Just ordered my S5-Now what?

[Tanner31593]

Hello,
Well, if you've read my other thread, here is the update;

I FINALLY CHOSE! I went with the S5, bought it on Amazon and it shipped on tuesday (I got it for $319 with free super saver shipping).

Now, im a decision-a-phobic (ha) and im a little scared.
My sister goes to Ivy Tech in indiana and does a lot in photography and her school loans her an S3.
I was trying it out, and it didnt seem to take very good pictures in 'auto' mode. She uses manual with all the settings and such, i changed it to auto when i used it because it seemed dark for the setting and i have no idea how to adjust anything.
Her pictures looked much better using manual. Obviously.
Im wondering if the S5 will take great pictures right of the box, but i would still like to use the manual settings.
If i find the right settings in manual, could i just leave it at those settings for as long as i like and the results will be optimal everywhere? SOrry im new at this, the only settings my Samsung Digimax A402 has is uh...pretty much NOTHING.

Anyway,
where would i go about learning this?
Is there a thread here devoted to this?
Any tips?
Comments?

Anything?

Thanks,

Tanner.


(PS) Amazon still has the S5 for $319 but now since its closer to the holidays they upgrade you to free one day shipping. Kind of annoying considering i may not get mine until the 24th and the family is celebrating christmas on the 23rd, but i can hope it gets here before then! (cross your fingers for me will ya?)

[SpecialK]

There are settings on the S3 and S5 that allow you to adjust the contrast, saturation, etc. At first, I would suggest using "P" rather than "Auto" as there is still some adjustability in the "P" mode. After getting a little familiar with the camera, simply go to a park or someplace colorful and make a series of test shots of the same subject. Change the settings, one at a time, and when you get home, compare the shots at say, -1, 0 , and +1 saturation, and -1, 0 and +1 contrast. Even over and undrexpose a little. Determine which ones look best, and change the camera default settings accordingly. Note the provided Zoombrowser software will tell you what settings you used ("Exif data".)

[pas49ras]

Thake a look at this article..it goes over the basic manual settings and the reasons behind them..
http://www.hometechanswers.com/digital-photography/digital-
camera-settings.html

Like Special K said, try using the P modes, try Auto and see which one works the best. Going full manual requires adjusting the exposure on every shot.

[Graystar]

All cameras take bad pictures when you first use them for two reasons. First, the Auto White Balance feature (AWB) doesn't work so well indoors so the first few picture you take (which are usually indoors and lit by ordinary light bulbs) look terrible. Second, new users tend to have expectations of low-light performance that technology hasn't caught up with...and the photos turn out too dark or with tons of noise.

The first thing to do is learn about white-balance. As a beginner that’s the most important thing you can do to start developing consistency is the color of your images. Learn about white-balance here:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balance.htm

When you get your camera and finish playing, turn to the white-balance section of the manual and learn the settings. It’s actually very easy.

As for low-light performance...there’s not much you can do about it. Normal indoor lighting is not enough to get blur-free, low noise images without using the flash. Read up on the Slow-Synchro option. I find it can make flash images look better under the right conditions.

Good luck!

[Tanner31593]

So,

should i start right off using manual or auto?
Would starting with adjusting with WB or contrast or saturation?
What would have to be adjusted to get it optimal and then not have to change anything? (until i learn more at least)

[Glasstream15]

"Optimal" changes with just about every situation. Start out with the dial on "P" and study the manual A LOT. One thing about digital. Just keep shooting and delete what you don't want. Makes it very easy to do A LOT of practicing. And something that I have found helpful for all of my Canon cameras is to download the manuals from the Canon site. Those books are tiny with small print. And the PDF files are also easy to search for any info you need. And Practice, Practice, Practice. All those wierd terms will quickly become second nature and you will really enjoy that great little camera.

[Graystar]

Ditto on what Glasstream15 said. The best thing I ever did was learn all the features of the camera by studying the manual.

