how to change the shutter speed on a canon power shot sd880?

Question

I'm going to a concert on Thursday and I've been told that it's best to have a high ISO and a fast shutter speed. does the shutter speed on a canon sd880 get any faster than 1"? their website says it can be set up to 1/1600. I can't figure out how to set it to that. does anybody know how to set the shutter speed at 1/1600 on a canon powershot!? I looked in the user guide but it might as well have been written for babies... there's nothing about shutter speed in it. THANKS. if you have any more tips on settings to use for concert photography, that would be awesome:)

Answer 1

You would NEVER want to use 1/1600 sec in a low light situation, because it's too fast a shutter speed and ALL of your images would be a blurred mess.



The SD880 IS is a point & shoot (fully automatic) camera, so you cannot set your preferred shutter speed other than a long shutter/exposure of between 1 and 15 seconds (1"-15"). And for that, you would need to mount your camera on a tripod.



The camera's fastest capable shutter speed is 1/1600 sec, however, you cannot set it manually. The camera would use such a fast shutter speed in a very bright outdoor situation (the more light there is outdoors, the faster the shutter speed the camera will select). Using the 'Kids & Pets' scene mode outdoors in good light would also apply a fast shutter speed.



Generally, in lower light you need to use a higher ISO (800, 1600 and higher) in order to get a fast enough handholdable shutter speed to prevent blur. Unfortunately, because your camera has a very small image sensor, means it has VERY poor ISO capability, with ISO 200-400 being the max you would ever want to use (though you will still have plenty of noise at these low ISOs).



You also need to use a very fast lens (one with a wide open aperture) in order to use a faster shutter speed with your higher ISO. The trouble with your compact camera is it's equally tiny and inadequate lens...the more you zoom in, the smaller the aperture becomes...the slower your lens becomes.



So, due to your camera's limitations...your success will be very limited. But, maybe you could try the 'Night Snapshot' scene mode (page 54 of your User Guide) if you can get close to the stage. Though I would expect your image noise levels to be very high.



good luck...

Answer 2

Right there are three modes which you need to know about. Tv - You control the shutter speed. Camera determines the aperture Av - Controls the aperture. Autoexposure sets the shutter speed. In these two modes you the button labelled +/- on the back of the camera adjusts exposure compensation. Also there should be a function of Saftety Shift which automatically change the settings if the autoexposure system finds that it can't get a suitable exposure from the shutter speed or aperture you want to use. For example if you're shooting in Av mode using f/2 ISO400 on a sunny day, your shutter speed will end up being faster than 1/4000. Saftety shift will automatically adjust the aperture so that the image isn't overexposed. Then there is M mode. This is manual mode, my favourite because I find that the AE system frequently is a bit dim witted. This gives you control over both the shutter speed and aperture. The dial controls the shutter speed and the +/- button with the dial controls the aperture.

Answer 3

First.. 1/1600 means exactly that.. 1/1600 of a second (notice that it's a fraction; it's pretty fast). 1" means one second. Your camera's shutter speed can go from 15"-1/1600.



You can't manually adjust it but you can try using the scene modes. Read about them in your owner's manual.

Edit: Use the PDF version of the owner's manual below - it's a lot easier to find what you're looking for by using the "Find" search.

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300001448/01/PSSD880IS_IXUS870IS_CUG_EN.pdf

Answer 4

This being a small compact you can't - it's all automatic.