HQ Burst Mode Vs Sports Mode

I have often found that, when trying to use the Sports Mode on the SX40, the focus is too slow and the amount of frames per second the camera captures just doesn't do the job.

Well I was out for a walk this afternoon in an area with a lot of bees and thought about how I could really do with a camera that can do lots of frames per second so I could capture the bees in flight. Well along comes HQ Burst Mode which I had neglected to try out since getting the camera really.

This mode shoots 8 frames per second and continually focuses during the picture taking process which means that likeliness is... you will get at least one decent picture of the 8 that you took.

So I went chasing after the bees and managed to get some pretty decent shots:

I went to a Rodeo in Wyoming a few months ago and the sports mode couldn't get one shot in focus... if onyl I had known about this setting then!!

Anyway, just sharing some thoughts ;)

Canon gave a response! (+ new upcoming video)

So exciting times indeed when Canon respond to a question!

I wrote to Canon to ask them if it was likely that they would release an update for the SX40 that allowed us to have a higher ISO when we are using a slow shutter. This would improve night photography and instead of giving us a couple of dots on a black background... we would actually start to see constellations and clear stars.

I didn't expect and answer but Canon kindly responded to explain their reasoning for locking the ISO on the SX40 and potential plans for changing this in the future. Note that I say "Potential" plans as we all know it would be much better for Canon to just wait until the next model so that it includes one more extra thing that seems superior over the SX40!

So here's Canons response anyway:

"I am pleased to advise that I have received a response regarding the ISO limitation on the SX40. I have been advised that this feedback has been provided before, and therefore Canon Inc are aware of this request from customers. As suspected, unfortunately we do not have any further information on if this will be changed - either by firmware for this model, or if it will be removed in subsequent models. They advise that this limitation has been placed on the SX40 due to the small size of the sensor, and the fact that this combined with higher ISO's will mean that the noise/grain will be significant. They have therefore decided to restrict the ISO to guarantee a certain standard of image quality. I appreciate that this is disappointing for you, I apologise for this and hope that this is of some use to you." So whilst they aren't guaranteeing anything, they have explained the thought process behind the limitations and they have acknowledged that it is frustrating for SX40 users. So rather than wait to spend another 400-500 pounds on a new camera and wait another who knows how many months for its release... we are going to have a play with CHDK to unlock that ISO and get ourselves some good old night photography. As we all know by now, the SX40 only allows a 15" shutter speed and when we use that 15 second our ISO is limited to 100. So we are going to use CHDK to unlock our ISO and capture that night sky whilst still keeping our pictures at 15 seconds. Now, CHDK can unlock shutter speed as well, and to be honest, the picture quality will be better with a slower shutter, than it would with a high ISO but we are going to take this one step at a time. So the plans for the next video is to show how to use CHDK to override the ISO and take long exposure night shots. And then we are going to top up that knowledge with how to extend the shutter speed instead to get the same result with higher quality. I hope that hasn't baffled anyone too much and keep your eyes peeled for the next video.

Photoshop Tutorial: Using Actions to Batch Edit - Black and White

Here's a new video for Photoshop running through the methods you can follow to get Photoshop to edit lots of pictures in one go for you. Sit back and let Photoshop change all your pictures to Black and White whilst you go have a dance in the kitchen and make a cup of tea!

How do you get that background blur?

Here's something for you SX40'ers to think about.

It can be really confusing when it comes to Aperture because our SX40 doesn't respond quite how an SLR will to changing Aperture.

When you change the aperture of an SLR lens, it essentially widens the hole that light passes through when you use a low number like f2.7. This allows more light to pass in and therefore helps us take pictures in lower light conditions.

HOWEVER, there is another aspect of our picture that is affected by this. In the SX40 it is incredibly subtle, whereas an SLR responds very strongly to it and it is the amount of blur aperture controls.

When all of that light floods in, the focus is on the foreground and the background is blurred out. If the aperture was at a higher value such as f8.0, the light is travelling through a much smaller gap and the focus is more concentrated allowing the background to be more in focus.

So with an SLR, a small aperture number like f2.7 lets in more light and causes more background blur. A higher number like f8.0 lets in less light and causes less background blur.

This is how many pictures are taken where the photographer has blurred out everything but their main focus - they set their aperture to a low number.

A lot of people are asking how to do this on the SX40 and the truth is, it just doesn't respond the same way an SLR lens would and makes that effect a little more out of reach.

