Scott Riemer
Contributor
Well jeez, no wonder--you're shooting Canon! I better disappear now before any Canon owners read this...// ww
Too late.
After all, it IS the Canon Corner
Canon A570 IS Help please
- Thread starter Alex1524
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Too late.
After all, it IS the Canon Corner
I don't really agree with some of the advice.
Auto works just fine. Your main issue is not seeing like the camera sees. You cannot just snap away. Photogrpahs require planning and framing and postion and angle and utilizing the light to see on film (ccd) the same way you see in your minds camera (eye).
Uisng an auto mode like Av or Tv only allows you to select either shutter or lens opening, the camera selects an equivilent exposure as it would in full auto. Only manual allows you to control both independently or in the auto, Av and Tv mode you can bias four stops over or under.
The pics above, unretouched, Canon 570IS, not my best work, lol, but they are what I saw. I was shooting Auto and Av with strobe (when I had the Inon D2000 strobe turned on and camera flash armed) and without strobe (camera selected to No Flash). Otherwise, in Av I shot with the cameras strobe set to manual at 1/3 power, Inon D2000 in auto. Manual is just to slow especially when I was working in the dark and could not read my meter, I let the camera select the settings.
Camera was set to UW mode BTW to reduce the overly blue cast which is still prevalent but I could remove some of that in Photoshop, however, those pics fairly acurrately represent the way it looked to my eye.
N
Auto works just fine. Your main issue is not seeing like the camera sees. You cannot just snap away. Photogrpahs require planning and framing and postion and angle and utilizing the light to see on film (ccd) the same way you see in your minds camera (eye).
Uisng an auto mode like Av or Tv only allows you to select either shutter or lens opening, the camera selects an equivilent exposure as it would in full auto. Only manual allows you to control both independently or in the auto, Av and Tv mode you can bias four stops over or under.
The pics above, unretouched, Canon 570IS, not my best work, lol, but they are what I saw. I was shooting Auto and Av with strobe (when I had the Inon D2000 strobe turned on and camera flash armed) and without strobe (camera selected to No Flash). Otherwise, in Av I shot with the cameras strobe set to manual at 1/3 power, Inon D2000 in auto. Manual is just to slow especially when I was working in the dark and could not read my meter, I let the camera select the settings.
Camera was set to UW mode BTW to reduce the overly blue cast which is still prevalent but I could remove some of that in Photoshop, however, those pics fairly acurrately represent the way it looked to my eye.
N
SparticleBrane
Contributor
Warmwater Wank
Contributor
Sure it's the artist but--the OP has a new camera he hasn't used before, went snorkeling and seemed to be wondering why his initial shots didn't look as good as the rest of y'alls. Nemrod has some great shots, the link SparticleBrane posted has some great shots but: not only do both shooters (ie--artists) have more experience shooting underwater (read: diving), they both are using, at least for some of the shots, an expensive external stobe system.
I'm sure either diver could make nice shots just w/ just the camera but there is a reason they sunk the extra $$ (Well over $500.) into a more controllable lighting system and it's so they will get even better pictures, right? So using just the camera Alex1524 has, what are some simple things he could do? As usual, Alcina read this right and gave some pretty solid advice. When Alex1524 gets in some more underwater time w/ the new system (and does some homework) then the rest of the advice will probably make more sense and prove helpful. So Alex, how did that boat trip go? // ww
I'm sure either diver could make nice shots just w/ just the camera but there is a reason they sunk the extra $$ (Well over $500.) into a more controllable lighting system and it's so they will get even better pictures, right? So using just the camera Alex1524 has, what are some simple things he could do? As usual, Alcina read this right and gave some pretty solid advice. When Alex1524 gets in some more underwater time w/ the new system (and does some homework) then the rest of the advice will probably make more sense and prove helpful. So Alex, how did that boat trip go? // ww
And what I am saying is for a beginner (which somewhat includes me) rather than trying to guess at confusing manual exposure settings suggested for different water and light, put your camera on auto, select UW mode which adjusts white balance to reduce blue and green cast, for close up use the camera's strobe, for wide shots and farther away, turn the camera's strobe off. If shallow use a Wonder filter in clear tropical water. Concentrate on "seeing" the light and framing your subject/action to show what YOU see in your mind. Get close, that is why a wide angle lens is an almost absolute requirment, you must get close. Even a few feet further back increases the blue cast (or green in some water) to an objectionable level and reduces contrast and sharpness. The closer the better. My super wide lens allows me to put the lens in the divers face--literally and still see a huge range. This shot I converted to B&W, I am about three feet from the diver's face.
