Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 17, 2007 3:50 PM

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Is the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS a good choice for me?

Sorry I don't have any points left because I asked my question once before a little differently. I awarded all the points to Ben who did try to help. In rethinking what I actually want and need my ideas have changed a bit. We own a digital Canon Rebel EOS. We have extra lenses and whatnot, however, what I am finding is that I like a smaller tuck-in-pocket point and shoot type camera.

I take a lot of puppy portraits --inside in medium light. In addition I take outside photos. Here is a link so you can take a look at the type of thing I often do with my little Nikon Coolpix L3:
http://www.weims4sale.homestead.com/OwyheeStarWeims/True/FifthUpdate.html

I love the picture quality I am getting with this inexpensive point and shoot Nikon, however, no matter what I try the response between clicking and taking the picture or writing to the card is too slow. The Canon A640 was suggested and although it looks nice I realize it is larger than I want. If I don't have a camera on me the moment is lost. Everyday I snap a few pictures of our Weim children doing something very cute. I have read every question and answer on the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS. I am not sure I need the wide angle lens but at times it would helpful. Would it be a hinderance for the closeups I love to take?

I admit I am a novice photographer but I take a lot of photos these days. I think some of them are quite nice. I read about the 1600 ASA setting. Is that something I would want to make use of?

I think I need the Image Stabilization.

I believe the Canon PowerShot SD800 has continuous shooting and I am wondering if that would easily work in the portrait mode.

One thing I have been extremely happy about with the Nikon Coolpix L3 is that the puppies eyes show up their natural blue color. Even taking the closeup pictures their eyes have been great.

I am also reading about people complaining about white spots. I read that was due to the dust in the air but I have not had that problem with the Nikon Coolpix L3 either.

There are a lot of good things about this camera but it is too slow for me. I need to have a faster reacting camera. It is very slow on the portrait setting. The picture is great if the pup will sit there long enough.....quite a challenge. Smiles

You opinion would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to buy another camera and find out 6 months from now I wish I had something different.

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 17, 2007 6:02 PM

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I'll try to answer your questions about the SD800IS, as a new-member of the SD800IS club :)

1.) 3.5"x2.3"x.99", makes for a very compact camera!
2.) Your pictures are cute! If I can get my pictures of my puppy loaded up, I'll show you what this camera can do! But in the lighting you're showing, you probably won't even need a flash with the SD800IS if you have the ISO at about 400 (which will be plenty big for internet pictures and 4x6" prints). With flash, you can stand several feet away, zoom in on your puppies and take perfect pictures. From what I see in your pictures, it looks like you're standing too close, which I'm guessing is where the flushed out color is coming from.
3.) The A640 is probably something you may not want, because the time for pictures between flashes is surprisingly long because the 2 AA batteries can't recharge the flash fast enough. Correct me if I'm wrong, anyone...
4.) You do NOT want to use the ISO1600 setting on the SD800IS (nor should you have to, in medium light). ISO1600 should be reserved for emergencies, because the pictures will be extremely noisy and poor quality. You can touch them up in post processing, but it won't be worth the trouble. ISO800 can be easily salvaged, though. I haven't had a need for anything past ISO400 yet.
5.) Image Stabilization is a great feature and is not a novelty. Keep in mind that it won't keep a moving target from blurring, only the effects of your own hands' movements! In this respect, a low-light environment will need either a flash or a higher ISO setting -- you don't want to increase the shutter speed, or else any movements by the subject will cause blurriness.
6.) My puppy's eyes are brown, so I can't tell if this camera will retain your puppies' blue eyes, but I don't see why not. They will definitely be preserved without flash, and my guess would be they will be preserved with flash, as long as you don't take a direct picture and oversaturate the eyes.
7.) Continuous shooting is at 1.7fps, which is just shy of .6 seconds per picture. That's not THAT great, but because of the speed of the auto focus, the time to take the picture from when you depress the button is very fast. So you should be able to take the picture that you wanted without that annoying shutter lag!
8.) I'm beginning to think these white spots people are complaining about is from a camera defect. I haven't had any white spots on my camera. There WILL be some floating orbs and random white specks occasionally, from the reflections off the flash back into the lens. I haven't really noticed it myself, though.

