S95 Questions

Just got an s95 for xmas. I'm used to canon & used to photography but...

Loving it as a P&S seems great quality but some Q's

1) Manual mode and manual focus - Seems the dial switches to focus distance how do you change shutter speeds?

2) Exposure lock or split focus from shutter button? Possible?

3) No remote release?

4) Movie mode time laps - only with fake tilt shift option on!?

5) no way to move the focus square?

heh also any other hints and tips would be welcome!

Here's a tip: Changing the aspect ratio from 4:3 to any other choice disables the digital
zoom. Changing from jpeg to either RAW or RAW/jpeg also disables the digital zoom.
I just got mine too and haven't messed with it enough to answer your questions though.

Cool. Already disabled digital zoom and shooting raw anyhow !

you can set the focus to tracking and it will try and track the subject wherever it moves in the view finder.

RobDickinson wrote in post #13611338
1) Manual mode and manual focus - Seems the dial switches to focus distance how do you change shutter speeds?

With so much DOF, and less-than-perfect focus verification (even with the focus area enlarged), I don't think I've ever bothered with MF on the S95 -- I reach for my DSLR when I need that much control over a photo....

Anyway, I think I found the solution for you:

"You can preset the manual focus value by half pressing
the shutter and then pressing the MF (left) button.
You can then adjust focus with the dial on the back.
You can press the exposure button (up) to switch the dial
back to the default function(s), leaving the focus locked."
(Source: http://forums.dpreview​.com …0&message=38784​096&page=1)

RobDickinson wrote in post #13611338
2) Exposure lock or split focus from shutter button? Possible?

From the same thread referenced above: You can assign the Shortcut button to be "AE lock". Once AE is locked, half-pressing the shutter-release will only lock the AF.

(This means you have to lock exposure first, then set and lock AF by half-pressing the shutter-release. This sequence is the reverse of what I do with my DSLR, but at least it's one way to separate AF and AE on the S90/S95.)

RobDickinson wrote in post #13611338
3) No remote release?

If you wait a bit longer, I'm sure a certain long-term POTN member will chime in and mention this (the lack of a remote release, such as one using the USB port) as the #1 flaw of the S90/S95/S100....

RobDickinson wrote in post #13611338
4) Movie mode time laps - only with fake tilt shift option on!?

I hardly shoot movies, so hopefully someone else knows the answer.

RobDickinson wrote in post #13611338
5) no way to move the focus square?

You are really asking for a lot from a compact camera....

If you choose Face-detection AF and there are no faces recognizable (e.g. person wears a sunglass), it defaults to a multi-area focus mode previously known as AiAF. Depending on which area of the scene has the most contrast, it'll often pick a non-centre AF area.

However, I don't think there is a way to control which of these areas it uses, which is why my S95 is almost always set to Central-AF only. It takes very little time to "half-press-then-recompose"....

RetroBlader wrote in post #13613430
-=stuff=-

Cheers!

My issue was I was shooting a sunset(as below) and then camera seemed to refuse to focus (raked in/out then stopped). I ended up switching to manual (to sort AE/AF issues) but it sounds like I could work round with the AE lock method too - will investigate further.

I would have reached for my 7D but if I dontg know how/learn to use the s95 then I'll never get the most out of it. I push my gear and like to know whats achievable.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/zarphag/6589656​453/

RobDickinson wrote in post #13613726
My issue was I was shooting a sunset(as below) and then camera seemed to refuse to focus (raked in/out then stopped). I ended up switching to manual (to sort AE/AF issues) but it sounds like I could work round with the AE lock method too - will investigate further.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/zarphag/6589656​453/
Christchurch Sunset by robjdickinson, on Flickr

Nice shot.

There is tons of contrast at the horizon line so focus will almost for sure lock there if you use AiAF (Face Detection AF). If you use central-AF and recompose, the exposure will be too biased for the foreground, and the S95 can only do -2 ExpComp, whch won't be enough. So AF + Manual Exposure is one way to go.

However, the quicker way is probably simply set focus mode to Infinity! (In your composition, there is very little foreground that is close to you, so setting focus at infinity should still render the silhouette sharp through DOF.)

RobDickinson wrote in post #13613726
I'm not a fan of focus and recompose but most of the time the s95 will have plenty of DOF, and the rest I will just work round! Manual focus with the magnification square is pretty poor tho.

Yeah, it usually looks horrible (to me anyway) that I simply don't bother. It ain't anything like the 7D's LiveView 10x mag, that's for sure!

RetroBlader wrote in post #13614305
However, the quicker way is probably simply set focus mode to Infinity!

When I wrote that, for some reason I thought the S95's AF options included "macro", "normal", and "infinity" like earlier PowerShots.

However, checking with my S95 now, I guess I was mistaken -- only "macro" and "normal" (plus MF). No "infinity".

:p


But I had a pleasant surprise as well -- the Shortcut button can be set to a lot more functions than I remembered. Both AFL and AEL are available options, so you can use either approach:

Approach A: Set focus before exposure
1. point the AF area at the horizon
2. set AFL with the Shortcut button
3. recompose to your shown composition
4. dial in the appropriate amount of ExpComp (guided by real-time histogram)
5. press the shutter-release to take the shot

Approach B: Set exposure before fine-tuning focus
1. finalize the composition
2. dial in the appropriate amount of ExpComp (guided by real-time histogram)
3. set AEL with the Shortcut button
4. tilt the camera down so the center-AF zone falls on the horizon
5. half-press to lock focus
6. tilt camera up to reacquire the original composition
7. fully press the shutter-release to take the shot

I think Approach A is a lot faster, and more analogous of what most people do with their Canon DSLR -- particularly if one assigns AF to the "AF start" button (with higher-end models) or the * button (with Rebels). Of course, you won't have real-time histogram unless you do LiveView.