Importance of minimum aperture?

[PenAffair]

I've gone through the specs of the A580 and the G10 and the only significant differences are the size of the sensor, megapixels and of course pixel density. You can get new camera if you want, but don't expect your photos to be any better until you take control of the camera and stop letting the camera make all the decisions.

Thanks for that. What about the actual lens? They never seem to mention it in any of the reviews. Surely the lens quality matters as well, or do all compacts have basically the same glass anyway?

I was browsing around Flickr last night comparing A580 shots against G10 shots, and must admit, some of the A580 shots do look great, so I'm beginning to think that maybe I.m being hyper-critical, and yes, need to better my technique further. Mind you, the Flickr shots aren't 100% crops, so it's hard to tell the fine detail.

What also showed though was, the lack of control one has with the A580. There is a much broader range of shot styles with the G10, which may indicate popularity and owner control more than the camera, but the A580 shot were a little flatter, which I think reflects that you are stuck with very limited manual control. If only I'd spent another $50 for shutter/aperture priority on the A590. My fault for not doing research and believing the salesman.

So as much as I'd LIKE a G10, you may be right with the end results I'm going to get, not being the vast improvement I'm imagining. I'm going to have to go back to square one with teh A580 I think and see how I can improve there before worrying about a new camera. If you're still happy to help with that respect, I'll certainly start a series of experiments on the weekend and see where I'm going wrong.

Thanks again. Russell.

 

[alphageek]

Thanks for that. What about the actual lens? They never seem to mention it in any of the reviews. Surely the lens quality matters as well, or do all compacts have basically the same glass anyway?

To an extent yeah, it matters, but i don't think its the weak link.

What also showed though was, the lack of control one has with the A580. There is a much broader range of shot styles with the G10, which may indicate popularity and owner control more than the camera, but the A580 shot were a little flatter, which I think reflects that you are stuck with very limited manual control. If only I'd spent another $50 for shutter/aperture priority on the A590. My fault for not doing research and believing the salesman.

Ouch.. I've never had a canon without Av&Tv. You do have a M mode, but that may make it a bit harder overall, but still possible. The answer is still that you need to get out of the auto modes to improve.
For the most part, you'll have to pick your aperature, then play with the length of shot.

At least you have custom white balance and the M mode. You should be able to improve w/o spending more $ if you want. Save that money for one of those other toys you are asking about

But this will take a bit of f time to play with. Your a580 is definately on the weakest end of the canon line.

Dean

 

[PenAffair]

The answer is still that you need to get out of the auto modes to improve.
For the most part, you'll have to pick your aperature, then play with the length of shot.

Which bringws me back to my original problem with the A580. From memory of my former attempts at "fixing" the aperture, even in M mode, it was almost impossible to get a specific setting. When I get back home on Friday, I need to re-read the user manual though.

OK, so if we're going to do some experiments, in preparation, do I need to go buy a gray card to set the white balance? I'm using two 5500K bulbs with my light tent. Should not a standard daylight setting match this?

Anything else I might need to prep?

Russell.

 

[alphageek]

You are right that 5500K should be pretty standard, but a grey card is never a bad idea in general. I honestly can't find anything for sure that says balance to an 18% card for this camera so I have no idea if it will make a difference.

I'll play with my M mode too, just to see since most canons work the same way.

 

[alphageek]

Posted a new thread with my camera setup so you can see and ask questions Russell.

Good luck playing this weekend. Post or PM so we can see