If you decide on this camera, make sure to look into SDHC cards, as they will write faster. Also, the wideangle lens is very nice, but probably not something you'd really utilize on your puppies. You can always consider the SD700IS if you decide the wide-angle isn't for you.

Hope that helps!

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 17, 2007 6:37 PM

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Thanks so much this is the answer I have been wanting............if I had points they would be yours. Sorry.............I would love to see you pictures sometime and share with you more. My email is on the Website of course and you have person to use it............smiles

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 18, 2007 10:54 AM

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Matt.............I bought a little SD800IS yesterday. I wont' get it until Monday because it was out of stock. Then I have like 10 days to use it and return it for a full refund. I am sure it is going to work well but just in case it doesn't I wanted to buy where I could return it. I am sure the new cameras will be coming out soon. No one seems to have this camera in stock right now. Honestly, I don't care aobut the new models per say .............if this does the job I want to do then that is perfect. Thanks a million and I will be letting you know how it works and posting a review. S

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 18, 2007 11:04 AM

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Looking forward to it. If you have a problem with white spots, return it immediately. I'm hoping it was a first batch of shipments that were defective, possibly a gap between the flash and lens that seeped light through or something.

Enjoy your new camera! And if you wanted the wide-angle and were wondering about the new cameras... none of them to my knowledge have the wide-angle anyway, so you're not missing out. You can always crop for a zoom, but you can't crop back for things you couldn't get in the picture :)

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 18, 2007 11:22 AM

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Yes.............I agree. You can always easily crop a picture. Yes, I will be using the camera a lot. I won't get an extra battery until I know if this is going to work for me. This way I can make sure the camera is NOT a lemon. Smiles

I have a recent experience with a computer that wasn't working. We kept it past the 14 days..........it was a lemon. We dinked around trying to get it to work and it has been gone for weeks. First to a repair center in Texas and now California. No one can get it to work. They are thinking of getting me a new computer. Duh.

I don't want a similar experience with a camera. I will post --do you earn points for posting a review? Since I have no points I was wondering. Smiles Have a great day and thank you for all the help!

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 18, 2007 12:35 PM

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I don't know if you get points for posting reviews. Doubt it! They have non-OEM batteries on Amazon for almost 1/3 the price of a Canon-brand battery that works just as well, and free shipping, too. I just ended up getting 2 batteries for $28 :)

Think of it this way -- if your car battery dies, do you go to the dealership to buy a GM/Toyota/etc brand battery for twice the price, or do you just go to WalMart/Belle Tire/etc and get a cheaper one? They all work the same! :)

I had a lemon of a laptop, took forever to fix. I'm not sure why companies would rather pay $150/hour for an IT tech to spend hours fixing a computer when they could send you a new one for less than the labor costs... go figure.

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 18, 2007 12:54 PM

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No kidding about the repair issues. I realize that sometimes that is fine but in a case where they tried and fail.............why continue on. The loss in good will is far greater even than cost of paying for IT Tech to work on a dead horse. Go figure!

Yes if the camera is a go then I will buy the less expensive batteries. Two for $28

What about SD Cards............do I need to buy an upgrade so it can write faster? I hope that is not a stupid question but I thought I read that if you don't have a really high quality card your camera cannot write to it as fast.

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 18, 2007 1:26 PM

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Hmmm... good question. I'm sure a fast card will let your pictures write faster. I have a cheap 4GB card and don't have a problem with write speeds, but I'm also not interested in continuous shooting. I have read that after 8 pictures or so of continuous shooting (whatever flash memory is stored on the camera itself allows you to take) the camera needs to write it onto your memory card, so the faster your card can write the data, the faster you can take your next continuous set of pictures.

Probably because of read/write times as well, I notice a little lag when deleting pictures and whatnot on my SD800IS. Maybe I should buy an ultraspeed card :)

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 18, 2007 1:46 PM

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Great...well in researching I read it can make a difference. If you buy one and try it let me know. A couple of months ago I was reading on a photographer's Blog about getting a professional grade card for faster writing of pictures. It made me think that you want to have everything geared quickly. A photo opportunity can be missed ...........you may not get a second chance. Smiles You are Totally awesome. Shela with No Points!

