[Captain Trips]

Shooting in the apperature specific mode with the G3, I was surprised to see such a difference in the degree of light with each stop. I'm comming from the mindset, hopefully correct, of the SLR camera that would give an equal exposure changing the f-stop up one setting and the camera would give an equal adjustment of the shutter speed in the other direction - double one input and half the other input. Shouldn't the G3 adjust the shutter speed when there is an adjustment to the f-stop to produce an equal exposure

[MCaver]

I don't know how P&S cameras calculate shutter speed, but it seems to me that they wouldn't let it get too low since you're probably shooting without a tripod. Maybe this means that once it hits that slowest shutter speed, it starts reducing light as the aperature gets smaller?

[Spellchecker]

Each step in the "normal" aperture range (F2.0, F2.8, F4.0, F5.6, F8.0, ...) allows exactly half the amount of light. In aperture priority (Av) mode, the G3 works this way (shutter speed will double or be cut in half with each "normal" step to maintain the same exposure) unless the shutter speed would exceed 1 second in which case you must shoot in full manual (M) mode. BTW, there is only one "a" and only one "p" in aperture.

[Sore Feet]

I just played around with mine, and observed a similar pattern. Shooting in aperature priority, the shutter does not compensate for the aperature when the exposure is over 1 second in length, but will compensate when the scene is well lit. When I don't shoot manual (really, why bother shooting shutter or aperature alone?), I usually set it to program, it just saves a lot of hassle.

[Tom]

The problem with Program (P) mode is it uses f/4 in most cases. It also won't open up the aperture enough to compensate for handshake at longer focal lengths. I almost always shoot in Aperture Priority (Av) mode. The sweet spot of the G lens is around f/5.6 so that's where I want it for most landscape shots. If the shutter speed is something I can't hand hold I'll use Shutter Priority (Tv) mode and set the shutter to 1/50 at full wide (1/200 at 4x zoom) to get the smallest aperture (largest F) that can be handheld to minimize chromatic aberration (purple fringing). The shutter speed being capped at 1 second in non-manual mode(s) isn't really that big of a deal. When you're shooting in low light you'll almost always want to tweak the exposure up or down and I find it much easier to do that by adjusting the shutter in Manual (M) mode than by fiddling with the exposure compensation in other modes.

[MCaver]

I use aperature and shutter priority a lot on my E-10 to get the proper metering, but I always shoot on manual.

[Captain Trips]

Certainly are a number of ways to get the proper exposure on the G3 ! Your input is appreciated and, hopefully translated into better photo quality with my results. I do enjoy the ease of use with the camera and the easily accessable controls and know I can get to the next level of picture quality with a little more work.

[Tom]

Here's a picture that might help: Each of these steps is referred to as "1 stop" since they allow (stop) half the light of the previous opening. Like most cameras, the G3 moves in 1/3 steps (F2.0, F2.2, F2.5, F2.8, F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0). For the mathematically inclined, f/number is the diameter of the opening, so to cut the light (area of opening) in half you divide the diameter (multiply the F number) by 1.414 (square root of 2).

[Captain Trips]

Thanks for the diagram and description, Tom. I do have fits sometimes getting good pictures inside and with marginable lighting. On Saturday, I went to the Military museum at Ft Lewis with a group of Cub Scouts and had a devil of a time working with poor lighting inside the museum as well as the habit of the scouts unable to stand still in group situations. They are of the age where pictures are tiresome and often work aganst the photographer.

[Tom]

You might want to try ISO 100 (it doubles the sensitivity of the sensor and lets you use a shutter speed twice as fast as ISO 50, but does add noise). If you're desperate you can go up to ISO 200 and use something like neat image to remove the noise later. If you shoot a lot of indoor pictures your best option may be to go with an external flash. I have a Canon 420 EX and the bounce flash works pretty good for indoor shots but not the candid ones. Shooting in RAW is a must for indoor pictures due to white balance issues (RAW lets you select the white balance after the fact).

[Sore Feet]

You can also just bracket using different white balances for different shots. I've been playing around with this recently, and I've come to loathe the auto wb setting. Whatever toots your horn though.

[Captain Trips]

Thanks again guys for great advice on the G3 ! I'm impressed with your knowledge as well as alternative strategies with the tools available on the camera. With a little practice, I may be able to emulate your successes. As I do improve, it is interesting to note that my expectations also increase, especially when I compare to the good photographers on this site.