Taking pictures and videos with Canon S100

[luk]

Hi

Can you please share with me the modes and adjustments you use when taking underwater pictures and videos? The simple methods are fine I am a newbie to photography. I just ordered an S100 and will receive it soon. I'm going to dive in Kona, Hawaii area. I plan to take pictures/videos during day time dives.
I'm hoping to have at least 1 dive to practice using the camera before my trip which is really close, and the pool has certain schedule that lets divers in. I don't want to waste my time on too many mistakes. So I'd rather take a shortcut learning from the experienced ones

Thank you

 

[cephasiii]

The canon s100 is a great camera. With all photography, you are going to need to learn to juggle aperture, shutter speed, exposure and environment, I.e depth, water clarity. The camera does a good job in its "underwater mode" but still not as good if you were to have a nice strobe. Get use to how the camera shoots on land then spend some time in a pool or at 20-40ft making fine adjustments. You could also take a PADI Underwater Photography class 😉


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[00wabbit]

learn about RAW photography. Set the camera to record a Raw image + jpeg. Even if you dont know how to process raw images right now you will learn in the future and you will be glad you have these files.
In a nutshell: the cameras sensor can take in more information than you can see or the screen can display. The camera normally will display the best images according to the settings and dump the rest of the data. If you shoot in RAW then the camera will record all data from the sensor (file sizes will be larger) but later in the computer you can lighten or darken or change the color balance within reason without damaging the image. You may be able to pull details out of the shadows and pull details out of bright highlights too.

When you shoot in raw the white balance setting isn't important because you can change this later in the computer. The underwater mode does work well though for simple quick images to show your family.

Bottom line. even if you don't know what raw is or how to use it right now - go ahead and set the camera to record a raw file. It will take up more space on your card, but you may be happy you have them later when you want to go back and adjust some images.

 

[peeweediver]

I bought an S100 8 months ago (at its most expensive). I spent the summer at our quarry starting with just learning what it could do. My first quarry weekend was spent in automatic with a separate strobe. Next, Appeture priority with the separate strobe and a Sola video light. Next, Manual practicing setting appeture, shutter speed, ISO and stayed in underwater mode. Now, starting on the next trip, I'm shooting RAW and JPEG. Though this is heresy, I'm going to shoot some days in Raw and some in JPEG (as opposed to raw/jpeg, which will be next), using the custom white balance when I shoot in Raw/JPEG. Moral of my story, I wanted to scuba dive and do photography. If I went straight to Manual and spent the time to practice all the settings, I'd miss the fun of just being underwater and my wife would take my camera and shove it...... She, at least half the time, wants a dive buddy, not a buddy married to his camera. There are many posts here about the S100 that can teach you great things in the same way I learned from the great folks on this site. If you choose to start in Manual, set appeture around 5.6 and shutter speed at 1/125 or a bit higher. ISO at around 100 and see if you like what you get. If you can buy one, use an external strobe. Huge difference from the internal strobe. I have a long way to go learning this camera and taking good pictures, but I really like playing with this one. PS, if you set the custom white balance for pictures at a certian depth that setting will carry over to video, which I will have to do quite often on this next trip.

Rob

 

[Hatul]

I'm also unsure how to set my S95. I've had best results overall with P (program) mode, underwater balance, ISO 200, + or - flash on depending on light. I turned my preview off and disabled auto off. I use Picassa 3 for my editing, so I record in Jpeg.

If anyone has ideas based on reason feel free.

 

[tarponchik]

I use Canon s90, so the problems with battery life are the same. These are 2 things that eat down your battery: using the flash and keeping the LCD on.

If you are using a slave flash with a fiber optic cable, like I do, adjust the camera's flash output to minimal. It is still enough to trigger the slave flash to fire.

With LCD, use your own creativity. You can adjust your camera to turn the LCD off in maybe 30 sec if there's no activity, but I prefer simply to turn the camera off as soon as I'm done with something.

This way I manage to stretch battery life to two dives. Don't know about s100, but s90 is very generous in warning me of the low battery; I can still take about 20 shots after I get the warning.

---------- Post added February 13th, 2013 at 09:54 AM ----------

I'm also unsure how to set my S95. I've had best results overall with P (program) mode, underwater balance, ISO 200, + or - flash on depending on light. I turned my preview off and disabled auto off. I use Picassa 3 for my editing, so I record in Jpeg.

If anyone has ideas based on reason feel free.

Av mode, f/4.0, ISO 200 if sunny and/or shallow, ISO 400 and/or f/2.8-f/3.5 if cloudy and/or deep. I shoot in RAW and process in LR3, sometimes cleaning in Topaz deNoise.

 

[CT Sean]

I have a long way to go learning this camera and taking good pictures, but I really like playing with this one. PS, if you set the custom white balance for pictures at a certian depth that setting will carry over to video, which I will have to do quite often on this next trip.

Rob

Just wanted to emphasize this. Shooting in RAW, manual white balance isn't that important (though I still set it). However, for video, manual white balance is a must. I have my RING FUNCT button set to manual WB

 

[Hatul]

I use Canon s90, so the problems with battery life are the same. These are 2 things that eat down your battery: using the flash and keeping the LCD on.

If you are using a slave flash with a fiber optic cable, like I do, adjust the camera's flash output to minimal. It is still enough to trigger the slave flash to fire.

With LCD, use your own creativity. You can adjust your camera to turn the LCD off in maybe 30 sec if there's no activity, but I prefer simply to turn the camera off as soon as I'm done with something.

This way I manage to stretch battery life to two dives. Don't know about s100, but s90 is very generous in warning me of the low battery; I can still take about 20 shots after I get the warning.

---------- Post added February 13th, 2013 at 09:54 AM ----------



Av mode, f/4.0, ISO 200 if sunny and/or shallow, ISO 400 and/or f/2.8-f/3.5 if cloudy and/or deep. I shoot in RAW and process in LR3, sometimes cleaning in Topaz deNoise.

How do you adjust the camera's flash to minimal?

Personally my main issue with the camera is not battery life but the delay after I press the shutter, which is why I don't like the camera to shut itself off, and why I set my preview to off. Also I leave my camera in continuous shooting mode, which only works when flash is off, and I allow the camera to take a 2-3 shots so I can chose the best one.

 

[tarponchik]

How do you adjust the camera's flash to minimal?

Press the FUNC SET (OK) button; scroll down to FLASH OUTPUT; scroll left to 1/3; press FUNC SET (OK) again.

Personally my main issue with the camera is not battery life but the delay after I press the shutter, which is why I don't like the camera to shut itself off, and why I set my preview to off. Also I leave my camera in continuous shooting mode, which only works when flash is off, and I allow the camera to take a 2-3 shots so I can chose the best one.

"There are two kinds of delays, my friend!" as Clint Eastwood's Blondie would say. One, that is caused by slow autofocus, and one, that is caused by writing the RAW file.

Regarding the 1st one, I gave up on taking shots on fast moving objects with s90, and shoot video instead. But sometimes it works well, like here, for example


Regarding the 2nd, I still prefer to shoot RAWs. Shooting JPEGs is faster, but I'd rather have 1 better image than 5 questionable.

 

[Hatul]

Press the FUNC SET (OK) button; scroll down to FLASH OUTPUT; scroll left to 1/3; press FUNC SET (OK) again.



"There are two kinds of delays, my friend!" as Clint Eastwood's Blondie would say. One, that is caused by slow autofocus, and one, that is caused by writing the RAW file.

Regarding the 1st one, I gave up on taking shots on fast moving objects with s90, and shoot video instead. But sometimes it works well, like here, for example
View attachment 147431

Regarding the 2nd, I still prefer to shoot RAWs. Shooting JPEGs is faster, but I'd rather have 1 better image than 5 questionable.

I think the flash power control is only available in M mode, which I don't use. It's not reason enough for me to use manual mode as I can always swap batteries after a dive.