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Canon A95 Settings (1 Viewer)

Robert L Jarvis

Robert L Jarvis
I use the A95 for digiscoping and find it a very good camera but:-

1) The autofocus could be faster.
2) The processing could also be faster.
3) In burst mode you cannot see the pictures being taken yet you can in A620 and A640, the later generation.

I have always thought that the LCD at 1.8 to be small but did you know this screen has more pixels than the A620 and A640 whose screens are larger i.e. 2 inch and 2.5 inch respectively.

There have been several threads/posts enquiring as to the optimum settings and replies given. Invariably it has always been suggested that Aperture Priority is the way to go and save this to the C setting. Of course there are tweaks to this such as AWB auto, etc, etc etc. Frankly I use many of these tweaks, Exp -1/3, but set images as large and fine and so on. But I do not set the camera to macro mode as some suggest, because I find this just does not work well with autofocus and neither do I find working well is setting it to infinity.

Here is the big "IF" I use my A95 on the sport setting which means the iso is set at auto. I have consistently found that this setting is faster than AP across the range of other settings and/or tweaks than any other thus providing consistently better photos. Sometimes I think people are too bogged down with the technicalities of ISO, Aperture etc instead of just getting on with it and taking your pictures. In the later models this corresponds to pets and children mode.

I recently put a picture of a Long-tailed Tit in the gallery which was taken in sport mode, -1/3, ISO auto(which in fact from the exif data was 100) and auto focus together with the usual tweaks of centre weighted etc. I would not have achieved the quality of that photo using AP of that there is no doubt IMO.

Other views on this would be welcome but what I am trying to say to many is experiment with your camera, see what works best for you, do not without thought accept third party suggestions.

I also think that the best way for digiscoping is a swing away adapter especially if you are a birder as well as a photo taker. If you are not a birder but like to take photos dump your scope and compact and get a dslr with a good lens.

On the subject of the later Canons whilst some vignetting is experienced this is not the anathema that is being portrayed, in fact it is quite wrong. I have tried for myself using the A620 and have to say it works fine for digiscoping. It is a matter of how the equipment is being used and adapter together with the way that is set up.

For a digiscoping camera for the future let me tell you now, have a look at the Canon ixus 900ti, external 3x zoom, 10 mp, Digic 3 processor, 2.5 lcd of 230000 pixels, the only thing is I am not sure if it does bursts or has a mounting screw socket, take a peek for yourself.

Look forward to hearing from you guys.
 
Last edited:
Robert L Jarvis said:
I use the A95 for digiscoping and find it a very good camera but:-

1) The autofocus could be faster.
2) The processing could also be faster.
3) In burst mode you cannot see the pictures being taken yet you can in A620 and A640, the later generation.

I have always thought that the LCD at 1.8 to be small but did you know this screen has more pixels than the A620 and A640 whose screens are larger i.e. 2 inch and 2.5 inch respectively.

There have been several threads/posts enquiring as to the optimum settings and replies given. Invariably it has always been suggested that Aperture Priority is the way to go and save this to the C setting. Of course there are tweaks to this such as AWB auto, etc, etc etc. Frankly I use many of these tweaks, Exp -1/3, but set images as large and fine and so on. But I do not set the camera to macro mode as some suggest, because I find this just does not work well with autofocus and neither do I find working well is setting it to infinity.

Here is the big "IF" I use my A95 on the sport setting which means the iso is set at auto. I have consistently found that this setting is faster than AP across the range of other settings and/or tweaks than any other thus providing consistently better photos. Sometimes I think people are too bogged down with the technicalities of ISO, Aperture etc instead of just getting on with it and taking your pictures. In the later models this corresponds to pets and children mode.

I recently put a picture of a Long-tailed Tit in the gallery which was taken in sport mode, -1/3, ISO auto(which in fact from the exif data was 100) and auto focus together with the usual tweaks of centre weighted etc. I would not have achieved the quality of that photo using AP of that there is no doubt IMO.

Other views on this would be welcome but what I am trying to say to many is experiment with your camera, see what works best for you, do not without thought accept third party suggestions.

