MassArt Studio Foundation: Digital Media Workshops:
Canon PowerShot SX150 IS
Revised 10/01/2012
Overview
is handout covers the Canon PowerShot SX150 IS camera and highlights some features and
functionality. It can be used as a basic point-and-shoot digital camera (just set the mode selector dial
on the top of the camera to “Auto”). It can also be used in manual mode for complete creative
control, allowing you to set the focus, shutter, aperture, ISO sensitivity
setting, and white balance settings. e camera has a high-resolution
14 Megapixel (MP) imaging sensor that allows you to make prints up
to 16 x 20 inches in size. e camera has an impressive zoom range
from moderate wide angle (28mm 35mm equivalent) to long
telephoto (336mm 35mm equivalent). Still images are stored in the
JPEG format and the camera can also be used to shoot high de"nition
720P video. e camera uses standard AA batteries and SD memory
cards.
Checking out the camera from the SF Cage
When you check out a camera from the Studio Foundation cage, it is provided to you in a protective
case along with two fully-charged AA NiMH rechargeable batteries, a 4GB SD memory card
(installed) and a USB cable for transferring images to a computer. If the batteries are fully changed
they provide sufficient capacity for several hours of non-continuous shooting and over 100
exposures. If the batteries run down on you, simply return to the cage for a battery replacement. If
you are far from the cage, you might have to use your own AA batteries batteries in order to keep
shooting. e camera should be kept in the case when not in use. Keep the camera away from water
and temperature extremes. In the event you choose to use your own SD memory card and/or
exchange the batteries, please make sure you return the camera with the same SD memory card and
rechargeable batteries that were installed in the camera at the time of check out, otherwise, you will
be charged for missing items.
Learning to use the camera and step by step camera operation instructions
Your Visual Language teacher and/or Digital Media Workshop instructor will walk you through
basic camera operation in class, providing an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the camera and
ask questions. is handout does not provide detailed step-by-step camera usage instructions. Basic
camera operation is covered in the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Getting Started” booklet which
includes illustrated step-by-step instructions of basic camera operation. Advanced menu settings,
camera modes, and manual operation are covered in the more extensive “Canon PowerShot SX150
IS User Guide” document. PDFs of these two documents along with other handout can be
download from the Studio Foundation web site at sf.massart.edu (choose “Resources” from the site
menu and then choose “Visual Language”for the Visual Language Resources and Handout page,
from there you will "nd links to all of the handouts related to the Visual Language course.
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6. Set the camera to the desired shooting mode
e camera is capable of operating in a variety of shooting modes (which you select using the
mode selection dial on the top):
AUTO: If this is your !rst time shooting digital stills, you will want to
keep things as simple as possible and choose the AUTO mode. In this
mode the camera takes care of everything, simply frame up your
shot, adjust the zoom setting, and then press the shutter button
half-way to let the camera know it should adjust exposure and
focus the shot, and if your happy with what’s in the frame, press
the shutter button all the way to take your picture.
(Discreet): is mode is similar to AUTO mode except the
camera sound is muted and the %ash is disabled. is is ideal for shooting in locations that
prohibit the use of %ash and the camera beeping will cause a distraction. is mode is described
on page 58 in the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users Guide.”
SCN (Special Scene): In this mode the camera will automatically adjust settings for the speci"c
shooting conditions determined by the speci"c shooting mode selected. Press the FUNC. SET
button to enter the Shooting mode menu and select from one of the following modes: Portrait,
Landscape, Kids & Pets, Beach, Foliage, Snow, Fireworks. ese are described on pages 58-60 in
the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users Guide.” In addition, the camera has a funky Smart
Shutter mode that detects faces and a Wink Self-Timer mode that triggers the self timer when
you wink. ese are described on pages 68-72 in the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users Guide.”
(Creative Filters): is is a fun mode that provides various effects including Super Vivid,
Posterized, Fish-Eye, Miniature Model, Toy Camera, Monochrome, Color Accent, Color Swap.
ese are described on pages 61-68 in the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users Guide.”