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 18, 2007 1:59 PM

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To get that great shot quickly, the card has nothing to do with it. It's the quickness of shots that the speed of card will help you with. The camera first takes it's shot using the interal memory, and then writes it to the card. Your first picture will take the same amount of time regardless of how fast your card speed is because of it. Now, if you want to pull out your camera and take 10 successive pictures in 4-5 seconds, you better have the faster memory :)

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 18, 2007 2:22 PM

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Ok--and yes I do. Puppies change thier expressions quickly so Lag from waiting for the picture to write is not good either.

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 18, 2007 11:23 PM

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OK, well, get the fastest memory you can, then! You'll be the fastest picture shooter this side of Japanese tourists :o)

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 19, 2007 12:30 AM

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Cute

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 19, 2007 9:27 AM

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OK, my pictures successfully imported to my computer. Let's see if I can get some posted on here...... if not, I'll be E-mailing them to you :)

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 19, 2007 9:43 AM

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OK--and where would they be posted? You mean right here or do I look somewhere else?

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 19, 2007 11:35 AM

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Sorry, there was maintenance on this site right after my post. I wanted to let you know that your E-mail link at your website doesn't work. I can't figure out how to load them on this site, so either post your E-mail here or get your website E-mail to work :)

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 19, 2007 12:10 PM

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weird about my email link not working but thank you thank you thank you for telling me. Shela@weims4sale.com

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 19, 2007 12:19 PM

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OK I fixed the link on the Website too............hmmmmmmmm
No wonder the number of inquiries had fallen off. Thank you again

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 19, 2007 11:25 PM

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The website link still isn't working for your E-mail. I sent you 5 pictures, though. If you can find a way to post them here for others, feel free. :)

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 21, 2007 3:56 PM

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Matt I received the camera awhile ago. I charged the battery and took 4 quick pictures. Wow..........it was fast. I am love so far. The pictures turned out great. I will post more later.

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 21, 2007 4:25 PM

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Sounds good :) Enjoy, as I am :) Some of my wedding shots were better than the photographers'! Best camera!

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 27, 2007 11:18 PM

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OK Matt................we have had the camera about 6 days. We have used it a lot. We did pick up a few white spots but we are sure that is was a lighting issue because when used correctly there was no problem. We do have a lot of dust in our house thanks to living on the farm and having several Weims in the house. Smile Anyhow we did a mini photo shoot on some one week old puppies and Cliff wanted to use his Rebel, however he agreed to take three extra snapshots of the first puppy for comparison. I posted the ones take with the Rebel and the ones taken with the SD800 IS and you can look if you like.
Here is the link http://www.weims4sale.homestead.com/OwyheeStarWeims/Topper/TopperandDurangoMay2007/Camera_PuppyPage.html

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 28, 2007 8:59 AM

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Well, those look very good, and comparable to the Rebel (which even surprised me, since the Rebel is such a great (and more expensive) camera!

I would suggest you step back as far as the zoom allows when taking your pictures, to help the overexposure. Or just get a few auxillary lights so you may not even need the flash. This will definitely help the problem with the Rebel, since it has better zoom. With the SD800IS you may need to put it to 5.7x digital/optical enhance to get far enough to avoid flash overflow.

Otherwise, great pictures, and cute puppies!! I hope you continue to enjoy your camera :)

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 28, 2007 11:16 AM

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I love it................yes pictures could have been better............very quick setting but adequate for we are doing. Good pointers and again thank you. Cliff is disallusioned with his Rebel now because this rivals it. ha He has special lens and extras for it. I laughed at him just a little.

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

May 29, 2007 6:26 AM

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Have you had a chance to experiment with continuous shooting yet? I was impressed with the frame-by-frame speed. Just change the setting and hold down the picture button, and pictures will just spew out about every half-second. Pretty impressive :)

Just keep experimenting with the camera. I still haven't realized the full potential of this camera :) I haven't even used macro-mode yet, because I can get macro shots just by using the digital zoom, it's of such good quality.

