New S5 IS - annoyed

I got myself a shiney new S5 to replace my A510 almost a week ago, I've taken several hundred photos of the same subjects in the same room as I've been taking with the A510 for the past several months (pictures of the kids in my class (I'm the teacher) in my classroom) and I'm seriously considering trying to return the S5 and just going back to my 3.2 megapixel A510 in spite of the painful amount of time between shots and it's aggravating insistence that I want it to auto focus on some random inanimate object in the background because it lacks face detection....The pictures I'm getting all have an unacceptable amount of noise/graininess and are just not as sharp as I'm used to them being.... I've tried just using the Auto setting, I've tried various settings in P and changing the the ISO and white balance settings, tried the sports/fast motion setting and the SCN setting for indoors, along with various color settings....I read the book, unfortunately my high school photography classes were not digital, were done with a point and shoot, and I've forgotten most of it anyway... I need fast shutter speeds to catch quick movement, they're babies (all under 18 months) they move fast, I need a decent depth of field for the same reason...and I can't significantly change the amount of light in the room because, well, there are rules about bringing appliances from home, I don't have even one free electrical outlet in a spot that would be safe to plug something into, and I'm sure the administration would veto 'blinding' the children with an extra flash....

Is there a solution? Or should I start looking for the receipt? Should I return it and get the G9?

It's going to take you more than a week to get the results you want. The S5 is a GREAT camera but you need to take the time to learn how to use it's wide array of features properly. You will need to master the P mode then move up to the Av, Tv and eventually the MANUAL mode. Sometimes you will have to use flash but even then there are flash settings to chose from and methods to use to get desirable results.
This is a very versatile camera, I mean a LOT of options. There are settings for sharpness and custom colors, exposure etc.. All the UZ cameras are weak in low light, to get the zoom you sacrifice light. If you can't take the time to master it, you should get a simpler P/S.

I'm sorry about the frustrated tone, I took a lot of pictures today, caught a bunch of cute and/or milestone moments (ie pictures of one's first steps...) and the vast majority of the shots I cared about came out grainy/with too much noise, or blurry...I don't mind putting in some time to learn...and I really wasn't expecting perfection in just a week...but I really was hoping that I'd notice at least a bit of a difference between the two just in their auto settings...or at least have equal results...and in 6 or 8 hundred pictures of the same subjects in the same room, with the same lighting, I was hoping to have found some settings that work...it is unfortunate that the face detection feature doesn't seem to work outside the AUTO mode...is there a way to make it work? It wants to focus in the center of the frame but that's not always where the faces are...and the auto mode doesn't seem to like my classroom. I want it to have options so that I'll be able to learn to do interesting/creative things with it... but one thing it has to do is keep up with me at work, I'm recording someone else's child's first year...this is stuff they aren't going to do again just because the shot came out blurry... The reason it has an AUTO mode is so that it doesn't always have to be complicated.

Please, if anybody has a suggestion on something I should try, I may have missed it, been unable to figure out how to change it, not known that it existed to be changed...I am open to suggestions, I really do want to learn to use this camera.

Thanks for listening to my rant up there and thanks for your help.

first off Hi GerryDEE! I've been hanging out here alot since I got my XTi. Good to see you here too.

Anyways, when I moved from an S3 to an S5, I too was disappointed by the amount of noise at all ISO's. The reason for this being cramming 8 MP onto a 6 MP max sensor. I learned that you need above exceptional lighting for the S5 to live up to it's potential. If you shoot outside on a sunny day, it'll make you give it a hug. Indoors, in anything less than bright light, it's been struck in it's achille's heel.
I didn't shoot on anything over ISO 200, then still had noise in lower light photos. Run them through a noiseware program if you want. But I was disappointed by the amount of noise on the S5. Although I love the camera otherwise.
Also, make sure you're pressing the shutter button half-way to lock focus before taking the picture. If you press it all the way the first time, it will fire before focusing. use the box in the center, wait until it's green then fire. If there's people around, you can use face-detection, but it may not be useful for quick-moving subjects.
If you use "Auto" alot, it will bump ISO up to an un-usable number. Use P or Av mode. Set your ISO to 200 and adjust other settings to compensate, using flash if necessary.
If you're getting long shot-to-shot times, you may have a slow SD Card. What card are you using? I used a 2 gig Extreme III and had no trouble with continuous shooting until the card was full- at high-quality too.
Don't forget to use that amazing video mode it has.

If you can afford a G9, and don't mind the bulk, look into getting an XT, or XTi. especially since the announcement of the XSi, the XT/XTi prices will really drop now. They have incomparable low-light performance. I love my new XTi!

Quick question: are you viewing the images at 100% or "fit on screen"?

Also what happens when you reduce the images down to 3.2 megapixels (2048 x 1536) and view them? Do they look better?

any chance of posting an example?...

There's gotta be something wrong here; I own the A510 and S3-IS and I've played around with the S5-IS.. and the image quality is definitely superior with the Sx-IS's.

What ISO speed were those 'noisy' shots shot at? The noise on my Sx cameras aren't terrifically better than the A510 but it certainly isn't worse.

