So what did I do wrong in this shot and am I clear on my filters?

[makinorlando]

Critiquing and guidance accepted.

Mickey's face is crisp and clear but DDs face and Mickey's shirt are not.....

Also tell me what you know about lens filters with my camera and a lens hood I guess it's called - it screws onto the camera base, and the lens moves in and out with in that....

I got a UV filter, that I believe the gentleman who helped me when I ordered the camera told me I should use all the time. He told me that the way the S2 IS is built that it is important to protect the lens since it is not easily replaceable (or not at all if it become damaged).

I also have a grayish one that say PL and another that says FPL.
Was I right to use the PL filter outside today - it was VERY sunny. I think the FPL is to be use indoors where there are flourescent lights.

The box that these came in have descriptions for each lens, but it was not written for the layman!!!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Let me guess, Mickey is protruding his head about 10" closer to the lens than DD. Because the pic is taken indoor / low light situation, the camera automatically choose the largest aperture in order to jack up the shutter speed. Doing so (larger aperture) lessen the depth of field, so less items beyond the point of focus will be in-focus. Confused yet?

about the correlation between shutter-speed, aperture, and ISO
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/p_2_005.html

about aperture by itself
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/p_2_006.html

about the effect of lower vs higher aperture against depth-of-field
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/p_2_007.html

As far as filter goes, I don't think you need FL (flourescent) filter for indoors, your camera auto white balance is good enough for you to forego the filter. Use UV filter as a lens guard. PL filter (polarizer) you can use when it's really bright outside, but I tend to not use it because it's taking too long to set the PL angle properly, especially on a point and shoot camera (please note that some manufacturers do NOT recommend PL filter for all of their cameras except SLR/dSLR)

Hope it helps.

 

[makinorlando]

Let me guess, Mickey is protruding his head about 10" closer to the lens than DD. Because the pic is taken indoor / low light situation, the camera automatically choose the largest aperture in order to jack up the shutter speed. Doing so (larger aperture) lessen the depth of field, so less items beyond the point of focus will be in-focus. Confused yet?

about the correlation between shutter-speed, aperture, and ISO
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/p_2_005.html

about aperture by itself
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/p_2_006.html

about the effect of lower vs higher aperture against depth-of-field
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/p_2_007.html

As far as filter goes, I don't think you need FL (flourescent) filter for indoors, your camera auto white balance is good enough for you to forego the filter. Use UV filter as a lens guard. PL filter (polarizer) you can use when it's really bright outside, but I tend to not use it because it's taking too long to set the PL angle properly, especially on a point and shoot camera (please note that some manufacturers do NOT recommend PL filter for all of their cameras except SLR/dSLR)

Hope it helps.

Thanks Kelly - believe it or not that is what I thought...
So with the filters, the best thing to do is just leave the UV filter on and not worry about the others. I did have the PL one on for all the outside shots today (just the UV inside) so next time I will not use it.

We have another shot at Mickey at the character Bfast at Cape May Cafe on Saturday! You just don't have too much time to think when taking the character photos, so that makes it tough!!!

Thanks. I will read up and try not to ask too many questions!!! This website looks great - I think I might be able to "get it". My brain is too tired tonight!

 

[LordAthens]

Can you post the full image? I'd like to take a look at the EXIF data.

 

[makinorlando]

Can you post the full image? I'd like to take a look at the EXIF data.

On this one I can not. I always try and save the original when I "play", but today, I sadly did not on this one!

I'll ask for your comments on what happened to this one??? I have no idea what I did. We had just gotten to the park, it was the first photo of the morning - warm car to cold (well by FL standards air?) I'm grabbing at straws here!


.....in my opinion (and the pics are for me!!!) I don't think it ruined it.

 

[ndelaware]

Well, if I took this picture with my DSLR I would consider your picture as having too low of f/stop which resulted in a too narrow depth of field. Depth of field is the distance in front of and behind the subject which appears to be in focus. The lower the F/stop the more light the lens lets in, but the field of focus becomes shorter. With a larger f/stop, more things in your frame will be in focus but the picture may be darker without enough light. So your camera may have chosen it's lowest f/stop since it looks like the area you took the picture in looked fairly dark, which would cause Mickey's nose to be in focus and not Tara's face.

A UV filter is a great way to protect your lens as long as it is a of a good quality. If it is not it will just lower the quality of your pictures. Sort of like taking a picture through dirty window. The PL filter is apparently a polarizing filter. It works the same as sunglasses to remove the glare when taking pictures in bright sun. I have never used an FPL filter, but if it's for use in flourescent lighting it probably adds some warmth back to the image. Try it and see if you like the results.

 

[ndelaware]

On this one I can not. I always try and save the original when I "play", but today, I sadly did not on this one!

I'll ask for your comments on what happened to this one??? I have no idea what I did. We had just gotten to the park, it was the first photo of the morning - warm car to cold (well by FL standards air?) I'm grabbing at straws here!


.....in my opinion (and the pics are for me!!!) I don't think it ruined it.

It looks like lens flare. The sun's rays appear to be shining on the front of the lens.

ps: After all my hard work answering the first question I see it was already answered. LOL!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

MAK, the one with that pilot duck (forgot his name) is lens flare. Basically the light (in this case, sun) falls at a certain angle on your lens and creates that flare. If you're using UV filter at the time, it may be the UV filter is not multicoated (thus creating the flare) or you're just unlucky with the angle.

 

[ndelaware]

Dark Wing Duck ??

