New S90 problems

[thenewguy]

I've been lurking here for a while reading alot ( not all ) the posts about the s90.

I just received my anxiously awaited new S90. After reading a lot of the ravings here I thought this would be a great all around camera for me. My main Want list was good quality, quick point and shoot then move on, both pictures and video - above and below water. I didnt want to have to fiddle around with this setting or that one. I did know in advance by reading here that the "auto" mode on this camera was bad and just use "P" so I figured set "P" once and forget it...

Hmm I was wrong - Maybe its just I am using it wrong, but I HATE this camera so far. It is WAY too much work to use to capture quick memories. Maybe I just got Lucky with my last camera ( Olympus SP-350) but that always took great pictures in all sorts of conditions without any setting changes just hold the button 1/2 way down in auto - wait a sec, then click and it was good- this included Scenic views ( Grand Canyon), People, Night Shots - Very sharp and clear - great neon colors ( I love vegas at night- have some great pictures from the Eiffel tower and the Stratosphere no tripod used - the best night shots were in auto mode with flash on point and shoot), Macro/ Super Macro, and Underwater (this of course using underwater mode) wasnt too bad either - well underwater I take mostly 2-3feet away and lots of macro as I'm on the move. no stopping for setups, just see something, do a quick stop, click over to macro move in 2-6 inches away click switch back to the previous mode and go.

Thats pretty much what I expected from this camera, ease of use plus of course better quality being its a few years newer = better technology right?

Well.. I've been playing with it on and off for 2 days and it is AWLFUL. 1st I agree Auto doesnt work for squat- so I moved on to just P mode I set it to ISO-Auto, auto white balance ( this seems to be a joke), colors off, bracket off, flash 0, center weighted. - my 1st picture I took across the room apx 8feet - it looks like I took it through a glass of orange juice- not just yellow, but orange. I played with all sorts of things the only way to improve this to decent ( not great) quality was to set my "s" button to white balance and press that everytime before I change the subject of the picture. Thats definately not acceptable.

I have a problem with the auto focus - I really want autofocus, but it often doesnt want to autofocus especially closer than 2feet it just keep constantly refocusing and alot of the time the picture ends up out of focus.

And the same type of issue with Macro - hard to get to focus.

I'm stuck with this camera, its only returnable for exchange and I'm leaving for Vacation very soon and dont think it would be back in time IF there was a exchangable problem.

Soo I guess I have questions I'm hoping can be answered.
Do I have my settings wrong?
Is this how its suppose to operate?
Shouldnt auto white balance give you a decent shot every time vs 1 out of 10 ( especially indoors vs out).
What is the distance for autofocus? is 2 feet too close?
What is the range for Macro? is that suppose to be used at the 2feet range?

I will not have any experiment time for my underwater shots before vacation and would like to get a jump on what settings to use. I will be using a canon housing only, no strobes. My thought is either use the settings above and carry a white slate, when im at my anticipated depth, use my 's' button ( white balance) against the slate ( what distance should I hold it?) and hopefully all will be fairly good, or should I use the above settings and use underwater option from the white balance, or should I use the totally preset underwater setting -- And how about the flash, for less than 3 feet-ish ( including macro) should it be on/auto/off - Diffuser- no Diffuser

Once I get all the settings as they should be, am I correct that they can be set as (C)ustom (vs using P ) so they will always be the same and I wont mistakenly change them?

Sorry for all the ranting and questions, as you can tell I'm pretty frustrated with this so far..

 

[Nemrod]

Take it back, get your money back, move on to something else. That is your best option, do it now--NOW.

BTW, I love mine, it took me several months to decide I liked it enough to own it, nothing has changed except I like it better now than ever.

Your camera is operating normally, you just don not like it, that is fair.

Why buy an advanced camera and then use auto white balance, auto ISO, Auto mode, auto this and that? The software algorithms in the camera are not going to morph from results you hate into results you like.

I have mine set to:
1. A selected ISO, usually 100.
2. I have white balance selected from one of the options under Func Set
3. I shoot in Av mode 90% and Manual mode 10%
4. I have auto AiFs OFF, Safety Focus OFF, Red Eye OFF, Focus Light OFF, in fact everything I can turn off is OFF-O-F-F.
5. I use auto flash on under Menu for terrestrial, Auto flash manual and 1/3 power for underwater
6. Auto mode, lol, no thanks.
7. P mode, yeah if you insist, it is slow
8. I don't give a flying flip about macro
9. Video, cameras do that?
10. I like spot focus setting
11. I like center or spot metering
12. RAW--allows you to fix everything in PSE--if you do not like the Jpegs, better get PSE

I bought my S90 strictly as an underwater camera and nothing else. I bought it because of the FIX housing and the ability to use my lens inventory. Everyone has their own agenda, that was mine.

Best of luck, seriously. If you cannot take it back, I would not spend money on a housing, sell it and move on considering it a lesson learned, you don't like Canon's best ever P&S.

N

 

[skynscuba]

According to the user manual, normal focus range only goes down to 1.6 feet, then you need to have the macro button pushed (or be doing manual focus).

Indoors, if you are not using the flash, you are probably going to need to set the white balance to incandescent or use manual white balance. I'm sure it will take quite a few shots to anticipate what the camera is going to do.

If you don't like the S90, and cannot return it, perhaps you can unload it on eBay or craigslist. I've seen them going for close to retail there, so you won't be losing much money. You will, however, be back to figuring out what to get.

 

[dhaas]

Amigos,

The Canon S90 has more capability than many shooters want (or need) but can be set up to shoot automatically. Indoors most cameras struggle with incandescent light if trying to shoot without a flash. Flash used even in "P" mode automatically will be best. I tend to power down my flash a bit many times.

I usually select an ISO indoors with flash versus letting the camera pick the ISO. Outdoors though I regularly put the S90 in P, auto ISO and let it do it's thing

Underwater if shooting closer than 2' with the MACRO icon enabled you can get semi-decent lighting with the built in flash. Anything farther away the backscatter due to the flash being close to the lens will ruin a lot of shots. Plus it just won't cut it farther than 2' or so for good color.

Samples below shot above and below. Latest pool shots with Ikelite W20 wide angle lens and one Ikelite AF35 strobe. Many shot in "P" mode too

If the S90 has too many adjustments another Canon model with a simple P and M mode with limited adjustments might work better for you.

Two choices I recommend are the SD960IS or even the SX200IS.

YMMV

dhaas
David Haas Underwater Photography