Question on Shooting with 30D

[ketan]

I recently purchased 30D (ranking it superior to XTi and disregarding the 2 megapixel difference).
I have lots of questions and considering that I am not a pro but just a serious amature, request you to kindly answer.
(1) I shoot my first photo on autofocus with built in flash and kit lens (18-55), indoor; it was night time. To my surprise it came out very soft and I found them not well exposed. When I saw it on my PC, I almost died of shock. Then I took the same shot with My S80 and found it much superior. I then went on to P mode with flash and increased sharpness in menu to one stop less than full. The photo were amazingly well exposed and sharp. Am I missing something in auto focus? When do you all use auto focus?
(2) The effect of sharpness increase is something different and not as we do edit in photoshop and increase.
(3) The Temeron 28-200 of my EOS300 (film) fits on 30D. Will it give good results or I need to buy a some lens meant for digital camera.

Ketan

 

[Garbz]

(1) I assume you mean Av vs P mode. Setting the camera from another mode to P modes does not enable or disable the autofocus. Chances are the lighting conditions were not optimal for the camera settings. Not even a Canon 1Ds would look good if used outside of the range for the current settings. The softness was probably caused by a low shutter speed. If the S80 was able to get the same photo without the flash it probably increased the ISO of the camera to compensate for the low light. Regardless of the camera you have your only options in low light is to flash, raise the ISO and/or drop the Aperture, or use a tripod.

(2) The sharpness is the same theory but there are many different algorithms to do so. The camera has the advantage that it can work with the original 12bit image giving better results.

(3) Older or even modern film camera lenses will work just as well on digital bodies. Just remember that the sensor in the digital camera is not 35mm, and instead APS sized. This means that the focal lengths need to be multiplied by 1.5 So you effectively have a 42-300.

 

[ketan]

Thanks for the reply, Garbz.
I do not mean Av (apperture priority) but what I mean is 'auto' mode that comes with green square. So there is no question of my choosing any settings here.
Photo with this mode is bit dull when I compare it with snaps taken with the same auto mode with S80.
Photo with 'P' mode on 30D are coming out extremely good.
I hope that since I am able to take good photo with P mode, there will not be anything wrong with the camera
One of these days I will try to shoot in day light and see.
Thanks (your elaborate replies make me understand the subject in great detail):blushing:
Ketan

 

[Garbz]

I highly suggest from the very beginning to start understanding how Av mode works. It's basically P with one extra option for control. The aperture.

 

[DSLR noob]

Don't use the green square, use "P". It is basically the green square but with control over the ISO, exposure compensation, and YOU control when you want the flash or not. Also, look in the viewfinder to see what autofocus point your camera selects, sometimes the camera doesn't know what you want sharp and what you want blurry. You'll often find that if you keep hitting the shutter halfway, that it selects different points each time.
Also, don't expect miracles in low light with a kit lens, you'll want to learn ISO and the ability to keep a shutter speed of 1/x (X being the focal length as a general rule for handholding, such as your 18-55 set to 55 requires a shutter speed of 1/60 to keep it from being blurry, some people are more steady than others). Not to tear you up, but don't blame the camera, it's probably the user, but we all had to learn some ways, just be happy you're part of the erra that you get instant lessons via the LCD screen, back in the day people didn't know how they did until they developed.