| Author | Message | ||
     Teddagreek |
We bought a new camera a month ago.. 12.1MP Cannon G9... I wanted an SLR and the wife wanted something easy so we compromised on this one.. Its similar to my old Cannon but has the a lot of features of an SLR... The still pictures are absolutely gorgeous. I've read the manual a bit.. We tried to get some riding shots yesterday and it was Blur city.. Anyone familiar with Digital Cameras/Cannons or have any tips shooting Riding Shots.. Thanks...   | ||
| Danger_dave |
http://web.mac.com/david_cohen_design/Site/Index/E ntries/2008/2/1_Article%3A_Hints_for_Photographing _Motorcycles.html | ||
| Danger_dave |
Judging by how bright the headlight appears the short answer is - wait till it is daylight. Otherwise biggest ISO number you have and a big flash would be handy. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Also, telephoto amplifies movement as well, and requires more light (they have a smaller apature / larger F stop), which makes your shutter speeds slower. Every time you change one F-Stop number (i.e. F2 to F4 to F8) you double the necessary exposure time (1/200th to 1/100th to 1/50th). So the two things together conspire to make telephoto action shots really demanding in anything but broad daylight. So go as wide angle (and get as close to your subject) as you can manage, particularly as you run out of light. | ||
| Mtch |
the G9 (just bought one myself) has image stabilisation. should be in the manual somewhere. its was on when i used the camera for the first time. there are 2 modes, and off. hope that should help. im still reading the manual, and getting familiar with it, although its not that different to my old Canon S80. that or use it in shutter priority mode and see what happens. | ||
| Greenlantern |
Image stabilization is for the camera user, not the subject. It will not help with moving subjects, only stationary subjects at telephoto range. On the "auto" mode settings there should be a "Action" setting. This is usually denoted on control dial with symbol of a sprinter on Canon Cameras. this setting should give you a higher f-stop/ fast shutter speed combo which will suffice in most cases. If going manual or in "priority" modes you will want to go for highest aperture camera can be set to, set ISO to 400 which will still yield great quality pics on your camera and start from there. I know it sounds like jiberish but spend some time with the manual and it will make more sense. good luck. | ||
| Oldbiker |
Dropping dollars on a SLR camera kinda removes you from the "point and shoot realm"........which means.....RTFM! I hate being so harsh,but the SLR is capable of soooo much more.....but unfortunately you MUST exercise your brain.......once done you'll astound yourself. Steve | ||
| Reepicheep |
Based on the amount of grain in that photo, the camera was doing the best it could with the lens it had, I'm guessing it was already at 800 ASA at least. The background is almost as blurred as the bike, so I think most of the blur was on the camera end. Tuck your elbows hard against your chest, hold the camera with both hands and brace it on your chest, finish your exhale, and shoot the picture (but dont try and hold your breath). Or better yet, find a post or a pillar or a wall or something, and hold the camera rigidly against that. Image stabilization is an interesting gimmick that no doubt has some uses, but I doubt it can help much when you get into extreme low light situations. Maybe I am wrong, but it feels like it falls into the "getting blood from a turnip" class of problems. If there was enough light there to register on the sensor in the first place, the camera could use a shorter shutter speed and not need it. If it needs a long shutter speed, the sensor pixels have not accumulated enough light to know what to correct even if you are moving. But I have been wrong before... | ||
| Jayvee |
I have a digital SLR that is completely point and shoot. My 6 year old takes great pictures with it. Has a Sports Mode, Portrait mode and some other stuff, but just putting it in "Auto" always works too. Has a whole bunch of settings that I haven't figured out yet, and may not ever. I got it because I couldn't stand the 'shutter lag' where you click the button and then 3 seconds later the picture takes. This one will take 3 pictures per second, if I want to. Nikon D70. | ||
| Teddagreek |
Thanks every one for the input, I'll dig into the manual... Actually the wife took the picture of me on the bike. She took it with no zoom and it was in the evening, the ISO set to 1600, it has a 3200ISO mode? I'm going to take it out during some decent light this weekend and see what I can get.. I wish I got a SLR but like I said before this was a compromise.. Shoot, I'm over my head with this thing as it is.    Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera Specifications * Camera Type: Compact digital still camera with built-in flash, 6x Optical / 4x Digital / 24x Combined Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer System * Image Capture Device: 12.1 Megapixel, 1/1.7 inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD) Total/Effective Pixels: Approx. 