Here's a 3:2 framing box, I like it even more. Just override with strong color.
I just knew we would eventually get you addicted.
Thanks for everything!
You are most welcome.
Well, you managed to squash my initial skepticism about fixing all this stuff in a heroic manner
I'm not touching my settings anymore, but I need one more piece of advice. It concerns the lens, though.
We all know that compact lenses display a lot of sample variation, so I'm not sure if I should waste time & money by addressing a Canon repair center about the lens softness I'm seeing at wider apertures and shorter focal lengths. Is there such a thing as "lens calibration" for compact cameras? Could this be a "simple" focusing issue at short focal lengths?
I figured out how to get the best out of my copy of SD4000, but I'm still puzzled by some review samples which display very different behavior from my camera. It seems that my copy is far from the best...
For example, this Photographyblog sample is shot at f2. My SD4000 looks like "mush" at 100% wide-open, even at screen size the image appears soft. And even at f4 softness doesn't go away at 28mm. This sample, however, is closer to S95 shot.
http://img.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_ixus_300_hs/sample_images/canon_ixus_300_hs_32.jpgOn the other hand, at Imaging resource I found this sample which reminds me of my camera. Perhaps the softness is due to DoF, but the overall appearance and the quality of detail makes me feel this is shot with my SD4000. Notice the softness in all distant objects.
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/SD4000IS/FULLRES/YIMG_0137.JPGThis f2 sample from Dpreview is also what I'd expect from my camera:
https://2.img-dpreview.com/files/p/TS2736x3648~sample_galleries/1178552919/5974056748.jpgThen again, at Cameralabs, we have this sample taken at f2.8 in P mode, and I'm thinking to myself, there is no way my SD4000 would be this sharp at f2.8. Even the focus is close, probably on the big red thing, but the background is still decently sharp. Light and contrast are good though, so that helps.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4104/5007050180_682ed1fa2b_o.jpgMost probably, I won't mess around with the camera anymore and will just shoot it the way I think it's best. I know exactly how to set up things to get the most out of every situation. But I expected the lens to be sharpest between f2 and f4, which is quite usual for compacts, not at f7.1, being the case for all focal lengths except around 50mm. In high contrast scenes I can get some sharpness at f2, otherwise it's pretty soft. SD4000 has a good ND filter so shooting at widest apertures wouldn't be a problem in daylight. So, I guess my advice about shooting at 50mm f4 applies only to my copy...
Here's a couple of 100% crops which illustrate the issue. One is P mode f2.8 SOOC JPEG, the other CHDK DNG in Av, f7.1. Processing increased both detail and noise, but this image would be almost 40x27 in or 100x66 cm in size and thus viewed from at least 1.5m distance. Both images are shot at 28mm. Lighting is poor, so this is one of the worst case scenarios in daylight.
In general, my SD4000 has quite bad performance at wide-angle. I hear this is often the case with Canon compacts. Perhaps Canon gave out the best copies to the reviewers. Is it even reasonable to expect excellent wide-open performance at wide angle in such a tiny lens? It's significantly smaller than S95 lens.
Sorry for the long post
