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The G7 is on it's way....
- Thread starter slitman
- Start date
Hi Archiver,
I always shoot at the highest quality. With 2GB cards and higher now the norm and fairly cheap, I've never really run out of space. I generally carry 2 cards with me (@2GB), which is almost 1000 images. I've never gotten even close to that in one session. Also, ocassionally, when I'm out shooting, I'll get one of those 'gems' by complete accident. I'd rather it be at full quality than not.
abana
morepix
Veteran Member
Neither.
L, almost always.
No, center weighted.
Yes.
That is what most posters do. I will print that out and memorize it. Great suggestions. I , too, find the viewfinder is not centered correctly. Is this factory fixable? Frankly, I love the LCD grid overlay, and always use it. Sometimes my horizons are tilted with my E-1 despite an excellent viewfinder, but using the grid lines always squares up or levels my horizon perfectly. In cities, I'll often use a vertical bldg edge or streetlamp post for the same.
Not to question you Archiver, as I get the sense you know more than I do, but I've read several posts that suggested setting Contrast to MINUS one in order to reduce the internal software's processing effect on the image.
Do I have this backwards? I'd really appreciate your opinion or clarification on this point?
Also - just to add my opinion - I've found AiAF to be pretyy good in the G7 - it's a feature that worked poorly on earlier cameras, and even my Sd900, so I know many people have given up on it, but it works for me on the G7 rather well.
Always thought Evaluative Shoot Mode was better than Center Weighted?
baloo_buc
Veteran Member
I use continuous OIS on S3 and it works. Shoot only also works well so it's a matter of preference. The shoot only would be the slower one but the time difference should be minimal.
I prefer also the center weighted measurement.
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Victor
Bucuresti, Romania
http://s106.photobucket.com/albums/m268/victor_petcu/
I prefer also the center weighted measurement.
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Victor
Bucuresti, Romania
http://s106.photobucket.com/albums/m268/victor_petcu/
Different things work diffeently for different people, but I find "shoot-only" to be better. No noticable speed difference for me, but the actual shot seems to be clearer. I don't can if I get a little blur on the lcd while composing which is what continuous tries to also accomplish.
Photofreak7
Veteran Member
than Continuous. I too am getting used to 'Shoot Only' and the results are quite similiar either way. Plus I can see how steady my hand is with Shoot Only mode - which is good to know.
"Over-Exposure to the Son can keep us from getting burned"
"Over-Exposure to the Son can keep us from getting burned"
It's just my personal taste about how I like my photos to look. After playing with the settings for a while, I found that this combination came the closest to giving me what I want directly out of the camera.
While AiAF does work very well, I often find myself wanting to focus on something specific. AiAF will often pick something other than what I'm aiming for!
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Archiver - Recording the sights and sounds of life
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archiver/
Been reading alot on http://www.mycanong7.com and when it comes to Metering Modes, it seems the discussion emphasize Center weighted in some situations, but for the most part, Evaluative metering can be used the majority of the time.
Anyone found this to be inconsistent?
Anyone found this to be inconsistent?
Interestingly, my experience has been the opposite. I find that the G7 tends to expose for the brightest and largest areas of the image (like sky) and leaves darker areas more in shadow. As a result, I often get perfectly exposed sky and dark ground, which is not what I'm after.
I tend to use Evaluative metering, but point at a mid-dark area of the scene. Alternatively, if I'm shooting a shadowed area in a brightly lit scene, I'll either hit the AE lock button (top right hand corner), or use Spot metering.
Give this a go: set the G7 into P-mode, and leave EV as normal, Evaluative metering and Flexizone. And set your LCD brightness to about 3. I find that this gives me the closest approximation to computer screen brightness, so when you review the image, it's about what it will look like on your computer.
Now go out and shoot, aiming for the centre of a scene and comparing what you see with what your image gives you, and adjust your EV accordingly. Shoot areas with different kinds of lighting to see what level of EV you prefer. My tendency is to shoot -1/3, often -2/3, and sometimes even -1 1/3 in very bright sunlight. I only go to 0EV in low light and low contrast situations.
Get your sense of EV adjustment down first, as this is, IMO the most important part of getting the G7 right.
Once you have a sense of how the EV adjust affects things, leave it on your preferred EV setting and play with Centre weighted metering. Again, shoot scenes with different lighting distribution like rooms with windows, outdoors with lots of light and shade, lower contrast areas etc, and get an idea for how the G7 handles different situations. This will take a fairly short time, as you have already gained facility with Evaluative metering and EV adjust.
Try aiming at differently-lit areas of the same scene, half press to get focus lock and exposure, then recompose and click the shutter. Correlate your results with your actions, and get an idea of how Centre weighted metering works with your preferred EV level.
