New Camera ? or New Photographer ?

[Fr0dders]

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 ?

 

[Fr0dders]

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.

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.

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

what does that actually do ? alter the power of the flash ?

 

[Fr0dders]

Yup

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 ?

 

[Fr0dders]

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 ?