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How do I change the shutter speed on my Canon Powershot S51S?
I would really like to experiment with different shutter speeds, from really slow settings, to fast action shots, but I can't figure out how. Can someone please help me in detail?
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I hope you received some help already by this time. However, just for other readers shake, your issues has to do with your camera's settings. There are two things that initially determine the quality of pictures and these are:
1. Exposure and
2.Shutter speed
I believe your pictures are dark because settings on your camera feature a combination of fast shutter-speed with a lower value of aperture. Try adjusting those or shoot with a pre-programmed mode under different lighting conditions.
If you were using autofocus for this, it is probable that there was insufficient contrast for the camera to maintain focus, causing it to 'hunt' for a viable focus point. Next time you try, set the lens / camera combination to manual focus, at the hyperfocal distance for the aperture you are using.
Since there is no shutter or aperture priority mode on the A550, the shutter speed is predetermined by the shooting mode. You can try changing the ISO speed when in a certain mode, but the camera may compensate by changing the aperture setting rather than the shutter speed. You'll have to experiment.
You can place the camera in Long Shutter Mode, however, when you want exposures times between 1 and 15 seconds. You set that by pressing the Function menu and Func. Set button when in [Camera icon]M mode, then using the < and > buttons to cycle through the long shutter settings.
You are probably rushing the shutter press. The first pressure on the shutter causes the autofocus to focus and lock on the subject. Then you press more firmly to take the picture. If you try to do this in one jab, you might get unfoccused pictures or fail to take a picture at all. Some cameras have a "sports" mode that is meant to speed up the shutter press for action shots, but this can be at the expense of good focussing. I suggest that you read the manual carefully about what may seem the very simple process of pressing the shutter button. There will be many different aspects to this in a complex piece of equipment like a digital camera.
You can download a copy of the manual from the manufacturer's web site at http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=DownloadDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=324&modelid=17480
The easiest way to control the shutter speed is to turn the mode dial to Tv (Time-value) mode. You then control the shutter speed by turning the command dial.
That's the "how". Now for the "why". I believe your main problem is the lack of light. In such cases the camera will slow down the shutter speed in order to get sufficient light to the sensor. A partial solution is to raise the sensitivity of the sensor. You do this by pressing the ISO button and pressing up/down to make your selection.
However, if there is not enough light, you just will not be able to get a sufficiently fast shutter speed. Depending on the situation, you can use flash, either the built-in one or an external unit.
The small sensor of a compact camera only makes it worse; the larger sensor in a dSLR will be more sensitive to light.
This is "shutter lag," the delay between pressing the shutter release button and the camera actually taking a picture. This is a common situation with many compact cameras. The camera has to focus on the subject, meter the exposure, and switch the circuitry from displaying on the screen to recording the image and saving it in memory. More sophisticated (and expensive) DSLRs eliminate this shutter lag by having more dedicated hardware for this.
With a compact camera, you can reduce the shutter lag by anticipating the shot. Press the shutter release button halfway to focus and meter the exposure. Continue to hold the shutter release button halfway until the right time, then press it the rest of the way.
sounds like your shutter speed is set too low. If you are in manual exposure control, check that your shutter speed is at least 1/60th or higher. If the camera is in automatic, check to see that you ARE NOT in the "slow-sync" flash mode.
I'm not sure what you mean by milky, but I'll assume you want it to kind of blend together...you want to use TV mode and slow the shutter speed way down and play with it in different shutter speeds to get the proper exposure and "milky" effect you are trying to achieve.
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