Gritty Pictures

[wseguin]

I recently purchased the Canon Powershot SX 10 IS and I am getting some gritty pictures at time on the auto setting.....can anyone give me advice on how I should set up the camera or what settings should I use so that this doesn't happen?

Many thanks!

[dcclark]

Are you taking photos in relatively low-light situations? By low-light, I mean indoors (even with normal indoor lighting), or really any time where you don't have a lot of BRIGHT light.

I'm guessing that your Powershot is going with a high-ISO setting because it can't get enough light -- high ISOs give you grain. But it would help a lot if you could post a sample to be certain.

[wseguin]

Yes, these pictures are taken indoors, I am getting gritty video as well...here is a sample pic. Suggestions for settings for indoors?

[dcclark]

Yeah, that looks exactly like high-ISO noise. Solutions include: use your flash, or bring in external lights (like SEVERAL lamps, preferably floor lamps pointed at the ceiling) to improve the light.

Pocket cams do very poorly in low-light situations -- it's just a result of their size and manufacture.

[chrean]

My wife owns a Powershot SX 20 IS, very similar to your camera, and we never, ever, set it to shoot at more than 200 ISO.
Use the force... I mean the flash, Luke!

Jokes apart, if you take pictures with auto settings and low light it will likely autoset high ISO = high noise.
Listen to dcclark.