What's up with my camera??!?

[UtopianStardust]

Hi everyone. Lately, I have noticed a drop in the quality of the pictures being taken by my camera. Is it just me, or is something of such sort possible? Thank you!

[Camellia]

Hi UtopianStardust

Can you be more specific - what sort of quality issues? Do you think that you are looking at the results differently now that you are learning more about photography?

[UtopianStardust]

Hi UtopianStardust

Can you be more specific - more sort of quality issues? Do you think that you are looking at the results differently now that you are learning more about photography?

That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out. I want to know if it is possible for the quality to drop or if it's just me thinking so because I'm seeing more advanced pictures.

[Sahil]

May be posting a few shots can help.
& Check the settings too.. At times I forgot to change exposure compensation & found my clicks too dark.
& Yea very much possible, as said by Camelia, that your standard of liking a pic has gone up.

[Camellia]

I certainly have days where I think I can't do anything right and I should just give up before I make more of a fool of myself. And that's with some gear that I'm quite pleased to own.

You don't have a dslr yet, do you? Maybe you have reached the point where you are aware of the limitations of the camera you have. I certainly found that with my P&S. I still take my P&S to concerts but I'm rarely happy with the results. I saw U2 two weeks ago and I think I have 2 clear pictures. Very disappointing but I was only too aware of the limitations of the camera.

With my dslr at least now I can see the mistakes I'm making and think about what I should have done differently. I do wonder tho' if this learning process may be 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Previously, I just made sure the exposure was right - now I'm thinking about all sorts of things and I wonder if that is causing problems. Does this make sense? It sort of 'a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing'. The same with PP - I wonder if I should just keep it simple?

Hopefully, someone further along the learning curve might be able to give us pointers.

[MiniChris]

Welcome to digital....every single day, I ask myself the same questions and wonder about far more than I ever did with a film camera. Yet, each day, I also notice I've learned somethig new and can take that info on to something better....it is a learning experience, to be sure.

[Katy Noelle]

Hi, Utopia! I know just what the others mean! Also, I don't know where you're located and if it matters as much for other places, but, the light of winter is completely changing everything that I'd gotten used to, here, in New England. The light and the subject matter is just completely different, now, from what it was in the summer and I was, just recently, beginning to wonder if my camera was broken too. I'm having to use such different shutter speeds to get any kind of acceptable exposure, the wb is different - everything. Then, I wondered if it's me. Well, definitely, partly! Hang in there! (Although, would it help if we said that we think that it's definitely your camera and you need a new one, for sure?!)

[UtopianStardust]

Well, since it's all automatic, I have no controll over any of the settings. Not even shutter speed. That being said, I've noticed the pictures are not as clear as they used to be. There's a lot of noise in the picture. I don't know, maybe it's just me! :\

[carregwen]

Lately, I have noticed a drop in the quality of the pictures being taken by my camera. Is it just me, or is something of such sort possible?

Maybe your sunglasses are still glued to the front of the camera?

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Stardust,

Maybe with some of your experimenting you changed the ISO settings to high levels and forgot to chang eit back - I still do with my SLR.

[UtopianStardust]

Maybe your sunglasses are still glued to the front of the camera?

Haha! Nice one! x)

Hi Stardust,

Maybe with some of your experimenting you changed the ISO settings to high levels and forgot to chang eit back - I still do with my SLR.

I didn't even know it was possible to do that! May I get further details please?

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Stardust,

Have a look at your manual and you will find you can change the ISO probably 100, 200, 400 800. On most compact cameras it also has a standard setting of Auto ISO where the camera chooses the correct ISO for the lighting conditions. If you are trying dim light shots then this may be the cause of your poorer quality images.

I know you say you have no control over the aperture and shutter but if you increase the ISO from 100 to say 400 you will pick up to stops of light on the shutter making it faster, particularly if you hare having trouble with camera shake.

[UtopianStardust]

Hi Stardust,

Have a look at your manual and you will find you can change the ISO probably 100, 200, 400 800. On most compact cameras it also has a standard setting of Auto ISO where the camera chooses the correct ISO for the lighting conditions. If you are trying dim light shots then this may be the cause of your poorer quality images.

I know you say you have no control over the aperture and shutter but if you increase the ISO from 100 to say 400 you will pick up to stops of light on the shutter making it faster, particularly if you hare having trouble with camera shake.

Thanks for the help. It kind of makes sense now. I'll check to see if I can change it. [: