sony dsc 770

[Ian Macilwain]

I now have nearly a years experience with this camera and as the year has progressed I have more and more respect for its ability. I do not agree that it cannot be used for point and shoot. In fact its great strength is that it can, but also that everything can be configured manually. As long as the default settings are operative and the autofocus switched on it behaves impeccably. One thing which would be useful would be a simple one touch button to restore defaults because the scope for alteration of settings is so complex and detailed that it is easy to forget that you have left the white balance on 'indoor' or that you have set it to iso 400 rather than 100.

All I could ask for is for a six megapixel ccd and a Carl Zeiss lens.With those additions it would be perfection indeed! However you get what you pay for. In conclusion I would wholeheartedly reccomend the camera to you and hope you will find it as satisfying as I do. I am at the moment attempting to get some of my results published in Amateur Photographer (the UK's premier weekly photo magazine) so watch this space!

If you have a real player G2 installed you may like to go to http://www.macilwain.com for a selection of views of Aberdeen harbour--Ian Macilwain

 

[Hutch]

.... I do not agree that it cannot be used for point and shoot. In fact its great > strength is that it can, but also that everything can be configured manually.

I agree whole heartedly, despite being admonished in another recent post here that I should not have bought the D770 because I stated that it often does a better job in auto than I can when taking flash shots. The original poster had stated that he found using the flash "cumbersome". I do not find it cumbersome at all, and was simply trying to make the point that it CAN also do a very good job in auto.

.... One thing which would be useful would be a simple one
touch button to restore defaults because the scope for alteration of
settings is so complex and detailed that it is easy to forget that you
have left the white balance on 'indoor' or that you have set it to iso
400 rather than 100.

My favorite feature is the "User Settings". User no.0 will return you to default. I generally set User no.1 to ISO 50/Quality High, as those are the basic setting that I most often use outdoors, refine other manual settings as needed or leave it on auto. I preset no.2 & no.3 to other basic manual settings that I anticipate using prior to going out to shoot.

.... All I could ask for is for a six megapixel ccd and a Carl Zeiss lens.With
those additions it would be perfection indeed!

Even 2.1 or 3.3 megapixels and I will be first in line along with you.

 

[Jean-Pierre]

Why do you use ISO 50 instead of ISO 100 as standard ?

.... I do not agree that it cannot be used for point and shoot. In fact its great > strength is that it can, but also that everything can be configured manually.

I agree whole heartedly, despite being admonished in another recent post
here that I should not have bought the D770 because I stated that it
often does a better job in auto than I can when taking flash shots. The
original poster had stated that he found using the flash "cumbersome". I
do not find it cumbersome at all, and was simply trying to make the point
that it CAN also do a very good job in auto.

.... One thing which would be useful would be a simple one
touch button to restore defaults because the scope for alteration of
settings is so complex and detailed that it is easy to forget that you
have left the white balance on 'indoor' or that you have set it to iso
400 rather than 100.

My favorite feature is the "User Settings". User no.0 will return you to
default. I generally set User no.1 to ISO 50/Quality High, as those are
the basic setting that I most often use outdoors, refine other manual
settings as needed or leave it on auto. I preset no.2 & no.3 to other
basic manual settings that I anticipate using prior to going out to shoot.

.... All I could ask for is for a six megapixel ccd and a Carl Zeiss lens.With
those additions it would be perfection indeed!

Even 2.1 or 3.3 megapixels and I will be first in line along with you.

 

[Hutch]

ISO 100 is the D770's default setting, but ISO 50 produces a finer image in sufficient light, such as in the bright outdoors.

.... I do not agree that it cannot be used for point and shoot. In fact its great > strength is that it can, but also that everything can be configured manually.

I agree whole heartedly, despite being admonished in another recent post
here that I should not have bought the D770 because I stated that it
often does a better job in auto than I can when taking flash shots. The
original poster had stated that he found using the flash "cumbersome". I
do not find it cumbersome at all, and was simply trying to make the point
that it CAN also do a very good job in auto.

.... One thing which would be useful would be a simple one
touch button to restore defaults because the scope for alteration of
settings is so complex and detailed that it is easy to forget that you
have left the white balance on 'indoor' or that you have set it to iso
400 rather than 100.

My favorite feature is the "User Settings". User no.0 will return you to
default. I generally set User no.1 to ISO 50/Quality High, as those are
the basic setting that I most often use outdoors, refine other manual
settings as needed or leave it on auto. I preset no.2 & no.3 to other
basic manual settings that I anticipate using prior to going out to shoot.

