I just began using a Canon Powershot SD500 ELPH. For years I have used a Nikon F-3 SLR. While I am really impressed with what this little camera can do, I am having a problem when the photos I have taken are printed. I seem to be losing some of the photograph on all four sides. What I see on the computer screen is more than what is on the print - either from a lab or from my own printer. I am used to shooting full frame with the Nikon. Is there a way to ensure when I edit photos that I get the full image? Thanks for your help.
Sandie
I seem to be losing some of the photograph on all four sides. What I see on the computer screen is more than what is on the print - either from a lab or from my own printer. I am used to shooting full frame with the Nikon. Is there a way to ensure when I edit photos that I get the full image?
Your camera takes photos in a 4:3 (3072/2304 = 4/3) aspect ratio. For printing, to fill up the print edge to edge with your photo, there will have to be some cropping. You can minimize this effect you do the cropping instead of letting the printer/print lab do the cropping. Just make the aspect ratio of the photo to be printed the same aspect ratio of the print media.
For example 4x6 photo crop to 3072x2048 pixels, 5x7 to 3072x2194 pixels, 8x10 to 2880x2304 pixels. These photos should then print full frame on the indicated print sizes.
Im not sure where the best place would be for this question, I figured here is as good of place as any...
When you see examples of pictures that say they are 100% crops of a particular photo, how do you create that crop... I mean I know that I can view the photo at 100% and its huge... but What constitutes that a particular crop is a 100% crop... Maybe someone can explain it too me... the thought crossed my mind late last night and I have been thinking about it all day but I am most certain I am looking at it the wrong way and there is some easy to explain how to do this... Thanks...
As a lot of folks on this forum already know I take a lot of concert and theater shots. I worked my way through a good number of digital cameras, among the group were the Panasonic FZ 10, 15, and 20 models and many others. However, as has been previously suggested in this forum, I now use dSLR cameras exclusively.
Yes, the FZ-20 could do the job, but you are using the camera at its absolute limits: maximum aperture, maximum ISO etc. The result is that you get very slow shutter speeds that are virtually incapable of stopping any action at all on stage and you become entirely dependent on the amount of light that is available on stage when you want to shoot.
I moved to dSLR's because using the FZ-20 at F 2.8 and ISO 400 was just making shooting very difficult with very spotty, unpreditable results. I needed more ISO and if economically feasible, faster lenses.
Today with a dSLR I can shoot at ISO 3200, and I can do it with a reasonable F3.5 aperture lenses and reasonable shutter speeds that really will stop action on stage without using any flash.
The limitations that I had experienced with digital cameras such as the FZ-20 were gone. Now I no longer have to cross my fingers while going to a concert to take photos, I now get very consistent and much higher quality results. In the FZ-20 I was always fighting the noise gremlin, with dSLR cameras such as the Canon 20D and the Pentax 1stDS, noise is no longer a problem.
I am sorry to make this post so long, but I thought it might be helpful to chronicle the progression I went through. OK, the logical question is this: If you don't want to spent $1,000 to $2,000 to get into a good dSLR outfit, then what do you do?
Remember that the two limiting factors in concert amd theater photography are ISO speeds and fast lenses. I also mentioned that when you can really increase the ISO speed sustantially, the need for a fast lens is reduced considerably. Therefore, you might want to take a look at the newer point and shoot digital cameras that have much higher available ISO speeds such as the Fuji F-10. The F-10 has a max ISO setting of 1600 that gives you much more flexibility. So for around $300, the F-10 will give a piece of the action. Yes, it does have some limitations, such as only 3X optical zoom, and please keep in mind that when the F-10 is zoomed out to that 3X position, the useable aperture falls to F 5.0 which is very limiting. So setup your shots with the F-10 where you are at the wide angle position. Then you can get some really great photos. I have attached a photo from the F-10 to demonstrate what the F-10 really can do if you setup your photos to operate within the F-10 limitations.
I have attached a night photo with the Fuji F-10 to show what the camera can do.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by lavins
