Camera settings

I find it easier to learn without the technical jargon. I was wondering if someone or everyone could post some settings and tell me what they do so I can experiment. I'm having lots of trouble with low light/indoor pictures, which I have read is common with point and shoot digital cameras. I don't know all the terms for different styles of pictures so I have no way of looking it up. Like the shots with lights looking like tracers(LOL). I have a canon s3 if that helps.

my camera features
lens• 36-432mm equiv
• 12x Optical zoom
• F2.7-3.5 (max)

Digital zoom up to 4x
Focus • TTL
• 1 point AF (any position)
• Single
• Continuous
• Manual
AF assist lamp Yes
Focus distance Closest 0cm
Metering • Evaluative
• Center-weighted average
• Spot (centre or linked to focusing frame)
ISO sensitivity • Auto
• High ISO Auto
• ISO 80
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800
Exposure compensation • +/- 2EV
• 1/3 stop increments
Exposure bracketing • 1/3-2EV
• 1/3 stop increments
Shuttter speed 15 – 1/3200 sec
Aperture F2.7-3.5 (max)

Flash • Auto
• Manual Flash On / Off
• Slow Synch
• Red eye reduction
• Flash exposure lock
• Flash Exposure Compensation +/- 2EV in 1/3 stop increments
• Manual Power adjustment
• Second Curtain Synch
• Range: 50cm-5.2m (wide) / 90cm-4.0m (tele)

Any pointers and some stuff to try and experiment with would be great

Owww, my head hurts. Can you turn off all that stuff on your S3 and go fully manual? If so, then all you have to worry about is aperture, shutter-speed and ISO. I see that your maximum aperture is f/2.7 when the lens is not zoomed. That is ok for most indoor situations with a wide-angle lens.

Let's keep the lens at its widest zoom setting (36mm equiv) and aperture wide-open at f/2.7 to start. Instead of zooming - move the camera closer or farther from subject by moving your own feet. Try the following manual settings. I'm assuming that the camera is hand-held, here (and no flash - because flash is ugly). Being a point-and-shoot, an S3 is much more hand-holdable than an SLR due to the lack of a slapping mirror. However, a shutter speed of 1/4 sec. is at the very limit of human 'handholdability'. I can do 1/8th consistently if I'm careful and stay off the caffeine and only with wide-angles. With a 50mm, I can do 1/15th. For photos of moving subjects - try to keep shutter-speed faster than 1/15th otherwise even slow movements can movements blur.



Situation 1: Candle lit close-ups. Christmas lights, floodlit buildings, fountains, and monuments. Subjects under bright street lamps. (aka EV 4)

Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:400 Shutter-speed: 1/4 sec. (very iffy, brace your arms, lean against a post or something solid, breathe calmly and hope for the best)

Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:800 Shutter-speed: 1/8 sec. (brace your arms, breathe calmly)

In this situation, its best to use a tripod or place the camera on a table and use the self-timer to fire the shutter.





Situation 2: Night home interiors, average light. School or church auditoriums. Subjects lit by campfires or bonfires.(aka EV 5)

Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:100 Shutter-speed: 1/4 sec. (very iffy)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:200 Shutter-speed: 1/8 sec. (brace your arms, breathe calmly)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:400 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec. (Doable on a P&S)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:800 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec. (No problem)



Situation 3: Brightly lit home interiors at night. Fairs, amusement parks.(aka EV 6)

Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:100 Shutter-speed: 1/8 sec. (Brace and breathe calmly)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:200 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec. (Doable now)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:400 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec. (No problem)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO:800 Shutter-speed: 1/60 sec.

We can afford to stop down the lens a bit now for sharper images and greater depth of field.

Aperture: f/4 ISO: 200 Shutter-speed: 1/8 sec. (Brace and breath calmly)
Aperture: f/4 ISO: 400 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec. (Doable)
Aperture: f/4 ISO: 800 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec. (No problem)




Situation 4: Bottom of rainforest canopy. Brightly lighted nighttime streets. Indoor sports. Stage shows, circuses. (aka EV 7)

Aperture: f/2.7 ISO: 100 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec (Doable)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO: 200 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec (No problem now)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO: 400 Shutter-speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO: 800 Shutter-speed: 1/100 sec

Aperture: f/4 ISO: 100 Shutter-speed: 1/8 sec (Brace and breathe calmly)
Aperture: f/4 ISO: 200 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec (Doable)
Aperture: f/4 ISO: 400 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec (No problem)
Aperture: f/4 ISO: 800 Shutter-speed: 1/60 sec

Aperture: f/5.6 ISO:200 Shutter-speed: 1/8 sec (Brace and breath calmly)
Aperture: f/5.6 ISO:400 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec (Doable)
Aperture: f/5.6 ISO:800 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec (No problem)



