Duck reflection

[Spirit]

I need help with my optical zoom (digital is disabled, for the record). Though I'm not new to digital cameras, I'm still trying to figure out my new S2.

What I'm noticing is that at full (or near full) zoom (12x), the IS does work, but I still often end up with slighlty blurry pictures... which is to be expected from any camera without a tripod and zoom. But the real problem I can't seem to be able to fix is that the pics always appear slightly white or "washed out".

I took this today in using a couple different settings (it was very bright out and hard to see the image in the viewfinder) and this was the best of the 3 (taken in automatic mode).

Does anyone know why this happens and how to correct it?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Spiriit/Animals/IMG_0455.jpg

[Spirit]

Example # 2 (also taken this afternoon).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Spiriit/Animals/IMG_0458.jpg

[Kennymc]

I need help with my optical zoom (digital is disabled, for the record). Though I'm not new to digital cameras, I'm still trying to figure out my new S2.

What I'm noticing is that at full (or near full) zoom (12x), the IS does work, but I still often end up with slighlty blurry pictures... which is to be expected from any camera without a tripod and zoom. But the real problem I can't seem to be able to fix is that the pics always appear slightly white or "washed out".

I took this today in using a couple different settings (it was very bright out and hard to see the image in the viewfinder) and this was the best of the 3 (taken in automatic mode).

Does anyone know why this happens and how to correct it?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v409/Spiriit/Animals/IMG_0455.jpg

This image is over exposed due to the the high contrsty lighting... It is better to err on under exposure with digital so you need to compensate in these tricky lighting conditions... You can use use manual mode to compensate or the exposure compensation dial...

Quote"(it was very bright out and hard to see the image in the viewfinder)" unquote... The S2 IS is prone to flare in these circumstances I'm afraid...

[Hellashot]

I think compact digital cameras have big trouble with blown out highlights. I've found that I need to set my Fuji F10 to -1/3 or -2/3 EV when shooting in sunlight to help avoid this problem. I'd suggest you try the same. You'll need to post process the image to brighten the shadows because of this.

[Spirit]

Overexposed? Really? Thank you for the advice, but to my eye it looks almost as if the ISO is too high, in combination of it being over exposed... or if not that, then maybe the IS isn't doing it's job as it should. Like the camera isn't allowing the correct light/focus combination with the longer zoom. Does that sound possible (and can someone please explain what I just said in a way that makes sense? I'm not even sure if I understood myself... haha)

I had the same problem with my A70 when I used the 3x optical zoom with the teleconverter (if that helps).

I'll play around with the exposure settings and see what kind of results I get.

[Kennymc]

Overexposed? Really?

The latitude of digital is far less than that of film and you expose for the highlights as opposed to the shadows with film... So the female Mallard (?), the main subject is over exposed while the rest of the image may be correctly exposed...
The IS (Image Stabalising) only helps stop camera shake and has nothing to do with the exposure of the image...
The focal length which you used of 72mm, nor the f/3.5 aperture, nor the shutter speed of 1/60 should contribute to the camera not focusing whereas too much light or too little light can because of lack of localized contrast...
The metering is TTL (Through The Lens) so this takes into account the focal length of the lens used...

[Spirit]

Hmmm... So over exposed can make a picture look blurry or grainy?

Though I do agree with you that it looks bright, I think I'm missing something... I'm definitely going to do some experimenting on this one...

[Kennymc]

I don't know what ISO you were using, and why in such bright lighting conditions you are only using a shutter speed of 1/60... I also don't know how steady you can hold a camera but the guide is the shutter speed should not be less than the focal length of the lens when not using IS... The IS should allow you to hold the camera at slower speeds than a camera or lens without IS...
You may have a faulty focusing mechanism in the camera... Try placing it on a table if you dont have a tripod with the IS off (you shouldn't use IS when using a tripod), focus on an object manualy and take a shot, then use the autofocus and take the same shot and compare the results... If you get a sharp picture with the manual focus and not with the auto focus the camera needs adjusting by Canon...

[Spirit]

I don't know what ISO you were using, and why in such bright lighting conditions you are only using a shutter speed of 1/60...

Well, like I said in my first post, this picture was taken in automatic setting (so ISO would also be set to automatic), and was the best of the 3 (I tried higher iso/shutter/etc).

I posted it looking for tips and ways to improve image quality at high zoom, so if you have any suggestions...

Thank you again.

[Kennymc]

Faster shutter speeds in conjunction with the IS will help keep camera shake to a minimum which is the most common reason for blurred images...

[Wayne Wood]

shoot in P mode and take the light down 2/3 I have the S1 IS and i always do that on bright sunny days

[juneappal]

This image is over exposed due to the the high contrsty lighting... It is better to err on under exposure with digital so you need to compensate in these tricky lighting conditions.


I thought that the it was better to /over/expose - something about sensitivity of sensor in the high range vs the middle. Is that only when shooting raw?

[Kennymc]

I always shoot in RAW and you can pull details out of the shadows with digital wheras if the highlights are blown they can not be retrieved, the same as with slide film...