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Nope, not him. Darkwing wears a purple(?) cape. This is the pilot guy from Duck Tales.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have always used UV filter on my cameras, mostly for lens protection. But Canon really made a bad design (the main one I can find) on the S2 IS in not having a threaded barrel. You need to use that lens hood, then screw the filter on to the hood. When you turn the camera off, you have to take it off. I did not get a UV filter for mine, very aggravating design. I have used polarizing filters, mostly for glare on water, ice, sky.

 

[makinorlando]

Dark Wing Duck ??

Launchpad MacQuack.... I had seen him at AK before, (ahh - Duck Tales -DD used to watch that when she was three - she didn't even remember who he was....)so I made sure we got him - even if it meant we might be late for breakfast LOL -we made it with 4 min to spare...

 

[makinorlando]

I have always used UV filter on my cameras, mostly for lens protection. But Canon really made a bad design (the main one I can find) on the S2 IS in not having a threaded barrel. You need to use that lens hood, then screw the filter on to the hood. When you turn the camera off, you have to take it off. I did not get a UV filter for mine, very aggravating design. I have used polarizing filters, mostly for glare on water, ice, sky.

I have the lens hood on, and leave it on when I turn the camera off. Am I doing something wrong? It is not the Canon lens hood, it's "Digital" brand - Adaptor Tube for Canon S2.

I purchased the camera on line from Broadway (well I called them) and the salesperson really spent a lot of time with me explaining things - but there was so much to explain and remember!

I need to purchase a tripod for this weekend. I got a desktop tripod with the camera - the only misleading thing about their website ad (I thought I was getting a tripod... not a little bitty tripod!)

 

[makinorlando]

It looks like lens flare. The sun's rays appear to be shining on the front of the lens.

ps: After all my hard work answering the first question I see it was already answered. LOL!

The more I hear the stuff and read it the quicker it will sink in.

I hope you all don't ban me from the board for asking too many questions. I might became dangerous now, before I accepted photos that now I can see were not as good as they could be!!!

 

[LordAthens]

What make of filters are you using? As Kelly mentioned, that's lens flare and VERY bad at that. That's typically a sign of very cheap, low quality filters.

I would recommend taking a day and trying various shots, specifically ones that would really try to induce flare. Take a few shots with your filter on and then a few with the filter off.

It's true that you should keep a UV filter on all the time, but if it's a garbage filter, take it off. If you end up needing new filters, I highly recommend 2filter.com . I've purchased almost all of my filters from them. If you're going to own 1 filter, get a UV and spend some money on it. You didn't spend all of that money on your Canon to put garbage in front of it. I personally recommend and use Hoya Super HMC Pro 1's, but they aren't cheap. A good inexpensive alternative would be Super HMC's. Those are 6 pass multicoats on both sides of the glass.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have the lens hood on, and leave it on when I turn the camera off. Am I doing something wrong? It is not the Canon lens hood, it's "Digital" brand - Adaptor Tube for Canon S2......

I guess it is possible to leave it on, but for me, I always put the camera in my hip bag or most often my pocket (one of the reasons no DSLR for me, size) and with the tube on, will not fit.

 

[ndelaware]

Nope, not him. Darkwing wears a purple(?) cape. This is the pilot guy from Duck Tales.

LOL, I figured I was wrong.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

MAK, the tube you're using is fine. It' just a piece of plastic and it's not going to affect anything. I do worry, as LordAthens mentioned, the quality of the UV filter. OTOH, without looking the rest of your pic, I can't blame the UV filter yet, maybe it's just one really bad angle.

I personally use Sigma EX multicoated filter (I don't think it's available for the S2IS size) and a B+W multicoated filter, they are not as high-end as the Hoya Pro HMC but much better than lesser-known brand filters. However, even with the B+W (the higher end one than Sigma EX) I still get three shots that look similar to your shot during my past trip (total 600 shots, 3 of them with flare).

The moral of the story is just to play around and see whether it's an very-rare occurence. If this happens a lot, eBay your filter and get a better one (don't have to spend crazy money, just get a lower end Sunpak or Hoya you'll be fine... I wouldn't recommend a $100 filter for a $400 camera).

 

[CleveRocks]

Let me guess, Mickey is protruding his head about 10" closer to the lens than DD. Because the pic is taken indoor / low light situation, the camera automatically choose the largest aperture in order to jack up the shutter speed. Doing so (larger aperture) lessen the depth of field, so less items beyond the point of focus will be in-focus. Confused yet?

From what I've read from this and her other posts, I feel quite intimidated offering any advice after Kelly has done so -- I'm sure she's forgotten more about photography than I'll ever know!

Anyway, my first thought was also the narrow depth of field issue, but here's another thought. Maybe the entore photo is a little out of focus. Mickey's head features are very large, so even if the head features are SLIGHTLY out of focus it might be difficult to discern that. By contrast, Mickey's shirt, the girl's face and shirt, etc., are comprised of much finer detail that would be susceptible to less-than-perfect focus. Just a thought from here in the cheap seats.

And by the way, I always have my UV filter on my standard lens -- I've never taken a shot without it. That being said, I've never even looked into getting a UV filter for my zoom lens. I also have a polarizing filter, but I've used it only rarely, mostly for snowy landscapes or beach landscapes on very sunny days.

 

[Geoff_M]

In regard to the first photo, I agree that it's a DOF issue... however, I agree that Mickey's head also looks pretty soft.

As for the lens flare photo, due to the extreme nature of the flare it appears that the sun was at "2 o'clock" position to the suject (or even closer). If this is the case, even the best brand of filter is going to produce some flare. The best thing is to make sure that the sun is not directly striking the front element (or filter) of your lens... changing positions is the easiest way to do this. Next, if your camera's lens shade won't do it, you can try and extend your hand out (out of the frame) to try and block the sun from hitting your lens.