Situation 5: Las Vegas or Times Square at night. Store windows. Campfires, bonfires, burning buildings. Ice shows, football, baseball etc. at night. Interiors with bright florescent lights. (aka EV 8 )

Aperture: f/2.7 ISO: 100 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec (No problem)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO: 200 Shutter-speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO: 400 Shutter-speed: 1/125 sec (You can now freeze most moving objects)
Aperture: f/2.7 ISO: 800 Shutter-speed: 1/250 sec (You can now freeze most faster objects)

Aperture: f/4 ISO: 100 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec (Doable)
Aperture: f/4 ISO: 200 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec (No problem)
Aperture: f/4 ISO: 400 Shutter-speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f/4 ISO: 800 Shutter-speed: 1/125 sec (Can freeze most moving things)

Aperture: f/5.6 ISO: 100 Shutter-speed: 1/8 sec (Brace, breathe calmly)
Aperture: f/5.6 ISO: 200 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec (Doable)
Aperture: f/5.6 ISO: 400 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec (No problem)
Aperture: f/5.6 ISO: 800 Shutter-speed: 1/60 sec

Aperture: f/8 ISO:200 Shutter-speed: 1/8 sec (Brace, breathe calmly)
Aperture: f/8 ISO:400 Shutter-speed: 1/15 sec (Doable)
Aperture: f/8 ISO:800 Shutter-speed: 1/30 sec

Nando sort of info overloaded you there.

The "laser lights" you're talking about are probably from pro shots of bands? Just my assumption. If that is so a lot of that are the types of lights being used as well.

A few of us on here shoot bands locally and no where really has an awesome light setup - I think the best I've seen was the speakeasy (algoma u's pub).

The best solution for getting quality night time pics is just experimenting then using what works. Considering you're using a P&S I suggest moving with the camera as Nando said and don't zoom as you'll lose your aperture and you need that as big as it can be to let as much light in as possible (so the lowest number).

In simple terms that are super easy but not super accurate:
Aperture = hole that lets light in, smaller the number more light gets in 1.8 is better than 2.8 etc etc
Shutter Speed = amount of time the light is allowed to enter

So with just those two if you look at it, if you have a fast shutter speed you don't have a lot of time to let light in so you want the biggest aperture you can get (so the smallest number there). Or balance that as best you can.

The last of the equation is then ISO and with digital we have a lot to play with. I think the use of this in simple terms was best described in the book I read Understanding Exposure. Basically think of the ISO number as worker bees and the more worker bees you have the quicker the job can get done - it won't always be the nicest looking of jobs but it will get done quicker. So with that ISO800 will let you shoot quicker than ISO100 etc. But once again you're going to want to balance that. ISO100 will give a cleaner picture and ISO800 will have more "noise" in the picture which will look like grain or specs etc.

Hope that sort of helps along with Nando's post in to putting it into more "people friendly" terms.

To sum up how I feel about it... your camera is stupid. It's probably the stupidest thing you'll ever encounter. People think their cameras are smarter than they are and put all their trust in the camera in automatic modes. That way when something goes wrong they can blame the camera. Problem with that approach is if you take an excellent photo you can't take credit for it... the camera did everything. The only thing you did was frame it and choose the moment to press the button. Every other creative decision was made by the camera.

I like what Fernando said, strip it down to aperture, shutter speed and film speed (ISO).

I feel that the basic foundation to making good photos is understanding exposure, which comes down to the relationship between aperture, shutter-speed and ISO. It doesn't matter whether you have a completely manual camera or if you have a very complicated camera full of electronic wizardry including several different ways to figure out the correct exposure for a scene. And it also doesn't matter with you use a digital point and shoot with a tiny sensor or a full-blown view camera that shoots 8x10 film. Without an understanding of exposure, you won't be able to take complete command of any camera and get exactly what you want on a consistent basis. (within the limitations of the equipment, of course). Once you get a good understanding of exposure, then you can start studying other aspects of photography that will help you go from making well-exposed photographs to good photographs and then, hopefully, to great photographs.

The book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson that Curt mentioned is very good, especially for beginners. It's also readily available in many bookstores and libraries. As Ken stated, cameras are stupid. If you take ten different cameras (especially the ones packing more technology than a space shuttle), aim them at a scene and take an exposure reading, they would all give you a different result. I bet that most of them would probably be off from the correct exposure by a stop. This book gives good tips on how to deal with that if your camera has an exposure lock feature and I'm sure that it does.

All those exposure settings I gave you may look like complicated stuff but it really isn't. Exposure is just the amount of light recorded to the film or sensor that is regulated by the aperture (how wide the iris of the lens is opened), the shutter-speed (how long the shutter is opened) and the ISO (how sensitive the film/sensor is to light). For each situation I listed, you really only need to note one exposure setting and you can easily figure out the rest. If you increase aperture by a stop, you can increase the shutter-speed by a stop or you can decrease ISO by a stop and the exposure will remain the same. You can see that by examining the settings I suggested above. Besides that fundamental relationship, all you need to know are the effects of increasing/decreasing aperture, shutter-speed and ISO will have on your image. Increasing aperture, for example, will shorten the depth of field. So if you want blurred backgrounds, choose a large aperture like f/1.4. If you want everything sharp, choose a tiny aperture like f/22. Increasing shutter-speed will freeze movement better. Decreasing ISO will reduce grain in film (or noise on sensors), etc.

One doesn't always have to set exposure manually like I do but I feel that's where one should start. From there, you can go onto a semi-automated mode. For example, with Aperture Priority mode you can set the aperture manually and the camera will figure out shutter-speed and (in the case of digital) ISO. However, many times, the camera will get the exposure setting wrong and that's why cameras that offer these semi-automated modes usually have Exposure Compensation so that the photographer can correct the camera's mistake. (Then what is the point of using a semi-auto mode when you have to correct the camera's mistakes?) I'd never trust a fully automatic mode.

So bottom line. A combination of aperature/shutter speed and iso, set correctly will give you a well ballanced picture.....

A well exposed photograph, yes. There is usually a set of aperture/shutter-speed/ISO combinations that can be used for a correct exposure. Its up to the photographer to choose the best combination for the desired effect. For example, if you want less blur, choose the combination with the quickest shutter-speed.

I agree with Ken... A lot of people think the better the camera, the better the pictures are going to turn out! Wrong... I try to explain people that it doesn't matter what camera you have, and how much it cost, you have the opportunity to get great pictures with just about anything... When there is a problem, it's easy to blame the hardware... when in fact, the problem resides 12 inches BEHIND the camera...

I've done concerts with my 70-300 f4-5.6... and it was alright but if I were to start again, I would totally invest in a 70-200mm f2.8... It just makes sense!

Oh, and HI everyone, I am new here... :-)

thirdfloorgirl wrote:I agree with Ken... Oh, and HI everyone, I am new here... :-)

You're off to a great start!

Welcome.

To be honest, I don't even know what half of the stuff stands for, lol. I asked for a new camera, a DSLR because having automatic settings is to convenient.I just bought a few books as well to get me heading in the right directions. I have been trying to stay away from the automatic settings. I feel that it is not "my" photography when the camera is figuring it all out for me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a dslr on valentines day. Until then I will give some of these settings a whirl and see how I do. Another thing that sucks about my camera is that I don't have a remote shutter or cable. If I want to do anything with a tripod I have to set it up for self timer...grrrrr. I'll check out that book as well.

Thanks for the tips!

If it makes you feel any better, I don't know anything about "modes", auto-focus, or flash. I hope you have a nice Valentines Day.

My very first camera was an all manual Olympus, OM-1, and I find it's the best way to learn... Once I bought my DSLR in 2003, it was really a piece of cake to work with it, since I knew how to work a manual camera. I never use the automatic or program settings on my camera. But I do cheat in using only the "time" setting, which the camera sets the right aperture to get the optimal shot (doesn't always work).

The automatic settings are good if you are looking for a quick, no brainer shot... but I like to work for my shot (eventhough I don't work as hard now as I used to!) One way I experimented, and, I am sure some people will laugh, is that I took the same shot, numerous times, with different settings/speeds/apertures, in order to understand what happens when we change the settings... How's the light, background, shadows, tone... It really is a never ending thing with the cameras on the market nowadays... but like I said, I learned best on my all manual SLR.

Hope you get what you asked for Valentines Day!

I love the OM-1, I saw one recently and fell in love with it. It didn't even have a lens on it

I agree that a basic film camera (SLR, rangefinder) is a great way to learn. Digital cameras are nice but there are so many variables, some the original poster brought up. Colour balance, which metering mode, second curtain sync, exposure compensation... all these are important things to learn but not first.

Aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Composition and when to take the picture (decisive moment?). That's what everyone should learn first, or at least it worked for me.

I agree. However, understanding aperture, shutter-speed and ISO is the easy part!

Charlie Rose: Composition to you...
Henri Cartier-Bresson: Geometry...
CR: Geometry. Are you born with that? A sense of geometry?
HCB: It has to be cultivated.
CR: But you once said, also about photography, "Nothing worth knowing can be taught."
HCB: Yes...

Source: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4074157481455007235