Canon Power Shot SX50 HS.

[GloriaS]

Hello All,

I am a new member on the message boards.  Owner of a Canon Power Shot SX50 HS.

I enjoy nature and take lots of bird, butterfly, deer, etc. shots.  Also scenery shots.  

I do not understand the setting on this camera and I only use the auto mode.  

Question:  What are the best settings (Apature and ISO) for the type of pictures I take.   Some come out sharp but lots have a blur.    Suggestions wlecome.......Thanks!

[GaryS]

Way to go! You have successfully hijacked Gloria's thread.

[TonyBritton]

Hi Gary,

I'm doing my best to directly help Gloria (and others reading this post) with her SX50 and that was the reason for my post here.

Gloria requested suggestions from forum members regarding camera settings that might prove helpful to her. She did so here in this section of the Forums. She responded and had further questions from me. I'm new here so where am I supposed to offer and post direct advice to someone with a specific question or request other than the section of the Forums where the original thread started?

Tony

[Grazie]

Tony! Your input on this thread should be made essential reading for all on this Forum wanting to understand this great Camera and wish to share their "tips" and "tricks".

I come from a video, Film & Edit background, and your "Hands-On" style/experience and the way you've expressed it here, is great to read and easy to understand.

I'd underline 2 of your great points:

A] Light is everything.

B] Giving examples of what and where you use settings is essential in understanding.

I can't wait for your next posting - CLICK!

Grazie

[GloriaS]

Hello, Tony.......I have look at both your galleries.   Your photos are just beautiful and SO DETAILED.  Love the way you capture the eyes and feathers of the birds.  Love your work!   Thanks for sharing!

[ssobel]

Tony your pictures are magnificent.  I only hope I can do half as well as I will be traveling to Africa next week.   I will definitely look at page 57.   Any more hints for my trip.

[TonyBritton]

Hi ssobel, GloriaS and everyone,

Thanks for looking and commenting. I'm practicing daily and learning something new about the SX50 with each outing. So far, this is what's been working for me.

I believe four main factors have helped me get the type of images I'm very happy with.

1. Shooting primarily in Shutter Priority Mode or Manual Mode so I have control over shutter speed, which I set as high as possible for each scene. 

2. Adjusting Exposure Compensation values for each and every shot when using Shutter Priority Mode or Aperture Priority Mode.

3. Using Center-Weighted-Average Metering. 

4. Using the "Framing Assist - Lock" feature is extemely effective when using the camera at, or near, maximum zoom. It's a button located ON the camera that you press while composing the shot. The use of this feature is explained on page 57 of the manual. Along with the other strategies I use to obtain sharp hand-held images when shooting toward the long end of the zoom, this extra bit of stabilization the Framing Assist - Lock provides really helps.

I don't use a tripod when I take bird & wildlife photos. With a zoom this generous and especially on a point-and-shoot camera, it's helped me immensely to shoot in either Manual Mode or Shutter Priority Mode because I can increase the shutter speed to very high values and by doing so, greatly reduce hand-held camera shake. Along with the excellent image-stabilization performance of the camera, this combination (fast shutter speed & image-stabilization) gives my photos that extra bit of clarity people often comment on. Many of the photos on my website were taken at near or maximum zoom! Fast shutter speeds must not only be thought of for reducing subject motion blur.

Also, I'm a heavy user of the "Exposure Compensation" features this camera has to offer and this allows me to effectively control the level of lightness or darkness I want in the final image while shooting in Shutter Priority Mode and Aperture Priority Mode and is a good strategy before I'm forced to increase the ISO level thereby helping to keep noise levels to a minimum. In Shutter Priority Mode the camera automatically selects the aperture value. While Aperture Priority Mode is an excellent way to get great photos with this camera,  I mostly focus on single subjects in my photography, like birds, so depth of field isn't as important to me and I'm able to control light entering the camera in other ways. I specifically set an exposure compensation value for every shot I take. Although the values might change slightly from shot to shot, and depend on the amount of bright sulight striking the subect, they're usually in the minus range of say, -1.3 to -1.0, or lower in some cases. This is critical to the style and "look" of what I want in an image. I prefer a slightly "darker tone" in my images and along with keeping the ISO values as close to ISO 80 or ISO 100 as possible, this is how I achieve images with such deep and rich color chiefly because I'm preventing the  camera from producing an overexposed image.  This is especially how I capture fine feather detail in white feathered birds such as egrets. Many small sensor point-and-shoot cameras tend to "overexpose" the image resulting in "blown-out highlights"  producing  images that often lack nice color quality and sharpness so I intentionally "underexpose" the image a bit and get exactly what I desire. The results simply look more dramatic and naturally sharper, in my opinion. In post-processing the only "correction" I ever really need to make is a one-click "Auto Contrast" in Photoshop Elements. I never have to sharpen an image. Each image on my website will display the actual settings used for that particular photo and is a good way to see the shutter speeds and the exposure compensation settings that were used, as well. Finally, I like the results I get using Center-Weighted- Average Metering.

So far, these are the core settings I've been using:

“Recording Pixel Setting" (Image Size) is set to "L" for LARGE 12M 4000x3000 & "Compression Ratio" (Image Quality) is set to "SUPERFINE JPEG." I use Continuous Auto-Focus, Auto-Focus Frame: FlexiZone, Center-Weighted-Average Metering, Spot AE is set to Center. I stay as close to ISO 80 or 100 as possible, although this camera seems to do quite well with slightly higher ISO values with regard to visible "noise."  High ISO NR is set to "Standard" and I NEVER USE AUTO ISO. Image Stabilization is set to: Continuous, and I select the appropriate white-balance PRESET icon for the particular weather condition, and I never use the "AWB" preset icon. I prefer to shoot using Burst Mode. I do not use i-Contrast, Dynamic Range Correction or Shadow Correction, either.

Since I DO NOT use "Custom Colors," settings regarding Sharpness, Contrast, and Saturation remain at their Default (ZERO) points, so therefore, I have not pressed any buttons to increase these values beyond their factory defaults. I shoot all my photographs via the LCD which remains at the factory default brightness. This should cover most of the main settings I use and I'll have to dig deeper into the menus to see if there are some new settings or features in the SX50 I haven't noticed yet.

Hopefully, this introduction will prove helpful if you're interested in trying a different approach with your SX50. To be sure, there are many ways to get good results from this camera and this is simply how I prefer to do it! Can't wait to see the pictures from your trip!

Best regards,

Tony

Tony Britton Photography

[cicopo]

Very nice tutorial and you do indeed have some excellent photos from your SX50. WELL DONE.

[TonyBritton]

Hi cicopo,

Thank you very much! I'll continue to edit / update my SX50 post as I discover more about the SX50 and look forward to sharing this information with you and fellow forum members.

Best regards,

Tony

Canon SX50 HS Gallery

[cicopo]

I think it might be a good idea to copy & paste your 2 lengthy messages here too.

http://forums.usa.canon.com/t5/PowerShot/Discuss-best-settings-for-non-DSLR-camera-Bird-shots/m-p/62...

That will double the availability of finding the info using the search function.