Canon S3

[Shutterbug]

Just giving my .02 cents here. You need a tripod for fireworks. For me I like long exposures for fireworks meaning a tripod is a must!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

So are you saying that all I need for my Fuji camera is a tripod and night snapshot for my night/fireworks/parade pictures to come out clear, in correct color and good?

Or will the S3 fireworks mode give good fireworks pictures using a tripod and the night mode give good pictures using the tripod?

I take pictures for fun and I'm not a pro - so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!! I just want good, clear pictures!

You can substitute fireworks mode with landscape mode with flash off. Not the exact same effect but it will work if you have a tripod. I've tried it using film camera point and shoot. There was no such thing as fireworks mode at the time. Don't know where I put the negatives or the prints

Parade pictures, you'll need high ISO. Because the parade is moving, if you use flash you'll see the 'skeleton' of the subjects, if you don't use flash (but regular ISO setting), you'll see blur not because of you moving, but because the object is moving.

For pics at night with subject in both back and foreground to be clear, again it depends whether you can get higher ISO from your camera.

That's why I encourage people to buy a camera with clean (or at least the have the capability) of high ISO setting.

Exactly which Fuji do you own? I'll check the manual or brochure for you.

 

[jann1033]

so does a 45mm dslr lens= a film 45mm slr lens? and would they be compatible? or is a dslr lens a whole different animal than a film slr lens? and would the dslr rebel be = or better than the old canon film rebel eos 2000( that is what my old camera is) so i guess how are they better? ( dslr vs slr other than needing to get film)

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Yes, you can use the Rebel 2000 lens(es) for RebelXT. The only difference is the crop factor of 1.6. The explanation I'm about to write is not 100% accurate but it's the easiest to understand. Whatever your lens is for regular 35mm SLR, if you're buying Rebel XT, multiply that by 1.6x. So your 17mm lens will be 28 mm equivalent. Your 50mm will be 80mm equivalent. You can also buy full-frame dSLR, but that's another beast for another time and for another budgetary group.

How dSLR 'better' than regular SLR

1. well, the film thing, you already know that
2. you can change ISO in a pinch. Sudden need for ISO 1600? Switch to that and you'll get ISO 1600. Oh? you need to get back outside where it's bright? bring it back to ISO 100.

that's it.

However, don't forget, to get an optimal picture, you WILL, in the end, keep changing ISO. Within one day at WDW I changed from ISO 100, to 1600, back to 100, up again to 800, down to 200, up to 400, back to 100, back to 1600.

Oh, you can take the picture in two 'styles'. 1 as if you're using negative (RAW mode, more dynamic range, easier to tweak); 2 as if you're using slide (JPEG, slightly less dynamic range, a tad more difficult to tweak -- I choose JPEG, to make my life more difficult, seriously, and to save space on memory cards too).

 

[Goofyish]

Went to York and Whitby at the weeksend so had the chance to put my new Canon S3 IS to the test

Here's a few examples of the photos I took:


Very old street in York called "The Shambles"


The 'Rose Window' in York Minster


Inside York Minster (using 800 ISO)


Stained Glass in York Minster


Looking up to the top of the central tower in York Minster (800 ISO again)


Old cross, Whitby church yard


Whitby Abbey (ruin)


Whitby Abbey and Coast Line

I used the full 12x optical zoom to take this candid shot of a Viking!


While we were at Whitby Abbey there was a Viking, Norman and Anglo-Saxon society performing battle displays and living history reenactments in historically accurate costumes etc.

 

[handicap18]

I'm getting all boxes with X's in them for your pics. Are the links correct or is my web browser wacked?

 

[Goofyish]

I can see them - they are in the DIS photo gallery so should be visable here unless there's a problem with the server

 

[Greg K.]

...those shots are very good! And the 800 iso is mighty impressive. Are you as awed as I am? Looks like it was an excellent investment.

 

[handicap18]

I can see them now. Great shots. Most of these would qualify as part of our June DISBoard Phot assignment which is Buildings/structures/cars.

