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Need sharp portraits from point and shoot. flibberdyjibbet !OxEQ.F0AOw
Do any of you know a point and shoot digital camera that makes sharp portraits?

I've read hundreds of reviews and viewed pbase.com samples. It seems the only way to get a sharp face is with telephoto.

This picture is from a Canon S530. Powershots seem to be the default P&S recommendation. But it's still blurry, even though the light is (mostly) even, everyone is holding still, and the distance is normal.

There's a lot of kids and old people in my family. They're only going to young once, or they're not going to be around much longer. I need good, sharp pictures.
>> zoom flibberdyjibbet !OxEQ.F0AOw
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Here's a zoom sample. 19.6mm with an Olympus C770. You can see details like hair strands, spots on the face, etc. But even the c770 won't do this at normal, portrait distance.

Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeOLYMPUS CORPORATIONCamera ModelC770UZCamera SoftwareACD Systems Digital ImagingMaximum Lens Aperturef/3.2Image-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution72 dpiVertical Resolution72 dpiImage Created2005:09:12 11:42:23Exposure Time1/80 secF-Numberf/3.2Exposure ProgramCreativeISO Speed Rating125Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModePatternLight SourceUnknownFlashNo FlashFocal Length19.60 mmColor Space InformationsRGBImage Width700Image Height523RenderingNormalExposure ModeAutoWhite BalanceAutoScene Capture TypeStandardGain ControlLow Gain UpContrastNormalSaturationNormalSharpnessNormalCompression SettingSQMacro ModeNormal
>> Photon
if the photo is not sharp enough with your current camera, use photoshop!
:D
>> Anonymous
1. use a reasonably high ISO setting (200 is ok)
2. use a tripod
3. use a timer
4. make sure there's adequate lighting, or use flash
5. if you can (or want), sharpen in photoshop

voila, sharp photos in a point-and-shoot.
>> Anonymous
>>1. use a reasonably high ISO setting (200 is ok)
no, use low ISO. higher ISO values are less sharp and noisier

>>2. use a tripod
>>3. use a timer
>>4. make sure there's adequate lighting
>>5. if you can (or want), sharpen in photoshop
yes


>>or use flash
no

don't hope for very sharp photos with a P&S. preferrably, get a camera with a Zeiss or Leica lens.

>> sharp sample flibberdyjibbet !OxEQ.F0AOw
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I've been looking through www.pbase.com/BAS_photography which has some unusually sharp samples from an Olympus C770.

This sample has no blur. The 1/1000s shutter speed seems to be the key, because the aperture is not narrow at f2.8, focal length 6.8mm is hardly zoom, and ISO 64 is the opposite of fast film. Yet is has faces in 3 field depths and they're all reasonably sharp. It probably was processed, but you still need a decent original to get this.

Regarding Zeiss lenses, mosy Sony cameras use them, and the portrait samples are still blurry.

Anyhow, I was asking for people's personal experiences with their point and shoots. If you own one that makes sharp portraits, I'd like to hear about it. I know the general principles, but I still need to pick a good camera. And I still have not found one sharp portrait from a Canon Powershot.

Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeOLYMPUS CORPORATIONCamera ModelC770UZCamera SoftwareACD Systems Digital ImagingMaximum Lens Aperturef/2.8Image-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution72 dpiVertical Resolution72 dpiImage Created2005:12:05 21:45:48Exposure Time1/1000 secF-Numberf/2.8Exposure ProgramManualISO Speed Rating64Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModeSpotLight SourceUnknownFlashFlashFocal Length6.80 mmColor Space InformationsRGBImage Width500Image Height375RenderingNormalExposure ModeManualWhite BalanceAutoScene Capture TypeStandardGain ControlNoneContrastNormalSaturationNormalSharpnessNormalCompression SettingHQMacro ModeNormal
>> Anonymous
I use a Canon Powershot S50, which has never given me noticeably soft photos. I presume you're using an A series Powershot, not a S series?
>> S50 flibberdyjibbet !OxEQ.F0AOw
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>33461
NOW we're talkin. Thanks for that.
>> Anonymous
>>33448

Don't forget that point and shoots typically have (or had) a smaller sensor compared to SLRs. This increases the depth of field making it difficult to actually get good background blur even at F2.8.

>>33327
Regarding the sharpness, could it be out of focus rather than soft? It'd be nice to see the EXIF data for that shot. In place of that, I will ask: Is this on auto mode? Is there an option to set it to macro mode (I've seen it marked with a flower icon), if so was it used at the time?
>> flibberdyjibbet !dxXqzZbxPY
>>33465
I can't find that pic now, but I'm starting to think its an A530, not an S530. My mistake.

S series is not necessarily superior in the samples I've been viewing, but the S50 is. Thanks again to the guy who mentioned that one.
>> Anonymous
>>33448
there's quite some shopping in that

and btw, don't confuse background blur with sharpness
>> Kawauso
Poster of>>33461here

>>33470
No problem. You might have a little difficulty tracking one down these days though since even its sucessors (S60, S70 & S80) are no longer in production, shouldn't be impossible though :D some more sample shots using one: http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/canons50_samples/
>> Anonymous
Nikon 4600 and/or 5600
>> 4600 flibberdyjibbet !dxXqzZbxPY
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>>33492
4600 is hit or miss, mostly miss.
>> 5600 flibberdyjibbet !dxXqzZbxPY
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5600 also gets it wrong more often than not.
You probably set yours better than the noobs posting online, but the S50 proved the default program can be good, so I'm going to be looking for that.