Newbie here!!

[sreyomac]

Hi everyone.....

I am so glad i found this site! I have had a powershot sd 750 for a about a year now and i just wanted to know if anyone here has one. I would really like some tips and on how to make the most of what i got. I really like it but up close things are hard to get a clear image of.... and what is the ISO?

[DavidSR]

Welcome to the forum!

ISO = International Organization for Standardization..in short the higher ISO number you set the more sensitive your camera will be to light. If you are trying to shoot at night it is best to use a higher ISO, but beware..Noise can commonly be found in images taken with a high ISO especially on a compact. You're camera should tell you on the lens what the minimum distance it is able to focus..that might be why you are not able to lock focus on some subjects thare are close.

[Chris R]

Hi everyone.....

I am so glad i found this site! I have had a powershot sd 750 for a about a year now and i just wanted to know if anyone here has one. I would really like some tips and on how to make the most of what i got. I really like it but up close things are hard to get a clear image of.... and what is the ISO?
Hello. Also glad I found this Web site.

I'm in the same boat as the above post. Purchased a Cannon PowerShot SD750 in early December, 2007. This is my first-ever digital camera. (I've owned a Nikon FG for many years. Haven't used it in a long time.)

For a first time user, I've found the SD750 user guide very frustrating. Can't seem to do much with the camera outside of point and shoot, which in itself can be frustrating at times when you want the background out of focus. For me the Cannon user guide is confusing. It assumes that you already know a lot and understand all of their icons, which I don't. And that says a lot coming from someone who once worked as a technical writer on large software manuals. I shouldn't be having this much frustration.

One of the only functions I've figured out so far, is how to control the flash. Can't even find black and white functions. :confused: :lol:

When I purchased the camer from Future Shop (owned by Best Buy), the young, very young woman working the camera dept. told me I could go totally manual with the 750. By coincidence I recently ran into a friend at the World Fantasy Convention 2008, here in Calgary. He is a professional photographer of sorts having worked for a couple of newpapers over the years. Said he was pretty sure that the SD750 has little to no manual functionality. (He lives in another city, or I'd be using him for assistance.)

After months of frustration, I went back to Future Shop one Saturday in July asking if I could get some assistance with how to use various functions on the camera, or if there was a local one-day course I could take. It was like staring into the eyes of a chicken. The young staff there had no answer for me and really no time. "Sorry, like, we can't help you, like." Guess I wasn't buying anything. :rolleyes:

So I'm here, hoping to maybe pick up a tip or 3 on how to use the SD750, such as depth of field, black and white, if possible.

Or maybe I'll have to purchase a higher-end camera such as a PowerShot A630.

Thanks. :)

[Jon]

Depth of field - sorry, but the DoF of a small lens like the SD750's is inherently very deep. The actual focal length is 5.8-17.4 mm with a fastest aperture between f/2.8 and f/4.9. That gives you a DoF of 5 ft. at a 10 ft. focus distance at max. telephoto and f/4.9 (using the Online DoF Calculator (http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html)). Hyperfocal distance of the 5.8 mm wide end is at 7+ ft. But virtually no digital P&S has noticeably better DoF. You need to use tricks like getting maximum separation possible between the subject and background, and using the longest focal length possible from as close as possible to your subject if you really want the effect of a shallow DoF.

The sales clerk was misled by the "Camera Manual" setting. That doesn't give you much direct control over anything more than ISO setting and whether the flash will fire or not. You'd need an equivalent A- or G- series or the S/SX models to get direct control over shutter speed and aperture.

You'll find B&W under the "My Colors" menu (p. 58 of your Advanced User Guide). The modes that let you select flash on/off/auto are listed on the table on p. 160 of the Advanced manual.

The A630 won't give you noticeably better DoF control than the SD750 does (if you can even find one, they've been discontinued). It's also somewhat bigger. Other than that, it's a nice camera. But of Canon's current lineup, the SX110, SX10 and G10 are the only ones with direct shutter and aperture control. The A720 and A590 may still be around; they also have that control.

[DigitalSpecialist]

ISO took over for the term ASA which referred to your film speed. Ironically, now days most people shooting digital have no concepts of film speeds.

Ok, not that it had anything to do with the post!

[Chris R]

The sales clerk was misled by the "Camera Manual" setting. That doesn't give you much direct control over anything more than ISO setting and whether the flash will fire or not. You'd need an equivalent A- or G- series or the S/SX models to get direct control over shutter speed and aperture.

The A630 won't give you noticeably better DoF control than the SD750 does (if you can even find one, they've been discontinued). It's also somewhat bigger. Other than that, it's a nice camera. But of Canon's current lineup, the SX110, SX10 and G10 are the only ones with direct shutter and aperture control. The A720 and A590 may still be around; they also have that control.
Jon,

Wowzer! That's more information than I've been able to find in almost a year. :lol:

As for the A630, I was just using that model as an example. My older brother in Edmonton has one. I wasn't sure if it was still "in print" or not. I don't know much about the model. Thought it might have direct shutter and aperture control.

