Request to the photographically inclined

[Billy.]

The posh camera I have and don't use enough is a Canon 400d DSLR with kit lense, 90-300 lense.

 

The camera that gets most use is an old Nikon Coolpix - mainly for on here, in the field, shooting trips and ebay.

 

Nothing wrong with that camera. Just spin the dial to 'p' and set the fstop to the smallest it'll go (probably about 4.5) (fstop can be changed by turning the wheels near your index finger or thumb when it's on the camera button. And reading the numbers on the screen simultaniously)

 

The lens is just a standard one, which will greatly affect the image quality (which people don't usually think is possible) a more expensive lens may get the type of image you're after, but let's do this one step at a time!

[dunganick]

I will knock up an idiots guide later.... Watch this space.

[Billy.]

I'm not too happy with the bee, it's a tricky one because the plant is actually quite colourful.

 

Oh and I'm not saying I'm a pro or anything, I'm just trying to demonstrate what a tiny bit of knowledge of Photoshop can do (I literally know nothing about it, in comparison to what it can create)

 

 

 

 

I hope you like them

[Beardo]

some cracking tutorials can be found on www.deviantart.com (don't be put off by the name)

 

http://samw61.deviantart.com/art/Simple-Di...graphy-86388063

 

http://lewcid.deviantart.com/art/Photograp...inners-16449489

 

http://jmonzani.deviantart.com/art/A-prime...CamRAW-31717925

 

http://rockstarvanity.deviantart.com/art/B...raphy-120307858

 

 

 

just do a search for things like: photography, tutorial, guide, digital etc.

 

oh and here's my gallery if you want a look

http://hashassin.deviantart.com/gallery/

[Tony9r]

I'm not too happy with the bee, it's a tricky one because the plant is actually quite colourful.

 

Oh and I'm not saying I'm a pro or anything, I'm just trying to demonstrate what a tiny bit of knowledge of Photoshop can do (I literally know nothing about it, in comparison to what it can create)

 

 

 

 

I hope you like them

 

Nice one Billy

[dunganick]

Sorry Mungler, probably gone over the 3 mins. I recommend you try this out on your camera as you go along.

 

The basics behind how a camera works is this: You control How much light is let into the camera (aperture) for how long (shutter speed) and how sensitive you want the camera to be to this light (iso)

 

 

Shutter speed is the time the shutter on the camera is open (exposing the sensor to light) during the shot. This can vary from 1/8000th of a second to 30 seconds. The longer it is open the more light that gets let in, but the greater the chance the subject will have moved during the shot.

 

Aperture This is a system of blades that control the amount of light allowed to enter the camera. This can be anywhere from F1.2 to F32 depending on the lens. Confusingly the smaller the number the greater the opening and the more light is allowed in. Aperture also effects Depth of Field (how deep the area of photo in focus is). A large Aperture like F2.8 will produce very shallow depth of field.

 

ISO Like Film this is how sensitive the Sensor is to light. Typically this will vary from iso100 to iso1600 (or even higher on recent models) The higher the number the more sensitive the sensor is to light, but the more noise in the photo.

 

 

 

How to use my DSLR:

 

There are 3 main settings to consider on your camera:

 

There are Auto settings (green box) or P will sort out the camera so you get a photo in the light conditions. They don’t take into account however if the subject is moving, if it is stationary etc… We don’t like these settings.

 

 

The more complex settings are TV and AV (or S and A on a Nikon)

 

TV is Shutter priority mode. In this mode you set the shutter speed/ISO and the camera will work out a suitable Aperture for your current ISO/Shutter speed to get you a properly exposed photo. Adjusted using the little wheel just below the shutter release.

 

AV is Aperture priority. In this mode you set the Aperture/ISO and the camera will select a suitable shutter speed so the picture is exposed correctly. Adjusted using the little wheel just below the shutter release.

 

With both of these settings the camera still doesn’t know what you really want to take a photo of, however it allows you to set the shutter speed/aperture to a suitable setting.

 

TV/Shutter priority is the more common mode to use as you need to make sure the shutter speed is not too low and you don’t end up with a blurry shot. There is a simple way to make sure the shutter speed is correctly set. It should always be no lower than the length of lens you are using.

For example if I am using a 250mm lens (or a longer zoom lens set at 250mm) then I would set my shutter speed to 1/250th as a minimum. Faster is always better. I very barely drop below 1/400th of a second, this will allow for shots of most things moving with little chance of blurr.

