Canon® PowerShot® Digital Field Guide

by Michael Guncheon

Canon® PowerShot® Digital Field Guide

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-470-17461-6

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Michael Guncheon is a contributing editor for PCPhoto magazine. His “HelpLine” column is one of the oldest and most popular columns in the magazine. He has also written for Outdoor Photographer and DigitalPhotoPro and has authored several popular books on digital cameras. Michael is the technical editor for HDVideoPro and also writes the magazine’s “VideoAssist” column. His photography has appeared in magazines and calendars. In addition, he is a partner in HDMG, a high definition video company, and a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

Credits

Senior Acquisitions Editor

Kimberly Spilker

Senior Project Editor

Cricket Krengel

Technical Editor

Marianne Wallace

Copy Editor

Lauren Kennedy

Editorial Manager

Robyn B. Siesky

Vice President & Group Executive Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President & Publisher

Barry Pruett

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Project Coordinator

Erin Smith

Graphics and Production Specialists

Stacie Brooks
Carrie A. Cesavice
Brooke Graczyk
Jennifer Mayberry

Quality Control Technician

Cynthia Fields

Proofreading

Broccoli Information Management

Indexing

Sherry Massey

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Carol. Without her, both this book and my life would be just blank pages.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Kimberly Spilker for the phone call that one day, and to her trust in my work; to Cricket Krengel for mentioning my name to Kimberly and whose knack for keeping this “engine” running would put a locomotive engineer to shame; and to my technical editor Marianne Wallace, an outstanding photographer in her own right.

You can’t write a book about cameras without help from manufacturers and the folks at Canon are always selfless in giving their time and knowledge. Thanks to Rudy Winston, Chuck Westfall, and Geoff Coalter. Mike Wong and the gang at Sandisk have been a great help with explaining memory card care and feeding. My appreciation also to Kriss Brunngraber at Bogen for his support in more ways than one. Thanks also to Jason Ledder and Kyle Kappmeier at R & J Public Relations for putting me in touch with some fantastic resources.

Thanks to my family, spread out throughout the country — Kay, Andrea, Paul, and Mark. And to my family close by — who have the misfortune of having to put up with all the picture taking — Kelly, Holly, Rowen, Vienne, and Kari.

Lastly, I would like to thank my first editor, Rob Sheppard. Rob called me ten years ago, when the term digital photography was new, and told me that he thought I would be a great fit for writing about it. We both knew that the technology would take off, and Rob has made it a fun ride! His dedication to the image and making photography accessible is an inspiration.

Contents

Title

Introduction

Who is this Book for?

Making this Book Work for You

Quick Tour

Getting Your Camera Ready

Selecting a Shooting Mode

Selecting a Scene Mode

Taking the Picture

Reviewing Images

Deleting Images

Output

Part I: Using Your Canon PowerShot Camera

Chapter 1: Exploring the PowerShot Cameras

About the Technology

4-Way Controller

Standard Features

A Series

SD Series

G7

S5 IS

TX1

Chapter 2: Navigating Your PowerShot Camera

Main Menu Categories

Record Menu

Setup Menu

Play Menu

Print Menu

My Camera Menu

Chapter 3: Getting the Most Out of Your PowerShot Camera

Auto Exposure Lock

Flash Exposure Lock

Auto Focus Lock

Function Menu

Shooting Modes

Memory cards

Part II: Creating Great Images with Your Canon PowerShot

Chapter 4: The Fundamentals of Photography

Keep It Simple

Composition Basics

Make It Sharp

Understanding Light

Understanding Exposure

Chapter 5: Accessories

Tripods

Lighting

Lenses

Underwater Gear

Batteries, Chargers, and AC Adaptors

Cases

Camera Care

Chapter 6: Capturing Great Images

Abstract Photography

Action and Sports Photography

Animal and Wildlife Photography

Architectural Photography

Child Photography

Fireworks Photography

Flower Photography

Landscape and Nature Photography

Macro Photography

Motion Photography

Night Photography

Panoramic Photography

People Photography

Pet Photography

Product and Auction Photography

Street Photography

Sunset and Sunrise Photography

Travel Photography

Winter Photography

Chapter 7: Downloading, Editing, and Outputting

Downloading

In-Camera Editing

Image Editing via Software

Printing

Television Slide Shows

Chapter 8: Using the Video Feature

Setting Up to Record

Knowing the Limitations

When the Shooting Stops

Video Tips

Part III: Appendixes

Appendix A: Online Resources

Updating

Learning More

Photo Sharing

Glossary

Further Reading

Introduction

I first started taking pictures using an old film camera when I was a child. Luckily we had access to a darkroom and didn’t have to wait for the pictures to come back. But still, the picture-taking process was half mystery, half imagination — we just never knew what we would get.