Best plan is to use the Bokeh tips. Keep a big distance between you and your subject and another big gap between your subject and it's background. Zoom all the way in and it should throw the background out completely.

You can also try using macro mode and getting up close but that isn't always ideal.

I hope that clears up some peoples questions about background blur.

Just a last note to mention the recent lighting guidelines helpsheet I posted. That is only really ideal for the SX40 because of the issue with the aperture varying between cameras so bear that in mind ;)

So what did I learn whilst away?...

Hi All!

So I realize I have been ridiculously absent since I came back from my trip. Main reasons being, getting back into work and the need to travel away from home the last few weekends (and every weekend in the foreseeable future at the moment).

I have a list of new videos in mind, it's just getting the time to do them. If I don't get one done tonight then we're probably looking towards Sunday or early next week but I will be doing them again for sure.

But returning to chat about my trip, there were a million different things I wanted to get pictures of and some pictures were a real challenge but I had successes and failures throughout - mega learning curve in terms of photography.

One thing I didn't manage during the trip, was a decent night time shot of the sky which was gutting because the sky was so clear. Some of the areas we stayed in were amazing at night. We stayed at this Navajo Indian site in Monument Valley and slept out under the stars in our sleeping bags.... what a view. I basically fell asleep looking at the stars. However.... it wasn't the best experience camera-wise as I managed to run out of battery and lose my spare battery (which I still haven't found!). So whilst I could have got some amazing night shots... I had no battery left.

I had a bit of a fight with CHDK while I was away too, I kept finding it made my screen go white when I activated it and I had to keep resetting the camera until it showed up properly. I don't know if it was something to do with the memory card, the version of the hack or the camera but I'm hoping it was the hacks fault!

As most Facebookers will probably know I also had a bad time with CHDK in terms of HDR. I took sooooo many HDR triple exposures when I was away and the RAW files were saved as CR2 files which don't open in photoshop... usually they do, but not when CHDK creates them for some reason. This was my fault as I didn't check what file type I was saving but it was totally gutting that pretty much all my HDR images are gonna have to be done with JPEGS now. Nevermind... we live and learn right!

One thing I did discover in my photography was a far nicer image ratio of 16:9. I always knew the camera could do this but I never thought to use it as I was always one to stick with a much more "square" shaped image.... no idea why really. But we went out one night, someone had got hold of my camera and accidentally changed the ratio to 16:9. I hadn't noticed for ages until a couple of days later I was in Bryce Canyon I believe and I saw one of my scenery images on the camera and realised that it looked much better than a lot of the pictures I had taken previously. The new ratio gave it a more widescreen look which seemed to get far more of the scene than I was expecting. I really loved the setting that I left it like that for the rest of the trip and was really happy with the results. Even the images of people and small objects were taken with that setting and they still looked good.

And now for my guilty confession.... I used Auto quite a lot when I was away :P. Whilst it was nice to work on my photography and mess around with the camera, for most places I was being hurried along by the group and leaders and just didn't have the time so sit down for some proper photography. However the pics I took on auto came out really well and those that didn't were an indication for me that I needed to switch to Manual.

I went down to Miami beach quite early on in the trip and had a great evening taking pictures down there. I did some 10 second exposures which came out really nicely. I had a similar experience in Chicago. The fountain there is absolutely gorgeous next to the harbour and turning around you just see this stunning city skyline. Chicago was certainly one of my favourite places. I took some pictures down by the fountain there and they also came out quite nicely.

So that's the short version of my photography experience. I'm sure you will hear more snippets about things I learnt in America/Canada but for now I won't chew your ears off!

I will post some pictures into this blog so you can see what I am talking about but they are at home at the moment.

Ciao for now :)

New Website!

I'm so sorry for being so quiet since I've been back.

I have been taking all of the requests for new videos down and I haven't forgotten about the potential giveaway I was planning :) (I just need to make sure I can afford to do it :P)

My new website is: http://fatdragon100.weebly.com/

It will keep all of the links and downloads and videos etc in one place so you don't have to look through a million different links to find everything.

Back in the UK

Hi All,

I am back in the UK after a 3 month break to the USA. I have many many pics to show and lots more to mess around with in Photoshop so hopefully they will be up here soon!

Just dropping in for now to update everyone so keep your eyes peeled for new stuff coming soon :)