Pentax Optio W60

[lolandra]

Harlo, this thread is for users with the above model.

I bought my first digital camera during the recent Comex Fair and was trying out the camera recently. The photos that I had taken were not sharp. Anyone has any idea what is wrong?

I was using the Auto mode. When I tried to take photos in dark places, the photos didn't come out sharp and appeared to be rather dark even with flash on. Even when I switched to Night Mode, the effect were not much better. Then I tried the Digital SR and tho the photos were brighter but it appeared to be a bit blur (perhaps my hands shake a little).

Really appreciate tips and tricks on the use of the camera so that I can take better photos with it during my Europe trip this December.

 

[liveevil]

Harlo, this thread is for users with the above model.

I bought my first digital camera during the recent Comex Fair and was trying out the camera recently. The photos that I had taken were not sharp. Anyone has any idea what is wrong?

I was using the Auto mode. When I tried to take photos in dark places, the photos didn't come out sharp and appeared to be rather dark even with flash on. Even when I switched to Night Mode, the effect were not much better. Then I tried the Digital SR and tho the photos were brighter but it appeared to be a bit blur (perhaps my hands shake a little).

Really appreciate tips and tricks on the use of the camera so that I can take better photos with it during my Europe trip this December.

Chances are the shutter speed is far too slow in <Night Mode> to shoot hand held. For night shots or dark places, either you increase the ISO (not sure if you can adjust aperture) or use a tripod.

you mentioned that photos are dark even with flash on. i suspect you are shooting scenary with flash? if that is so its not going to work. you can either use a tripod or rest the camera on table/against wall/railing.

 

[seefei]

can post some pic for reference?

 

[lolandra]

hi, im very new to the forum so don't know how to post the photos that I had taken in here. can help me? i tried to post them in the member's gallery but the file size of just one photo has already exceeded the max limit of 200kb per file.

really appreciate help here. i dont want to regret on my purchase of this camera. :cry:

 

[istDeS]

hi, im very new to the forum so don't know how to post the photos that I had taken in here. can help me? i tried to post them in the member's gallery but the file size of just one photo has already exceeded the max limit of 200kb per file.

really appreciate help here. i dont want to regret on my purchase of this camera. :cry:

You might want to resize the photo and lower the resolution to keep the file size small for uploading to the gallery.

here's a thread which might be useful to you.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94574

 

[lolandra]

Hi, here are the links to some of the photos taken. Pls comment and give solutions where possible. Thank you all very much.

 

[Gengh]

Seems like the main problem here is the high ISO. Depending on your tolerance for noisy pictures, it would be advisable to keep ISO below a certain threshold value (like 200 for example) when using most compact cameras like the W60.

You would probably see an improvement in the first pic, and even more so in the 2nd pic, by using a lower ISO. The 3rd pic... well, it looks like the place is too dark to take a good picture in anyway.

Did you at least managed to get some nice sharp pictures on a sunny day?

 

[lolandra]

oic... im new to using digital camera and so i thot the higher the ISO the better. anyway, i used the auto mode and so the ISO was set to auto800. will try taking photo with lower ISO on clear day.

how abt taking photos indoor? let say in a well-lighted classroom. i read the manual and it said use the Digital SR (blur reduction) for indoor pictures or low-lighted places. the auto mode or program mode with low ISO shld be gd enuff rite?

how about taking photos in dark places? like in the tunnel?

 

[ishou80]

For my Canon P&S camera...the max ISO I used is 400 and that is already very seldom.

If you really wanna capture good and steady photos in dark places and if it permits..I think set it up on a tripod and maybe let the shutter open for a couple of secs?

 

[Gengh]

Not familiar with the modes and functions of the W60, but you can probably get decent photos indoors with moderate ISO and good shooting techniques (eg. don't snap the shutter button, don't hold the camera too far away from your body, etc).

For dark places, only a tripod or other forms of support will save you...

 

[lolandra]

If having high ISO gives "noisy" or grainy quality photos, then why have high ISO then? the other camera that I was eyeing on initially from Fujifilm has ISO of up to 12800. in what kind of setting / situation do we use such high ISO?

I hv to apologise again that im really terrible at taking photos with digital camera. really nd some crash course on how to operate my camera. =(

 

[blueblack]

If having high ISO gives "noisy" or grainy quality photos, then why have high ISO then? the other camera that I was eyeing on initially from Fujifilm has ISO of up to 12800. in what kind of setting / situation do we use such high ISO?
=(

W60 is a camera catered for the outdoor and watersport community. If your picture is taken at the beach, shallow underwater, it will be still working n picture still be good.
Indoor lights will never be enough for W60, Olympus SW series is having the same problem ... in my opinion Olympus 1030 is no better than W60

Think of it this way... if the camera is design with a waterproof casing, there will be thicker than usual medium or len to house the electronics inside n this will eventually reduce the amount of light going into the sensor thus your picture were always turn out darker. And ISO in digital camera are mainly electronic driven&#8230; thus boosting the the number to 12800 is also not a problem&#8230; so in reality those iso numbers in the upper bandwidth is for show only totally useless, just use those at the lower segment

 

[lolandra]

After hving read some of the suggestions above, I had set my ISO lower (auto 50-400) with auto flash when taking the indoor photos (eg below). It seems less "noisy" (unless my eyes are playing tricks on me). Comments?





