A1: Gripes and Stripes

[tmc17479]

Been going around Taipei City shooting scenery and people. I love it when I can shoot from the different angles with the movable EVF and LCD screen.

-The A1 has incredible resolution on its screens, that a plus and a minus for it. Everytime I reviewed my shots, it looked really sharp to me but compared to viewing on a monitor, it was a bit blurry. I knew it wasn't my hands for I had rested it on a stable platform. Seems that the autofocus wasn't able to decide what it wants to focus on.

- Drains AA batteries like a burst dam. went through my np400 and 2x6 AAs in an afternoon of shooting at largest carshow in taiwan. (next one's in 2006)

Anyways I still have a lot to learn about the camera.

p/s Any users of A1 can tell me how to blur the background when taking people? Tried large aperture but can't seem to get the effect rite.

[ninelives]

Originally Posted by tmc17479 p/s Any users of A1 can tell me how to blur the background when taking people? Tried large aperture but can't seem to get the effect rite.

use slow shutter speed, 1/30 or below.

[tmc17479]

Tried but it still doesn't work, manual focussing takes to long to get the effect rite. I can get the effect when I dont plan to but I just can't get it when I need to. Pretty frustrating for me.

[TME]

Originally Posted by tmc17479 Tried but it still doesn't work, manual focussing takes to long to get the effect rite. I can get the effect when I dont plan to but I just can't get it when I need to. Pretty frustrating for me.

I'm hazarding a guess here but could it be that u allow the camera to decide which focus sensor to use and that leads to the camera some times focusing on the background? So that leads to blur pics? It might explain the depth of field problem. I usually just use the centre focus spot cos it is more sensitive. Must qualify that I refer to Dynax 7 and not A1 cos i never use before. Just trying to give suggestions to help.

[Caussway]

Use longer focal length and large aperture together
to get best effect.

[tmc17479]

Will try that out the next time I got a chance (and a willing friend).

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by ninelives use slow shutter speed, 1/30 or below.

Errrm, .... don't think using slower shutter speed helps in blurring the background (aka shallow depth of field,DOF). As mentioned, using a longer focal length and a large aperture will do the trick. Another factor is the differences in distances of the subject and camera vs that of subject and background. Meaning to say if the background isn't that far away from the subject as compared to the distance between the subject and the camera, the DOF will not be very shallow. So to obtain a shallow DOF, pick a background that is actually quite far behind the subject (eg. open spaces), use a large aperture and a longer focal length - you should be able to get the effect.

I don't use a digital camera (well only a P&S one occasionally) but the above should apply as well. But I think its more difficult to obtain a shallow DOF in digital cams as compared to film cameras unless you use a full frame one.

[chriszzz]

Originally Posted by tmc17479 p/s Any users of A1 can tell me how to blur the background when taking people? Tried large aperture but can't seem to get the effect rite.

DOF depends on aperture, focal length, and distance. So you'll just have to pick the biggest aperture (ie, smallest value), longest focal length, and smallest distance that you can.

Unfortunately, the A1's actual focal length is arond 7-50mm, which isn't really very much, and this is the root of the problem. When you shoot someone at around 80mm on the A1, it's actually only at 20mm or so. At such small focal lengths, your DOF will not be very shallow, and hence your background will be sharp. There's not much you can do about it, except learn to use Photoshop to blur the background, or switch to a DSLR, which will be able to give you shallow DOF with the correct lens.

[TME]

Originally Posted by chriszzz DOF depends on aperture, focal length, and distance. So you'll just have to pick the biggest aperture (ie, smallest value), longest focal length, and smallest distance that you can. Unfortunately, the A1's actual focal length is arond 7-50mm, which isn't really very much, and this is the root of the problem. When you shoot someone at around 80mm on the A1, it's actually only at 20mm or so. At such small focal lengths, your DOF will not be very shallow, and hence your background will be sharp. There's not much you can do about it, except learn to use Photoshop to blur the background, or switch to a DSLR, which will be able to give you shallow DOF with the correct lens.

Will a teleconvertor actually help? Since u now put more distance between the background and the CCD? Does it help accentuate the distance between the subject and background so that u get that defocused look?

[tmc17479]

Thanks for all the help guys. I got the hang of it now.

New Gripe:

ISO 800 is H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E!! So much noise....eeeks....this is going to prompt me to get a dslr soon.

[TME]

Originally Posted by tmc17479 Thanks for all the help guys. I got the hang of it now. New Gripe: ISO 800 is H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E!! So much noise....eeeks....this is going to prompt me to get a dslr soon.

It may not be actually better depending on the CCD/CMOS sensor used. Noise high ISO is still a problem for digital cameras at the moment.

[tmc17479]

New Gripe: Recently my A1 started to have errors when I tried to take pictures in low light. Errors as in rebooting the whole camera and showing Error on the top display. Sometimes this happens when is it saving a picture to the memory card. Can anyone shed some light on this? or do I have to take it for servicing?