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 29, 2007 12:19 PM

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Matt..............I am thrilled with the camera. I wish I had more time to play and experiment with it. The photos we took were quick which is what we need. We are actually quite swamped with puppy business right now....and it seems that Cliff thought Topper was not pregnant so he went ahead and mated Mollie and Callie. They are also PG and due anytime. So, since we are very very hands-on and raise them in the house I am going to be very busy. The SD 800 IS will make my life eaier though. I will be able to take quick pictures. As you can see we do weekly updates and it is quite a production. People like to see what is happening with their baby. hmmmmmmmmmm So, if you don't hear much from me you will know I will be back later. It might be later in the summer. Callie and Mollie are due the first part of June and I have to make adjustments to our whelping arrangements and get things in order so we are ready. I do so appreciate all your comments and information and I would love to stay in touch so I could pointers and work through any problems that incur. I need to go put a review on here for the camera. Maybe I can do that right now.

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

May 29, 2007 12:36 PM

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OK I placed a review..........smiels

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Shela Nielsen 15 pts

June 10, 2007 2:54 PM

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Matt...........we have continued to use the Canon SD800 IS with what we consider is great results. I posted a second review just because now we have used it longer and know more about it. I feel our greatest limitations are: 1. Our skill level 2. We use it in less than optimal situations with little thought for changing the settings.
This morning we snapped these quick photos of Mollie's puppies all lines up in the whelping pen without adequate lighting but they turned out great. Here is the link if you care to look: http://weims4sale.homestead.com/OwyheeStarWeims/Mollie/MollieXDurango2007/BonusPhotosA_Mollie_Durango.html

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

June 11, 2007 6:43 AM

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Shela, I like the picture of Dusty by the fireplace! Good shot!

With the litter pictures, I can see what you mean about sub-optimal lighting! Really, that's all you can ask for, taking a picture in a small, nearly dark room with a flash. The overexposure comes from the flash's light having nowhere to dissipate. The only thing I can think of doing is standing further away (I don't know if that's even possible in that room! :)), or getting a 30W or so white light in the room and avoiding flash. Those are good pictures to demonstrate that the prevalence of white spots isn't what other reviewers are insisting.

I'm not sure if it's form post-editing or cropping pictures, but there seems to be some "noise" in the pictures. If you're using flash, you can have your ISO at 100 and there shouldn't be a problem with lack of light. It might help the overexposure, too. From the pictures I see on your website, it looks like ISO400 or so was used on those(?)

Thanks for the pictures :)

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Shela Nielsen 15 pts

June 11, 2007 11:02 AM

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Wow Matt you are awesome. OK you see how little I know. I tried turning off the flash............I really don't have the concept yet. As you can tell we have a hundred things to do each day with all the puppies. It is simple they have to come first. I post quick shots..........I need to improve my technique but all in all people are thrilled of course to see the pictures.

How do I set the ISO. You see point and shoot.........dont' think has been my motto. ha
I turned on the camera it said ISO High.......and it is set on auto. Well I am terrible at reading the directions ..........I just play at it when I can. Anyhow I will have to look up the directions. Anyhow, I cannot complain about the quality of picture for the circumstances. Well................. I need to learn how to reset the ISO it appears. Maybe I will have time today to check on that. Thanks again! S

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

June 11, 2007 11:03 AM

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Oooh the Dusty by the fireplace was taken with my Nikon Cool pix..........

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

June 11, 2007 11:46 AM

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Dusty was a good picture. Completely different lighting conditions, but the Nikon did a good job :)

To change the ISO, you need to be in Program Auto (the click-wheel one notch down). Then use the directional buttons to flip through the ISO settings. This is really the only main difference between Program Auto and full Auto. Just a word of warning -- if you're using Program Auto and have the ISO set to <400 in a low-light room with no flash, you will get excessive blurring... the higher the ISO, the less blur (and unfortunately more noise!). If you want to avoid the flash, you can put the camera on a table or floor and set it to 2-10 second timed picture, that way there's no movement on your part to blur the picture (any movement the puppies make will be blurred, though, so this would probably only be good when they're sleeping!).

Again, nothing wrong with your pictures, you're working with the worst lighting possible! Just trying to help. Enjoy :)

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Shela Nielsen 15 pts

June 11, 2007 12:09 PM

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You are very helpful...........I will try to get a chance to take some pictures after resetting the camera. It really really helps to have the feedback. This website has been a lifesaver--especially you.

To be honest my mechanical ability is nil. ha ...........I wish that was a joke. So it takes me awhile to catch on, but as I have said from the start this camera is easy to operate and get decent pictures with little to no effort.

