Focus points

[TiaS]

I have the Canon Rebel XS and it has the option to choose from 7 focus points or to allow the camera to choose the focus points. The auto focus didn't always choose the correct subject and so I have been choosing my focus points manually for the last while. I have often wished that I could choose 2 or 3 focus points at a time, but of course the camera only lets you choose one manually.

Case and point, today I was taking a photo of the dog pulling a kid in the pond. Cloudy but fairly bright day. Went for an ISO of 200, and a shutter speed of 100 per second and an aperture of 5.4. I put my focus point on the kid and than took another photo with the focus point on the dog. When I got home I had only one in focus, as I expected that I would... either it was only the kid or only the dog that was sharply in focus.

I am thinking that to fix this I need to make my aperture narrower. However to do so, I need to decrease my shutter speed which is often not an option with the outdoor lighting or bump the ISO which increases the noise. I have ordered an external flash will allow me to be able to use higher shutter speeds and also narrower apertures, and still have good exposure. Please correct me if I am incorrect in anything I am saying or if you have tips for me on how to solve this issue.

I am shooting in Al Servo

[neilwood32]

Tia - don't worry about high ISO.

IIRC it is hardly noticeable until you get to about 800+ on a Rebel series camera especially in daylight.

Better to have the shot you want and put up with a tiny amount of noise that not get the shot imho.

Case in point - I have shot a number of Fiddle concerts in dark auditoriums. I bump the ISO up to whatever I need to to get the shot with sufficient DOF (narrow aperture) and shutter speed fast enough to prevent blur. This means 3200 or above sometimes which can get noisy on a 50D but it's better to get the shot imo.

If you are really stressing about noise, use a noise reduction program like Noise Ninja, Noiseware etc to get rid of any unwanted noise.

[TiaS]

I have noticed noise in my photos at an ISO of 400. My least favorite feature of my Rebel is the noise on it with the higher ISO. I will maybe have to invest in a Noise reduction program. Which one do you recommend that is reasonably priced? I use GIMP for my PP. Perhaps I will look for a plugin that is compatible with that program.

[neilwood32]

What zoom are you looking at your pictures at? 100% or higher?

I had the 400D (XTi) for years and never noticed noise at ISO 400 unless I zoomed in to 100% or further which is equivalent to looking at a poster 6'x4' from about 6 inches away - you just wouldn't would you? I used ISO 1600 regularly on the 400D and it wasn't that bad - it was noticeable but acceptable to get the shot.

If the noise is really so bad then any of the noise reductions programmes are equally good and most have either free versions or come with photoshop plugins