New camera arrived

mojo~

Skimmer Guy
Well I took the suggestions from here and got me a new P&S camera. I got a Canon Powershot G10. I can say this is way above my level. I opened it up charged it and took a couple pics real quick. So then I opened the book And started to read. Ill post a few pics but I am sure I will have a ton of questions. Thanks Mojo~
 
Haha that is an awesome camera. I would even go as far as to call it king of point and shoots. You should be able to get some great reef shots with it. We'll be happy to answer your questions, but post pictures (especially bad ones that you don't understand why they are bad).
 
lol I think I could fill the 8 gig flash card with bad ones. I was having a hard time taking real close up shots as I could get it to focus. I had it in full auto as I dont know whatI would change anyways. I did change it to macro. Fish moving were a little hard to get too as they were blurry to me a little. I ll go grab it and upload some of what I took earlier.
 
Here are a couple a took
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Off to a good start. #1 suggestion - try what TitusvilleSurfer recommends.

Other suggestions: try shooting your corals with the camera set to "Av" instead of "Auto". You set the aperature (DOF) and the camera suggests a compatible shutterspeed. If you don't have a tripod, forget about shooting slower than 1/50th or so or your pics will be blurry. If you have a tripod and are shooting don't move much corals, you can get away with a slower shutterspeed as long as pumps are off. I also use a remote shutter release so that my camera doesn't jiggle / move as a result of my pressing the shutter release on the camera. If you are shooting moving targets, you'll need to use 1/100th or faster.

You should be able to manually focus in Av mode too. A large part of creative photography is taking control of the focal plane. The impact of the pic can very considerably depending on the focus and depth of field.

Use Macro mode when appropriate (you wish to focus on something fairly close).

Here are some guidelines for aperature / DOF.

In the f2.8-3.2 range, you get a sharp focal plane and but very quickly loose focus as one moves away from that vertical plane. This can result in a beautifully blurry background but often the result is "how come only a little bit of the picture is in focus?". An advantage of large lens openings (small "f" value) is more light gets in and faster shutterspeeds or lower / less noisy ISOs are possible.

The f7-11 range gives sharper focus on areas just outside your focal plane, including the background. It can often be a good range for macro shots where you want lots of your subject in focus but not much else.

f18-22 is like saying "I want as much in focus as possible". The downside is that the small lens opening doesn't allow in as much light so you'll need to bump up the ISO or slow the shutterspeed compared to shooting the same shot with a wide lens opening / small f stop number. There can be a tendency towards slightly distorted edges of the frame.

Hope this helps. Don't be afraid to post pics! Happy shooting.
 
It helps alot, I will try to read the rest of the book tonight to help me get the feel around this camera. I am a camera idiot. I do catch on fast so all the info is great. Thank you much for the help. I ll have to try all of what you said so I can see the difference.
No I have no tripod yet. Is there a tripod you suggest. I see they range from about $19 on up. Brand or model you al suggest.
The pics arent bad. But I feel once I learn what and how I should be able to get a little better focus and contrast out of my images. Thanks again. Any input is valuable to me.
 
You're welcome. From plastic monopods to carbon fiber tripods, there is a great variety of materials used, size, weight and quality of construction and cost. "You get what you pay for" rings true up to a point. Add in a choice of heads (where the camera attaches), and the options are numerous. It really comes down to personal preference and budget. I have an old Bogen tripod which has served me well for 20 years. It's rugged and durable but heavy and I'm not a big fan of the head. I'm replacing it with a new Bogen - Manfrotto with a ball head. If you expect to be hiking for miles with a tripod, a lighter model might suit you better. If you have a very small budget, expect something less stable and less durable. If you want the combination of stable and light, breakout the Benjies for carbon fiber.

Some other suggestions - play with your sweet camera and become familiar with the basics. Then go back and read the manual again (seriously, it will make lots more sense when you have some experience with the camera). When you starting asking yourself "how come the colors in my reef tank shots don't match what I see?", then switch to shooting in RAW mode (v. jpeg) and use software to set the color temp and do other post processing, such as adjusting brightness, contrast, color saturation and sharpness.

Digital photography can be a lot to take in at first, but keep at and you'll be surprised how your pictures keep getting better and better.
 
I ll lok at pods tonight, It just so happens the cd/dvd rom drive took a dump on my laptop so I have to get a new one from ASUS. AS Soon as I get that I can load the software that came with it.
 
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