SD300 Help

[Ruffian29]

I have a few questions about my SD300 camera.
I've had problems taking shots at dusk outside (right about the time the camera starts to thinks it needs a flash, but its still relitavly light out). If i want to take a picture of something that is somewhat far away, it uses the flash which doesn't reach the object i get a bright spot of nothing and the background is dark so I can't see what I was trying to get a picture of.
I tried taking pics without the flash but then the whole thing comes out blury. I dont regularly carry a tri pod with me when im hiking through the woods using one isn't really an option.
Is there any settings i can change on the camera to help take these shots? or am i stuck with having to deal with the difficult dusk shots?

also I missed a few shots when I was at the racetrack a few months ago, at about the same time (dusk) and while the camera was hunting for focus or something the horse i was trying to get a picture of was already by.

are there any settings that would help these "dusk" pictures? It seems like its light enough out to not need a flash, but the camera seems to think otherwise, lol.

Thanks for any help / advise.

[David Metsky]

There's not a whole lot you can do. Flash ranges are fairly short, and without a tripod you simple won't be able to hold the camera still enough to take a long exposure shot, which is what you need. Try pushing the ISO up to 200 and brace your body against a doorframe or tree and work on keeping the camera as still as possible.

For the racetrack, try to prefocus the camera on something at the right range. For example, you can pre-focus on the finish line by pushing the shutter down half-way before the horses get there. Then when the horses arrive complete pushing the shutter button down and the picture will take. It's harder for an action shot where things are changing range. In low light it's hard for any camera to lock on like that.

-dave-