1/100 helps, but sometimes it makes things
too blue. It's pretty clear to me that white balance just doesn't
work well with the flash on the S85. The 1/60 thing is just a hack
that works most of the time.

I have similar shots taken back to back in a relatively dark house.
The auto mode shots have a bad red cast, but the 1/60 shots are
close to reasonable. I'd post them, but I haven't asked the
subjects for their permission. The differerence is pretty similar
to what I achieved manually on the first two shots above. You'll
need to take my word for it...

Ron

Click to expand...

katfisch said:

Here are some s85 shots, some indoors, the silk rug was with flash
and macro
http://www.pbase.com/katfisch/sony_dsc-s85

Click to expand...

King Sachmo said:

Hey Doug

Thanks for the dog shot. It looks great. I'm a real animal lover &
about half the photos I take are of my animals. Was this shot taken
in AUTO mode or are you good at tweaking the settings?

Click to expand...

DougK said:

The biggest problem with animal photos (expecially active puppies)
is stopping the action. The shutter can be set fast enough enough
to prevent motion blur, but the auto focus still takes time. If
the animal is running toward you (which they almost always do) the
autofocus cannot keep up, and out of focus pictures result. This
is a problem with just about all autofocus cameras. Manual focus
solves this, but requires planning ahead to pre focus on an area
that the animal is heading toward, and shooting just at the moment
it reaches that spot. This is not easy to do, but the results can
be worth it. The advantage of digital cameras is that you can take
hundreds of photos without paying for film and a great shot is sure
to be among them.

-- Doug --

King Sachmo said:

Hey Doug

Thanks for the dog shot. It looks great. I'm a real animal lover &
about half the photos I take are of my animals. Was this shot taken
in AUTO mode or are you good at tweaking the settings?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Ron Parr said:

OK. Here are a few examples (S85). It truly pains me to post such
terrible shots (and I'm not just talking about the color, folks)
but I'm doing it in the interest of science, not art.

The first was taken in full auto mode in a dark restaurant. It's a
perfect example of a few things:

1. How the white balance and 1/40 second exposure conspire to give
the shot a red cast. Neither of us naturally have a ruddy
complexion.
2. Why you should never take people shots in wide angle. My wife
and I look like we're in a fish bowl.

Gotta love that 5:00 shadow...



Here's an example of what it looks like when touched up a little.
(Yes my wife is naturally very fair and my complexion is somewhat
olive.)



Now, here's an example where I gave my Dad the camera and set the
exposure to 1/60 in shutter priority. Notice that there is no red
cast here. (Sorry about the tacky wallpaper; it's my parents', not
mine.)



I find that the 1/60 trick works in many but not all cases.
Sometimes increasing to 1/100 helps, but sometimes it makes things
too blue. It's pretty clear to me that white balance just doesn't
work well with the flash on the S85. The 1/60 thing is just a hack
that works most of the time.

I have similar shots taken back to back in a relatively dark house.
The auto mode shots have a bad red cast, but the 1/60 shots are
close to reasonable. I'd post them, but I haven't asked the
subjects for their permission. The differerence is pretty similar
to what I achieved manually on the first two shots above. You'll
need to take my word for it...

Ron

Click to expand...

Robert Holloway said:

I love these shots

they are awful, but they show YOU
You and I have been debating stuff for months
I've been in awe of your shots
particularly that fall gallery - yikes they were good

talk about stereotypes
I heard you were a professor
the piccies are NOT what I expected
i had you pegged as gray and 55-60

great stuff!!

Rob

Ron Parr said:

OK. Here are a few examples (S85). It truly pains me to post such
terrible shots (and I'm not just talking about the color, folks)
but I'm doing it in the interest of science, not art.

The first was taken in full auto mode in a dark restaurant. It's a
perfect example of a few things:

1. How the white balance and 1/40 second exposure conspire to give
the shot a red cast. Neither of us naturally have a ruddy
complexion.
2. Why you should never take people shots in wide angle. My wife
and I look like we're in a fish bowl.

Gotta love that 5:00 shadow...



Here's an example of what it looks like when touched up a little.
(Yes my wife is naturally very fair and my complexion is somewhat
olive.)



Now, here's an example where I gave my Dad the camera and set the
exposure to 1/60 in shutter priority. Notice that there is no red
cast here. (Sorry about the tacky wallpaper; it's my parents', not
mine.)



I find that the 1/60 trick works in many but not all cases.
Sometimes increasing to 1/100 helps, but sometimes it makes things
too blue. It's pretty clear to me that white balance just doesn't
work well with the flash on the S85. The 1/60 thing is just a hack
that works most of the time.

I have similar shots taken back to back in a relatively dark house.
The auto mode shots have a bad red cast, but the 1/60 shots are
close to reasonable. I'd post them, but I haven't asked the
subjects for their permission. The differerence is pretty similar
to what I achieved manually on the first two shots above. You'll
need to take my word for it...

Ron

Click to expand...

Click to expand...