I think I need some help with settings

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Texatdurango

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I recently purchased a Canon Power Shot XS30 IS and the more I use it the more frustrated I become with it.

Now I realize it's no where close to a really nice camera but is also is far from being one of the cheapest and I would expect it would take some nicer photos in the "automatic" mode.

I made a light tent using flourescent "bright white" or "bright effects" bulbs and the tent is brilliantly bright inside but when I take some shots without flash I get a muddled blue tint.

I am guessing this might have to do with some settings but I can't find anything.

I just posted some shots in my photo album, one is here.... http://www.penturners.org/photos/index.php?n=19272

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks
 
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George:
This looks like a white balance issue.
More information please. What is the Kelvin or K temperature of the lights that you are using? What balance setting is the camera using?
I had a similar issue not long ago. Even though I was using daylight balanced bulbs, I had to change the camera setting to florescent to get acceptable result.
 
If I remember correctly "brilliant white" bulbs are about 3400 degrees K, which would definitely require take the camera off automatic and setting the light source setting to florescent ( the one that looks like a caterpillar).
 
look on page 73 of your camera manuel it tells you how to change your white balance to match the light source.
 

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George, do you have an White Balance setting? On some Canons there is a auto white balance setting. Thats the first thing I would look at. The lights your using "Bright Effects are what I use, If you don't have a W/B auto setting you will have a W/B setting using a grey card to set your W/B. your local photo shop will have one for around $10 or you can use a grey paper.
 
George,

I'm sure the guys above have it. I am no expert, but am playing with Adobe Lightroom. Here's the result of 2 minutes of playing.

Tom
 

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Is this more like what you're after?
1_conv-open_after.jpg

If so, the first thing you need is more light. The photo is underexposed and lacks dynamic range (which is a common problem with using a light tent). Next, you'll need to find out how to set your camera's white balance.

Regards,
Eric
 
Hey Eric,
Would you be interested in giving a photo demo at the next meeting?
The one you posted looks nicer than anything I've got so far with my Canon T1i.
 
+ 1 (or whatever the number is up to now) on using a gray card and setting a Custom White Balance.

I don't know if it's neccessary but I always set all my controls first ... Macro, flash on or off, timer,etc, THEN perform the Custom White Balance operation by filling the viewfinder with the gray card under the existing lighting and pressing the button to save the setting.
 
Go to your favorite and find bulbs that tell the Kelvin temp. Several compact flouresent bulbs now give that info either on the bulb base or on the card inside the package. Just saying it is daylight does not mean it is the same Kelvin temp as daylight...which varies by the time of day and overcast conditions.

Or, as suggested, investigate the white balance settings of your camera. And, as Eric noted, lots of light is needed for light tents. I like to use the manual settings instead of the auto setting.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
First....... THANKS for all the helpful replies you guys are great! Once I knew what to look for "White Balance", I went back through the manual.

I had stopped on page 73 where I set the macro function but had I gone just four pages more I would have found the answer, on page 77 it discusses setting white balance and I started playing with "flourescent" and "flourescent H". I took another few shots and they are decidely better! http://www.penturners.org/photos/index.php?n=19275

I think now might be a good time to add the other side lamps to the light tent to see if the shadows go away.

I have an old program, Paint Shop Pro, perhaps it will allow me to make minor adjustments as well.

And I thought I had nothing to do this weekend! :)
 
:rolleyes:Andy, If I said whats on my mind this whole thread would be deleted:biggrin::wink:Three monkey's and a jackass would agree on anything before ....THEM!
PenMan1 said:
Roy:
At least we all agree on what the problem is.

Maybe we should invite Congress to the IAP.
Click to expand...
 
glycerine said:
George, all I have to say is NICE PEN!!! Looks like you've got the lighting figured out, so have a compliment instead...
Click to expand...