P (Programmed AE): is mode is the one you will probably use most often as you become a
more advanced photographer. P stands for “Programmed Auto Exposure” and lets you select a
range of settings to suite particular shooting conditions. Once you are in this mode you have left
point and shoot photography behind, and have entered a world of creative possibilities. e P
mode is described in section 5 starting on page 73 of the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users
Guide.” e camera can automatically focus from 2 inches to in"nity in the widest angle lens
setting and approximately 3.3 feet to in"nity at maximum telephoto setting. If the shutter speed
selected by the camera is too low for a hand-held shot, then the shutter speed value will be
displayed in orange when you depress the shutter button half way. In these situations you can
either turn on the %ash or choose a higher ISO speed rating. In this mode you can control: Flash
(on or off); ISO Speed (Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600); White Balance (Auto, Daylight,
Cloudy, Tungsten, Warm Fluorescent, Cool Fluorescent, Custom); Drive Mode (Continuous,
Continuous Shooting AE, Continuous Shooting LV); Image Tone (Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W,
Positive Film, Light Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom
Color); Focus (Macro, Distance, Manual); and Metering Method (Evaluative, Center Weighted
Average, Spot). Note that there are several settings that are set in the MENU instead of the
Function Menu related to this mode including AF Frame Mode, Tracking AF, AF-Point Zoom,
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and Servo SF which are described in the Users Manual. ere are a lot of options and settings
available to you int his mode, and the best way to learn how they can be used creatively is to
plow through the manual and experiment with them. Learning the many functions of this
camera will open up the possibility of more creative control over the image while you are
shooting. It can seem daunting at "rst, but experiment with open feature or option at a time.
Tv (Time value): is mode lets you choose a speci"c shutter speed. If the aperture value
appears in orange when the shutter button is pressed half-way, the current shutter speed exceeds
correct exposure limits. For proper exposure adjust the shutter speed so that the aperture value
appears in white. ere’s a Safety Shift mode that will automatically adjust for correct exposure.
e Tv mode is described in detail starting on page 96 of the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users
Guide.”
Av (Aperture value): is mode lets you choose a speci"c aperture. If the shutter speed value
appears in orange when the shutter button is pressed half-way, the current aperture exceeds
correct exposure limits. For proper exposure adjust the aperture so that the shutter speed value
appears in white. ere’s a Safety Shift mode that will automatically adjust for correct exposure.
e Av, mode is described in detail starting on page 97 of the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS
Users Guide.”
M (Manual): is mode lets you adjust both the shutter speed and aperture manually. In
manual mode you can adjust the %ash output to one of three levels. e M mode is described in
detail starting on page 98 of the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users Guide.”
(Movie): is mode lets you shoot video at 30 frames per second. is mode is described
tarting on page 101 of the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users Guide.”
7. Adjust camera settings and functions based on your preferences
Based on the speci"c mode you choose to shoot in, adjust the various camera settings to suite
your speci"c shooting requirements. is may include, for example, custom white balance for
shooting in a mixed-light source environment. It is strongly recommended that you shoot the
highest quality images in terms of resolution and compression quality settings. More details on
this are available in the next section.
8. You are now ready to shoot!
While you could have saved a lot of set-up time by simply placing the camera in AUTO mode,
shooting in one of the other modes and con"guring camera functions provides you with more
creative control over your images.
9. Viewing your work while shooting
You can view your work while you’re out shooting with the camera. Viewing images on the
camera is described on page 112 of the “Canon PowerShot SX150 IS Users Guide.” Erasing
images you don’t want to keep is described on pages 123-124. While the camera supports some
editing functions, these are better done in Photoshop.
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Transfer media to your hard drive or USB !ash drive
When you are done shooting, copy your images from the camera to your own hard drive or USB
%ash drive. Once you return the camera, it’s likely that the next student using the camera will format
the SD card before they start shooting and your images will be lost forever! Don’t count on media
placed on lab computers being available the next day.
