Help fix A70 Trip photos

[atomstryker]

I just got back from a trip to San Diego with my A70. I'm looking at the pics and they look like- for lack of a better word- crap. I'm still a novice photographer and I'd appreciate any assistance someone more experienced can give me in determining what went wrong and any steps for fixing them. All pics are ISO 50.

Kid with a goat
In that picture, the colors seem too red (possible white balance problem?), and it appears blurry and not sharp. It was taken with a 1/250 sec exposure on f/4.0 on an overcast day.


Giraffes eating
In this one, the sky is totally blown out, colors seem off, blurry. It was taken from a moving tour bus.
1/320 and f/3.2


Some ducks
On this one I'm completely stumped. It came out better than the rest, but something still seems wrong. Any ideas?
1/125 and f/4.8

A red panda
Another one I don't understand. Lighting seems bad on the left side, blowing out details. It also seems blurry.
1/30 and f/4.8

A giant panda
Don't know what went wrong. Doesn't seem crisp, colors don't seem right.
1/60 and f/4.8

 

[Xionide]

I dont see the problem.

-Xionide

 

[atomstryker]

They definitely don't seem as "nice" as other pics I've seen that were pics taken with an A series camera.

 

[edro]

If you mean that they are too dark... your ISO is too low. Raise the ISO to 100 or 200 and they will brighten up amazingly, and at 100, you wouldn't have to worry about blur.

 

[atomstryker]

I was under the impression you should use the lowest ISO available...?

 

[Anubis]

i did a quick once over is Photoshop they will be here in a sec

you just need to make a few level adjustments and they are fine

something you cant fix, like blown highlights, the reason that happens is because its the limatation of a P&S digi cam
auto white balance messes up color sometimes, giveing you that red cast


http://www.tweaknasty.com/ran/

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: atomstryker
I just got back from a trip to San Diego with my A70. I'm looking at the pics and they look like- for lack of a better word- crap. I'm still a novice photographer and I'd appreciate any assistance someone more experienced can give me in determining what went wrong and any steps for fixing them. All pics are ISO 50.

Kid with a goat
In that picture, the colors seem too red (possible white balance problem?), and it appears blurry and not sharp. It was taken with a 1/250 sec exposure on f/4.0 on an overcast day.


Giraffes eating
In this one, the sky is totally blown out, colors seem off, blurry. It was taken from a moving tour bus.
1/320 and f/3.2


Some ducks
On this one I'm completely stumped. It came out better than the rest, but something still seems wrong. Any ideas?
1/125 and f/4.8

A red panda
Another one I don't understand. Lighting seems bad on the left side, blowing out details. It also seems blurry.
1/30 and f/4.8

A giant panda
Don't know what went wrong. Doesn't seem crisp, colors don't seem right.
1/60 and f/4.8

Remind me what the f/x.x number meant?

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: edro13
If you mean that they are too dark... your ISO is too low. Raise the ISO to 100 or 200 and they will brighten up amazingly, and at 100, you wouldn't have to worry about blur.

Wouldn't do anything other than add noise. It does look like the exposure is a bit off though, next time trying playing around with the exposure compensation.

And don't worry, one of the PS whizzes can fix most of the problems in those pics (correcting the white balance and auto-balance should help alot).

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: atomstryker
I was under the impression you should use the lowest ISO available...?

Lowest ISO if you're in a generally bright area like the sunny outdoors. If you're in a darker area like a dimly lit room, you can raise your ISO for better lighting but at the cost of a little noise. At least that's what I've seen from my camera. (S200)

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: TuxDave

Originally posted by: atomstryker
I just got back from a trip to San Diego with my A70. I'm looking at the pics and they look like- for lack of a better word- crap. I'm still a novice photographer and I'd appreciate any assistance someone more experienced can give me in determining what went wrong and any steps for fixing them. All pics are ISO 50.

Kid with a goat
In that picture, the colors seem too red (possible white balance problem?), and it appears blurry and not sharp. It was taken with a 1/250 sec exposure on f/4.0 on an overcast day.


Giraffes eating
In this one, the sky is totally blown out, colors seem off, blurry. It was taken from a moving tour bus.
1/320 and f/3.2


Some ducks
On this one I'm completely stumped. It came out better than the rest, but something still seems wrong. Any ideas?
1/125 and f/4.8

A red panda
Another one I don't understand. Lighting seems bad on the left side, blowing out details. It also seems blurry.
1/30 and f/4.8

A giant panda
Don't know what went wrong. Doesn't seem crisp, colors don't seem right.
1/60 and f/4.8

Remind me what the f/x.x number meant?

f/x.x = aperture. the amount of light comes through the lens. also, represents the depth of field.

 

[ClueLis]

Something that could help the sky is a polarizer lens. You can get a filter adapter for the A70.

Edit: Also, the color issues can be easily fixed by playing with the color balance (or if you're comfortable with it, levels/curves) in something like Photoshop or GIMP.

 

[Ikonomi]

Originally posted by: TuxDave

Originally posted by: atomstryker
I just got back from a trip to San Diego with my A70. I'm looking at the pics and they look like- for lack of a better word- crap. I'm still a novice photographer and I'd appreciate any assistance someone more experienced can give me in determining what went wrong and any steps for fixing them. All pics are ISO 50.

Kid with a goat
In that picture, the colors seem too red (possible white balance problem?), and it appears blurry and not sharp. It was taken with a 1/250 sec exposure on f/4.0 on an overcast day.


Giraffes eating
In this one, the sky is totally blown out, colors seem off, blurry. It was taken from a moving tour bus.
1/320 and f/3.2


Some ducks
On this one I'm completely stumped. It came out better than the rest, but something still seems wrong. Any ideas?
1/125 and f/4.8

A red panda
Another one I don't understand. Lighting seems bad on the left side, blowing out details. It also seems blurry.
1/30 and f/4.8

A giant panda
Don't know what went wrong. Doesn't seem crisp, colors don't seem right.
1/60 and f/4.8

Remind me what the f/x.x number meant?

That is the aperture or f-stop.

The pictures look like they were shot on an overcast day, which can be difficult to compensate for. They're too dark, with too little contrast. I don't think you really did anything wrong, just that you were in a tough situation.

At least one of those is readily explainable, though: The red panda shot was taken at 1/30 of a second and f 4.8. Unless you have a very steady hand, you're not going to get a clear picture at 4.8 and 1/30; you need a larger aperture.