The G9 won't help here. If you want a superior high-ISO performance from Canon, you will need to look towards investing in a dSLR system.

You should post an example here of one of your unsatisfactory shots.

BTW I just saw some pics from an S3 camera and all I can say is WOW.

If the S5 is better then it should be taking stunning photos.

First, turn off that silly face detection mode. Set the focus mode to center only. Point the center at your subject, half press to focus, then reframe and finish the shutter press to take the photo.

Shoot in P mode. Better yet, shoot in Av mode and select the widest (smallest numerical) f/ stop setting you can. Use manually set ISO (not auto). Hopefully you have enough available light to shoot at ISO 100 or 200. If you have to go up to 400 or above, you're back into noise land.

Shoot with the lens zoomed to the widest setting. Stay away from the telephoto end. You let more light in at the wider settings. If you want a close-up shot, move your feet.

Side note - I wonder if this might be the root issue. If you've been using that extended zoom range, then you've been shooting through a dark lens and that will force auto ISO up and shutter speed down as the camera tries to adjust to the lack of light. Hmmm

In ALL of the P&S cameras, noise is an issue. Their small sensors are not very sensitive to light so you end up with a lot of noise if the lighting is less than daylight. Too much in my opinion. The only way around it is to run the camera at ISO 200 or below. That may slow your shutter too much to freeze the action you're trying to capture. Or use the flash but then you get that ugly red-eye and terrible lighting that direct on-camera flash provides.

I don't think the G9 is your solution. It is a nice camera but is still hamstrung by having a small sensor.

You'd see a substantial increase in quality by going to a DSLR. I believe the best deal / best performing DSLR out there is the Nikon D40 (not the x). It goes for under $500 and has noise performance far superior to the best P&S cameras. It also moves you into something that you use eye-level which is far better for shooting action. Trying to capture action by viewing a little screen on the back of the camera is an exercise in futility.

The Canon XT / XTi series are nice, but they cost more, have lower performing kit lenses and don't do as well with getting a proper exposure with the flash. Their only advantage is faster AF and compatibility with lower cost OEM lenses (Canon lenses cost less than Nikon). The D40x costs more but works no better than the D40.

DreDaze wrote in post #4813860
any chance of posting an example?...

I'd love to...but I'd have to crop the subjects out or severely blur their faces, as they're not my kids...I'll try to take a few today of just the room with no kids.

JoYork wrote in post #4813787
Quick question: are you viewing the images at 100% or "fit on screen"?

both and at what Photoshop Elements calls print size, and just about everywhere inbetween

JoYork wrote in post #4813787
Also what happens when you reduce the images down to 3.2 megapixels (2048 x 1536) and view them? Do they look better?

I have no idea how to do that.

n1as wrote in post #4814800
First, turn off that silly face detection mode. Set the focus mode to center only. Point the center at your subject, half press to focus, then reframe and finish the shutter press to take the photo.

Shoot with the lens zoomed to the widest setting. Stay away from the telephoto end. You let more light in at the wider settings. If you want a close-up shot, move your feet.

Side note - I wonder if this might be the root issue. If you've been using that extended zoom range, then you've been shooting through a dark lens and that will force auto ISO up and shutter speed down as the camera tries to adjust to the lack of light. Hmmm

In ALL of the P&S cameras, noise is an issue. Their small sensors are not very sensitive to light so you end up with a lot of noise if the lighting is less than daylight. Too much in my opinion. The only way around it is to run the camera at ISO 200 or below. That may slow your shutter too much to freeze the action you're trying to capture. Or use the flash but then you get that ugly red-eye and terrible lighting that direct on-camera flash provides.

I can't always point the center of the frame at their face and still get their body in the shot...I'm often taking pictures of what they are doing, not just their face...

I have been using the zoom a little, it's helpful to be able to stay back a bit so that I don't interupt the activity...they tend to want to come try to steal the camera... and they'd be able to reach it because, chances are that I'm laying on the floor to be at eye level with them.

I have the same question as jo, Does shooting at fewer megapixel give you better image Quality. ?
and only when i view the fotos and 100 % , I notive that they are not sharp enough or quite noisy, When i see them at fit to window they look fine.

Patty OGreen wrote in post #4814901
=Patty O'Green;4814901]I can't always point the center of the frame at their face and still get their body in the shot...I'm often taking pictures of what they are doing, not just their face...

Understood, but I'm not saying to take the photo with their face in the center, only put their face the center to get focus like this:

1. Center AF on kid's face - 1/2 press shutter AND HOLD IT.
   
2. Reframe the picture, moving kid off to side as needed.
   
3. Press the shutter button the rest of the way, taking the pic.

Laying on the floor? Fabulous! Great! It is so important to get down to your subject's level!
Unfortunately, I believe that zoom working against you. Your lens changes from say f/2.8 at the wide angle end to maybe f/5.6 at the telephoto end. That would be 2 stops difference in light forcing the shutter to drop from 1/125 to 1/30 or forcing ISO go to from 200 to 800 (major grain).

If these are photos that really matter, photos that have some commercial value, then maybe it is time for equipment that doesn't work against you?