I also think that the best way for digiscoping is a swing away adapter especially if you are a birder as well as a photo taker. If you are not a birder but like to take photos dump your scope and compact and get a dslr with a good lens.

On the subject of the later Canons whilst some vignetting is experienced this is not the anathema that is being portrayed, in fact it is quite wrong. I have tried for myself using the A620 and have to say it works fine for digiscoping. It is a matter of how the equipment is being used and adapter together with the way that is set up.

For a digiscoping camera for the future let me tell you now, have a look at the Canon ixus 900ti, external 3x zoom, 10 mp, Digic 3 processor, 2.5 lcd of 230000 pixels, the only thing is I am not sure if it does bursts or has a mounting screw socket, take a peek for yourself.

Look forward to hearing from you guys.
Robert


Agree with what you say about the A95!. My initial photo's are taken using the "Action setting" with the exposure comp set down to -2/3 and burst mode switched on.
If the subject stays, then I might try MF and zoom using optical zoom to x12. Focus using the scope, then zoom back out to less than x3, then take the photo's.

One other thing to add, NEVER zoom out as far as X3 for photo's. They are almost ALWAYS soft if you do!.
 
Alan

I have experienced that softness and now scale back when I can. But interesting to see some one else who is doing what I am with the A95.
 
Robert L Jarvis said:
Alan

I have experienced that softness and now scale back when I can. But interesting to see some one else who is doing what I am with the A95.
Hi Robert
Just bought the A-95 to back up my CP990 and have been experimenting with the settings,tried most but would not have thought to use the Kids & Pets mode (probably not even for the kids & pets) looking forward to checking the results, just a comment- up till now my best results have been obtained using auto!!! great camera though.

Regards

Rick Lawes
 
Hi Rick

On the A95, look at the setting which is depicted as a an athlete sprinting, the cats and pets setting is on the later Canon A series as the action/sport mode has been dropped. As well as that setting to help adjust the exposure back by say -1/3 and choose if you want single or continuous shooting. Although I did take up Neil's (from Hong Kong) suggestion set picture quality to lagre and fine that do not really lose anything noticeable in quality but a lot more photos on the card. Something to experiment with also trying instead of autofocus which is slow, is set the camera to macro or manual focus and use the scope to focus.

Let me know how you get on.

Robert
 
Robert,

I've found the easiest way to overcome slow autofocus, on any camera, is to use a cable release, half press the shutter button to get your focus and exposure then just hold it there until the bird is in the position you want, there is no delay at all then.

Good to hear you encouraging people to experiment.
I personally prefer to use AP, and put all the settings I normally use in C mode, as soon as you switch the camera on it's ready to go and any little tweaks can easily be done from here with the FUNC button, I have yet to find an easier or quicker way to access all the adjustments the A95 offers.
If you want to see your shots as they are taken in burst mode drop down to standard continuous instead of high speed, there is not a vast difference in speed and it gives you a good idea of when to release the shutter.

regards

John
 
Robert L Jarvis said:
Hi Rick

On the A95, look at the setting which is depicted as a an athlete sprinting, the cats and pets setting is on the later Canon A series as the action/sport mode has been dropped. As well as that setting to help adjust the exposure back by say -1/3 and choose if you want single or continuous shooting. Although I did take up Neil's (from Hong Kong) suggestion set picture quality to lagre and fine that do not really lose anything noticeable in quality but a lot more photos on the card. Something to experiment with also trying instead of autofocus which is slow, is set the camera to macro or manual focus and use the scope to focus.

Let me know how you get on.

Robert
Hi Robert
My second hand purchase must be the later addition as it has the Kids & Pet function. I have been hand holding the camera for my initial trials, probably why I am not getting the best results whilst waiting for a delivery from the states for two step-down rings (52-37mm and 37-28mm) to allow me to use my existing scope adapter. these should arrive in the next few days when I will be able to get down to some serious testing.
Will post the results and comments on this thread.
As an aside the coolpix 990 and A-95 are surprisingly compatable for digiscoping same cards-same batteries-same lcd shade-same remote shutter
cable system Additional bits required A-95 lens adater 52mm -step-down ring(s) 52-28mm-elastic band to fix lcd shade to lcd to make it hands free.