You just do it slowly over time. You read up on a feature then take the camera and try it out. Take lots of pics with the feature set to its various settings and view the effects. Then try the next feature. If you do this it will take a few weeks to go through it all, but you will have such a better understanding of the settings affect the image.

I also recommend starting out on P, and read up on how to read the exposure indicators. It is critical, for every single picture you will ever take in your life, to know if your exposure is correct.

[Tanner31593]

That sounds good.
I have been reading the manual for a while now, and i went to the camera after reading the manual and it was really confusing. Anyway, i played around with whatever settings i could change, it is a pretty nice camera! Although it is a little uncomfortable for my left hand (maybe because ive been having wrist issues lately) but its great! But i think what i was doing wrong was that i was reading the whole manual, then going to the camera. Not looking on one thing and going to the camera.
I'll do some more complete stuff tomorrow a bit and monday as we are entertaining this year on sunday and so we have to do EXTREME cleaning of some disgusting carpets.....its that time of year again, to clean your disgusting carpets again! :D
.....ahh.
Maybe ill do a bit more tonight.

[TheMayer78]

I too recently decided to go with the S5 is. The extent of my photo experience so far is "a lot" of use with my (don't laugh) 1.3mp Samsung.. that is in my phone! Silly but I have taken some pics with it that I am glad I have. And I have used a Canon A460 to take about 4000 pics, it was a work camera that belongs to a former employer.

So after much tribulation I decided and feel good about deciding on the S5. My mom bought it for me for Christmas so I wont get to use it for another few days!!! but I am very much looking forward to it. I am excited about learning how to use manual controls, but first I need to learn WHAT they are. So Tanner it seems we are in a similar boat.

Graystar, I followed your link to cambridgeincolor and was at first even more confused by the description about white balance. I then went back to the main tutorial menu and began reading about many aspects of photography, I still have a ways to go, but I want to thank you for the link. It is a very informative site, lots to learn there. Any other learning resources for us newbies is greatly appreciated. Lots to learn here on the DCRP too but it's very encouraging to find material that is focused on teaching some of the fundamentals to get us noobs over the learning curve! Most of you guys here are so far into it it's sometimes very difficult to follow your conversations - It's impossible to understand how to best use your flux-capacitor when you don't even know what a flux-capacitor is!

TO ALL - Thanks again for a great community of enthusiastic and friendly photophiles!

TheMayer

[Tanner31593]

All right,
so instead of cleaning like i should be,
i was playing around with exposure, whici is pretty easy although most of the time i dont see much of a difference between settings........i also set the white balance to tungsten (i may have spelled it wrong), and that seems to be the best, i setting the balance myself but i don't really have many white things anymore, or the things that are supposed to be white are no longer white. White is a tricky color isnt it? Figured that out after a white convertable....Anyway,
So today or tomorrow i'll get to the next thing in the manual i guess.
I also played around with movie mode.
More later.

[Tanner31593]

Okay,
so after using it and doing more playing,

Im in P and i have exposure at 1, flash at -2/3, and WB at tungsten.
I dont know what most of that means, but im getting there.
The pictures look good mostly (to my untrained eye anyway),
but when i look on the histogram, its always more on the left side and not in the middle.

I'm still not really sure what im doing though,
the canon manuals arend really that elaborate IMO.
Is there a site where i can get a better explanation of things?

Thanks.

[SpecialK]

Okay,
so after using it and doing more playing,

Im in P and i have exposure at 1, flash at -2/3, and WB at tungsten.
I dont know what most of that means, but im getting there.
The pictures look good mostly (to my untrained eye anyway),
but when i look on the histogram, its always more on the left side and not in the middle.

I'm still not really sure what im doing though,
the canon manuals arend really that elaborate IMO.
Is there a site where i can get a better explanation of things?

Thanks.