.... All I could ask for is for a six megapixel ccd and a Carl Zeiss lens.With
those additions it would be perfection indeed!

Even 2.1 or 3.3 megapixels and I will be first in line along with you.

 

[Hans]

Hi,

I bought my first digital camera at Yodabashi Camera in Tokyo about 2 years ago, it was a Fuji FinePix, a.k.a. MX-700. I recently bought my second digital camera (a DSC-770) about 2 months ago.

For me the DSC has three main shortcomings, the first is that there is about a .5 to 1 sec delay while the camera focuses, I would estimate that the MX focuses in less than half that time. The second shortcoming is the way that pictures are moved between the camera and the computer you are using to store/edit the pictures. Unlike Olympus cameras, both the DSC and the MX require physical removal of the media (DSC/Memory Stick, MX/Smart Media) and some kind of an adapter (PCMCIA, Floppy). My fiancee's Olympus connects directly to the computer without removal of the media from the camera.

I have had a Smart Media card fail completely (with loss of pictures), but I do not know whether the physical handling of the card over a long period of time contributed to the failure. I have not yet had a Memory Stick fail, but with 32 meg (and now 64 meg) cards you don't have to move the shots across that often, so the amount of handling decreases. I don't know if the firewire of the Pro version of the DSC is a great improvement, since firewire requires separate hardware on most computers (unless you own a Mac).

The third shortcoming of the DSC is only seen when you use an external flash. Since the DSC only delivers the trigger signal you have no control over the flash, and therefore will probably have to shoot several times, and make adjustments to the flash, the camera, or both, before getting the result that you want. I've used a Canon Speedlite with my DSC and it required some tinkering to get good results.

In concluding, I would say that the two cameras work great in conjunction with eachother. The MX is probably the best weight/performance deal out there, it's small, easy to use and takes good pictures. The DSC is rather large, heavy, difficult to use, but can, if you bother to learn how to use the features, take excellent pictures. The DSC is clearly superior in low light conditions, and the benefits of having a mechanical zoom are hard to put down in words.

I would probably not suggest buying the DSC if you are looking for an all around digital camera, or if you are looking for your first digital experience. Unless you know how to use a standard 35mm film camera, and are familiar with terms such as white balance, shutter speed, ISO etc you will probably have problems getting the DSC to perform significantly better than cameras that cost half as much.

Sincerely,

Hans
Minneapolis, Minnesota

I now have nearly a years experience with this camera and as the year has
progressed I have more and more respect for its ability. I do not agree
that it cannot be used for point and shoot. In fact its great strength is
that it can, but also that everything can be configured manually. As long
as the default settings are operative and the autofocus switched on it
behaves impeccably. One thing which would be useful would be a simple one
touch button to restore defaults because the scope for alteration of
settings is so complex and detailed that it is easy to forget that you
have left the white balance on 'indoor' or that you have set it to iso
400 rather than 100.
All I could ask for is for a six megapixel ccd and a Carl Zeiss lens.With
those additions it would be perfection indeed! However you get what you
pay for. In conclusion I would wholeheartedly reccomend the camera to you
and hope you will find it as satisfying as I do. I am at the moment
attempting to get some of my results published in Amateur Photographer
(the UK's premier weekly photo magazine) so watch this space!
If you have a real player G2 installed you may like to go to
http://www.macilwain.com for a selection of views of Aberdeen harbour
--
Ian Macilwain

 

[Jean-Pierre]

For me the DSC has three main shortcomings, the first is that there is
about a .5 to 1 sec delay while the camera focuses,...

You are happy with 0.5 to 1 sec delay... It seems to me that my D770 needs a little more...say 1.5 to 2 secs. I have to check that again...

 

[Robert MacLellan]

I never let insignificant things like that bother me. I have never missed a shot because of a supposed focus delay. It is like this "shutter lag" that other camera users talk about. I have never had it. I can take a picture of a moving car crossing the field of view and get it dead center of the shot every time. To hear the "shutter lag" people talk.. the car would be long gone before the shot was taken. They must be pretty lame photographers.

For me the DSC has three main shortcomings, the first is that there is
about a .5 to 1 sec delay while the camera focuses,...

You are happy with 0.5 to 1 sec delay... It seems to me that my D770
needs a little more...say 1.5 to 2 secs. I have to check that again...

