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ZS3 Bad Indoor Pictures!!!

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Manuel Espinal

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Hello, I just got my zs3 and I have been trying it in IA mode inside my home. Also in regular mode.

I don't know anything about cameras, or settings I just know how to point and shoot. But the pictures on this cameras are just horrible.

They are too dark and colors are a bit off. Weird thing is, when looking at the lcd the view looks fine with all colors ok and not dark, as soon as I press that button screen goes dark, colors change and pictures come out ugly. Is it because the flash is weak?

Is there any settings I can make to fix that? Should I just return the camera? I mostly use cameras indoors. I come from an old sony dsc w1 and while it was not the best the pictures were fine compared to the zs3 (without me making any settings).

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Yeah,

But also I was talking more about IA mode to just point and shoot,. For the zs3 all reviews said the camera was lacking manual settings, that it's mostly just for doing everything auto, that's the reason I bought it.

I mean my friend's 100 bucks camera does better indoor pictures so far :(. maybe panasonic focused too much on the video features and not the picture quality?

Overall the pictures taken by this camera indoor are the worst I have seen in cameras so far. Keeping in mind that once in a while 1 or 2 pictures come out a bit ok, but that is like 2 out of 20, color and lighting wise.

Like I said in a previous post, I don't know much about settings but aren't these point and shoot cameras supposed to do ok pictures in auto settings? I will try to learn a bit of settings for the non IA mode, although I have tried a lot of different settings already and the results have not been that great either. I am talking only for indoor so far.
 
She bought an FZ35 a few weeks before going to China but did not spend enough time playing with it and complained of her frustrations. A few days before she left I lent her my Samsung HZ15W.

Somehow she and that camera just "clicked" and she was happier to take that with her. On her return (with many wonderful pictures) she is selling her FZ and already purchased her own Samsung. Besides having a full manual mode (the reason I purchased it), the camera also seems to be very beginning-user friendly.
Djedi
--
Old timer
 
If you have 'tried a lot of settings' and are not learning what they do or why to use them - it's possible that you have screwed something up & are causing the poor image quality.

At the least, post some sample images with the EXIF data in tact and someone will probably take a look to see what's up.
 
Hi everyone,

Turning the flash off seems to be better for this camera. Even though it's still not as I would like it to be, but with the flash off, the colors seem a bit better.

I have not screwed up any settings, as I am mostly talking about the point and shoot features IA. The settings I have changed in the non IA mode, I always reversed them back to default in order to compare pics. Besides, I have now found a lot of forums on the net talking about how weak indoor photos are with this camera, I guess I didn't see them on time.

I will keep trying with the non IA mode settings and hopefully I will get better results. Auto mode IA is not cutting it for me at least.

"Yes I read the manual" Also I am reading the links posted here for info.

"His camera simply underexpose, most likely due to max shutter speed set too high and/or max ISO set too low." hmm I will look into that in the manual settings. Does it do that in IA mode though?

Thanks for the responses I appreciate it.
 
I have really improved my low light pictures with the ZS3.

Sometimes IA works really well, but with a small sensor ALL point and shoot camera's will have its limitations. I sometimes use IA, if it doesn't work I switch to Normal mode with max ISO at 800 and I-exposure set to on, and if the people sit still for the picture, the slow synchro flash.......if the subject is moving, I force the flash on and the pictures come out fine, but that is when the background tends to become dark. Even tried using the Baby mode and I found it sometimes works well so kept it as one of my sc1 buttons.
 
The thing is when I take my pictures indoors, I have a huge amount of lights and still yet sometimes they come out a bit dark and the colors are still a bit off.

I will try those manual settings to see if it helps but definitely IA mode doesn't do as good as any regular point and shoot cameras.

Yeah weirdly with the flash off pictures come out a bit less worst.

Good information, thanks everyone.
 
Manuel Espinal said:
The thing is when I take my pictures indoors, I have a huge amount of lights and still yet sometimes they come out a bit dark and the colors are still a bit off.

I will try those manual settings to see if it helps but definitely IA mode doesn't do as good as any regular point and shoot cameras.

Yeah weirdly with the flash off pictures come out a bit less worst.

Good information, thanks everyone.
Click to expand...
Maybe if you post a picture of what you are talking about, your issue can be more readily identified with other experiences. Not sure I understand the "this camera takes horrible pictures" post, but then the OP never publishes a shot that illustrates the problem?

The camera is only a tool. You as the photog need to figure out how to work around its limitations, and create a nice image. That learning curve is a little more difficult with a compact P&S camera, as you have even less to work with. However, even a DSLR will perform terribly in low lighting, if the photographer is not making the right choices.
 
The ZS3 underexposes in indoor flash. Try turning the exposure compensation up by +1/3, or +2/3
 
Manuel, friend of my had exactly the same problem. Indoor pictures too dark and with weird reddish color. I asked her to show me how is she using the camera. Then we discover that she was blocking the flash with one finger. So make sure you aren't doing the same mistake. I bet you this is it :)
 
Hi, I will try that setting :)

Yeah those pics you posted in a low light setting are great, however, I never said that the problem was low light, the problem is indoors regardless of the lighting. 2 out of like 20 pictures come out a bit ok, the rest are either dark or the colors are not that great compared to other cheaper point and shoot cameras.

For videos and outside pictures the camera is great, also maybe indoors but not using the IA settings, which most average users like myself do "Point and shoot."

Here is an example with the flash on and off in IA, there is not a lot of the color issue in this picture but guess which on is the one with the flash on!!



When I said worst pictures, I am comparing to any point and shoot camera I have seen or used, where I just pick up the camera and shoot, pictures are always ok, with this one it is a gamble, either it's too dark the colors are off most time indoors (IA mode).

I want to say it one more time that I don't know much about cameras and I am only talking about the auto settings IA.

Thanks for having patience with me, I really appreciate all the responses.
 
Your images are very typical. The image on the left is the easy flash image. When you use a P&S flash in a dark room, the subject is always going to be illuminated, while the background is dark. You need much more power to light up the entire room, such as that from a dedicated flash. You keep referring to other P&S cameras performing so much better, but I can't see how.

The image on the right looks very good for the amount of lighting that you have in the room. It looks as if the IS did its job. Please show another example from another camera that displays this pick up and go, outstanding performance that you keep referring to.
 
Hi, I thought of that, but I am not blocking the flash at all :)

There is a huge amount of light in the room, which is showing in the non flash picture to the right. If it was a low light situation I would have thought the picture on the left was ok.

Thanks again all for all the suggestions.
 
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