???Canon SD550 who can help???

[genette]

I just bought a Canon sd550 yesterday and have been playing with the settings and can''t seem to get the diamond pics to be so crisp like many on here. I have been playing with the Digital Macro along with the regular Macro setting. Is there some sort of other setting or something else that I''m not doing right? Also, on the Digital Macro how much zoom do you use to get that nice shot? Was this camera a good investment?

 

[pricescope]

Make sure your new camera (Congrats!) is stable, use a tripod if you have one.

 

[OliveOpal]

Sorry I cannot be of help - yet. I just ordered my Canon SD 500 (maybe upgrading to the 550 - not sure). Either way, I''ll be curious to hear more about how it works out for you. When I get mine in and have a chance to play with it, I''ll check back. By then, you''ll probably be able to teach me a thing or two about it.

 

[Mara]

if the images are fuzzy in either digital or regular macro, you are too close to the item or the lighting is not bright enough for use without flash. try pulling the camera away from the item a bit until it seems more in focus. also sometimes it looks like it's in focus but when you upload it, it's blurry. that means the camera is definitely too close. these are HUGE pictures typically, like 2MB each and about 1600x1600 so you can pull the camera away from the ring a bit and still get a whopping huge picture of the diamond, so don't be afraid to be further back a bit.

on digital macro, do not use the zoom...just put the camera closer to the ring. zoom typically degrades the quality of the photo and it's not going to be as crisp even if it's closeup. bring the camera closer to the ring or diamond and try it that way instead. i only use zoom if i am trying to not get something like head or camera obstruction and then i only use a bit of zoom and not too much, that seems to be okay.

in terms of lighting, the camera doesn't perform as crisply in dim lighting or evening lighting without the flash. it will take the picture but the shutter lags and if you have any hand shake in this kind of scenario, the picture blurs. so make sure you have adequate lighting or are taking the pictures outside under diffused lighting (great for diamonds) or inside near a bright window, or in sunlight for some fire. at night, don't use the flash and try to be sure the flash is off if you are doing detailed closeup diamond shots, the flash tends to wash a bunch of brilliance into the stone.

but just keep playing around. i had to really play with it for a day or two before getting the hang of it and was like 'oh this is not that much better than my old camera' but it really was, i just had to learn how to use it. now i can get some really amazing shots...check out the SMTR thread for my pictures, also lynnb just got this camera recently and with some tips she also is a total pro now, some of her pictures look way better than mine, ahhaha.

oh the other random thing, the SD550 does not have great 'non-shake' technology...so sometimes taking pictures of regular things like people, you might get some hand shake and it might not be that crisp. i read the best way to get around this when taking regular pictures is to put it on the 'kids and pets' setting and then take the picture, because the shutter speed is faster i think. anyway that seems to work pretty well...just an FYI!

good luck!!