 

[Hans]

Lame and lame, I am not saying that it's bothering me, I'm just pointing out that my MX-700 focuses a whole lot faster. I guess if you press the button all the way down before the focusing mechanism says "beep" the car won't leave your shot, but I can guarantee that it won't be in focus either.

I have noticed another problem with the DSC that I didn't point out earlier, if you change the pictures that are on the memory stick in any significant way (auto levels in Adobe Photoshop 5.0 is the way I saw this happen), and then put the memory stick back in the camera with the changed pictures on it, the camera will misread the quality of the shot (sometimes) and will take about 4 to 5 times as long to read/display the pictures in play mode.

Hans

For me the DSC has three main shortcomings, the first is that there is
about a .5 to 1 sec delay while the camera focuses,...

You are happy with 0.5 to 1 sec delay... It seems to me that my D770
needs a little more...say 1.5 to 2 secs. I have to check that again...

 

[Robert MacLellan]

Well, I'm not sure if that is a problem or not since not all editing programs preserve the header information that the camera needs to display!

I have noticed another problem with the DSC that I didn't point out
earlier, if you change the pictures that are on the memory stick in any
significant way (auto levels in Adobe Photoshop 5.0 is the way I saw this
happen), and then put the memory stick back in the camera with the
changed pictures on it, the camera will misread the quality of the shot
(sometimes) and will take about 4 to 5 times as long to read/display the
pictures in play mode.

Hans

 

[Thor Ingason]

Does anyone know of an ON-LINE user's manual for the Sony DSC-S70?

Greetings from Iceland Hans...

I recently baught the Sony DSC-S70, which must be some kind of European model of the same camera you describe... because I had similar problems!

To my horror (and loss of many good quick photo opportunities) - I also became painfully aware of how incredibly SLOW the camera is, from the time you press the button, until it takes the shot... Many of the scenes I wanted to shoot were LONG GONE by the time the camera froze the still... (Like pictures out of train windows - All I got were bushes! - or, of motorcycle riders, they were behind bush shelters or fuzzy and out of focus!)

The quality of the image, however, I feel, is great, when it focuses properly!!! A LOT of shots I have taken - Every other shot is sligtly out of focus. Always the FIRST shot...

After investing so much money in this thing, I am trying to justify keeping it by thinking of it as a "still life camera"... But if I am out and about, I still take my old Fujifilm DX-9... Which is MUCH faster... and takes great shots without the flash (using natural light conditions)... The Sony seems to be less capable there, too.

This camera does have a USB socket on it's left hand side, covered by a plastic protective cover, so that means you can connect with any USB capable computer... and the transfer speed is very good!

Ahem ... I did, however, hook up that portable computer via serial cable to my desktop computer... and it took 3 days to finish downloading all the pics from 1 64 mb memorystick... Phew! I'm not kidding either... 3 days, via serial cable...

I was very much hoping that the shutter speed was adjustable? :-/ That's why I really want to find some up to date on-line manual for this thing... The brochures that came with it are fairly useless... Hope someone has info on this.
Thanks.

Yours,
Thor Ingason
[email protected]

All of these albums are either Fujifilm DX-9 or the new Sony DSC-S70:

Thor - "Pictures from a Life"
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294030221
My Bike Album @zing.com
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294387567
Snails MC Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294030937
1500LC Comparison Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294387525
HD Iceland Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4293797085

 

[Lin Evans]

Does anyone know of an ON-LINE user's manual for the Sony DSC-S70?

Greetings from Iceland Hans...

I recently baught the Sony DSC-S70, which must be some kind of European
model of the same camera you describe... because I had similar problems!

Hi Thor,

Not the same camera - not even close. The DSC-D770 is a 1.5 megapixel camera with total manual control - focus ring, TTL, live color LCD (only prosumer level digicam which has this), etc.

Your S-70 is a 3.34 megapixel (as you know) consumer level digicam with one of the best lenses available.

To my horror (and loss of many good quick photo opportunities) - I also
became painfully aware of how incredibly SLOW the camera is, from the
time you press the button, until it takes the shot... Many of the scenes
I wanted to shoot were LONG GONE by the time the camera froze the
still... (Like pictures out of train windows - All I got were bushes! -
or, of motorcycle riders, they were behind bush shelters or fuzzy and out
of focus!)

The quality of the image, however, I feel, is great, when it focuses
properly!!! A LOT of shots I have taken - Every other shot is sligtly out
of focus. Always the FIRST shot...

