New Camera ? or New Photographer ?

Fr0dders

Fr0dders

Fr0dders

Caporegime
Joined
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Location
West Yorks
hi guys

im looking for a bit of advice. Im having trouble getting decent shots in low light conditions with my Canon Powershot A70

im told that my camera is a reasonable one, but i just cant see to get flash photography of any quality. They have that "deer in the headlights" look thats mentioned in the sticky

ive been looking through the techniques to avoid it, but on my camera i just dont think theres a way to do any of them ? or am i mistaken

whose at fault here, me or the camera ? if so what can i do to sort it ?

ive been looking at the Sony H2, and also the Canon S2 for about £250

am i wasting money cos im just a noob, or would a more capable camera give me what im after ?
 
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Right

Step back from the camera a little bit more

Tripd out

Use Tv mode, and then set the time to 1 second, 2 second...experiement.

And press the button with the flash on.

You'll get the people lit up by the flash, and the 2 seconds with let the background's light lit up on the photo.
 
In M mode press the Funct button, then use the up or down switch to select the flash output. Then use the left or right to adjust. Press the Funct button again and take the shot :)
 
Raymond Lin said:
Right

Step back from the camera a little bit more

Tripd out

Use Tv mode, and then set the time to 1 second, 2 second...experiement.

And press the button with the flash on.

You'll get the people lit up by the flash, and the 2 seconds with let the background's light lit up on the photo.
Click to expand...

thats the trouble though

with a tripod i can have really long exposure times to light everything up

but its just not practical carrying round a tripod when going out for the evenning on holiday, when that was taken.

Cybermyk said:
In M mode press the Funct button, then use the up or down switch to select the flash output. Then use the left or right to adjust. Press the Funct button again and take the shot :)
Click to expand...


what does that actually do ? alter the power of the flash ?
 
Cybermyk said:
Yup :)
Click to expand...

by M mode i take it you mean manual ?

ive just had a play

doesnt seem to make much difference

and the photos are worse because i havent a clue when it comes to exposures / iso / f value etc..

does either of the cameras i mentioned (sony h2 and canon s2)

have more adjustable flashes ?
 
Well without playing around with the manual mode you're not going to improve the flash pictures much with the A70. Most decent cameras have an adjustable flash but I get the feeling you aren't going to get much better without spending a wedge. I don't know much about the other cameras you mention so I'll leave cpmments on those to others.
 
As has already been said, you need to have a play with manual mode and see what difference altering flash strength, aperture and shutter speed makes. Most compacts (and dSLR's) will have this effect if you just leave them in auto. IMO, neither of the cameras you've mentioned will make any real difference if you're going to shoot in auto. Even my 30D will take a crappy flash shot if you leave it in auto with onboard flash.

A tripod is probably the best suggestion, but isn't always practical. I always take mine with me in the suitcase on holiday for night shots etc. It's invaluable. Leon has a Canon A95 and usually finds a hard surface to rest it on whilst he takes a shot. He has taken the time to learn about exposure and shutter speed and really gets the absolute most from his camera.

You might also want to try sticking some tracing paper or a layer of Scotch Magic Tape over your flash to diffuse it slightly. It will cut down the glare from the flash, but you might need to adjust the exposure to compensate for it.

Either way, you need to be patient, experiment with your camera and take the time to learn about shutter speed/aperture/ISO etc. As has been said countless times on this forum... it's not the camera which is important, it's the photographer :)
 
I agree with Lostkat that the other cameras yuo mention are unlikely to make a lot of difference, but spending the time learning your equipment will reap rewas if you stick with it and keep exploring the settings.

However, here's a couple of other tips for you to try:

I got hold of a FlashClip off the web after seeing them referred to here. It's a clip-on flash diffuser which softens out the output (bit like a Stoffen diffuser or Omnibounce on a Speedlight flash). It's helped my macro and people shots considerably. Also bounces a bit of flash upwards, off the ceiling indoors to remove some of the harsh shadows that P+S flashes tend to produce.