When I first got my hands on a digital camera, the resolution wasn’t much. The camera could only take eight images before you had to hook it up to a computer and download the files from the camera’s built-in memory. The whole process was clunky but it was still amazing because just seconds after you took a picture, you could see what you photographed.

The PowerShot was introduced by Canon in 1996. Although primitive by today’s standards, it was the start of a long line of digital cameras that has increasingly pushed the capabilities of digital imaging technology. The PowerShot isn’t just a snapshot camera; it is a sophisticated digital imaging device. Images captured by PowerShots have appeared in magazines and newspapers, dorm rooms and photo albums.

Who is this Book for?

This book is written for those PowerShot owners who are new to photography and those who are transitioning from shooting film. If you are a long-time PowerShot owner and want to improve your picture-taking techniques, there are chapters for you, as well. And if staring at camera menus causes you to become blurry-eyed, these pages will help.

Although this book covers many specific PowerShot models, if you have an older model or if a newer PowerShot makes its debut, this field guide can still help you. Although Canon continues to improve their cameras’ performance, the basic operations are consistent and the fundamental photographic principles of lens, image sensor, and image processing still apply.

Making this Book Work for You

This book is laid out to give you a lot of options. You’re anxious to start using your PowerShot, so jump to the Quick Tour at the front of the book. It will give you the basics so you can begin capturing digital images and get a feel for the camera.

Once you have done some experimenting, you can start reading Chapter 1, where you learn about some of the technologies built into your camera. Given this guide covers the entire PowerShot line, Chapter 1 also examines the specific models in the line. Chapter 2 goes into great detail about camera menus, giving you practical suggestions for menu settings.

Setting up your camera by using menus is one thing, but once you get out and start photographing, all the shooting adjustments, such as exposure and focus, come into play. Chapter 3 details how to make your way through all of the adjustments.

Part II of this book begins the exploration of creating great images. The chapters start with some fundamentals of photography and proceed to explore accessories to improve your photography skills.

Chapter 6 gives you real-world tips for many photographic shooting environments. You can easily read this huge chapter in chunks and it is a good reference out in the field.

Each topic is broken down into:

diamonds Discussions about the subject matter

diamonds Example images

diamonds Thoughts to inspire

diamonds A practice image detailing camera settings, lighting, and accessories used

diamonds Instructions for capturing a similar image

diamonds Specific shooting tips for each subject

Next, Chapter 7 provides an overview of downloading, editing, and printing your images. Lastly, Chapter 8 explores the video recording option on your PowerShot.

This is a field guide. Take it with you. Mark it up. Don’t leave it home until you really know your PowerShot. Even then it can be a great go-to book when you get in an unfamiliar situation or want to try something new.

Each PowerShot owner can take something different from this text. Some of you just want a better understanding of how to operate your camera; others of you may want to take your photography from snapshots to photographs. Whatever your motivation, I believe first and foremost that photography should be enjoyable. Before, photography was half mystery and half imagination. Taking pictures with a PowerShot should be a little bit magic and a whole lot of fun.

Now, move on to the Quick Tour and start taking pictures!

Quick Tour

In This Quick Tour

Getting your camera ready

Selecting a shooting mode

Selecting a Scene mode

Taking the picture

Image review

Deleting images

Output

It is exciting to unpack a new camera, fire it up, and see what it can do. And, a little patience in the beginning can provide a good foundation for capturing great photographs in the future.

This Quick Tour helps get you going by providing brief explanations of some of the controls and settings you need to use as you take your first photographs (and assumes you have read your camera manual). By the end of the Quick Tour you should be taking pictures with your PowerShot. Then, you can move into the later chapters where you find more detailed explanations of camera controls, rules for basic photo composition, and guides on how to capture different types of scenes.

Getting Your Camera Ready

Because this field guide covers a wide range of PowerShot models, it is important to point out some controls and indicators that are common throughout the series. On some models a given function is controlled by a single button while on other models several functions are grouped onto one control.

diamonds Power button. The power button is located on the top of most models. If it is near the shutter release button, it is slightly recessed so you don’t accidentally turn off the camera instead of taking the picture.

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!