JFYI, super wide lenses on digi cameras I am seeing are a challenge. The dynamic range of digital exposure systems is limited compared to film and this reults in blown out bright areas and muddy or black shadows--the lens sees such a large area the required exposure latitude of the scene exceeds the dynamic range of the camera unless I am very carefull. My Nikonos III or my old film SLRs would not blow out like is seen in some of my pics. I am having to re-learn a lot of things and learn some new as well. This is not so much of a problem with macro or even "standard" lens shots as it is easier to frame the shot for more even or averaged lighting.
There is no easy out, you must read and learn a little about cameras and how an exposure is made so that you can understand how your camera sees compared to your human eye to exploit the camera capabilities, otherwise, good shots are just luck. In fact, I am not sure that all "good" shots are not at least some luck involved.
The ghost and flare are a consequence of super wide lenses and forward scene lighting and having opened my camera in the heat and humidity to replace battreries--I had installed a discharged set by accident--doh--which got me a slight fog on my port. I need to keep the light behind me and get my strobe further back as well.
Another item, you can get the old Sekonic Marine light meters under 100 dollars on ebay. If your going to shoot manual get one. The meter on the 570IS is a pain in the rear. It is much eaiser to set ISO on the camera and the meter to the same value and then set the shutter and f stop on the camera per the meter and then adjust from there.
Thanks for refering to me as an artist, that is a new one, however, I did actually stay at the Holiday Inn Express and I do have formal photo training though I admit, it does not show.
N
JFYI, super wide lenses on digi cameras I am seeing are a challenge. The dynamic range of digital exposure systems is limited compared to film and this reults in blown out bright areas and muddy or black shadows--the lens sees such a large area the required exposure latitude of the scene exceeds the dynamic range of the camera unless I am very carefull. My Nikonos III or my old film SLRs would not blow out like is seen in some of my pics. I am having to re-learn a lot of things and learn some new as well. This is not so much of a problem with macro or even "standard" lens shots as it is easier to frame the shot for more even or averaged lighting.
There is no easy out, you must read and learn a little about cameras and how an exposure is made so that you can understand how your camera sees compared to your human eye to exploit the camera capabilities, otherwise, good shots are just luck. In fact, I am not sure that all "good" shots are not at least some luck involved.
The ghost and flare are a consequence of super wide lenses and forward scene lighting and having opened my camera in the heat and humidity to replace battreries--I had installed a discharged set by accident--doh--which got me a slight fog on my port. I need to keep the light behind me and get my strobe further back as well.
Another item, you can get the old Sekonic Marine light meters under 100 dollars on ebay. If your going to shoot manual get one. The meter on the 570IS is a pain in the rear. It is much eaiser to set ISO on the camera and the meter to the same value and then set the shutter and f stop on the camera per the meter and then adjust from there.
Thanks for refering to me as an artist, that is a new one, however, I did actually stay at the Holiday Inn Express and I do have formal photo training though I admit, it does not show.
N
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Choyster
Contributor
The CHDK hack allows you to shoot in RAW format and adjust the color balance later. I found that just a few seconds per photo with a free program like picasa really helps.
Choyster
Contributor
OK, I apologize in advance if this doesn't work (first time posting images) but here goes. Installing the hack is VERY easy. You just download a few files onto your SD card and the camera will start recording everything in JPEG and CRW format. Picasa can read the CRW format and allows you to adjust three different ranges of light plus the white ballance by sliding a few bars back and forth. Here's an example. The first photo is the original JPEG. The second photo is a JPEG version of the original CRW file (no adjustments whatsoever). The third photo is a JPEG version of the CRW file which I cropped, made "warmer", and increased the shadows and highlights. Editing this photo took less than 15 seconds. I think the final version is MUCH better than the original. If it's too saturated for your tastes, you can very easily tone that down by not cranking the adjustments as far as I did.
Let me know if you have any other questions I can help answer.
Original JPEG
Original CRW converted to JPEG (no adjustments)
Cropped and edited CRW converted to JPEG
Edit: FINALLY! Got the embedding to work!
Let me know if you have any other questions I can help answer.
Original JPEG
Original CRW converted to JPEG (no adjustments)
Cropped and edited CRW converted to JPEG
Edit: FINALLY! Got the embedding to work!
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Scott Riemer
Contributor
That's cool! But I'm still confused how you accomplished it.
I just upload photos to photobucket and then link them.
I just upload photos to photobucket and then link them.
Choyster
Contributor
OK, here's a more detailed explanation. The two files from above are straight out of the camera with the hack. To get the third file, I just slid two adjustments in picasa and then cropped the photo. Here's a screen shot of the picasa application. The red circles show the bars I moved. The upper one corrects the "washed-outness" that I commonly get. The bottom one made the colors more red/less blue.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
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