After investing so much money in this thing, I am trying to justify
keeping it by thinking of it as a "still life camera"... But if I am out
and about, I still take my old Fujifilm DX-9... Which is MUCH faster...
and takes great shots without the flash (using natural light
conditions)... The Sony seems to be less capable there, too.

This camera does have a USB socket on it's left hand side, covered by a
plastic protective cover, so that means you can connect with any USB
capable computer... and the transfer speed is very good!

Ahem ... I did, however, hook up that portable computer via serial cable
to my desktop computer... and it took 3 days to finish downloading all
the pics from 1 64 mb memorystick... Phew! I'm not kidding either... 3
days, via serial cable...

I was very much hoping that the shutter speed was adjustable? :-/ That's
why I really want to find some up to date on-line manual for this
thing... The brochures that came with it are fairly useless... Hope
someone has info on this.
Thanks.

Yours,
Thor Ingason
[email protected]

All of these albums are either Fujifilm DX-9 or the new Sony DSC-S70:

Thor - "Pictures from a Life"
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294030221
My Bike Album @zing.com
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294387567
Snails MC Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294030937
1500LC Comparison Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294387525
HD Iceland Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4293797085

 

[Lin Evans]

Lame and lame, I am not saying that it's bothering me, I'm just pointing
out that my MX-700 focuses a whole lot faster. I guess if you press the
button all the way down before the focusing mechanism says "beep" the car
won't leave your shot, but I can guarantee that it won't be in focus
either.

Hans,

Why don't you forget using the autofocus and use the focus ring? You can focus nearly instantly and quit worrying about the delay. That's why the manufacturer put it there. There are a number of us in the business (professional photographers) who use the D770 for action shots and have absolutely no problem with focus. Get used to using the manual focus ring and you will rarely go back to autofocus for any reason.

I have noticed another problem with the DSC that I didn't point out
earlier, if you change the pictures that are on the memory stick in any
significant way (auto levels in Adobe Photoshop 5.0 is the way I saw this
happen), and then put the memory stick back in the camera with the
changed pictures on it, the camera will misread the quality of the shot
(sometimes) and will take about 4 to 5 times as long to read/display the
pictures in play

This is not a problem, it's because once you modify and save an image the original header information required by the camera to understand the image has been lost. Why would you want to do this in the first place? The only reason I could think of to do something like this is if you were displaying the images on a television monitor.

Hans

For me the DSC has three main shortcomings, the first is that there is
about a .5 to 1 sec delay while the camera focuses,...

You are happy with 0.5 to 1 sec delay... It seems to me that my D770
needs a little more...say 1.5 to 2 secs. I have to check that again...

 

[Bill23721]

Thor:

Does anyone know of an ON-LINE user's manual for the Sony DSC-S70?

It's in the making right here as we all pick the brains of the ones before us

To my horror (and loss of many good quick photo opportunities) - I also
became painfully aware of how incredibly SLOW the camera is, from the
time you press the button, until it takes the shot... Many of the scenes
I wanted to shoot were LONG GONE by the time the camera froze the
still... (Like pictures out of train windows - All I got were bushes! -

While I am not prepared to argue on this point because I feel the same way at times as you do I'm still not convinced this is the case. Veijo Vilva in another thread gave me a lot to play with.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=390205

We were talking about zone focucing and depth of field and how much greater it is with the digital cameras these days. That being the case if you think about it the focus presets at 1st glance seem somewhat limited but may not be as limited as we think. I kinow from my experience that these have been overlooked by myself. After reading Veijos' post I plan on looking at them a little closer now when I get the time.

and about, I still take my old Fujifilm DX-9... Which is MUCH faster...
and takes great shots without the flash (using natural light
conditions)... The Sony seems to be less capable there, too.

The question we all have to ask ourselves is are we now becoming the type that finds it hard to change with the times. Have you spent as much time becoming familiar with the Sony as you have the Fuji or are you assuming that because you have prior knowledge you should be able to pick it up and shoot? If it doesn't react or work the way we're accustomed to that it's no good.

Thor this is not a Slam at you. I'm battling the same things right now. There are a lot of old rules that were second nature I have to toss out if I want to go forward.

I was very much hoping that the shutter speed was adjustable? :-/ That's
why I really want to find some up to date on-line manual for this
thing... The brochures that came with it are fairly useless... Hope
someone has info on this.

The shutter spped is adjustable. You have the choice of a "Aperture" or "Shutter Speed Priority" either will adjust the shutter speed. The shutter priority gives you much more latitude up to 8 seconds.

