s3 is

[sonedays]

I'm new to DPS and have a canon s3 is. I love this camera ( when it works)!!
I have a problem with auto focas in zoom, well any focas for that matter. And faulty image stablazation. As a matter of fact the last 3 cameras I exchanged it for have had the same problem.I have talked to canon and they want to look at it so off it goes, JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS!! grr
Has anyone heard of this problem?
I want to learn how to use the manual settings on my camera. I bought it for the ability to shoot in auto and in the pre -set settings and because It had manual settings, but I know nothing about manual settings. I want to be able to shoot a face and have the background fuzzy or blured. Can you tell me how to do that in manual ? Thank you very much.

[jimd]

Hi sonedays. I have the same camera, and I've never had a problem with focus in zoom. There might be a lot of other factors affecting your focus though - too slow of a shutter speed, lack of light, wrong setting, etc. But if you're consistently getting blurry images, maybe it is a defect.

If you want to blur the background in your portrait shots, I've had the most luck by just setting the camera preset to "Portrait", then stepping far enough away from the subject that you'll need to zoom in. That narrows your DEP (depth of field), thus blurring the background. I've also had good luck playing around with the Ap mode (aperture priority). For more information, do a search for "depth of field".

[Lynette 77]

jimd, when using the portrait setting do you use a flash? I've tried using the portrait setting (once by accident) and they seem to come out weird, like not as "soft" as I'd hoped.

[jimd]

what do you mean "weird"? I use the flash most of the time, but that's because I'm usually photographing my young kids, who are not old enough to sit still enough for a photo w/o a flash. But if you have a subject that can sit still, then your pictures will usually turn out better w/o a flash. If it's too dark, you might just have to leave the shutter open long enough to get a good shot. If you use your flash, it might be a good idea to try taking the photo from farther away, and zomming in if needed, because if you're too close, then the flash is too bright, and just washes out the subject.

[Lynette 77]

By weird I mean't the subject seemed harsh or just ended up on being too bright in the photo. I had the flash on and was at the opposite end of a 6 seater table when I took the photo. I thought that would be enough room but I'll try further away next time.

Thanks for your help jimd.