Whats a good option?

[jetta-the-hut]

I am trying to sell my a640 to upgrade to a dslr but I woont get enough out of it to upgrade.

Here are some of problems I have experienced with my a640 camera.

To get close up pictures you have to got to manual or av setting because the auto focus doesnt focus.

The next problem is if you are too far away the noise level is horrible and the focus is now also no good.

So I need a camera thats excellent on close up and has a better zoom.

Whats a nice upgrade to my a640?

I like the S5 and I just learned about the pro1, are ther any P&S with changable lense?

[nordstern1]

hi jetta! im just curious...you want to upgrade to a DSLR but you avoid using manual & AV mode of you a640. that made me wonder why you want to upgrade if you only plan to use full-auto. i believe a better P&S is more suited to your needs because you will not be able to maximize the potential of a DSLR if you just use it at full-auto. using the creative modes (AV,TV, manual) will give you more control & better output.

regarding your question about a better P&S, i suggest you check out the G9, the new G10 & SX10 IS. the S5 IS is still ok specially for its price.

[davidinvirginia]

Try borrowing or renting a DSLR and try it before buying one. There is a learning curve and many folks coming from P&S get frustrated. Not to mention the expense. Saying all that, however, if you are willing to make the effort, it's worth it.

David

[jetta-the-hut]

its not that I dont like to use the av,tv and manual settings they are just way more work. If I'm doing stills or close-ups the a640 has to be on manual or its just a blur. my biggest issue is the clarity of far away pictures. Even on a 4x zoom unless I have a tripod the pictures sometimes end up blurry.

I just thought with the dslr lens changing capablities it would suit my long distance shooting.

but the price is going to ward me off the dslr cameras when lenses are 30-3000 dollars.

I think the S5 will do what I want but I'm still not sure.

whats the zoom like on a S5? Does it have attachment lense that help with zoom?

[Jon]

Sorry, but if you're using a telephoto lens, you need a faster shutter speed even with a DSLR. Longer lenses = higher shutter speeds to stop shake. It's a fact of life. Try boosting the ISO so you can use a higher shutter speed. The A640 can do quite well at long focal lengths if you stop motion.

This is a 100% crop from my A630 (same lens) at 21 mm and 1/200 sec.
312133

This is (full frame, resized) at 29.2 mm (longest focal length), using flash which has the same effect as a high shutter speed):
312135

Post some examples and maybe we can help you get more out of your existing camera . . .

[jetta-the-hut]

here are a few examples. this was on a slow moving truck.
these are some of the better ones next post is some the bad ones.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/jetta-the-hut/Disney08087.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/jetta-the-hut/Disney08010.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/jetta-the-hut/Disney08021.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/jetta-the-hut/Disney08022.jpg

[jetta-the-hut]

some of the bad:

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/jetta-the-hut/Disney08008.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/jetta-the-hut/Disney08015.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/jetta-the-hut/Disney08028.jpg

[Jon]

Well, those last three were at too slow a shutter speed for the focal length you were using. The first was 1/100 sec. at 12.6 mm, the second 1/60 at 29.2 mm, and the third at 1/250 at 29.2 mm and 2.85x digital zoom. Starting with digital zoom - turn it off. All it does is throw away pixels from your sensor and convert each one that's kept to (in this particular case) about 8 pixels. You can do that yourself in the computer later. And you need a shutter speed that's even faster to keep your pictures steady; about 1/750 or faster for that particular case. In fact, the sharpest shot you have there is the hippo, which didn't use digital zoom, and was at 1/250 sec.

The crocs were in a very dark area; you're seeing shake from 1/60 sec. at full zoom. Likewise, it was fairly dark (and contrasty) in the rhino area. And if you were composing with the LCD, and the camera held at arms' length, that'll further compound the problem, especially from a moving vehicle. Either use the optical finder, or flip out the screen so you can brace the camera (but not against part of the vehicle) and still see the LCD.

Another thing to remember - your A640, with digital zoom, is about equivalent to a 100-400 zoom on a Digital Rebel model. You're looking at around $2000 for that. An SX-10 may be more in your price range; it has image stabilization which will help some in reducing camera shake, and it has almost as much optical zoom as the optical and digital zooms combined of your A640.

[jetta-the-hut]

thanks for the help Jon, the shutter speed is that whats shows up on the bottom of the lcd, the -1.75+and you can scroll left and right to change it?

I really need to learn more about it I have taken some amazing pictures with it and some really crappy ones.

this was a close up I got without a tripod, which I finally went and bought to help but I love the fine detail.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k144/jetta-the-hut/IMG_0956.jpg

[Jon]

Those +/- numbers will be exposure compensation - how many stops lighter (+) or darker (-) you may want to make the picture than "Normal". You won't typically see the shutter speed displayed except in Tv mode, when the camera will adjust the aperture based on the shutter speed you choose (but you may get underexposure if the lens can't "open up" to a fast enough aperture) or in M mode, when you set both shutter speed and aperture. In M mode, the +/- values show how close your settings are to a "good" exposure.

[jetta-the-hut]

whats the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom?

The a640 has a 4x digital xoom and a 4x optical zoom, the s5 has a 12x optical and a 4x digital.

[Jon]

Optical zoom is entirely done with the lens; it uses the whole sensor. "Digital Zoom" uses increasingly smaller parts of the sensor and divides each pixel into several pixels. So using Digital Zoom of 4x you're only really using 1/16 (zoom is linear, pixel count is area, so zoom^2 = pixels factor) of the pixels your camera has, and each one of them is split into 16 "fake pixels".

[RadAL]

I know with the A650 there is a 1.5 and 2.0 teleconverter that helps for macros or distance shots. the button replaces the printer button...

[RadAL]

whats the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom?

The a640 has a 4x digital xoom and a 4x optical zoom, the s5 has a 12x optical and a 4x digital.

real lens vs "cropping it" in photoshop later.

[jetta-the-hut]

real lens vs "cropping it" in photoshop later.

I cant stand to use photoshop, I need to sit down and learn how to use it also but I dont have hours on end to "fix" a picture.

What most people could do in minutes on Photoshop I burn hours on little things that drive me nuts.