All of these albums are either Fujifilm DX-9 or the new Sony DSC-S70:

Where's the Ice?

Have Fun Bill
http://vanitees.com

Thor - "Pictures from a Life"
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294030221
My Bike Album @zing.com
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294387567
Snails MC Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294030937
1500LC Comparison Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4294387525
HD Iceland Album
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4293797085

 

[Thor Ingason]

Greetings Bill... and thanks for the reply!

Does anyone know of an ON-LINE user's manual for the Sony DSC-S70?

It's in the making right here as we all pick the brains of the ones
before us

I would be very interested to know more about this camera! I know it can do lots of stuff, but unfortunately, I didn't get a real "manual" with it... Possibly, I I may have left it in the hotel room in Glagow (Scotland, where I baught the camera)! I have only had the Sony for a few months... and use it more as an amateur than a pro... Although, I think, like everyone, that I can take pretty good pictures

To my horror (and loss of many good quick photo opportunities) - I also
became painfully aware of how incredibly SLOW the camera is, from the
time you press the button, until it takes the shot... Many of the scenes
I wanted to shoot were LONG GONE by the time the camera froze the
still... (Like pictures out of train windows - All I got were bushes! -

While I am not prepared to argue on this point because I feel the same
way at times as you do I'm still not convinced this is the case. Veijo
Vilva in another thread gave me a lot to play with.

Hmmmm... What I'll do is to set up an album at zing.com with some examples of what I mean, we'll call it "outtakes", so people don't think it's some preverted photographer gone crazy! I'll also leave the album open, so others can post to it, their outtakes. - Many of the shots are instances where I am sure the DX-9 would have captured the shot, but the DSC let me down... Again, because I am accustomed to using the Fuji DX-9.
(Here is the album, now: http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4293790531 )

One more comment about the direction things are going: It used to be the storage space that ran out before one was finished... 30 pictures before you changed flashcards (or film)... Now, with this 64mb memorystick, the problem is battery life!!! Now one has to stop taking pictures to RECHARGE!
Funny how emphasis shifts with technology.

So... how long until these cameras get a sun/light-charge supplement retainer/maintainer? That must be the next step.

We were talking about zone focucing and depth of field and how much
greater it is with the digital cameras these days. That being the case
if you think about it the focus presets at 1st glance seem somewhat
limited but may not be as limited as we think. I kinow from my
experience that these have been overlooked by myself. After reading
Veijos' post I plan on looking at them a little closer now when I get the
time.

I'm mainly a point and click type of photographer. Unfortunately, in my experience, the sharpest shot with the DSC is the 3rd one I take... It seems to take the auto-focus that long to get and idea of how far I am from the subject!

... and the worst thing about that is... (A bit like with film and development), I don't know how good the shots are until I get back home, on the computer and check out... Although the view finder has a ZOOM function, one can't really make it out THAT clearly... If it is slightly out of focus or adequately in focus to be acceptable.

... as a result of this, I take 2 or more pictures of everything I am photographing, just in case. Another digital camera based characteristic emerging?

and about, I still take my old Fujifilm DX-9... Which is MUCH faster...
and takes great shots without the flash (using natural light
conditions)... The Sony seems to be less capable there, too.

The question we all have to ask ourselves is are we now becoming the type
that finds it hard to change with the times. Have you spent as much time
becoming familiar with the Sony as you have the Fuji or are you assuming
that because you have prior knowledge you should be able to pick it up
and shoot? If it doesn't react or work the way we're accustomed to that
it's no good.

You are correct, in that I have not had the DSC for very long... and am much more used to the comparitively featureless Fuji DX-9... but, true, I have had to take 2 and 2 pics with that too... also because of lack of a good auto focus... Also, it's very motion sensitive, so the slightest movement can result in a blur. (Can't resist a camera/pop music related joke here: "A guy had been roaming around in the desert for ages... when finally he saw an Oasis... but when he finally got there it turned out to be more of a Blur.")

Thor this is not a Slam at you. I'm battling the same things right now.
There are a lot of old rules that were second nature I have to toss out
if I want to go forward.

Thanks for that, I didn't take it personally, but appreciate your note! Very considerate! - I'm also getting used to digital... but I was never really that involved with film that much either... so I don't have that many second nature issues to deal with.

I was very much hoping that the shutter speed was adjustable? :-/ That's
why I really want to find some up to date on-line manual for this
thing... The brochures that came with it are fairly useless... Hope
someone has info on this.

