Canon SD 630 help with Macro's and Sun light. (2 pics)

[DiegoMayra]

I just purchased the SD 630 and I have been trying to clear up my Macro shots. I don't know if I am expecting too much from my SD 630, here is a shot I took of a bee outside in my backyard. Heres the picture , can't link to the bigger picture, but level of detail is noticable. I would appreciate your criticism. Can the image be sharper in Macro mode? Or is it fairly close to what the SD630 is capable of.

BEE
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f396/Diego209/0ed4458d.jpg

Also I have a problem with excessive overexposure when an object is in the sunlight and underexposure where the sun is not hitting. Here is a picture I took where the sun is glaring down. I have tried compensating by lowering the exposure but this just darkens the darker areas and I do not get the desired effect.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f396/Diego209/4544af94.jpg

Sorry about the size of the pictures.

All help and criticism welcome.

[Juan Zas]

I have the SD700 and I can tell you that MAcro mode it´s really suberb in comparation with other cameras I have had. Just stright forward and good results. If now you use some PP in your PC, you will wonder about the results, but think about the image it´s already sharpened coming out of the camera.

Respect to the highlights, the only thing I can suggest you is go to Manual Mode and change the Metering Mode (evaluative is not good enough), you can use Average or Spot, center over the subject of your interest and make some shots until you get the result you expect, (even select half the subject & half the surrender, and try it)

[Stefan A]

I read on this forum somewhere that it is better to underexpose than overexpose. Shoot the high contrast pictures a little under and fix it in post.

Your Macro looks good to me as far as sharpness. Compositionally, you probably want to get the whole bee in the frame. Unless you are going for a head shot. It's obvious you were going for the whole bee, but you cut off part of a leg and a wing. And I realize you may have been working quick to get out of the way :).

Stefan

[ba15ck]

i would suggest you to start playing around with the metering--you can try changing the metering types, and you can also meter off different things. does your camera have meter lock?--if so you can meter off the sky, then recompose your shot and you will likely not have any blown highlights--the reverse will work as well. If you don't have meter lock, you can do one of two things to achieve its effect: you can set manual focus (if you have it) to the distance that you want, then meter the sky (or where ever you want--to meter you just press the shutter down half way and hold--if you don't have meter lock), the recompose your shot and shoot; the other option would be to see what shutter speed and aperture the camera chooses when you meter the sky and/or shaded areas, then set the camera to those in manual mode--if you think it is a little too dark, or too light then just bump up or down the shutter speed (that is unless you want to retain a minimum or maximum speed--in which case you would adjust the apeture).

Obviously you probably won't be able to convince a bee to stay put while you make all of these adjustments, but a little practice will render you to know which seems to work best when the situation arises.

If you are shooting in high green areas (fooliage, trees etc) you may want to meter off that.

[nwyman]

as for the metering off green subjects with light contrasts in the shot - suggest you get ahold of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" and read about his Mr. Green Jeans theory.
As I understand it (and I'm kind of hazy on this) - you go to Manual mode, meter off the green, lock this exposure in, and the recompose your shot. Shoot when you get a negative 2/3 exposure compensation.

Nancy

[shutternut]

I also practiced on a bee in macro mode with my sd630 and I can tell you that your shot came out better and with more detail then mine did. I would say that this is about what you should expect to get with an ultra compact camera like the 630.

[irinaderevko]

For your macro shots, use a tripod and set the timer.....I promise you your shots will avoid blurriness......