Great job.

 

[handicap18]

"The Shambles" looks like it is out of one of the Harry Potter movies. Nice.

 

[jann1033]

great shots ....did the shambles used to be a meat market( think that was the original meaning) ?

mind if i ask if you did anything to the iso 800 pics? ( to clean them up I mean) i've heard a lot about noise problems but these look great to me

sorry for the 3rd degree but since i don't know anyone else who has this yet...are you just using the lens that comes with it?

 

[aliwolly]

Great shots!! I LOVE the viking pic... the way his hair is blowing. SO very cool!

 

[Goofyish]

great shots ....did the shambles used to be a meat market( think that was the original meaning) ?

mind if i ask if you did anything to the iso 800 pics? ( to clean them up I mean) i've heard a lot about noise problems but these look great to me

sorry for the 3rd degree but since i don't know anyone else who has this yet...are you just using the lens that comes with it?

The Shambles is one of Europes best preserved Medieval streets dating back nearly 900 years. The name is from the old Saxon "Fleshammels" meaning "the street of butchers".

I haven't touched the 800 ISO pictures. If you zoom in on the originals there is some noise. But with a 'busy' photo like the Minster interiors it's less obvious. I did run few photos through some noise reducing software after I posted these pics. and it cleaned them up a treat

The lens isn't changeable, but you can add various tele and wide angle options to it using an adapter - haven't got those yet

 

[robertchance]

handicap18, rightclick on the box and you will get a dropdown box,, then click what you need to open the pic

 

[jann1033]

The Shambles is one of Europes best preserved Medieval streets dating back nearly 900 years. The name is from the old Saxon "Fleshammels" meaning "the street of butchers".

I haven't touched the 800 ISO pictures. If you zoom in on the originals there is some noise. But with a 'busy' photo like the Minster interiors it's less obvious. I did run few photos through some noise reducing software after I posted these pics. and it cleaned them up a treat

The lens isn't changeable, but you can add various tele and wide angle options to it using an adapter - haven't got those yet

thanks i plan on buying this is a week or two and thought there were separate lens, didn't get they were add ons( thought they seemed a little cheap and here i thought i was so well researched )...any way showed your pics to husband and he is thrilled and more anxious to get this now( a good thing imo )

 

[PoohJen]

Hello and HELP!!!

Time to upgrade from my intro digital camera (Kodak EasyShare). I am a true amateur (don't play with f-stops, etc. Ok, I don't even recall what an f-stop is!), but I do take (imho) decent amateur shots, and thoroughly enjoyed my film SLR (a Minolta), even though I only had one lens.

The PowerShot S2 looked very good, I particularly can appreciate the 12x zoom. and I like that it has a movie feature.

And then they came out with the S3 for >$100 more, although the reviews aren't showing much of a difference there (but shouldn't I go for the latest and greatest???)

And I am absolutely enamored by the dSLR Rebel XT. It is so cool . And I like having the potential to take more control over my shots. But am I just a pushover for good looks? Do I have camera envy?

My main needs:
Want fast shutter speed (?); probably burst, particularly for my kids' sports shots.

Want excellent telephoto ability (can I get that with the basic Rebel lens kit that comes w/ the package?).

Want good night shot capability.

Want great pics - very clear, clean images.

If I get the Rebel, I will do more homework on how to use it. Have already started reading up on dSLRs online and from library books.

Thanks so much in advance for sharing your thoughts and expertise!!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

dSLR is the only thing that will cover your wants and needs.

 

[jann1033]

i saw a lensmart adapter ( $23 ) that lets you use filters etc. on the s2/s3...i have a couple ( 55 mm) but wonder if this is worth the cost, have you bought the add on lens, don't need them, is a photoshop type filter "cheat" as good as using a real filter etc...

 

[Kelly Grannell]

I'd buy the adapter and buy a 0.8x wide angle adapter to make the S2/S3 wider. 36mm is just not wide enough. I use the same combo for my A95 camera.

 

[jann1033]

thanks