Working with digital images

[justmyheart1989]

I recently got a Canon S2 IS and am having some confusion on the apeture and shutter setting.  What is the exact difference between the two?  My pictures on a high shutter speed come out dark and pixelated.  How do I take action shots that are clear?  I am an ameture but am willing to learn.
Thanks

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi justmyheart1989 and welcome to the Q&A Board!

The S2 is an advanced digital camera and, like other advanced cameras, it can take some time getting used to. You're willingness to learn will pay off, believe me.

If you're manually setting the shutter speed, you may have set it too high so not enough light gets through the camera lens. We have some useful information explaining the differences between aperture, shutter speed and how they relate to one another:

Aperture:
http://www.digicamhelp.com/advanced-digital-camera-settings/aperture.htm

Shutter speed:
http://www.digicamhelp.com/advanced-digital-camera-settings/shutter-speed.htm

Action shots are best when they are taken in good light, the brighter the better. This section on taking action photos should be useful too:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/how-to-photograph-sports-events/

After you take a look, please feel free to come back and ask further questions.

btw, if you haven't done so already, you may find my S2 BLOG helpful. It contains lots of suggestions for getting the most out of the camera:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/canon-s2-blog/index.htm

[Deb]

Hi there, in a nutshell, the aperture determines how much light enters the camera (large opening=more light, small opening=less light). The shutterspeed determines the duration of the exposure (fast shutterspeed=less exposure, slow shutterspeed=long exposure). It's the combination of these two that determine whether an image winds up being too dark (underexposed) or too light (overexposed) or just right (properly exposed). As you decrease the amount of light entering the camera, you will need to increase the duration of exposure to achieve a proper exposure. One f-stop change in one direction roughly equates to one full shutterspeed change in the opposite direction. (Gee, I hope this isn't getting too confusing.)

To take action shots, adjust your shutterspeed and/or aperture being careful to stay within the range of what your camera's metering indicates is the correct (proper) exposure.