Thank you so much for the information!! :D

[watt100]

So I'm here, hoping to maybe pick up a tip or 3 on how to use the SD750, such as depth of field, black and white, if possible.
Thanks. :)

just one note about depth-of-field "DOF". you can vary settings and zoom distance to maximize background blur but there is another, easier way, use Photoshop - masks and layers and techniques like this

http://www.oman3d.com/tutorials/photoshop/video/gradient_mask_blur.php

[Neel350]

The A720 and A590 may still be around; they also have that control.
@Jon
Can you or anyone suggest what is the possible upgrade from A720IS ?
Please don't suggest the SX 110IS because it don't fall in the same category or price bracket.
The only one(Actual Upgrade) is A2000 IS which don't have the manual Shutter/Aperture (TV/AV) control mode. So if anyone need this (In my case my Aunty need it after she experienced my A720) he/she must go for the higher sibling...How come ?
How Canon figure out that this grade consumer don't need ALL the Semi-Automatic Control ?
Can anyone explain ?

[Jon]

Actually, B&H has the SX110 at $200 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=ShowProduct&Q=&sku=580520&addedTroughType=replacementLink), which isn't too different from the A720's list. I don't quite know what you mean by saying the SX110 doesn't fall in the same "category". Feature-wise the biggest difference between them is the zoom range. The SX110's slightly bigger than the A720, but a little smaller than the previous top-of-the-line A650. Other than that, they still list the A590 (at about $110). I don't know what you'll find in India, though.

[Neel350]

I don't know what you'll find in India, though.

Absolutely Jon... Here in india the situation was more complicated.

Here is the price list of Canon Still cams http://site-in.canon-asia.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=prod_comp&prod_type=digitalcamera-price

Here in india people love to visit in outlet and made their purchase in face to face.Maybe you sometimes hear that indians are love to the touch the goods before purchase ...and my relative case she is a librarian...so you can imagine how typical she was. Situations apart......

If you click the above link...you can see SX110 IS Rs.17995 (INR) where & dealer asking price some where 17500-16500 (INR) where as my A720IS 10months ago dealer asking was 12500 (INR). Last I check was 11000 or less something.

Though the 720 is listed in the Canon India website but here several Canon auth dealer said out of stock or outdated model...they just flooded their showroom with A2000IS and other newer model.

As my Aunt is a casual shooter (Heart 'n' Soul Tourist,as well as enthusiastic in photography) she don't need such a long zoom which come in extra bucks..she need quite a pocket-ble, Jacket-ble piece like A720 or A2000...and she also needs that control too.She quickly complete the camera related
learning curves..and she feel quite comfort in AV/TV creative zone after understanding Aperture/Shutter speed function.

And the only option for us is gray market if anyone still stock A720, But I don't think she will ever agree because Canon India give complete 2 years of Warranty which is peace of mind.

Sorry for the long post...I don't complain or anything...but it disappoints me so much I can't explain.

If my 720 get lost what I am going to do ?...I carry it everywhere.

[Jon]

Well, the A590,which may well still be around, is listing for around half what the SX110 is. Biggest difference between that and the A720 is the long end of the zoom.

[Neel350]

Biggest difference between that and the A720 is the long end of the zoom.


^^^And yes that the point :) .....and of course it is not available too in strange reason.

[Undispu7ed]

Welcome to the forum, you'll learn a lot of things here.

[Chris R]

Here's another reason why I thought there was more manual functionality with the SD750. The following photo appears to have DoF in it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000NK6J6Q/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all

There are a couple hundred photos supposedly taken with the SD750 uploaded at amazon.com. I have yet to shoot anything close to some of these photos. It's frustrating for sure.

[CRE@TE]

Here's another reason why I thought there was more manual functionality with the SD750. The following photo appears to have DoF in it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000NK6J6Q/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all

There are a couple hundred photos supposedly taken with the SD750 uploaded at amazon.com. I have yet to shoot anything close to some of these photos. It's frustrating for sure.

Quite easily done, wide open in macro mode.

A720IS

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/3091033979_b54300c64d.jpg

[Jon]

Here's another reason why I thought there was more manual functionality with the SD750. The following photo appears to have DoF in it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000NK6J6Q/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all

There are a couple hundred photos supposedly taken with the SD750 uploaded at amazon.com. I have yet to shoot anything close to some of these photos. It's frustrating for sure.
Yeah - like I said above - get as close as possible to your subject, with the longest possible focal length, and as much separation of the subject and background as possible.

[Zell]

Welcome to the forum, you'll learn a lot of things here.

That's why I like this place.