Canon S40 sucks.....Time for Fugi S7000?

enginyrenginyr Registered Users Posts: 1 Beginner grinner
edited March 23, 2004 in Cameras
Well I work for an ecommerce site and I need to upgrade our piece of Shiat camera Canon S40 to a new camera with a bigger CCD that can take awesome macro shots.

Can someone break it down for me?

We do 640 x 480 pictures but the must look like 1600 x 1200 to the customer.

The main problem I have with the S40 is focusing.
When I use the flash, the camera seems to focus perfect, but then I need to back away from the product to not blind the camera from the flash.

But then when i don't use the flash, I get an unfocused image.

Am I clueless or what.....

Comments

  • davereysdavereys Registered Users Posts: 16 Big grins
    edited March 18, 2004
    enginyr wrote:
    Well I work for an ecommerce site and I need to upgrade our piece of Shiat camera Canon S40 to a new camera with a bigger CCD that can take awesome macro shots.

    Can someone break it down for me?

    We do 640 x 480 pictures but the must look like 1600 x 1200 to the customer.

    The main problem I have with the S40 is focusing.
    When I use the flash, the camera seems to focus perfect, but then I need to back away from the product to not blind the camera from the flash.

    But then when i don't use the flash, I get an unfocused image.

    Am I clueless or what.....

    Hate to say this mate but a good Tradesman should never blame his Tools.

    Regards
    Dave
    Downunder.
  • jimfjimf Registered Users Posts: 338 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2004
    enginyr wrote:
    The main problem I have with the S40 is focusing.
    When I use the flash, the camera seems to focus perfect, but then I need to back away from the product to not blind the camera from the flash.

    But then when i don't use the flash, I get an unfocused image.

    You really want a camera with external flash capability, something with a hot shoe at least, and it would be a big help if you got something with manual focus capability. I note, however, that this is not likely to be found in the same class of camera (ie you'll have to spend more money).

    But, really, this might not be necessary. I'd try a couple of things.

    First, more light! Something like a desktop halogen (or two) would probably brighten your subject up to the point where autofocus would work without the flash. You'll probably want to use a reflector (eg posterboard) to soften the light.

    Second, that camera has flash exposure compensation; you might be able to stop it down enough that it doesn't blow out the image with the built-in flash. Personally, though, I'd try adding external light first ... the built-in flashes usually suck.
    jim frost
    jimf@frostbytes.com
  • cletuscletus Registered Users Posts: 1,930 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2004
    If you don't mind buying a used camera, you might try to find one of the older Nikon CoolPix 900 series. I've got a CP 950 that is an outstanding macro camera. The only fault it has for macro work is the lack of a full manual mode. The later CP 900 series cameras did have manual exsposure.
    ab0wa.smugmug.com
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 18, 2004
    enginyr, that S40 is a highly regarded camera, I'm surprised at the problems you're having. Other than the harsh flash, of course - the oncamera flashes do suck.

    Are you setting the camera to Macro for closeups, and then backing away and still leaving it on Macro? Macro has a tiny depth of field, so if you're too far away, it might "hunt" for a long time to find the right focus.

    Also, against what kind of background are you setting your item? Does it have much light? The more contrast there is between your subject and the background, the easier it is for the camera to find the subject and focus on it. And how much ambient light is there? Many, perhaps most, consumer digital cameras have a hard time autofocusing in low light. That, and shutter lag, are two of the biggest drawbacks to a consumer camera, IMHO.

    Just some thoughts.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
    edited March 18, 2004
    enginyr wrote:
    Well I work for an ecommerce site and I need to upgrade our piece of Shiat camera Canon S40 to a new camera with a bigger CCD that can take awesome macro shots.

    Can someone break it down for me?

    We do 640 x 480 pictures but the must look like 1600 x 1200 to the customer.

    The main problem I have with the S40 is focusing.
    When I use the flash, the camera seems to focus perfect, but then I need to back away from the product to not blind the camera from the flash.

    But then when i don't use the flash, I get an unfocused image.

    Am I clueless or what.....
    I'll break it down for you: you're not being clear on what your needs are or what your skill level is. The S40 is a great camera, you have to play a little nicer with it if it's going to give you what you want. The shots you are doing do not fall under the full-auto-blast-away mode. A little time with the camera's manual and maybe any photography book so you learn some terminology and basic principles and you might be surprised what the little Canon will do for you.

    And whats the resolution issue? How does that play into your flash/focus issue???
    Erik
    moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]

  • DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
    edited March 18, 2004
    PS. I could be wrong, but I'm assuming your product is a lifeless lump on a table somewhere, right? In that case, shots should ALWAYS be done on a tripod. This will allow you to use less light (no flash to cast glare on your product surface), slower shutter speed and maybe will fix that flash issue you're having.

    Don't need a fancy tripod for the little S40. Try it. Use the self timer mode (as if you were going to run and be in the shot yourself) to minimize camera shake, and use regular lamps (static light) to make the product look good - doesn't have to be super bright, just pleasing. Then, on the tripod, no flash, long exposure, you'll get a nice shot.
    Erik
    moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]

  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2004
    enginyr wrote:
    Well I work for an ecommerce site and I need to upgrade our piece of Shiat camera Canon S40 to a new camera with a bigger CCD that can take awesome macro shots.

    Can someone break it down for me?

    We do 640 x 480 pictures but the must look like 1600 x 1200 to the customer.

    The main problem I have with the S40 is focusing.
    When I use the flash, the camera seems to focus perfect, but then I need to back away from the product to not blind the camera from the flash.

