New S1 IS

[solveg@aol.com]

I found this great book with shots of wild dogs in Greece and decided that I wanted to learn photography. I chose the S1 IS because of all the manual controls.

OK...first day out at the dog park with my camera and it was insane. I couldn't see anything through the viewfinder besides shapes of dogs.Everything looked overexposed in the viewfinder, but my histograms were fine. The LCD was useless. I tried to rely on auto focus, but with the dogs moving so fast, I never knew what the focus was going to be. I would manually focus, hoping to get close, but it was soft. How do I focus to infinity? Zoom out a certain distance, manual focus and then go back to wide angle?

I had to set it to fastest shutter speed and auto aperature, but the photos lacked appeal. I wanted to set my exposure manually, but then I would have to face only one direction, right? I had a polarizing filter on, so I tried to stay 90 degrees to the sun, but this really limited my shots.

When I zoomed all the way in, I couldn't grab focus, even though the light was good. I had turned off optical zoom because I figured interpolation would be fuzzy, but I need a longer lens. Is there any benefit to the telephoto lens? I think I read it's not recommended to use filters with it.

And one last thing... I have a GL-2 video camera, and you have to turn image stabilization off if you're using a tripod. The image will actually degrade if you don't. Is this relevant with still cameras, too?

[pushtoexit]

Great post...I think you have well articulated the challenges of quality Photography. You admit that: "OK...first day out at the dog park with my camera and it was insane"...I'm not sure a first day could be any different than that... Obviously you have identified some of the challenges you must overcome, in shooting fast moving subjects at different focal lengths...That's what photography is...Practice and expience.

I have found the telephoto lens to be benificial but it does slow down focus. I typically focus to a fixed spot and wait for subjects to enter with high shutter speed and continuous shooting mode. Raise the ISO if necesary to get the shutter speed required at a sharper aperature. Low aperature is going to limit your focal length for zoomed in subjects.

[dsze]

Yes, you have clearly found the challenges of photography, as opposed to 'snap-shot-shooting' in full auto mode. I also have the S1 IS (actually my wife does), but I was shooting with a 10D and 300d LONG Before the S1. I chosed the S1 for the same reason you did...the manual controls and the IS. When we first got it, I HATED using it because it was so different than my 10D....but I've learned to use it now and I can switch between the two cameras and get good results. Of course, I use the 10D for anything paid, but I often grab the S1 when needing something small and easy to carry, etc.... Point being...its frustrating to learn a new camera even for a semi-pro photographer. Just spend time with your new camera and get to know it. Get 3-4 sets of rechargable batt's and keep your camera handy at all times....learn to work with it. And...different people will give you differing opininions on this, but I say leave your camera in M-Mode all the time. It will force you to learn how shutter speed, aperture and ISO interact with ambient light and flash.... Its the best way to learn IMO.

Enjoy it!
-daniel

[solveg@aol.com]

Thanks, I'm totally relieved that it's me and not the new camera.

OK, let's say 2 dogs start to rough and tumble. I'm aimed to the north, and they're behind me. I turn around, and having already set my shutter speed I quickly adjust my aperature. I'm usung ASA 200. I run up close so I can fill the frame yet stay wide angle. Facial expressions are the goal, so I aim for a dog's face, let it autofocus, and then hit the manual focus button. Hopefully the dogs are still roughly in the same location (not likely). Then I do rapid fire shooting, but I can't see if the dogs are in the frame, so I've left space around them but that cuts down on the detail I get in the shots.

So even though this seems impossible, this is actually normal procedure? Or do you see something up there I'm doing wrong?

Is it possible to set the SL IS to focus to infinity like a video camera?

[pushtoexit]

Given your example, I think you would be better served to manually focus to the "hypefocal distance" for a given focal length and aperature. See this link:

http://www.dofmaster.com/hyperfocal.html

and look for other articles on DOF and Hyperfocal distance on this sight. Basically it will accomplish the Infinity focus you desire, and allow you to quickly capture dynamic action.

[dsze]

Yes, I believe you can set the focus to infinity. Do a search here, I'm sure there were some threads on that.

I think maybe you're trying to do too much at once. Unless you have an amazing grasp on exposure and AF, you're going to find it very hard to do what you're doing successfully. Make it simpler.

1. Find your location, stay there and wait for the dogs to come into your sights... more like hunting from a tree stand than chasing a deer. This will keep the light more consistent allowing you to play with your camera settings.

2. Experiment with setting the S1 to Continuous Focus.

3. Realize that the AF is slow in comparison to a DSLR and plan ahead a little more...if that makes sense. The AF will be MUCH slower if you zoom in much and MUCH slower in less ambient light.

4. ISO 200 is going to give you VERY noisy images from the S1 in my opinion. I try to stay on ISO 50 with this camera as much as I possibly can. With the IS, you can drop the shutter speed pretty low with static subjects. ...with running dogs that may not be an option.

