Improving picture sharpness in S30

[lord.hypnos]

I am new to photography, but I have been following the forum for several months now. I seem to be having trouble getting clear photos. I don't use a tripod, but I hold the camera relatively still. I've tried using different ISO speeds, but I usually keep it on AUTO. I shoot in the P mode and adjust the exposure accordingly.

Here are some examples (2048x1536):
http://engr.uark.edu/~mwkelle/s30/IMG_0373.jpg (600k)
http://engr.uark.edu/~mwkelle/s30/IMG_0396.jpg (1MB)
http://engr.uark.edu/~mwkelle/s30/IMG_0437.jpg (800k)

Parts near the center of the photo aren't bad, but blurring is very appearant in the corners. I usually just run the pictures through Photoshop and apply the Sharpen filter, but I would like to get the best results without having to do anything.

[Gibbs]

Hi'ya

Had a look at one of your photos (the 600k one). Couple of things are apparent - it is a bright daylight shot. The camera should be working at a good speed 1\250th and above and at an aperture of f8 and above. (not sure what the smallest app is on the S30) - so it is not camera shake. Having said that I get the feeling that the depth of field looks a little shallow for bright daylight - try working in Aperture priority and force the camera to use the smaller apertures, this should improve the sharpness on the edges. You could also increase the sharpness settings 'in camera', the Canon setting tends to be a little soft. Try 1+ for sharpness, 0 for saturation and -1 for contrast (this is a matter of personal taste - play around with these settings and see if it makes a difference.) If that fails you may have to do an A/B with a friend who has another S30 and see whether your unit under performs when compared - same picture, same settings.

Hope this helps.

PS: Just had another final look at that picture. That brown light smudge in the top left corner looks a little queer to me. If that is a bit of lens flare (reflections caused by the sun inside the lens elements) the colour is wrong. I wonder if you have'nt got some dirt inside that lens. Shine a bright light into it from the front and see if it appears brown and smudgy inside, especially on the sides of the lens elements.

[lord.hypnos]

You were correct about the brown smudges. It appears that it may be epoxy or something since I notice the same goldish-brown color where there are seams. However, I will have to live with it as I will not be back in the states until next August.

Well I was hoping that I would not have to switch to manual mode to take photos since I am bad about not checking to see what settings I am using. And unfortunately the LCD screen doesn't give a good enough representation of how the picture turned out once you transfer it to the computer.

[Gibbs]

Hi'ya

Sorry about the problem with the lens. I'm sure that your unit must be covered by some sort of International warranty. That is a factory fault, not associated with use or normal camera aging. Try and get some action on the matter - even if you email your dealer back home and inform them of the situation.

I recall hearing about a similar problem other users were having with a 'brown smudge' - do a forum search and see what you come up with, someone else may have found a workaround for this.

You can use Manual if you want to, but I would just suggest experimenting with the Aperture priority mode. It is an automatic setting and it should be marked Av on your control dial. This will allow you to select the aperture and the camera will select the appropriate shutter speed.

Stay cool

[Gibbs]

Here's that thread. It's about flash problems but some mention of the brownish haze comes up. Maybe this is your problem.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2791#24525

C'ya

[Denny]

you can set the sharpening effect in the menu of your digital camera to +