Thanks for your tips

Regards
Rick Lawes
 
Rick, the common use of some components sure saves on the expense which is something we all need these days if we can manage it. Look forward to seeing your results.

John, thanks for that tip on seeing the shots in burst mode. I have tried AP and saving to C, in fact using the settings that you published. For me though I still found that the sports mode works quicker but I will go back and try the C again out of interest.
 
Robert L Jarvis said:
Rick, the common use of some components sure saves on the expense which is something we all need these days if we can manage it. Look forward to seeing your results.

John, thanks for that tip on seeing the shots in burst mode. I have tried AP and saving to C, in fact using the settings that you published. For me though I still found that the sports mode works quicker but I will go back and try the C again out of interest.

Robert, I still use those settings with the addition of 1/3rd exp comp, I find this gives better exposure in most situations, often I adjust it to 2/3rds but find 1 full stop produces images with increased noise.
Another couple of things I find very useful is you can adjust the aperture upwards, if you want more DOF, or you're overexposing, by simply using the right arrow on the navigator button and also the capability of moving the green focus rectangle to 9 positions on the screen by simply using the SET button and the navigation button, this helps with composition, bird being partly hidden, etc. without the difficult job of trying to adjust the scope a few millmeters, these options are not available in the scene modes and to me makes a difficult subject a little easier to handle.

From another thread I agree with you totally about a swing-away adapter being the easist way to bird and take pics, I'm one of the meccano brigade that made my own and wouldn't be without it.

I've been looking around for the specs on the 900Ti but can find very little so far, only an incomplete list on DP review, have you any more details on it?

regards

John
 
John

The 900ti is the same as the SD900 sold in the states. I have looked on Canon's main site together with dpreview, but in part it is reading the narrative not just going through the technical spec. For me of interest is the 10mp sensor and Digic 3 processing which has only just come out with the 400D. Add to that a 2.5 lcd with nearly 250000 pixels, I wonder how clear the image is. That number is double what the A95 has! I found the details on Canon.com, select Americas, select consumer, then products and cameras. Also cnet.com have a brief say. Should also consider the Ixus 800. It seems strange that the digiscoping world has by and large ignored the Ixus range and concentrated on the "A" series.

On the DOF, unclear what you mean here, how do you adjust the aperture upwards? do you mean increasing the exposure?

Any chance of some piccies of your swing away adapter?

Regards

Robert
 
Robert L Jarvis said:
John

The 900ti is the same as the SD900 sold in the states. I have looked on Canon's main site together with dpreview, but in part it is reading the narrative not just going through the technical spec. For me of interest is the 10mp sensor and Digic 3 processing which has only just come out with the 400D. Add to that a 2.5 lcd with nearly 250000 pixels, I wonder how clear the image is. That number is double what the A95 has! I found the details on Canon.com, select Americas, select consumer, then products and cameras. Also cnet.com have a brief say. Should also consider the Ixus 800. It seems strange that the digiscoping world has by and large ignored the Ixus range and concentrated on the "A" series.

On the DOF, unclear what you mean here, how do you adjust the aperture upwards? do you mean increasing the exposure?

Any chance of some piccies of your swing away adapter?

Regards

Robert

Robert, sorry I made the DOF info a bit confusing, What I should have said is use the right arrow to increase the f number (f4 to f4.5 etc) therefore increasing DOF, as you know this also reduces the shutter speed so good light is needed. I also find if you're on the camera's fastest shutter speed and the meter is showing overexposure it's a quick and easy way to reduce the exposure.

There's a link below to a previous thread with some pics of my adapter, it's pretty easy to make, mainly cutting and drilling. If you fancy a go at it let me know and give you some more details.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=44602

Many thanks for the links re the Ixus, I'll have a browse later.

regards

John
 
alan_rymer said:
One other thing to add, NEVER zoom out as far as X3 for photo's. They are almost ALWAYS soft if you do!.
Thanks for that, it's been a revelation! :D
 
I remember your piece of kit now John. I am awaiting information from SRB re their swing away adapter which was premiered at the Birdfair.

Gald to see the thread info has helped another digiscoper, hope your photos benefit John P.
 
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