scoman

I own a Canon S3IS and I found that it was often very difficult to take good pictures if you treat it as a point-and-shoot camera. First, it has difficulty focusing in low light, and even when focused I got many pictures that had lots of noise (graininess).

Second, it has a very strong zoom, and I tended to take lots of pictures at maximum zoom. It is very difficult to hold the camera still enough at max zoom unless there LOTS of light, allowing for a fast shutter speed (1/500 sec or faster)

I would highly recommend taking a course at a community college as was suggested in another reply. I would not recommend a $99/hour session.

The camera does have lots of features, and all of the "shooting" information (ISO, aperture, shutter speed) is available in the display if you choose the correct display settings.

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

I already looked and did not find anything worth using. I am leaving for Photo Expo in about a half hour. Try to wrap your head around Shutter speed and F stop, these two things together are what will shape your photo, try to understand the relationship they have to each other. Put something on your table and shoot it at a certain shutter speed and wide open F stop (Lower number). Then with the same shutter speed set the F Stop 2 numbers higher and continue this until you understand what is happening. Then raise the Shutter speed and do it all over again.

bschrag Loc: Houston, Texas

George - Have fun. I'll do the exercise you advised. Thanks.

bschrag Loc: Houston, Texas

scoman - Thanks. I agree and am a work in progress. I thought it was just me. I am working now with a tripod trying to stabilize.

usmc1063 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA Area

Your best bet is to take lessons if you like. The first thing you have to understand is your Camera and it's features. Like any worker you must know your tool before you can use it. DLSR's are especially complicated along with the manuals so it's often best to pay the $99 bucks. I can see that you do have an eye for photography. I like the pic but it could be better with just a little more understanding of the functions of your new camera. Happy shooting.

Mike Little Loc: Ozark, Missouri

Good luck with your camera, these guys will help you. Also if you spend a little time out there with the hummingbirds you will find you can sit where they are and they will come closer and closet, I've had them within 4 inches of my face many times and have seen pictures on my nephew with an outstrech hand and a hummmingbird sitting on his hand.

usmc1063 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA Area

Just took a quick shot of snow falling this has not been edited but as you can see i have captured some snow flakes mid air.

gjchuck

Try using a higher ISO setting witch will allow you to shoot at a higher speed. this will lessen the camera shake affect. Use a tripod, pre focus.

charlessmall18

Dear Newbie:
Three comments: (1) We were all beginners. Some of us gained some expertise. So buck up. Be brave. Don't give up! There is a good chance you can gain some expertise too. (2) I have been in classes and I have given classes. The ability to read a manual and then apply knowledge so gained is a fairly rare skill. The whole idea of sitting in a class and being lectured or reading a book and learning is a concept devised by Irish monks in the 8th century. The way most humans lean anything of consequence is best described as "the apprentice system." That is you learn by a combination of watching a master at work and trying to do that work on your own. (3) I would hazard that the most fundamental concept you have to pound into your head, and which concept will illuminate much of what you find problematical, is that there is a definite and specific AMOUNT of light that must impinge on a photosensitive receptor that will, alone, give you a good image. Three variables work in concert. That is the total amount of light that results in an image depends on how much light gets through the lens (the APERTURE - you can't see it but your camera has an iris just like the one in you eye that can dialate open or closed over a range of diameters), the length of time light is allowed to fall on the receptor (the shutter SPEED - which is a misnomer. It's not really how FAST your shutter is but how LONG or SHORT a time it is open that is important) and the SENSITIVITY of the receptor (which is categorized as so many "ISO" -- which stands for International Standards Organisation which has literally millions of standards only one of which is for photography!). But the actual numbers used for these quantities is not important for a newbie. What is important to realize that there are lots of COMBINATIONS of APERTURE, SHUTTER SPEED, and ISO that will give you the same AMOUNT of light. That is, if the aperture is wide open, for a given ISO, the shutter "speed" can be very short and still result in the same amount of light if the aperture were to be "stopped" down until the iris looked like a pinpoint and the shutter were to stay open for a long time. So if there are many different combinations of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO that will result in a properly exposed image, why pick one over another. A good camera on "auto" will pick a pretty optimal combination for you for MOST shots. But not for birds! That special application demands different privatization for balancing the three factors. What these kindly folks have been trying to say is that to take pictures of birds whose wings flap really rapidly, to "freeze" the action and not have blurry wings, you need to do whatever it takes to ensure that the shutter stays open for as short an interval as possible. That principle demands that, perforce, the aperture be as wide as possible to admit as much light as possible during this shortest exposure interval. As a practical matter, that may not be enough light for the DEFAULT sensitivity of your image sensor. So to get a proper exposure, you might have to up the ISO. Therefore - PHEW - for starters, just to get bird pictures, somehow find out how make the camera favor fast shutter speeds and try upping the iSO a notch or two and see if whatever comes on to tell you the camera will take a good picture, comes on. The good news is that once you get these settings dial in, you won't ever have fool with them again and you can just concentrate on getting your bird shots with the confidence that what you see with you eyes will be in the images. Later, if you feel like it, you can gradually master what it takes, in the way of non-default settings, to get other kinds of special-application shots. In other words, you don't have to learn everything all at once. In your case, a little knowledge will NOT be dangerous. I hope this helps.