Another thing to try is the "Night Scene" mode on the dial. I know a lot of users shy away from the pre-programmed modes on hthe dial simply because they consider them "cheating". However, I feel if they get the result you want, then it's simply making best use of your available resources. This setting does the smae as was suggested earlier, firing the flash to expose the subject, then leaving the shutter open a bit longer to get the background as well. Works better sometimes than others, as it can blur the subject if they move too much between flash firing and shutter closing, but worth an experiment.

Post some of your experiments for comment and we can see how you're getting on and what other things you can try.
 
scoop said:
I got hold of a FlashClip off the web after seeing them referred to here. It's a clip-on flash diffuser which softens out the output (bit like a Stoffen diffuser or Omnibounce on a Speedlight flash). It's helped my macro and people shots considerably. Also bounces a bit of flash upwards, off the ceiling indoors to remove some of the harsh shadows that P+S flashes tend to produce.
Click to expand...
Flashclips are fantastic! It was probably me you saw mention it :) Leon used to have one on his A80 and it made a HUGE difference to the resulting photos. Highly recommended little piece of kit.
 
I've got an A70.

Make sure you set the correct ISO.

If you were using a film camera for low light conditions you would purchase a faster film (ISO (ASA) 400), you wouldn't buy ISO 50 or ISO 100 would you?

I've found that forgetting to change the ISO speed, perhaps because it was not possible with my (film) Canon AE1 I forget to do it with my A70!

I should know better especially as it's so easy to change the settings!
 
ive looked in the sticky

but i cant find a beginners guide to what ISO and white balance is

i know what apperture size and exposure time are


but dont know about the above 2.

ps is there any other settings needed ?
 
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MrLOL said:
ive looked in the sticky

but i cant find a beginners guide to what ISO and white balance is

i know what apperture size and exposure time are


but dont know about the above 2.

ps is there any other settings needed ?
Click to expand...
But do you know how to use aperture and shutter speed to get different effects? It's all well and good knowing the definition, but you need to know how they are used by photographers to get the "right" photo.

With regards to information, Google is your friend :) There are tonnes of photos sites out there. Alternatively, buy a book which will explain all these photographic terms and tell you how to use them to your advantage. The Digital Photography Handbook: An Illustrated Step-by-step Guide by Doug Harman looks good and is only £4.99.
 
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Best way is to experiment! The A70 has a good manual too

Make yourself a (hard copy paper) proforma with headings eg, Mode, ISO, Exposure +/-, then experiment.

Low light conditions: Set WB(white balance) to Auto!

1. Program Mode, set ISO to 50, take your shot (1)
2. Programe Mode, set ISO to 100 take yor shot, same subject Shot (2)
3/4/5. increase the ISO until you reach the highest rating having taken a shot each time.
Make sure you write down what you have done.

Then

Program Mode Set WB to daylight

take shots 1 - 5 again
Write down what you did

Program Mode Set WB to AN OTHER

take shots 1 - 5 again
Write down what you did

and so on........

When you load them to your computer you will be able to examine what you did. You just do the same with aperature, shutter priorities etc

One thing to remember (and I'll probably get shot down here) is that an increase/decrease of one stop, be it ISO, Speed or F stop is twice as much/little as the previous setting. This is much easier to understand with speed settings, because obviously a shutter speed of 1/60 of a second is twice as fast as 1/30? And ISO and aperature follow the same rule. So when you view your pictures you will be able to say to yourself, this picture had twice as much light and the previous one - that's why it's too light etc.

It's certainly worth making a proforma, keeping to the same subject, eg a flower pot on a plynth in the garden and then stick to one mode, be it speed or priority and then change the other settings, increasing one stop each time and taking note of the differences. You will soon gain plenty of knowledge, and of course using digital is a lot cheaper than using film and much quicker to see your results.
 
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