 

Why would you use AV/Aperture priority? If you wanted to control the depth of field, either having a very shallow area in focus (low F Number) to help seperate the subject from the background. Or a large area in focus (large F number) if you wanted everything in the shot to be sharp.

 

An example:

 

 

 

What do all the other buttons do?

 

Without writing an explanation for every single camera the basics that you will also need to work out are:

 

AF Points

 

This is where you tell the camera where it is going to look to auto focus.

 

When you look through the camera you may have noticed there are a number of boxes dotted around the view finder in a diamond shape. Well you can choose any of these boxes individually or all of them at once or just let the camera take a wild stab in the dark.

 

Say in the below shot i have used one of the l/h side AF spots as the thing i want in focus is on the l/h side of the frame.

 

 

I would try and always use a specific AF point, even if you just leave it on the centre one and make sure your subject is always in the middle of the frame. The logo for this is a diamond of squares like you see through your viewfinder.

 

 

 

 

 

Metering mode

 

This in lamens terms is where you tell the camera to work out how bright it is. There are normally 3/4 settings

 

 

Evaluative, Gives it a good guess, will work for 99% of stuff unless the background is very bright/dark as it takes an average based on your AF point.

 

Partial Looks at the middle 10% of the image

 

Spot Just looks at the middle. Good for subjects that are very dark/bright compared to background.

 

C/W Average Just looks at the whole photo, but considers the middle's opinion slightly more valuable than the outside.

 

 

 

The button to change the ISO

 

Either set this to auto or try and keep it as low as possible. Auto may be better while you get used to the new settings.

 

The Auto Focus Mode

 

There are 3 modes here, They do the following:

 

One shot AF You focus on subject (first stage of the shutter release) the camera beeps, it has now held focus and so long as you keep your finger held down it wont change. Good for things that dont move. Castles or walls or something.

 

AI Servo This mode never locks focus, as long as you have your finger pushed down on the first stage of the shutter it will focus wherever you point it.

 

AI Focus The camera does a bit of both of the above settings. This is used when a subject might move a small amount. Trying to do portraits of the family or dogs or something. I've never found a use for this mode.

 

Shot Type

 

Nice and simple, do you want 1 shot per press, or do you want the camera to keep taking shots untill you take your finger off the shutter release. I would use the later as we all have such fine trigger control on this forum. The logo to find this is normally lots of boxes ontop of each other. You can also set timers for self portraits/family pics, but this isnt for men.

 

 

This is how to work a camera. I can do another post on how to compose photos/settings to use in what situations. But unless your going to carry around this guide then you need to know the above first. I also appreciate for those slightly more camera savvy users that some things might not be spot on accurate or relevant to some of those evil Nikon users.

[Tony9r]

I can understand the 300m but you must of been really close to get that depth of field from the 55m. say a foot or so?

 

Joe

 

I was pretty close (a couple of feet), but also bear in mind that I have cropped the photo to just show the bee and part of the flower

Edited January 12, 2010 by Tony9r

[mikenuts]

Couple of quick points that may be of interest:

 

Small aperture creates a greater "depth of field" (i.e. things are in focus that are near and far) whereas a large aperture puts only the immediate thing you have focused on in focus, for example a large aperature focused on a face puts the face in focus and everything else will be blurred.

 

A small aperture requires more light to "expose" so you will need a longer shutter spead than for a large aperature.

 

The higher the ISO spead of the film/digital setting, the less light you need to expose your shot but the photo will be more grainy. For most shots 400 is fine but if you want to blow up the photo then try 200 or even 100. If there isn't much light around try 800.

 

Most importantt in my opinion is "framing" (i.e. what you have in the shot), be aware of what else you can see through the viewfinder. I set mine to "P" for most of my shots and have the focus point only in the centre of the frame, I then push the shutter half way down to get the focus and then move the camera until I get the frame I want.

 

Hope this helps.

[Markio]

Andy, having got into and read up a lot on Photography in the past everything you need to know is in Nicks post above.

 

Good write up Nick, when i got into it years back i never did find a well written layman's guide like that, it was seemed overly complicated at the time.

 

Just to add, the basic composition rule is "The rule of thirds". Do a google search on that.

[lurcherboy]

Mungler, I echo all the above but most of important of all is to just get out there and take shedloads

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panasonic Lumix G1 virtually idiot proof

 

Thank god for memory cards.