The shutter speed is adjustable. You have the choice of a "Aperture" or
"Shutter Speed Priority" either will adjust the shutter speed. The
shutter priority gives you much more latitude up to 8 seconds.

Now that's something I have to look into... Like I said, I need a good "FAQ" guide to this camera... a "How to..." list would be good too...

One thing puzzles me a bit, still... When you press the trigger button slightly, it freezes an image... Why can't THAT be the image one captures! That's almost instant! If that were the case, there'd be no problem! That's really fast... It's only when you follow through, and press the whole way down that it actually TAKES the picture... Yes... and by that time, the subject has jumped in the limmo and driven off!

All of these albums are either Fujifilm DX-9 or the new Sony DSC-S70:

Where's the Ice?

Oh... that's in Greenland! hehe!

... now let me get to finding the folder full of out-takes... If anything, it'll be for the "What to avoid!" school of photography.

Yours,
Thor Ingason
[email protected]
http://this.is/thestone (Personal)
http://members.xoom.com/intruder1500 (Motorcycle)
ICQ#24179808

Here's the link to the "outtakes" album I mentioned... With commentary by each picture.
http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4293790531

 

[Thor Ingason]

Does anyone know of an ON-LINE user's manual for the Sony DSC-S70?

Greetings from Iceland Hans...

I recently baught the Sony DSC-S70, which must be some kind of European
model of the same camera you describe... because I had similar problems!

Hi Thor,
Not the same camera - not even close. The DSC-D770 is a 1.5 megapixel
camera with total manual control - focus ring, TTL, live color LCD (only
prosumer level digicam which has this), etc.

Your S-70 is a 3.34 megapixel (as you know) consumer level digicam with
one of the best lenses available.

Oh... ok, thanks for the info... The numbers sounded so similar, I thought it might be the same camera. Still has the slow picture taking problem, though...

Yes, I knew about the good Zeiss lens and 3.3 megapixel... Fuji now has a 4.5 or is it 4.7 megapixel camera... That sounds very interesting...

Here's some of the worst pictures I've taken with it (with ideas of how the shot should have been, too)

http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4293790531

Yours,
Thor

 

[Lin Evans]

Does anyone know of an ON-LINE user's manual for the Sony DSC-S70?

Greetings from Iceland Hans...

I recently baught the Sony DSC-S70, which must be some kind of European
model of the same camera you describe... because I had similar problems!

Hi Thor,
Not the same camera - not even close. The DSC-D770 is a 1.5 megapixel
camera with total manual control - focus ring, TTL, live color LCD (only
prosumer level digicam which has this), etc.

Your S-70 is a 3.34 megapixel (as you know) consumer level digicam with
one of the best lenses available.

Oh... ok, thanks for the info... The numbers sounded so similar, I
thought it might be the same camera. Still has the slow picture taking
problem, though...

Yes, I knew about the good Zeiss lens and 3.3 megapixel... Fuji now has a
4.5 or is it 4.7 megapixel camera... That sounds very interesting...

Here's some of the worst pictures I've taken with it (with ideas of how
the shot should have been, too)

http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4293790531

Yours,
Thor

Hi Thor,

I suspect that movement played a part in the problem with the Harley Davidson motorcycle shot. As you discovered, it's sometimes difficult just to point and shoot instantly when auto-focus has still to lock and then there is always the question of what did it lock on? In this shot, it appears two problems occurred. First, there is the difficulty of the autofocus locking onto your primary target, the motorcycle. Since it doesn't occupy the center of the image, the autofocus probably locked onto the bus behind which seems to be in fairly sharp focus. Second, the relative speed difference between your position and that of the motorcycle has introduced some blurr into the picture. Had I been attempting to take that picture with the DSC-S70, I would have tried to keep the motorcycle in the center of the viewfinder and panned (moved the camera in the direction of motion so as to keep the subject relatively still) with the subject until I had an autofocus audible lock signal, then, still holding down the shutter release half way, you could have quickly changed the composition to what you have and pressed the shutter. The fact that you would have been moving the camera in the direction of the motorcycle's relative movement plus the autofocus lock on the primary target might have given you a sharper image of the motorcycle with the bus being slightly out of focus and blurred from its relative movement. Sounds a bit complicated, but not too difficult to achieve with practice. Practice WILL improve your technique with the camera - it does take a little time. I think all things considered, you are doing fine with it.

Lin