Bart Loc: New Jersey

There are camera stores that actually have Free or very low cost classes. The one I am associated with helps teach photo techniques for all styles of cameras. Cost for example is $30.00 total per year. Students can take any of the offered classes as often as they like for that 1 time payment. Most classes fall in this category. (There are a few extended classes such as wedding photography which has a different payment structure) People purchasing cameras from them do NOT pay for any of the typical classes. Courses offered on a regular basis are as follow: This short list show the most popular.
Basic Photography I, II, and III ( each class is 2 hrs.)
Outdoor Flash Photography
Portrait Photography
How the Pro's get their shots, I and II

Unfortunately none of this is currently offered on line.

tramsey Loc: Texas

I was surfing the other day and ran across a site called

camerasim

Then I saw it in Digital Photo. Give it a try. Sounds like you are like me. The first few times I tried it my reaction was HUH? But slowly, veeerrrryy slowly it found a way into my head. Then all of sudden WALLA the light came on. Just give it a try

tramsey Loc: Texas

charlessmall18

Read your explanation of ISO,shutter and aperture. Then I read it again; then I highlighted it and saved it.
Hope you didn't have it copywritten

I thought it was excellent. The teacher showed though.

DJ Mills Loc: Idaho

You have a really good camera. I owned one and loved it. Have you tried www.shortcourses.com ? They make instructional books written for people like me, who need a good deal of hand-holding. They have books for specific cameras. If they don't have one for your camera, I know they do for the Canon SX10, which is essentially the same machine but with more megapixels and a bigger zoom.

angel99 Loc: NC

Hi, Seems like a lot of money to spend and you might walk out moore confused. People who know sually use terms you don't understand. I suggest join a local camera club. Members and guest speakers help you to learn and understand. Also, sesrch local high schools and colleges. Many have adult ed with classes in Photography. You'll learn not just your camera but basics and instructor will help you understand your camera.

cactusflower Loc: Lake Havasu, AZ

I totally understand your frustration in trying to have the manual make sense. I just wanted to suggest that $99 may not be a bad deal if it's 1/1 instruction and you can finally understand the workings of your camera. This summer I took a 4 hr course from a fellow at the Ansel Adams studio in Yosemite and I NOW know how to use the manual controls on my camera and how to take waterfall pics. I paid $90 and it was worth every penny. The thing that helped so much was the hands on instruction using my camera as we shot photos. Reading the manual always seemed like another language. The fellow who downloaded your manual is an awesome person. I'm sure he can help you a lot. Don't despair, there are many of us who have so much to learn.