-daniel

[flugelboy]

There is a Manual Focus button on the side of the lens. When you set it to Manual, you can then set the estimated distance of the subject. A little meter shows up in the LCD to show you how far your are focusing to. At one end of the meter is the infinity symbol. If you set it to that, you'll be focused to infinity until you manualy change it again or go back to Auto Focus mode.

I use that mode alot when shooting subjects at a far distance and zooming in. It worked great for shooting the moon during the last eclipse.

Good luck!

[Geeeyejo]

I have the S1 as well and biggest frustration is the slow focus as well as the screen freeze after taking a pic. I have had some very good results with it though - even on full auto setting. As far as action shots - the DSLR is the ticket. I recently picked up a 10D and the speed (especially compared to the S1) is incredible. I still use both (similar to DSZE) but will usually bring both to sporting and other action opportunities (I haven't purchased a big tele for my 10D yet and love the 10x zoom on the S1 !)
Keep at it, I hated the S1 my first week and grew to love it! Bet you will get a DSLR in the future though!

[solveg@aol.com]

Thanks for the info, guys. Very helpful. I think that might do the trick.

Yes, I plan on spending the summer really learning the camera. If I have any real talent, I'll get the EOS 1D. At least that's the model I have picked out so far. I hate lugging stuff around unless it's really worth it, so we'll see if I can shoot, first. So far I'm better at videography.

Does anyone know a BEGINNING photo site where you can get critiqued? Not that I'm ready to do that now, but it seems like a place I should be reading. The only sites I've found so far have been very professional.

Do any still cameras offer a black point set (knee) or a built in ND filter?

[Geeeyejo]

Post here - everyone is typically real helpful critiquing beginners or experts. BTW, nice jump from the S1 to a 1D!

Good luck!

[solveg@aol.com]

But be gentle. I have never used anything but a point and shoot before, and the really was the first day with the camera. I wouldn't post them as being actually good.

I'm going to work first on my focus issue, then on exposure. I'm going to set up a little still life and lights for the exposure stuff, instead of dealing with the dogs. I see right away that the noise thing at 200 ASA is valid...but I'm not sure how much of a choice I have.

The main reason for the 1D choice so far is how quickly it rapid fires. I can see that you have to get as many as you can while the dogs are in position, since you can't really follow them easily.

http://homepage.mac.com/sbacig/PhotoAlbum2.html

[DocFrankenstein]

Shooting moving subjects with S1 IS is frustrating. You won't get many keepers.

If u can, return the S1 and get a DSLR.

Many advantages:
1) You zoom with your hand. It's faster and more precise
2) Less than .2 seconds in shutter lag
3) The viewfinder blacks out for a fraction of a second
4) 3 or 5 frames per second
5) better optical quality. S1 has chromatic aberrations.

I have both. S1 is an ok camera, but u need a DSLR to get those dog photos.

But expect the lenses + camera to be about... 3 grand minimum.

[JTF]

Most of the reviews I read on the SI point out it is not the greatest camera for action shots.

[dsze]

No, its not the greatest camera for action shots....but it's also $400. It can certainly capture great action shots in the right hands. I'm not sure that advising solveg to return the S1 and get a DSLR is the way to go. At this point in his/her learning curve the only thing a DSLR will do is give faster bursts of shots and faster AF. Those 2 things are NOT going to make him/her a better photographer and allow him/her to learn how shutter speed/aperture/ISO/light, interact with a subject. A big dslr can be very intimidating to a new shooter, which in turn may lead to its collecting dust in the closet. It leads to having to deal with lenses and cleaning sensors and buying lots of bags for all the gear....all stuff that may not seem worthwhile to someone who hasn't grasped the basics and the wonder of photography yet. The S1 is very easy to grab, has alot of manual control and is relatively cheap. ....all in all; a great way to learn.

salveg: Regarding your shots. They aren't bad. I like what you're doing. You are experimenting with different things, you're already aware of concepts like 'composition,' 'telling a story,' focus.' I think you'll be fine. Like I said, get that S1 on full Manual mode (all the time) and force yourself to learn to expose, play with continuous focus setting and just shoot, shoot, shoot.

-daniel

[solveg@aol.com]

Yeah, this is way harder than shooting video. I can't keep the dog in focus without distorting body parts. And the images are all so full...everything is really low contrast and then when I try to change the exposure I end up blowing out the highlights or smashing all the shadow.

The reason I got this as a starter camera is because you always need an inexpensive camera that you don't have to worry about if you fall into a swamp. I'm generally so freaked out about my video camera I can't have any fun. I understand the limitations of the S1 IS, but I'm hoping that after learning about cameras in general I'll then know whether I warrant a better one.

BTW: that focus to infinity thing doesn't work all that great.

[solveg@aol.com]

And also, I'm female...just to make things grammatically easier..

[dsze]

.....I don't like setting the focus to inf. thing either.... results are VERY unpredictable and never as good as actually getting the focus on the subject. Hang in there.... Put thousands of shots on that camera. Spend your money on more CF cards and rechargable batteries, so that you don't have to stop shooting. If you stick with it and get a dslr down the road you'll be able to use the CF cards and the batteries in flash units. And read as much as possible on this forum... its a great place to learn.

-daniel