S3 IS Beginner Help

Hi - just picked up this camera and have yet to learn the ins and outs, as well many of the features. I'm new to digital photography, other than simple point and shoot. Here's my question - I'm traveling on a cruise all of next week and am bringing the camera along. I don't want to get back and find out most of my pictures are screwed up because I was playing with all of the settings.

What settings should I keep it on, as I can't downloand and experiment with the options. Just use auto?? What about the pixil size of the shots? I have a 1gb and a 2gb card to fill up over the week. I suspect if I shoot many videos I'll soon fill that up, so I'll probably stick to photos. I think I was going to use the next to largest size.

Any suggestions for someone not wanting to screw up his photos trying new features would be appreciated. Again, I don't know much about all of the settings but want decent photos from the trip. I plan on reading the instruction book on the flight. Thanks!!

Put your S3 in "P" mode, set ISO to 80 or 100 and use the flash when the camera is asking for it. You will be safe for having decent shots.

I always shoot large & superfine. 2G gives you over 600 shots at that setting. It is difficult to see the difference between Superfine and Fine on a 4x6 print so you could go Large & Fine and get over 1200 shots on 2GB which will probably keep you going for the week if you don't shoot video.

Full auto is the safest option, the engineers in Canon did quite a decent job on all the different settings of the camera including Auto. You have almost no creative control in auto equally you have little opportunity to screw up.

I prefer to use P mode for simple shots because you can override the camera when you think it is making a mistake. Unlike most I'm not afraid to let the camera use the higher ISO values, I can PP noise on a properly exposed shot but correcting something which is blurred and/or underexposed is nearly impossible.

Enjoy the camera, bring the manual for your camera and get to know it well. Bring two sets of ni-mh and a re-charger and go nuts learning what the other modes do when the pressure is off - it is so easy to delete your mistakes just like they never happened. A set of NiMh batteries is good for over 500 shots before recharging but when you are learning you will drain the batteries quicker looking back at everything you shot and deleting the "must-do-better" shots.

Have a great cruise and show some of your work when you get back.

One problem I had early on with mine is the ISO button on the back is easy to hit when you do not intend to. Even on fully automatic, if you hit the button it will go to ISO-HI and not reset (even if the camera is powered off). This can cause your ISO setting to be higher than you would probably normally want for most pictures. After you have used it for awhile you get used to checking this, but it did cause me a few problems when new...

LJ2b wrote in post #2602895
One problem I had early on with mine is the ISO button on the back is easy to hit when you do not intend to. Even on fully automatic, if you hit the button it will go to ISO-HI and not reset (even if the camera is powered off). This can cause your ISO setting to be higher than you would probably normally want for most pictures. After you have used it for awhile you get used to checking this, but it did cause me a few problems when new...

Good point, I'd missed that one thanks.

1 GB is only about 9 min. video at TV quality. You may want either more cards or a laptop or other backup storage unit if you want much video. Staples and Office Depot have good prices frequently, and they don't need to be the fastest cards, just up to 2 GB capacity. I'd suggest shooting Large Superfine; that's what I use.

I have the S2 but from what I hear, its very similar to the S3. One suggestion I would have is to use the Scenes mode as much as possible. Takes a lot of guesswork out of the settings.

Also, make sure you have enough batteries and don't forget to flip up the flash if the camera is letting you know that the shutter speed is too slow. On a cruise ship, specially indoors, I don't think the ISO performance alone will cut it and the flash on my S2 is really nice so I don't normally worry about using it.

Hope that helps.

I have an S2 which is very simaler, but since you are new don't be afraid to use the Scene assist modes. Once you get to learn all the ins and outs of your camera you will be able to make the choices yourself, but they set up all the modes to help you out. You may want to use the beach mode when you are by water to avoid glare from the water. As the others have stated, I would start out in P mode and if you really don't feel comfortable just yet using the P mode, then use Auto. As previously stated bring your manual along. You will find you have some down time at one point or another or you may just want to relax and read so why not learn how to use your new camera! It really does have a lot to offer! BTW, hope you have a really good time, I'm jealous!!

It is always safe to start shooting in full auto. As you are reading the manual you will no doubt want to try out some of the interesting features it mentions. I drained my first set of batteries just practicing shooting as soon as I opened the box. Once you understand the basics of the camera from the manual you WILL want to try some different techniques, so an extra set of batteries will be a good investment.

3G worth of cards should be fine. I recommend always shooting Large Superfine, because you never know when a keeper comes along.

One tip, the camera 'remembers' alot of settings specific to the mode you are in. So if you switch to P (for example) and you havent already set it to Large Superfine, it will be at the last setting until you change it back. (I cant remember what the default setting is). But make a habbit of quickly checking the bar on the left of the LCD to ensure you dont take the shot of a lifetime in Small Normal.

Have a good trip!

Thanks everyone! This so much! Gotta run, will post when I return how things went!

photonewbee wrote in post #2607220
Thanks everyone! This so much! Gotta run, will post when I return how things went!

We'll be waiting and you know we are going to want to see some pictures!!