To copy images from the camera to the Macintosh, follow these steps:
1. Turn off the camera.
2. Connect the large connector end of the USB cable to the Macintosh;
3. Connect the small connector end of the USB cable to the camera (the USB connector is
behind a little door on the side of the camera the wrist strap is connected to);
4. Turn on the camera, the camera will not appear on the desktop as a USB device like some
other cameras do;
5. Create a folder on your external hard drive or USB %ash drive where you want to store your
images
6. Launch the program Image Capture, it should display the camera on the sidebar of its window
and a list of images on the camera on the right;
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7. Click on the pop-up menu that appears as “Pictures” and navigate to the folder you created in
step 4;
8. Select the images you want to transfer and click the “Import” button, alternatively, you can
click on “Import All” and all of the images on the camera will be transferred to the folder you
designated in step 6;
Alternatively, you can simply
drag all of the selected images
directly to the folder you
created in step 5 if you prefer
the drag and drop approach;
9. Image Capture will display
the progress of the transfer
and when it’s done, you’ll see
a green circle with a check
mark next to the thumbnails of the images that were successfully transferred;
10.Verify that the images you wanted to transfer from the camera to the folder you speci"ed on
your external hard drive or USB %ash drive were actually transferred to the folder you thought
they were going to (if you think this is a silly thing to do, go ahead and skip this step at your
own peril).
11. Quit out of Image Capture
and disconnect the USB
cable from the Macintosh
and the camera. Don’t forget
to place both the camera and
the USB cable back in the
camera case. If you were
using your own SD memory
card for some reason, make
sure the original card from
Studio Foundation is placed back in the camera. You don’t want to get charged for a missing
USB cable or SD memory card when you return the camera.
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Image resolution and quality settings
Digital images are made up of a grid of pixels, each representing a tonal value (ranging from black to
white and a range of hues, saturation, and brightness in between). e larger the number of pixels
used to represent an image, the larger the print you can make of the image before the individual
pixels become visible. For more details about the nature of digital images, see “e Building Blocks
of a Digital Image” handout and the “Digital Photography Presentation,” both available for
download from the “Handouts and Support Resources for Visual Language” page on the Studio
Foundation web site.
With the 4GB SD memory card that comes installed in the camera, the image resolution set to
“L” (large, the highest resolution setting), and the image quality set to “F” ("ne, the highest quality
setting with the least amount of digital compression artifacts), you can to take about 1,058 images
before you’ll "ll the card. So unless storage space is at a premium or you have a speci"c requirement
to produce low-resolution images, shoot the highest resolution, highest-quality images possible. You
can later resize as needed in Photoshop. While the “Large” resolution and “Fine” quality are the
camera’s default settings, however, another student may have changed the settings, so go into the
camera menu and verify these settings prior to shooting with the camera. e chart below shows
some of the camera’s resolution settings and roughly how large a clear print would be possible for
pixel dimensions at 72dpi (typical computer screen resolution) and 300dpi (typical hard-copy printer
resolution). e camera stores images in the JPEG image compression format.
Setting Pixel dimensions
Rough image size
@ 300dpi
Rough image size
@ 72dpi
Image capacity
(Fine quality, 4GB card)
(megapixels)
S
640 x 480 (0.3 MP)
1,600 x 1,200 (2 MP)
3,072 x 2,304 (7 MP)
2”x 1.5”
5”x 4”
9”x 6.5”
19,998
6,430
2,002
1,070
M2
M1
L
22”x 16.5”
42.5”x 32”
60”x 45”
10”x 8”
4,320 x 3,240 (14 MP) 14”x 11”
In practice you can make pretty good prints up to 16 x 20 inches with this 14 MP camera when you
choose the Large resolution and Fine quality settings (our Canon ink jet printers print on 17-in wide
paper rolls). Unlike higher-end cameras, a RAW mode is not available. RAW "les must be processed
with software such as Photoshop and offer increased %exibility to change exposure, white balance,
and other settings on the computer after the photo has been taken. If you are using your own higher-
end camera and the best image quality is what you’re after, shoot in RAW mode if possible. When
given a choice of compression options with any camera, choose the highest quality setting if RAW is
not option (like the SX150 IS cameras we have available in the Studio Foundation cage).
Shutter Delay
e camera has a slight delay from the time the shutter button is pressed to the actual moment the
picture is taken. is is because the camera needs time to "gure out the exposure and focus, however,
if you hold the button half-way down before you shoot, the camera can “pre-focus” and prepare the
camera for the exact moment you want to shoot the photo. en when you depress the shutter
button all the way, there will be less delay in terms of when the picture is actually made.
