PowerShot S1 IS probs (GRAINY)

[hdd]

Guys, i just got the power shot S1 cause I wanted to upgrade to something with better zoom than my old crappy nikon coolpix 2500 camera I have. The pics on the nikon were awesome for 2mp, but i just wanted something better. I toggled with thought of the nikon4300 and this canon, but i like the movie mode on this canon more.

anyway, im a avid car freak. I like taking pics of drag racers and etc. But the canon doesnt seem to have the crisp images like my old nikon had? Granted they look fine, but it doesnt seem to have the contrast and color I thought it would. I hate to spend all this money on this canon and my 100bucks nikon seems to do a better job :x

any ideas??? I many just use the auto mode or the other programmed modes. Is there anything adjust to get the pics a little clearer? Example: black seems to always look fuzzy and faded in the foreground. The more I zoom in on a object the clearer the picture gets, but it seems to have wideangle clearity probs?

any help here? Im new to this place so i thought I would give it a shot. Im very picky about how my pictures look(who isnt). Now im thinking about getting the nikon 4300 and selling this one unless I can get the pics to come out clear and crisp :D

[Belmondo]

hdd,

Can you possibly post a couple pictures to give us some idea what you're dealing with? I can almost guarantee that somebody will have an idea if they can see the problem.

[hdd]

also, something else that could be the issue. I have a 17inch flatscreen monitor. I usually view the pics in full size(whole screen). Ive noticed in printshop when the pics are say 4x6 or smaller that they seem crstal clear? Could it just be where the cameras only 3mp? But again here comes the problem. My old nikon was only 2mp and the pics look fine at full screen?

[hdd]

hdd,

Can you possibly post a couple pictures to give us some idea what you're dealing with? I can almost guarantee that somebody will have an idea if they can see the problem.

sure, ill upload one at full size and see if anyone has an idea.. gimmie a few minutes cause im on dailup

[hdd]

ok here are a few pics..

here are the 2 canon pics of my car
http://www.easternfbody.com/easternfbody/canon.JPG (1024x768)
http://www.easternfbody.com/easternfbody/canon2.JPG (2048x1536)

http://www.easternfbody.com/easternfbody/nikon.JPG (1600x1200max size)

all were with auto settings. If you notice the canon pics look grainy and the nikon pics look sorta shiny. Its almost like the canon cant get the contrast right? Now the canon gets better with I start using the zoom to say 4x-8x and really shows great detail. Is this just a issue with dark colors?

[hdd]

Ive been reading on here about ISO settings and the higher you go the more grainy the pics look. I use the auto mode mainly, so should I switch to the P one which has a programmed ISO50 for bright sunny days?

I just need something to get crystal clear shots on sunny days without this grainy/fuzzy look 8)

[Belmondo]

hdd:
I really don't see what you don't like about the Canon images. If anything, the Nikon shot looks over-sharpened to me which might be what you're thinking is better contrast. If you want 'punchier' shots, you can always do that in post-processing, but I consider the two Canon shots just fine as a starting point. IMHO.

Tom

[hdd]

bel, maybe my problem is that the images are underexposed. I played with the exposure setting today on just piddly thing and I set I moved it + a 1-2clicks and evrything looks fine. I just didnt like the grainy look of the 2 canon shots. If you notice the clouds in the BG look awesome, but the car looks faded/grainy. Again, maybe im just to picky :D

[Liang]

hdd,

This is the normal in digital camera. When you get the correct exposure for the sky, the subject will under-expose. When you get the correct exposure for the subject, the sky will over-expose.

Don't worry you can correct this in Photoshop. :wink:
http://www.dgmr.net/photo/canonforum/canon_edited.jpg

Liang

[hdd]

thanks a bunch! Can i just adjust the exposure on the camera also to help? The pics seem a little more crisp when i move the exposure setting over +1 or +2 when its sunny out. Any other tricks on the camera I can adjust to help with that also?

thanks again

[Liang]

Yes. You can +1 or +2 exposure to make the detail of the car more visible (due to dark colored car). But the sky may be wash-out.