Btw, to solve the red-eye problem so means I have to set the flash mode to auto + red-eye rite? think i forgot to set that yesterday. =(

 

[otc]

Is this pocket camera? Point and shoot. Looks like when you pressed the shutter, camera/hand shake therefore you have blurred images. For moving subjects, you may want to increase shutter speed to freeze it, if the optio has this features.

The night shots, the shutter seems to have open for some split seconds, hence blurred images. The flash lights is insufficient to capture the stage from the distance.

Try placing on small tripod and capture another image instead of handheld. You will have sharp image.

Still if you want better pics with all the full features to manipulate the camera, come in to the world of DSLR... Pentax K....D

otc

 

[lolandra]

ya, this is a pocket camera. i bought this coz i will be going to europe this december so need a digital camera to take photos (i hardly travel and so usually i just use the camera on my mobile phone to take pictures).

i dont think optio has the feature to increase shutter speed (unless im mistaken) =(

gosh... a few of you seem to be suggesting the use of tripod. but wont it be a bit clumpsy to be handling the tripod when i nd to take quick shots? as u know, traveling in tour group, time is precious.

ah... DSLR huh? let me just try to familiarize with my handheld camera first. =p but hey, i always welcome feedback and suggestions on how to improve my photo taking skills (i know im terrible).

 

[Gengh]

In terms of lighting and exposure, these 2 pictures are clearly better than those before. But it seems that you didn't manage to limit the ISO range on the W60. The first pic is at ISO 320, but the second is at ISO 800, according to their exif data. Nonetheless, a correctly exposed picture will always seem less noisy than underexposed ones (like those earlier ones), which is probably what you're noticing here.

To answer your earlier question, high ISO is very useful in photography, enabling you to use a faster shutter speed and allowing the effects of the flash to extend further. This is usually very important to someone covering events or shooting macros. The trade-off when using high ISO is the amount of noise you get in your pictures. Compact cameras, by nature of their smaller sensors, always produces noisier pictures than DSLRs at the same ISO. Fujifilm compacts have a special sensor, the Super CCD, which allows them to produce very good high ISO pictures, though you still wouldn't want to go anywhere near ISO 12800

 

[lolandra]

wow, gengh, thanks for explaining. so i guess i hv to set the limit of the ISO of not more than 400 or 500?

how about taking outdoor pictures? for instance taking scenery photos in Europe during the day? shld i also limit the ISO to that 400 or 500? how about the flash? setting it to auto shld do the job right?

how about night time? same ISO range? i know the next qn probably sound stupid, do i use flash when taking outdoor night time photos?

perhaps someone can tell me what is the rule of thumb or some guideline as to set the ISO and flash for various settings? maybe some standard settings such as the following...

1. inside a well-lighted office with white florescent light.
2. inside a restaurant with soft yellow light.
3. taking scenery photos out in the open on...
a. a sunny day
b. a clear day
c. a cloudy day
d. a rainy day
e. a clear night with moon
i. on a well-lighted street or surrounding
ii. on a low-lighted street or surrounding
d. a cloudy night without moon
i. on a well-lighted street or surrounding
ii. on a low-lighted street or surrounding

i really hv to apologise again for being such a problematic member around. =(

 

[lolandra]

Oops... guess im really too troublesome huh?

 

[art2d2]

lolandra, I think mainly most of us have not use this camera before so we are not confident in giving you any good advices on how it works. Anyway here are my 2cents worth of tips on compacts as I've been using a Lumix compact for the past 3 years.

For daylight outdoor shots, you can set to lower iso, 100-200 should be ok. Most of the time, I'm lazy so I just go auto-ISO. You do not need to use flash in daylight unless you are shooting people with a strong back light (where the sun is behind the subject). This is to illuminate the subject's face so it gives a much more balance photo.

For daylight indoor shots, depending on how well lit the room or space is, iso100-400 should be ok, flash is optional. So you need to try shots with and without flash.

For indoor night shots, go higher iso from 200 to 400. But try not to go too high as you will see more digital noise on the photo as you go higher. Flash is normally set to on, use red-eye reduction if you are shooting people.

For outdoor night shots, best to use tripod. Flash is optional. If you are shooting people with a beautiful lighted scenery, set to night mode with flash, use a tripod, normally in night mode the camera will take a longer exposure, so its best not to move until the photo is taken. If you are just taking a night scene, then you do not need to on the flash.

There are thousands of other scenarios for taking photos, but I always suggest to do some trial and error. Or if you free you can join us in our monthly outings, I'm sure a lot of us here will be willing to share a few tips.

 

[Gengh]

Hmm... yah, to know how to take pictures in different settings and situations, it's best to learn from your own experimentation. Too many possible scenarios to just go through one by one. Once you understand the basics of how exposure (shutter speed, aperture, ISO) works, you'll be able to adapt to the different situations presented to you. Sometimes you're still limited by what the camera can do, but at least you'll know where the problem really lies.

It may not be a bad idea to look for some books on basic photography from the National Library, they would give you the necessary information in a more organised way than many websites usually would. Follow up your reading with a face-to-face tutorial with some of the helpful Pentaxians here and I'm sure you'll be good to go.