Do the same with Spot metering. It will be very different, and you will get an understanding of how to meter for different kinds of lighting situations.
This process will only take about an hour, and give you the experience you need to understand this aspect of your G7. In the first phase you'll rapidly gain ease with adjusting EV. With the second phase you'll understand the difference between Evaluative and Centre-weighted metering. With the third you'll round out your understanding of the metering modes and how to expose, and where to aim, for different kinds of scenes with the G7.
After you've played like this, play with the AE lock function, aiming at a specific point and locking AE to suit that brightness, then recomposing and shooting. Note your results and keep going.
At least, that's how I did it. Give it a go and see what you discover.
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Archiver - Recording the sights and sounds of life
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archiver/
Once again, excellent feedback ~ thank you!
As for the Pixel setting, any reason to use the L setting over the M1?
Noticed on http://www.mycanong7.com , there is the following recommendation:
Change the file size from L (Large - 10MP) to M1 (Meduim - 6MP)
Seems the M1 setting should be more than sufficient for prints up to 11x14 and possibly bigger, correct?
Noticed on http://www.mycanong7.com , there is the following recommendation:
Change the file size from L (Large - 10MP) to M1 (Meduim - 6MP)
Seems the M1 setting should be more than sufficient for prints up to 11x14 and possibly bigger, correct?
Adam-T
Veteran Member
Yes ! you've paid for a 10Mp camera so use it ! . otherwise save a pile of money and get the G7s little brother, the A710IS
It's always best to shoot at max size, best quality so you have the most options of what to do with the image afterwards, a 10Mp image can be cropped to give more effective zoom in prints for instance.
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Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist
My understanding is that you don't gain quality by shooting at a lower pixel size, but do gain quality by shooting at 10mp and then downsizing in PS or whatever program. Also, 10mp makes decent quality crops possible. I think the only benefit derived from shooting at M1 is the larger number of images that can be put on a card. A 2GB card will hold 476 images @10mp. I don't know how much it will hold @M1, but I have found 476 x2 (I carry 2 cards) more than I use on the average shooting session.
abana
Yes, the M1 setting is plenty for prints up to and including 8X10 provided you don't have to do any heavy cropping of your shots.
The M1 setting is about 6MP and, depending on the amount of RAM you have installed on your computer, may allow you to make adjustments to the pictures quicker and will probably allow the G7 to process the picture a little quicker.
Other than file size, I don't really see any advantage to using the M1 setting over the native 10MP setting.
A lot of people don't realize that the pixels on a compact camera, with their tiny sensors, are much smaller than the pixels on a DSLR. And, I think that is one of the reasons OEMs are cramming as many pixels as possible onto these small sensors. They are trying to get as much detail and dynamic range out of these sensors, as possible and trying to bring them as close to the IQ of a DSLR as possible.
With prints at 8X10 or below it is almost impossible to tell the difference between 6 and 10 megapixels, especially on a compact cameras, provided the camera lenses and sensors are of equal quality.
The G7 is a very good camera and I doubt there will be any noticable difference between the two settings.
Naturally, this is all just my opinion and I'm not a technical expert by any stretch of the imagination.
The M1 setting is about 6MP and, depending on the amount of RAM you have installed on your computer, may allow you to make adjustments to the pictures quicker and will probably allow the G7 to process the picture a little quicker.
Other than file size, I don't really see any advantage to using the M1 setting over the native 10MP setting.
A lot of people don't realize that the pixels on a compact camera, with their tiny sensors, are much smaller than the pixels on a DSLR. And, I think that is one of the reasons OEMs are cramming as many pixels as possible onto these small sensors. They are trying to get as much detail and dynamic range out of these sensors, as possible and trying to bring them as close to the IQ of a DSLR as possible.
With prints at 8X10 or below it is almost impossible to tell the difference between 6 and 10 megapixels, especially on a compact cameras, provided the camera lenses and sensors are of equal quality.
The G7 is a very good camera and I doubt there will be any noticable difference between the two settings.
Naturally, this is all just my opinion and I'm not a technical expert by any stretch of the imagination.
morepix
Veteran Member
I agree with the sentiment that if you've paid for 10 mp you might as well use them and retain the ability to crop moderately. However, there is one use for which I'm occasionally finding 6 mp handy; namely, using the 1.4x "digital teleconverter" (crop) feature to frame 6 mp shots at an effective focal length of 285 mm -- at the zoo, for example, or surreptitious street shots. And IS complements this longish focal length nicely.
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http://www.pbase.com/morepix
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http://www.pbase.com/morepix
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