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Canon S5-IS Digital Camera Notes
Mostly Still Camera, but Increasingly Video-Related
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ISO | Film/Sensor Sensitivity - determines exposure at a given shutter speed & aperture - lower yields better quality if you can keep the camera steady. Higher allows low-light shots to be taken without excessive shutter time. |
| Aperture | Size of the opening that lets light in - units are f-stop - lower f-stop number lets in more light, higher f-stop number constricts the aperture - a major player in exposure, along with shutter speed - more open => more exposure - also a player in focusing: more closed => focuses near to far, instead of at one distance. |
| Shutter Speed | Time from shutter open to shutter close, i.e. time the sensor/film is exposed - slower shutter speed => image is accumulated over more time; fast shutter speed => image is taken in an instance. |
| Focus | Clarity of picture subject and other things near and far. |
| Depth of Field | Relative distance between foreground and background objects that are in focus. |
| White Balance | aka color balance - what blend of colors would make a white object in this light appear white - determines the color cast of the shot, i.e. does it look orangy, or bluish, or natural?... |
| Composition | What is in the picture, and viewed from what angle, including light. |
| Safety FE | Automatic shutter and/or aperture adjustment when flash fires to prevent overexposure. |
| MF Point Zoom | Manual Focus boxed is zoomed in - does not affect picture - just a nicety. |
| Auto ISO Shift | Allows the "S" button to bump the ISO when pressed. Since manual intervention is required I see no reason not to leave this enabled - draws attention to low-light/underexposure condition. I would normally only bump ISO manually to half the recommended dose if warning triggered. |
| Safety MF | ???###TBD |
| AF Mode | Auto-Focus mode - No reason not to leave on continuous unless battery power is low. Other option is single. |
| AF-Assist Beam | A red, white, or green light (laser) that targets the auto-focus point. Again, no reason to turn this off unless its bugging ya and seems redundent, except to conserve battery power. |
| Tally Lamp | Movie recording blinker. Turn off if annoying... |
| Review Time | How long a just-shot picture is available for review before reverting to picture shoot mode. Press SET button to hold longer, or shutter button to release earlier. |
| Reverse Disp | Reverses image on LCD when rotated. This is what you want unless you're holding the camera upside-down... |
| Auto Category | Categorizes images in camera based on face-detection, scene mode, ..., I don't think this hurts anything and may be useful, so might as well leave it on - just be sure when you import the images to an auto-catefory-smart app that you are aware of the catefories which may need adjusting. |
| Shortcut Button | aka the "S" button - Auto ISO Shift will take precedence over shortcut assignment when enabled and blue light is flashing. There's a bunch of odds and ends it could be assigned to, I set it to LCD off in case since its innocuous and I normally have the automatic display timer set high and I may not want someone seeing whats on the display... To turn it off using DISP button requires 4-setting cycle to get back. |
| Color Enhancement |
Adjust color qualities? - Canon's default looks a little washed-out to me, so I define a custom color enhancement setting that bumps the contrast a notch. This is I use for normal/neutral situations. For scenery or desire for vibrancy - use Vivid. |
| FUNC Button | Displays some common settings in record mode, erases image in playback mode. |
| SET Button | Acts as OK/Select/Enter button in menus, also allows focus rectangle re-positioning in record mode, also switches between scroll and next picture in playback mode. |
| Auto Mode | The "fully" automatic mode. |
| "P" Mode | "Programmed Exposure" Mode - shutter speed & aperture are auto-selected, but can be overridden as a team using exposure compensation. Note: bias is toward quicker shutter in this mode. |
| "A" Mode | "Aperture Priority" Mode - Could have been called "Aperture Control" or "Auto Shutter Speed" mode. You set aperture, camera sets shutter speed. |
| "S" Mode | "Shutter Priority" Mode - Could have been called "Shutter Control" or "Auto Aperture" mode. You set shutter speed, camera sets aperture. |
| "M" Mode | Manual exposure mode - you set aperture and shutter speed. |
| Exposure Compensation | Only available in non-auto and non-manual modes - In "P" mode, means adjusting shutter speed / aperture as a pair. In "A" mode, means adjusting shutter speed. In "S" mode, means adjusting aperture. |
One of the problems I have with modern cameras is that manual-er modes are designed for people who take pictures in manual mode frequently and/or have great memories and think & act fast on their feet when its time for the shot. I wish there were simple wizards like computer software that walk you through a checklist, but I've only heard of one camera attempting that and I don't own it (nor can I remember the make/model). So, in general the settings that affect the process of composing and shooting an image are scattered in these areas:
Legend: Default, Override.
Camera Type: high-end prosumer "compact" that thinks its a low-end DSLR, aka Megazoom.
Auto mode likes to jack the ISO up if not a lot of light. This causes noise which degrades picture quality. It would be a good thing if you weren't shooting on a tripod, and if you did not have image stabilization, since it helps prevent a blurry picture, however its usually much more desirable to use a tripod or stabilize camera somehow, turn IS on, use a flash, decrease the shutter speed, and/or increase the aperture (decrease the f-stop), THEN increase ISO as a last resort. I only use Auto mode when there is a lot of ambient light or I will use a flash, and/or I am feeling lazy or rushed, otherwise "P" mode with ISO set to 100 is my baseline (unless its bright daylight and I'm still using a manual mode, then I set ISO to 80).
The Short Version:
The Long Version:
The Medium Version (mnemonic: SDCLIFFES):
Guiding principles
- if time/convenience is paramount - used the most automatic setting that will get the shot you want.
- if quality is paramount - use the most manual setting that isn't too manual.
I have composed this document to help myself remember what settings to set, to keep from forgetting anything, and to take better pictures - hope it helps you too.
The End
| Static content updated 2008-03-25 | Copyright 2007 - robcole.com - all rights reserved. | Dynamic content updated 03:03:19 PM |