shooting modes problem

[beckyboo]

I have a canon powershot sx 20is and I recently discovered that I love shooting in TV mode, mainly because I have a 11mth old baby and can capture her movements without it looking blurry. A friend of mine suggested that I tried AV mode. However, when I tried it...I can't adjust the shutter speed, only the f-stop and exposure. Will I always have to shoot in TV mode? Also, I do have a slight problem with TV mode. I just tried taking pictures of my daughter in her crib with the room light on, curtains are closed (of course it's night) and I always have to use flash?? Is there a way to "lighten" the picture without using flash, but getting a good shot without the glare from the flash? When I 1/2 press the shutter, the f. number lights up red saying "2.8" I'm thinking there should be a way to change it...I just dont know how...the flash is just soooo harsh, and lots of times unforgiving, esp. with shadows. I've had my new camera for a year, and I'm really trying hard to get out of shooting in AUTO, and use the other features. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

[autofocus]

Becky, in TV mode the camera will choose a possible acceptable aperture to use, and you can't change it. The same is true if you shoot in AV mode, the camera will choose the appropriate shutter speed automatically once you manually set the aperture, and you can't override the camera. However, if you shoot in manual mode "M" you can freely change either or both. Concerning your flash issue, the camera senses an insufficient ambient light situation and will want to use the flash...you should be able to control that in the creative modes (on, or off) The long and the short of it is if there's not enough light for an acceptable exposed photo, you will need to use the flash, or add more ambient light

[inkista]

Originally Posted by beckyboo

I have a canon powershot sx 20is and I recently discovered that I love shooting in TV mode, mainly because I have a 11mth old baby and can capture her movements without it looking blurry. A friend of mine suggested that I tried AV mode. However, when I tried it...I can't adjust the shutter speed, only the f-stop and exposure. Will I always have to shoot in TV mode?

Only if you want to "lock in" the shutter speed.

Tv mode locks the shutter speed, and then slides the aperture around as much as it can to get a good exposure. That's why it's also known as "shutter priority" mode: where you give the shutter speed the prioirty over the other settings. Av is "aperture priority": you lock in the aperture you want, and the shutter speed slides around to get a good exposure. You could also go into M mode, and adjust both to taste, while watching the meter/LCD to judge your exposure. It's up to you, depending on what you want to get and what ISOs you're happy with.

Also, I do have a slight problem with TV mode.

Actually, this isn't a problem with TV mode. It's a problem with not-enough-light. The one thing these superzoom bridgecameras kinda suck at is low-light photography, mostly because of high iso noise performance. Cameras need more light to see by than our eyes do. Shooting in the dark is hard to do even with cameras that do iso 1600 without noise and faster-than-f/2.8 lenses.

... Is there a way to "lighten" the picture without using flash, but getting a good shot without the glare from the flash? When I 1/2 press the shutter, the f. number lights up red saying "2.8"...

The red means that you need a wider aperture than the ens can give you to get a decent exposure with the shutter speed you've set. In other words, you're maxed out. You can't get any more light from the aperture.

Every exposure you take is governed by three settings: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.

The higher your ISO, the more light you can grab, but the more noise you're going to get.
The larger your aperture (lower your f-number), the more light you can grab, but the thinner your DoF is going to be.
The slower your shutter speed, the more light you can grab, but motion blur, either from subject movement or camera shake from handholing, will register more easily.

So, to get more light, you can:

a) increase your ISO until you can get a good exposure and deal with the noise.

b) set a slower shutter speed and stabilize the camera with a tripod. This way you don't have to worry about camera shake blur, just subject movement blur.

c) add more light to the scene (shoot in the daytime with the curtains open, turn on some more lights, use a flash).

When you add light to the scene with a flash, btw, it doesn't have to have that washed-out white look, but this will require that you not use the built-in flash of the camera. That's why the SX20IS has a flash hotshoe. An external flash unit, where you can tilt and swivel the head so that you can "bounce" the light can give you softer, more diffused light.

Bouncing just means that you aim the light at a reflective surface, and use the reflected light to illuminate your subject. This is why you want the flash head to swivel and tilt--so that you can choose what surface you're going to use as your light source.

Other possibilities would include using off-camera lighting techniques, like the Strobist, where you set up your flash like a studio light with some form of diffuser/modifier to soften the light, but bouncing is a simpler technique.