    But then when i don't use the flash, I get an unfocused image.

    Am I clueless or what.....

    Hey,
    I worked for Trader Electronic Media, and when they hired me, they handed me the Canon A40, which I used to do the job for about 30 days, then I ordered a Nikon Coolpix 4500 and used it, for the same reasons that you state. There are times when the camera just will not focus. Once I used the Nikon 4500, the problems went away... But of course TEM had already ordered a couple of dozen Canon! All obsolete before they handed them out. When I left TEM, they bought my Nikon, and I upgraded to the 5700, which I would like to upgrade again, but the Nikon did eliminate the issue of fuzzy focus frustration!

    (FYI I was first on-board to photograph TEM's HarmonHomes Div. 360' Virtual Tours.)

    Good Luck,
    ginette
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2004
    Good feedback. And very interesting.

    Worth noting that the Canon A40 and the Canon S40 are two different cameras.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2004
    wxwax wrote:
    Good feedback. And very interesting.

    Worth noting that the Canon A40 and the Canon S40 are two different cameras.


    Gees.... egg on my face! I guess I have the A40 Burned into my brain, and therefore that is what I saw?

    Still, glad I'm not dealing with the A40 anymore!?

    Thanks for the correction.
    ginette
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 22, 2004
    thumb.gif No sweat!
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • Max PowerMax Power Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    3018215-L.jpg
    The S-40 is a very powerful little camera. Try turning the flash power down by a stop or two. It is explained in your manual.
    "Um... Sir... Your lens cap is still on"
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Well, that should settle that! Nice shot. Welcome aboard, Max. wave.gif
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • Max PowerMax Power Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Howdy Waxy. Don't know what took me so long to get over here.
    "Um... Sir... Your lens cap is still on"
  • ShakeyShakey Registered Users Posts: 1,004 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Oh that’s a nice watch Max.I see you have very discerning taste in timepieces.
  • Max PowerMax Power Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Shakey wrote:
    Oh that’s a nice watch Max.I see you have very discerning taste in timepieces.
    I see I'm not the only one.
    "Um... Sir... Your lens cap is still on"
  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Close-up, then closer
    Shakey wrote:
    Oh that’s a nice watch Max.I see you have very discerning taste in timepieces.
    Um... I don't think my old watch can even come close in this competition... So I thought I'd move onto skin & textures?

    ginette wave.gifwave.gif
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Shakey wrote:
    Oh that’s a nice watch Max.I see you have very discerning taste in timepieces.
    The Old Watch....too.
    Later,
    ginette
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • fishfish Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    This looks like fun...nothing to do with S40, but what the heck?
    "Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk." - Edward Weston
    "The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
  • fishfish Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    My grandfather's watch.
    "Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk." - Edward Weston
    "The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    OOooooo
    fish wrote:
    My grandfather's watch.


    OOOoooooo.... So Far YOUR Grandfather's Watch is definately in the lead....
    OOOOoooo I really like that one.

    Coveting your watch,
    ginette
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • Max PowerMax Power Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    fish wrote:
    My grandfather's watch.
    What was this thread about again. Some history about Elgin watches. Very cool.
    "Um... Sir... Your lens cap is still on"
  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    LuC's Watch
    AltPro wrote:
    OOOoooooo.... So Far YOUR Grandfather's Watch is definately in the lead....
    OOOOoooo I really like that one.

    Coveting your watch,
    ginette

    And one of my twin sons, not too be left out.... Offered up his watch!
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • ShakeyShakey Registered Users Posts: 1,004 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Nice heirloom Fish! Is there a story with that watch as well?


    Cheers,
    Tim
  • fishfish Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Shakey wrote:
    Nice heirloom Fish! Is there a story with that watch as well?


    Cheers,
    Tim

    Thanks. Yes, there is a story, but I'm afraid it's not very complete. My grandfather immigrated from Russia around 1917 and bought the watch sometime after he arrived...probably in the early '20s. When he died in 1975, my father acquired it along with a small box of his personal papers and a few boxes of books, which were mostly donated to a museum in Berkeley. When my father died in 1996, I found the box of my grandfather's stuff and the watch. It now lives amongst my junk...and I'm sure my son will find it after I die. It's not in very good shape and I doubt it's worth very much, but it's got a lot of sentimental value to me.

    My grandfather in the early '20s:
    "Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk." - Edward Weston
    "The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."-Hunter S.Thompson
  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    fish wrote:
    Thanks. Yes, there is a story, but I'm afraid it's not very complete. My grandfather immigrated from Russia around 1917 and bought the watch sometime after he arrived...probably in the early '20s. When he died in 1975, my father acquired it along with a small box of his personal papers and a few boxes of books, which were mostly donated to a museum in Berkeley. When my father died in 1996, I found the box of my grandfather's stuff and the watch. It now lives amongst my junk...and I'm sure my son will find it after I die. It's not in very good shape and I doubt it's worth very much, but it's got a lot of sentimental value to me.

    My grandfather in the early '20s:

    The watch and the story are beautiful. Cherish them both. The photo is a fantastic heirloom to be sure.
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    AltPro wrote:
    The Old Watch....too.
    Later,
    ginette

    Cool, a Tin-Tin watch. I have three large Tin-Tin posters around me... they bring back childhood memories.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • SeamaidenSeamaiden Registered Users Posts: 339 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    This thread should be renamed, something like "The One to Watch"?
    Youth and Enthusiasm
    Are No Match For
    Age and Treachery
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 23, 2004
    Or.... The S40 Rocks!
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
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