12.4 * Megapixels/12.1 Megapixels * Focal Length: 7.4 - 44.4mm f/2.8-4.8 (35mm film equivalent: 35 - 210mm) * Focusing Range: Normal: 1.6 ft./50cm-infinity; Macro: 0.39 in. - 1.6 ft./1-50cm (W) * Viewfinder: Real image optical zoom viewfinder * LCD Monitor: 3.0-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD with wide viewing angle * LCD Pixels & Coverage: Approx. 230,000 pixels, 100% * Brightness Adjustment: 15 levels. Quick-bright LCD * Shutter Speed: 15-1/2500 sec. (settable in Tv and M) * Sensitivity: Auto, High ISO Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600 equivalent (Standard output sensitivity. Recommended exposure index) * Exposure Control Method: Program AE, Shutter Speed-Priority AE, Aperture-Priority AE, Manual; AE Lock, Safety Shift, Auto ISO Shift * White Balance Control: Auto, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater), Custom1, Custom2 * Built-in Flash: Auto, Auto w/ Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On w/ Red-eye Reduction, Flash Off; FE lock, Safety FE * Shooting Modes: Auto, P, Av, Tv, M, C1, C2, Special Scene (Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Indoor, ISO 3200, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap), Stitch Assist, Movie My Colors: Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Custom * Self-Timer: Activates shutter after an approx. 2-sec./10-sec. delay, Custom * Storage Media: SD/SDHCMemory Card, MultiMediaCard, MMC Plus Card, HC MMC Plus Card File Format Design rule for camera file system, DPOF Version 1.1 * Image Quality Mode: Normal, Fine, SuperFine, RAW * Number of Recording Pixels: Still Image: 4,000 x 3,000 (Large), 3,264 x 2,448 (Medium 1), 2,592 x 1,944 (Medium 2), 1,600 x 1,200 (Medium 3), 640 x 480 (Small), 4,000 x 2,248 (Widescreen); Movie: 1024 x 768 (15 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps/30 fps LP), 640 x 480 (Time Lapse mode 2 hours at 0.5 fps/1 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) available up to 4GB or 60 minutes per clip, 160 x 120 (3 minutes at 15 fps) * Computer Interface: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mini-B jack) Video Out & Audio Out: NTSC/PAL, Monaural * Power Source: Rechargeable Lithium Battery NB-2LH, AC Adapter Kit ACK-DC20 * Shooting Capacity: Still Image: approx. 240 shots (NB-2LH/LCD on)*, approx. 600 shots (NB-2LH/LCD off). *The above figures comply with CIPA testing standards and apply when fully-charged batteries are used. * Operating Temperature & Humidity: 32-104 F/0-40 C, 10-90% * Dimensions (W x H x D) & Weight: 4.19 x 2.83 x 1.67 in./106.4 x 71.9 x 42.5mm, Approx. 11.29 oz./320g (camera body only) | ||
| Josh_ |
I just picked up a Canon XSi and I'm trying to figure out some of the same things. The manual tells you how to do very specific things (change f-stop) but now why you are doing them or when to use them. Anyone got lens recomendations? | ||
| Josh_ |
Still life is fine, but my action shots are blurry, even in full daylight.  | ||
| Greenlantern |
Anyone got lens recomendations? Single focal length lens on a budget: 50mm f1.8 II. This is Canons "best value" lens (around $85.00), built like cr*p but outstanding optical performance that rivals it's f.1.4 counterpart at about 1/10th the cost. Zoom lens: Bargain of this category is the 70mm-200mm f4 USM "L" series (non image stabilized) . Reasonably fast, "you're hooked sucker" optical performance that will knock your boots off, built like a tank. this is the "cheapest of the L lenses but only in price. word of warning though, once you have a "L" series lens you will not likely buy another non "L" lens and that can get expensive!  http://www.amazon.com/Canon-70-200mm-Telephoto-Zoo m-Cameras/dp/B000053HH5 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007E7JU/ref=pd _cp_p_1?pf_rd_p=250314001&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_ t=201&pf_rd_i=B000053HH5&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_ rd_r=1Q4TV0KGZG5QWX6K9VB2 | ||
| Reepicheep |
What does that 50mm lens end up being based on the image sensor size? Same as a 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera? Or more like a 70mm? Do they make any "effective" 28mm or 35mm fixed lenses with F2.2 or less? I loved shooting with those. You have to get right up in peoples faces, but they give great context to every photo, while still letting you fill the frame with your subject. I had to give that up with my point and shoot, and it's the thing I miss the most. | ||
| Greenlantern |
What does that 50mm lens end up being based on the image sensor size? Same as a 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera? Or more like a 70mm? On the XTSi Body which has a sensor crop factor of 1.6 the lens is equal to about 78mm. for a 35mm equiv. you probably want a 24mm. A 28 or 35mm lens will put you more in the neighborhood of the 50mm "group portrait" standard. 80 to 120mm is considered the sweet spot though for single subject portraits as this focal length tends to lightly flatten out the subjects (facial) features and not exxagerate things like noses and jaws. Hope that helps. | ||
| Ccryder |
Why not the S2IS or S3 or S5 IS? I had a G5 and went to the S2 IS for the IS and the 12x optical zoom. Both are REALLY great features. Neil S. |