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Using the camera in P (Program) mode
Set the mode dial on the top of the camera to P (Program) mode. When the camera is in Program
mode it will focus automatically and set the exposure, however, unlike Auto mode, it allows you yo
set a variety of Function Settings that in%uence the characteristics of the image. To set these:
1. Press the FUNC. SET button;
2. Push the “up” or “down” buttons (top and bottom of the Control Dial) to choose among the
menu items that appear on the left side of the display;
3. e available options for each menu item appear along the bottom of the display, scroll the
Control Dial (or press the “left” and “right” button function by pressing the left or right of the
Control Dial) to move from one setting to the next. On settings that display “DISP.” you can
choose the setting by pressing the DISP. button;
4. Push the FUNC. SET button to con"rm your selection, the shooting screen will reappear and the
setting you chose will appear on the display screen.
e following function settings can be selected in Program mode:
AWB (the most valuable option here is setting the while balance on the camera to match a
•
white reference card using the “Custom White Balance” mode. Otherwise, you set the white
balance to Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten or two kinds of Florescent (High and Low color
temperature) to match the color temperature of your shooting environment.
My Colors
Shooting Mode
Flash Power
Metering
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Image Resolution (we strongly recommend the Large size for the highest resolution)
Compression Quality (we strongly recommend the FINE quality)
Video Resolution
Each of these are described in detail in the Canon PowerShot SX150 IS User Guide.
Macro Mode
Set the Macro
model (the left side of the wheel) for shooting very small or close-up subjects. Your
camera will adjust itself for close-up focusing. Be sure to turn the macro option off if you don’t need
it.
Using the camera inTv or Av mode
When working in the Tv mode the camera will allow you to choose the shutter speed and the
camera will choose the aperture needed for proper exposure. When working in the Av mode the
camera will allow you to choose the lens aperture and the camera will choose the shutter speed
needed for proper exposure.
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ese settings can greatly affect the quality of your
image. For the most part, what is being adjusted to "nd
a proper exposure is the aperture and the shutter speed.
Both settings must work in tandem since they both
determine just how much light is allowed to hit the
image sensor. e aperture is an adjustable opening in
the lens that varies the amount of incoming light
hitting the sensor, measured in f-stops. As you open by one f-stop, twice as much light is being let in
as the previous f-stop. As you close by one f-stop, half as much light is being let in as the previous f-
stop. Shutter speeds also work this way. Apertures also control depth-of-"eld, which is the distance in
front of and beyond the subject that appears to be in focus. Smaller openings yield more depth of
"eld and the opposite is true of large openings.
Depth-of-"eld is also in%uenced by the focal length of the lens, so when you’re shooting in telephoto
mode you’ll notice shallower depth of "eld compared to shooting with the lens in the wide angle
setting.
Shutter speed is the
amount of time that the
sensor is allowed to record light hitting it, usually measured in fractions of a second. As with f-stops,
each stop on the shutter speed scale will either halve or double the amount of light hitting the sensor
when the picture is taken. Digital cameras usually help you "nd the correct combination of f-stop/
shutter speed with numerical readout of how many stops you are off by. (i.e. -1 means that you are
under-exposing by one stop.)
When there’s not enough
available light to make a
good exposure, try using a
tripod. If you don’t have one,
or it still isn’t enough, you
can turn on the !ash, but in
most cases the built-in !ash
!attens the look of your
scene.
Using the !ash
Flip up the !ash on the top of the camera to enable the onboard %ash. You
should also see the %ash icon somewhere on the LCD and it will tell you if
the %ash needs to charge. It’s good to try taking a picture both with and
without the %ash (using a tripod if needed in low light). To disable the
!ash, push the %ash back down.
If you are not using the %ash, and your shutter speed is slower than 1/60th
of a second, you should use a tripod or prop the camera on something still. When shooting, use the
self-timer function so that you don’t move the camera as the exposure is being made.
Reviewing your work
After shooting a few pictures, it’s a good idea to review them to check the exposure, sharpness, etc.
Put your camera into Playback mode by pressing the playback button, then choose an image to
review by turning the control wheel.
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