Photos in manual mode

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nukeu666

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When taking pics in low light condition (1 tube light in a room) with my S3

If i take the pic in auto mode, it comes out not too bad (no flash)
When i shift to manual mode, even with 1/4 s and 1/2.8f, the pic comes out totally black
Am i missing some other settings?
 
Frankly at the settings you mentioned picture shouldn't be total dark.

what ISO settings you're using? Try bumping ISO a little bit one by one (100, 200, 400) and take pictures with same above mentioned settings. If I'm not wrong S3 IS's noise reduction is not that great, so I'll rule out 400 above ISO. But give it a try.

Also check what settings camera is using while in Auto Mode. What shutter speed and Aperture it is using when you take it in auto mode?
 
another Q:how can i manually set compensation while in manual mode? manual or google didnt help

iso is normally at 100
 
I have handled S3IS very very briefly (read : as good as just taking look), so I don't know the controls for manual compensation. But then again, I was never a big fan exposure compensation really, I hardly use it unless I want deliberate underexposed photos without going extreme on Shutter Speed/Aperture.
 
Bugs are.... well fun.

So how did the experiment went with ISO's?

Also, if you're not using Flash only to avoid harsh light that it causes... then you can use tissue paper or simple CD to bounce the flash to get softer effect. That way you can have your scene decently illuminated without making it look like bad flash shot. :)

S3IS has pop-up flash if I remember correctly... there is neat trick to make flash diffuser using empty cigarette box.

  1. Take any empty cigarette packet which has silver foil... I've got best result using Marlboro Lights pack (no heavy colors on box, it's almost white. So it doesn't cast any unwanted tinge).
  2. Remove the foil carefully without tearing it up.
  3. Reinsert the foil as it was before but inverted... that is silver side on inside. You can use very light drops of adhesive on corners for the foil so that it stays properly.
  4. Voila... homemade flash diffuser. Place the box properly on pop-up flash so that it remains at around 45 degrees from base, that is bottom goes upward and flash is inside box.
  5. Try different angles of placement of box on flash... straight, angled or straight up, and see how much variation you get in light.


Very useful when you don't much light around and yet don't want to use the horrid flash.
 
I dont know what mode you are using. If you are using full manual mode, try aperture priority(dont know what exactly its named in Canons) mode instead. By this, the cam will automatically adjust the shutter speed for the snap.

Once you are comfortable with the priority modes, you can fine tune it with exposure compensation.

or if you more or less want stable shots, set it to shutter priority and speed of not slower than 1/30. I have always liked to play with aperture more than the speed. Just experiment with these two modes and you will start liking a particular direction to take.
 
You need about a 1 sec exposure (varies on the nearness to the light of course, it can be 1/2.5 or even 1/5)

Also, compensation for manual mode? That doesn't make sense. See, exposure compensation is used for say program mode, where you might want to increase the brightness for a particular scene (to capture shadow details) or decrease the compensation to capture some bright object compared to the surroundings. The camera's computer will automatically increase/decrease the aperture/shutter speed to give you what you need. Likewise for Tv and Av modes, you get the gist.

In manual mode, you yourself are adjusting the settings, the camera will guide you as to whether you're overexposing or underexposing.

You should not be getting a black picture unless you have turned on some special setting. I strongly suggest you go through the manual, and play with the settings, and start shooting pics in each mode with different settings. That way, you will familiarize yourself with the camera, and will be able to easily select the right mode for a particular kind of situation/shot you require.
 
^ Yeah, there's nothing like exposure compensation for manual mode, its basically for programme mode where you can vary the exposure in stops of 1/3 over what the camera is metering.

As for your initial inquiry, 1.4sec at f2.8 might not be a slow enough shutter, you might have to try 3-4 sec.

Also on the S3IS, upto ISO 400 is very usable and even ISO 800 when exposed correctly.

If your getting into macros heavily, I would adivse you build a ring flash, can be a DIY project and not very expensive, but spectacular results!

Try this for starters :)

Build your own macro ring-light
 
Anish said:
^ Yeah, there's nothing like exposure compensation for manual mode, its basically for programme mode where you can vary the exposure in stops of 1/3 over what the camera is metering.

As for your initial inquiry, 1.4sec at f2.8 might not be a slow enough shutter, you might have to try 3-4 sec.

Also on the S3IS, upto ISO 400 is very usable and even ISO 800 when exposed correctly.

If your getting into macros heavily, I would adivse you build a ring flash, can be a DIY project and not very expensive, but spectacular results!

Try this for starters :)

Build your own macro ring-light
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link to a really interesting, cheap and easy project. Going to try it seriously.
 
^ That's unlikely. If the white balance is set wrongly you will only have a colour cast in the image, not an under/over exposure.

And please don't apologize for asking ANY questions, we all are here to learn so please post anything you have to clarify, share, ask :)
 
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