Of course it's a nice pen...... I made it! :biggrin:

Seriously, thanks for the compliment, that's one of my daily users I made a few months ago, these photos are more about the section and how it's drilled and threaded to allow several different nibs to be used. I was hoping to learn the macro shooting well enough since several folks have asked for some in-depth explaination on how the insides of the sections are done and I am a firm believer that a picture is worth a thousand words!

I bought this camera with the hopes of taking some very tight shots of things like the insides of a feed housing or section but I don't think I'll get there with this camera because in the macro mode I can't zoom in else everything goes out of focus.

Hey, since I'm in the photography forum that might warrant a question.....

Question...... I can select "Macro" which will let me get so close to an item that the lens is almost touching BUT I can't zoom in or everything gets fuzzy. I'm wondering with this camera if there is a way to manually focus on an object that's as close as the lens and still zoom in while in Macro mode?
 
Texatdurango said:
Hey, since I'm in the photography forum that might warrant a question.....

Question...... I can select "Macro" which will let me get so close to an item that the lens is almost touching BUT I can't zoom in or everything gets fuzzy. I'm wondering with this camera if there is a way to manually focus on an object that's as close as the lens and still zoom in while in Macro mode?
Click to expand...

George, I can answer this one for Canon cameras (FYI - I went to look at the specs, I'm assuming you have a sx30is, not xs30? - therefore I the exact numbers may be off).

The macro mode on Canon (and most other cameras that I've seen) is designed to specially focus on close up objects (0 to 1.6ft in the case of the sx30is). That focusing is designed for when the lens is at its most wide. (This was stated, but not clear on page 73). The idea is that zooming will mess with that and since the camera can get as close as touching, the answer is to physically move the camera closer rather than zooming.

If you can't get the camera close enough in macro mode and need to zoom, you are better off getting out of macro mode. However, then if the camera is too close, it can't focus and you may have to back out and focus.

You can try manual focus (see page 89) if you want to try that.

Here is the focus chart for your camera:
Focusing Range
Auto: 0 in./0 cm - infinity (W), 4.6 ft./1.4 m - infinity (T);
Normal: 2.0 in./ 5 cm - infinity (W), 4.6 ft./1.4 m - infinity (T);
Macro: 0 in. - 1.6 ft./ 0 - 50 cm (W)
Manual Focus: 0 in./0 cm - infinity (W), 4.6 ft./1.4 m - infinity (T)


You will see that the focus range for macro is 0 to 1.6 ft but only in wide mode.
For the auto focus the minimum distance for focusing is 0 in, but grows to 4.6 feet as you zoom all the way in.

Hope that helps.

Dean
 
George,

That's a lot better. The exposure is good and so is the white balance. It's still a bit shy in dynamic range and quite soft. I suspect your editing program isn't doing a good job in resizing the photo. It also stripped off the EXIF data so I can't see what your camera settings were and produced an unnecessarily large file. A quick photoshop tweak gave me this:
1_conv-pen_after.jpg

Some other suggestions are:
  • Move back a little. There's quite a bit of foreshortening in your photos. If you shoot from farther away and use the zoom to fill the frame, you'll get less distortion. Be sure not to engage any "digital zoom", however. That's just the camera resampling the image internally - something you can do better in post-processing. Use the optical zoom only.
  • Shoot from a tripod (which I presume you're doing already) and turn image stabilization OFF. IS can actually "hunt" for vibration and introduce blur when tripod mounted. Use a time-delay or remote activated shutter release.
  • Try a lower (more from the front than from above) camera angle. Don't be afraid to experiment! Move your lights around to control the shadows. The only cost is time.
I hope that helps,
Eric
 
To add to what Dean said about the macro mode, if you still can't get it to work well: Since you've got a 14 mp camera, I'd offer this alternative. If you have good lighting, then just take a "normal" pic at a "normal" distance and zoom in after the fact. You should still get plenty of detail on your threads, etc. It may help to use photoshop type software to sharpen the image a bit.
 
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