BTW we did get a few white spots when we first tried it but again when I read in the book and Cliff and I discussed this we decided quickly this was operator error and not a flaw in the camera. Since then, we have not gotten any white spots on any picture. I am sorry if that upsets some people but I believe it is true. If anything changes my mind I will be back to post that as well.

I am very happy with the pictures..........and those in the whelping box were pretty nice considering. We do have a lamp but when you are looking at this type of shot the less you move and adjust things the better the chance you will capture the moment. Mama is apt to jump up and drop-off feeding thinking she is missing out on something. Smiles

As always.........thanks so much S

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

June 20, 2007 6:44 PM

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Matt if you get this I wanted you to see the latest pictures. No, I still have not improved the lighting but I think the pictures are better. If you have time let me know what you think....thanks
http://www.weims4sale.homestead.com/OwyheeStarWeims/Topper/TopperandDurangoMay2007/Fifth_Puppy_Update.html

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TylerFullStick (TylerFullStick) 6 pts

June 30, 2007 4:36 PM

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Dear Puppy Photog....yes, your pup pics are improving greatly! Keep experimenting and soon you'll have absolutely crisp and stunning point and shoots!

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Shela Nielsen 15 pts

June 30, 2007 9:48 PM

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Thanks for the encouragement. Right now the puppies are taking all my time............NO time to really work with the camera. It is just point and shoot.....ha Still I am happy. People think the pictures are wonderful.......smiles
I think the pictures are as good as we often get with the Canon Rebel ..........anyhow I do thank you for the encouragement!

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Matt (MAK1981) 6009 pts

July 2, 2007 9:14 AM

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Your pictures are definitely getting better :) Possibly because more light is getting in the picture compared to that no-light room you were in before! Love the pictures!!

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Shela Nielsen 15 pts

July 2, 2007 10:15 AM

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Thanks Matt.........I know I thought about the light but I am using the same area..........The top of a small cabinet. It seems we are going the mini photo shoots quickly and at the same time of the day but I suppose the light still might be better because of the time of the year. There is more light and it is brighter outside don't you think? I have really enjoyed having the input and encouragement from everyone....especially you. With all these puppies Whew it keeps us busy. We didn't have any for a long time and then Cliff was sure a couple were not PG so he mated again. That means we have more than we planned on..............but they are wonderful. And it is cool to have them to take pictures of and practice Thanks again S

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Shela Nielsen (Weimlover) 29 pts

September 2, 2008 1:19 PM

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OK.........I have been using this camera for more than a year. I have not had a lot of pictures with the white spots like I was told would happen. There were a very few........I figure dust in the air but I am not sure. I have taken countless pictures. I doubt there is a week that goes by that I have not taken at least 250 pictures. I am still taking puppy pictures. In all honesty, I have not improved. I usually in a hurry to get the photo shoot completed and it falls short of perfection. With puppies wiggling and me trying to juggle them and get a decent photo. Instead of the pets setting I have found the CM with 1600 Iso to work better. I am not sure that is the best setting but the pictures are consistently better and require less adjustment and tweaking. Now having used this camera for more than a year.........almost a year and a half I must thank you for the help in choosing it. It has served me well.

I continue to struggle with shutter lapse.........has anything happened that helps this in the point and shoot camera? Also my husband keeps thinking we need a photo cube to improve our pictures. I am having problems envisioning how I am going to handle a pup inside the cube. Most of those cubes are white and when I have used shiny white fabric behind the pups the pictures have not been stellar. Well ...........I never put enough time into learning photography to do a great job. Pictures are important but I must admit I spend more time chaning bedding, handing pups, taking care of Weims, and scooping pooh. smiles

Here are our most recent puppy pictures: http://weims4sale.homestead.com/OwyheeStarWeims/Penny/Penny_Dusty_Litter2008/Week_2.html
http://weims4sale.homestead.com/OwyheeStarWeims/Storm/Storm_Puppies_2008/Week_1.html

I look for many things in chosing which picture to use. There is a cuteness factor that overrides quality at times. REgardless of what I do some pictures are clearer and better than others. I do prefocus between shots to get a better pictures. Well.............I am interested in hearing back from some of you professionals. Thanks for all your help.

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Is the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS a good choice for me?

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