First attempt with the new S3 IS

[sphughes]

Here is the first go at taking a shot of one of my razors with the new camera. My old Cannon did ok but I think this one will be alot of fun once I figure it out.

This is my one and only Maestro, a 7/8 ATS 45 Blade with Abalone scales that shaves as good as it looks. Please feel free to offer photo advice because I see some incredible shots out here and I realize I have a long way to go to get to that level of quality.

-Scott

[ouch]

What's great about digital cameras is that you can take dozens (or hundreds) of shots, without cost, to test out different settings. Every Canon I've tried seems to do better when underexposed at least 1/3 stop, and the "vivid" color setting really helps. Perhaps the most important setting to fool around with is the white balance. Fortunately, Canons are very easy to adjust for white balance.

That's some razor ya got there. :thumbup1:

[liege]

I had the Canon S1 and really liked it but needed a good external flash so I got the Canon Pro1 and a 420 flash. I was curious about the S3. From reviews it sounds like a wonderful camera. How do you like it?

[netsurfr]

That's a beauty of a razor. Have been lusting after one of those for a while...

[DoubleE]

Beautiful razor and nice shot of it! I hope you enjoy the camera.

[sphughes]

I like it an awful lot....but my hands on experience with it is just beginning. I did a tremendous amount of research online (to the point where I had a good idea what I wanted feature wise) and I felt that this was the choice for me. For the money, I think it is my best option. Of course YMMV, but....

Hopefully I will be posting some quality pictures before too long.
-Scott

[Scotty]

That sure is a beauty of a razor! How much did it cost? :001_tt1:

[ouch]

That sure is a beauty of a razor! How much did it cost? :001_tt1:

More than the camera. :lol:

[HoustonianYankee]

Nice shot but as you are asking, I'll give you a few suggestions but keep in mind I am not familiar with your camera.
The white balance is a bit too cool. You need to warm it up a bit (try using cloudy or simply daylight when you are taking shots.).
There appears to be some barrell distortion on top, that's where the edges look like they are bowing out. This happens when you use the wide angle feature of the zoom lens. It's no big deal but be aware of it when you are shooting in wide angle. There are ways to correct for it in some photo-editing software.
Finally, the shot is a little grainy. This could be from the downsizing to meet the B&B size restrictions or because you are using an auto ISO and the camera selected a high ISO for the shot. High ISO, typically >200 on many cameras, will result in some grain. Again, not bad but something to be aware of. Try to use as low an ISO as possible consistent with your lighting situation and if possible, don't use auto ISO.

The main thing is to take a LOT of pictures and get familiar with your camera. Enjoy it and get some good editing software. All the above comments I gave can be adjusted with good photo editing software. It is essential with digital photography.

(Oh, and one more thing, when shooting pictures for the web, use "srgb" as your color space choice, or else the colors will look washed out. For printing, use Adobe RGB.)

BTW, a magnificent razor!

[perry]

How's the picture taking going Scott? I've still not made up my mind enough to actually purchase the camera. Not real sure what's hold me back though..

[sphughes]

I'm still laying low with the camera. The 30 day rule is in play here and I don't want to hear it from SWMBO yet. I did order the Canon Adapter, TC and a Hoya set of filters to go along with my new bag. I am slowly learning and hope to shoot some brush shots tomorrow for practice. If they are not too embarrassing I'll post a couple.

1 thing I've realized is that the more research you do, the more confused you can get. Now if I can get talented enough to get some pics that are half as good as some of the other members take, I'll be fortunate.

-Scott

[perry]

1 thing I've realized is that the more research you do, the more confused you can get.

Yep. I was doing more looking around today, found myself getting confused, and went ahead and pulled the trigger. S3 on the way from newegg with a 150x 2GB SD card. It seemed like the speed of the free 1GB card (got that too) may not be able to keep up with what the camera is capable of doing.

Now to figure out what all those filters and adapters do.