THinking of getting a new DC again.

[Shadus]

Originally posted by AstralPrue
kamwai, saw your pic, nice. it's sharp enuff liao what, dun worry. if you switch the hologram thingy on , what will happen? it will land on those two guys and focus on them?

i think if i take a full body shot it wun happen also. i have never tried.

Not really. Focus on the clothes, lock focus. And shift to compose then shoot. That's the usual way I shoot whenever I use a point & shoot camera.

 

[Wai]

Originally posted by Shadus


Not really. Focus on the clothes, lock focus. And shift to compose then shoot. That's the usual way I shoot whenever I use a point & shoot camera.

btw, i was lazy when i took that shot...so actually i was aiming at the poster at the back....but some how, the camera able to get the focus right...

then in another ocassion, i was shooting a family photo (half-body)....and i was aiming at the wall abt 3m behind us...the image still very sharp.

 

[Shadus]

Originally posted by kamwai



btw, i was lazy when i took that shot...so actually i was aiming at the poster at the back....but some how, the camera able to get the focus right...

then in another ocassion, i was shooting a family photo (half-body)....and i was aiming at the wall abt 3m behind us...the image still very sharp.

That do sound exactly like the 'problem' with G1 that Astral seems to be experiencing. Except for yours, the DC tend to focus on foreground object whereby for G1, it tends to focus on background object.

I know for the 2 eg. u gave above, the focus is 'right' where u want them to be.

 

[AstralPrue]

Originally posted by Shadus


Not really. Focus on the clothes, lock focus. And shift to compose then shoot. That's the usual way I shoot whenever I use a point & shoot camera.

hi Shadus, thanks for replying. As I've said before, sometimes, due to the subject I am shooting, I dun usually have time to recompose my pic lor. so sian abt that. :dunno:

hey, you think if i shift my cam to the 'portrait' position instead of the normal 'landscape' position it will be better focused? hmmm...

 

[mpenza]

recompose usually quite fast mah. lock focus on the clothes and move up.

alternatively, you could use a smaller aperture. that would ensure more of the pic is in focus.

 

[Wai]

Originally posted by mpenza
recompose usually quite fast mah. lock focus on the clothes and move up.

alternatively, you could use a smaller aperture. that would ensure more of the pic is in focus.

hmm...small aperture = bigger DOF rite?

i used F2.0, which is the biggest for F707....but the pic stilll very sharp as a whole...are there any other factors which affect DOF??

 

[AstralPrue]

Originally posted by mpenza
recompose usually quite fast mah. lock focus on the clothes and move up.

alternatively, you could use a smaller aperture. that would ensure more of the pic is in focus.

erm, usually when i see her i get nevous and forget everything about photo-taking techniques. hahahaha! :bsmilie:

usually i use Program mode to take my photos. Either that or Auto.

 

[Shadus]

Originally posted by AstralPrue


hey, you think if i shift my cam to the 'portrait' position instead of the normal 'landscape' position it will be better focused? hmmm...

err.... do you mean to tell that you hv the mode in 'landscape mode' for taking those pics?

If I understand Canon cameras (and most others), the landscape mode will kinda try to focus on infinity. Then its no wonder that you can't focus on huiyu.

Yes, for portrait shots, put it in portrait position.

I ususally use the 'P' mode instead of these 2 modes you mention.

 

[Shadus]

Originally posted by kamwai


hmm...small aperture = bigger DOF rite?

i used F2.0, which is the biggest for F707....but the pic stilll very sharp as a whole...are there any other factors which affect DOF??

For consumer DC, you can't really get a shallow DOF.
The other factor that affect DOF is lens focal length. The shorter it is, the deeper the DOF. for eg. i believe your lens is 7mm-38mm. Hence, you won't get those shallow DOF you see from people using SLR.

(ie. Longer focal length = more shallow DOF (blur background))

 

[AstralPrue]

Originally posted by Shadus


err.... do you mean to tell that you hv the mode in 'landscape mode' for taking those pics?

If I understand Canon cameras (and most others), the landscape mode will kinda try to focus on infinity. Then its no wonder that you can't focus on huiyu.

Yes, for portrait shots, put it in portrait position.

I ususally use the 'P' mode instead of these 2 modes you mention.

er, no no, i meant position. you know, like when you print stuff on paper, you choose the landscape or portrait position. the position of the camera. vertical or horizontal.

Yeah, i use P mode when i am photo-taking. more flexible than Automatic. can choose my own white balance.

 

[Shadus]

oh kamwai, think i better put in all the factors

1. focal length (longer = more shallow DOF)
2. aperture (as you known, bigger = more shallow DOF)
3. distance to subject (shorter = more shallow DOF)

 

[Wai]

Originally posted by Shadus
oh kamwai, think i better put in all the factors

1. focal length (longer = more shallow DOF)
2. aperture (as you known, bigger = more shallow DOF)
3. distance to subject (shorter = more shallow DOF)

have u seen by recent botanic garden pic? is the DOF consider shallow??

longer focal length means higher zoom for DC??

 

[Shadus]

Originally posted by kamwai


have u seen by recent botanic garden pic? is the DOF consider shallow??

longer focal length means higher zoom for DC??

Apologies, but which botanic garden pic?

Hmmm..... i dun think its exactly the same thing as longer zoom.
Maybe we need to refer this to the real technical experts

but for eg. your 707 longest focal length is only 38mm. Those nice blur out of focus background pics u see are usually taken with length like 200mm f2.8

 

[mpenza]

Originally posted by kamwai


have u seen by recent botanic garden pic? is the DOF consider shallow??

longer focal length means higher zoom for DC??

you are using macro mode of close-up lens for those shots right? macro mode or close-up lens will usually result in shallow DOF.

 

[AstralPrue]

Conclusion :

I should not get a new DC cos it's a waste of precious money?

 

[mpenza]

Of course lah. Learn to get round limitations.

 

[Flare]

Ok... What I think you need is a DC that does not take the whole frame into consideration when focusing.... Many new DC take small portion of the frame to calculate, so I guess these camera works better in situations like yours.

 

[Wai]

have u tried complaining to Canon? may be they have a firmware to fix this problem already?

 

[ckiang]

Originally posted by AstralPrue


hmmm let's say the subject is in the middle of the pic, like that still cannot focus if i choose the middle focus area ah? then what's the selectable focus area for? ugh!:dunno:

distance estimation totally cannot make it one. i tried it before. it does not have a scale, and cannot quite tell whether the subject is in focus cos the lcd dun have magnifying capabilities. filling the frame with the subject seem the most plausible.

Any other way about it? got simi camera that can overcome my problem a not? thanks!

Correct. The selectable focussing points will only work if there is something to focus on. So if you set the focus point to a low contrast area, it is not going to focus.

I am not sure if the G2 will turn on the focus assist beam of a Canon speedlight, if so, getting one of those will help (and get you a much better and flexible flash as well).

Regards
CK

 

[AstralPrue]

Originally posted by ckiang


Correct. The selectable focussing points will only work if there is something to focus on. So if you set the focus point to a low contrast area, it is not going to focus.

I am not sure if the G2 will turn on the focus assist beam of a Canon speedlight, if so, getting one of those will help (and get you a much better and flexible flash as well).

Regards
CK

kamwai : I will draft an email to bitch Canon tonight.

ok, i think i will just stick to this cam. my cousin actually wanted to buy my cam but i think i will tell him i dun wanna sell liao, unless there's a cam that will solve my problem.

Thanks so much for your help guys!