So, I decided to get some pictures. Had to break out the tripod (I need to get a new one) to get these pics. They're okay, but I really need to learn how to use my camera's settings to get sharper pictures. I have a Canon SX10IS. I used the default night portrait mode to get these. Does anyone have a website that gives a simple explanation of what the settings on a camera actually do, and what effect you'll get if you adjust them?





My biggest issue is that they're just not as crisp and sharp as I'd like them to be. Granted, that's an 80X zoom, but I know I should be able to get better pictures, and it frustrates me that I can't.

 

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It's the camera that is letting you down, compacts can be great but you'll never get the same quality of pic that you do from a DSLR with a good lens. I have a Canon powershot compact and I love it for just carrying around and taking snaps, but if I want to take a GOOD photo I take out my Canon 400D.

The powershots have a huge advantage over most compact cameras in that you can shoot in fully manual mode, so you can adjust your own Depth of Field, shutter speed, iso etc etc, but the quality of the photos will always be a bit of a let down.

I'm no expert on taking good night shots, so I'll let one of the others here tell you about what settings would be best for this kind of photo

For regular shooting, most people suggest shooting in "AV" mode. This allows you to control the depth of field (aperture size) yourself whilst automating the shutterspeed. DoF is the hardest part of photography to get your head around:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

It not only affects how the photo looks but also how much light gets into the camera.

Low DoF (f5 in the image link) = wide aperture = more light = shallow DoF (blurred out background)
High DoF (f32 in the image link) = narrow aperture = less light = wide DoF (background more in focus)

Once you have that, the rest of the technical stuff is pretty easy.

 

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