From those settings, you would be overexposing one stop (the 1), then underexposing the flash (the -2/3), and should be getting blue toned images due to the tungsten WB which is designed for the yellowish household lamps. Flash is very close to the "daylight" WB setting, so AWB should be close enough with flash shots.

Having to overexpose a full stop is not really normal - unless the meter is fooled by a very light subject. Remember, the camra always tries to make the subject middle gray, so if the subject is truly lighter, you will need to compensate - by perhaps a stop or so (+1).

Setting the flash at -2/3 is OK to just "fill" the shadows a little in daylight when the exposure is based on the daylight reading ("fill flash").

I can not think of any situation to use flash and tunsgten WB simultaneously.

Perhaps this forum dedicated to S3/S5 users will help - though I've seen some really bad answers on it from people who are guessing or plain don't know.

http://www.s3users.com/

[TheMayer78]

Just wanted to thank you for your advice. I have been taking almost all pics in P mode and have gotten comfortable changing exp, and flash output. So much more to this than I expected.

I have a question about your first post in this thread though. You recommend adjusting contrast and saturation. Are these two terms synonyms for something else they may be call in the S5? I haven't found any adjustment for saturation or contrast specifically, and there is no mention of them in the owners manual, that I have found. Are contrast and saturation adjustments that are available on DSLRs? Or am I missing something?

Also considering the title of this thread I will go ahead and ask you guys, Has anyone found a case for the S5 (with converter left on) they are really happy with? I am having such a hard time finding one that is not either just a little too small or WAY too big.

TheMayer

[ooverdrive]

I haven't found any adjustment for saturation or contrast specifically, and there is no mention of them in the owners manual, that I have found. Are contrast and saturation adjustments that are available on DSLRs? Or am I missing something?
TheMayer

I think the option to adjust them are available from 'p' to 'c' dail only .check colour settings starting from vivid&look for custom settings.

[TheMayer78]

OHHH! Wow, there is so much to this camera. I haven't finished reading the manual. Thanks for the heads up. Man, I'm just getting used to flash output and exp. level, now I have the whole range of custom color settings and I'm not even out of P mode yet. I am determined to not get overwhelmed. Again I just have so much admiration for all of you who had the patience to learn all of this with film cameras. And thanks OOverdrive for answering my question without reminding me I'm a noob and that the answer was in my manual if I would only read it!

[SpecialK]

I'm assuming you found the settings through the functions menu and my colors. At least that's how it is with the S3.

Don't try to learn everything at once. Good luck!

[TheMayer78]

yep, thats right were they were. Let me ask you another one if I may. Is having all custom color settings at the neutral/center position the same as just having my colors off?

[Graystar]

If Neutral was the same as Off then it wouldn't be there. ;)

When MyColors is Off, the camera will give a slight boost to colors. Canon says most consumers seem to prefer their images with the colors slightly more saturated. The Neutral setting removes that slight boost.

[TheMayer78]

Interesting, thanks for the info. I've taken so many pics in the last 4 days its absurd, I have been viewing most of them on the LCD so I haven't noticed a difference in MyColors off & neutral. Have been doing most shooting in Vivid or tweaking custom around a bit. Not to mention flash output and Exp.

Hey my Lensmate 52mm converter, Hoya UV filter, Cap and rubber hood came today. I am very impressed with the quality of all this stuff. I got the converter primarily for protection so it will stay on at all times. I will not be using the hood often I think, only when circumstance call for it. The converter fits my camera better than the removable ring that came on it! It was about 2:30am when I got home so no outdoor daylight pics yet. I don't expect the UV filter to have too much effect on things, it's really just for protection.

Tanner, any updates? are you loving YOUR S5 too?
I found a great deal on a great bag! I had the hardest time finding a bag my S5 would fit in perfectly with the converter on all the time but I found a Canon bag model 100EG at Target for $49... found it on Dell.com for $19.99 free shipping!!!!!

That's all I have for now.