 

 

 

 

 

LB

[Spaniel]

Hi

I have been messing around just taking some pics in the garden,

 

 

 

 

 

But anyone got any advise on what the best settings (Canon350D) to take pics of Birds in flight, these are Sparrows but I want to see more detail rather then the fuzzyness......

The 2 x lens i have are 18-55 with a PL-CIR lens filter plus an old 100-300mm lens which as a ultra violet filter attached

 

Plus any suggestions if another lens is required to do this

 

 

Thanks

[Tony9r]

I just use the running man dial setting on the camera

 

 

[Spaniel]

I just found some Canon SW in the box and turned this one into a B&W Photo

 

[Dunkield]

Great thread, I think we can all learn something from this.

Nick, top marks for that guide fella

[bennyblanco]

Nicks write up explains pretty much everything, the main thing you need to do is to go and take a thousand shots so you get as used to the camera as you are to your gun. You will bin most of them but will get some stunners and using the camera will become second nature.

Work out what you take photos of so you don't waste money on a long lens when a tripod and flash would be more useful or vise versa. For some reason I always use aperture priority over tv mode as it changes the nature of the image much more.

 

 

 

 

 

[dunganick]

But anyone got any advise on what the best settings (Canon350D) to take pics of Birds in flight, these are Sparrows but I want to see more detail rather then the fuzzyness......

The 2 x lens i have are 18-55 with a PL-CIR lens filter plus an old 100-300mm lens which as a ultra violet filter attached

 

Plus any suggestions if another lens is required to do this

 

 

Is the 300mm lens still Auto Focus?

 

Typically with bird photography you want to use spot metering and the central AF point. (spot metering because the sky behind the subject will be bright and we want the subject properly exposed not the background, central AF as this AF point is the fastest)

 

You need to use TV mode (shutter priority) set to about 1/320th or maybe a bit higher 1/500th. I would then set your ISO to whatever keeps the aperture around F8. (you will need to monitor this)

 

AI Servo will also be needed as the subject will be moving.

[GREENGRASS]

Good write up's Nick.

GG

[dunganick]

Is it worth pinning this? If its of use to people (before it falls into the depths of the forum)

[RC45]

Depth of field (choosing the right aperture can transform a scene)

Focal point

Always use a tripod/monopod

 

You can do a PHD in photograpy, the subject is vast. If you like landscapes, look for Ansel Adams or if you like architecture try Jurek Nems awesome stuff.......

 

Edited because I can't spell

Edited February 14, 2010 by RC45

[Kay]

I tend to use the sports mode for most of my pics its essier if the suns out & its generally bright thats with a 300mm lens

[RC45]

I tend to use the sports mode for most of my pics its essier if the suns out & its generally bright thats with a 300mm lens

Sports mode uses shutter priority I think. Have a play with AP. A good way to learn about photography is buy an old Western Light meter. Eventually, with experience, you should be able to look at a scene and know what shutter speed and aperture you need.

 

I learned photography as a kid (from my father). I had an old manual camera (pentax S1a). Learn to do it without the gadgets. Ansel Adams had a great system to work out the settings required.

 

If you like Ornithololgy and Photography take a trip to Bass Rock...

[RC45]

Have a look at this. It's a bit in depth but worth a look Linky

[Kay]

Sports mode uses shutter priority I think. Have a play with AP. A good way to learn about photography is buy an old Western Light meter. Eventually, with experience, you should be able to look at a scene and know what shutter speed and aperture you need.

 

I learned photography as a kid (from my father). I had an old manual camera (pentax S1a). Learn to do it without the gadgets. Ansel Adams had a great system to work out the settings required.

 

If you like Ornithololgy and Photography take a trip to Bass Rock...

 

To be honest i find all the techy stuff very complicated & a bit difficult to understand by the time i have fiddled with the camera the thing i want to get a photo of has ******** off so i tend to use the sports mode & hope for the best to be honest

 

I should get to grips with it really

[steve_b_wales]

Most camera's come with an instruction manual, but see if you can buy a DVD that's dedicated to your make of camera. I have an almost new Canon 50D, and purchased a training DVD for it. It was well worth the money, and I learned more in that hour that I watched it, that I could by reading the manual many times. It's just like someone showing you what to do.

[Wesman]

This is a subject I'm becomingly increasingly interested in. I'll be Reading over this when I get a decent camera