anthonium Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Black Mage are you using macro lens? I've recently purchased a Canon EOS Rebel XS to start off with photography as a new hobby. So far I only have the default 35mm lens kit and using default settings however I want to get better and use my own ISO settings and exposure and all to have more control over my pictures. There's not much to take pics of here in miami (as far as landscape goes) to get sweet pictures so in the meantime I'm practicing with the easiest of things, plants and flowers...not exactly the most manly thing but meh....I'm just starting out. Any tips would be welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flik Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Best thing to do with your DSLR before you get into the bad "Auto" habit is put it in manual and simply start messing around. Go outside during the day. Set your ISO for 200 or so. Set your aperture to it's fastest setting (likely 3.5), and start your shutter speed off at 1000. Take a picture. Look at the result. It's likely going to look somewhat dim but still visible. Slow the shutter down a bit (go to a lower number). Take a picture again. Compare your results. Keep changing those three settings to see your varying results. Eventually you'll start to understand which settings work best for what lighting situation you are in. If you want to capture a fast moving object you need a fast shutter speed and the most light into the lens you can get. ISO will likely have to go up depending on the lighting. Don't forget you can also manually set your white balance. Right now the only automatic setting I make high use of is auto focus. It's a real blessing when capturing a lot of fast moving subjects. You'll be able to do a good bit with that 35mm lens, but you'll certainly want to get into a variable lens of some sort. If you're strapped for cash, take a look at some of the lenses by Sigma or Tamron. Not sure if that helped you much. I'm just spouting things off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonium Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Sounds like good advice to me. I'll try it out and I'll stick with the 35mm lens however you say in the long run look into something else but that depends on the type of photography no? Macro for small things, Telephoto for things really far (good for taking pics at a sports event I guses), wide angle lens for I guess landscapes? So many to choose from! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flik Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Well, like I said a good variable lens will give some flexability if you're into multiple types of photography. The lens on my camera I believe is 24-120mm. This lets me get some nice wide shots as well as some very useable telephoto shots. Since my camera is full frame it's true 24-120. Any digital camera that is not full frame suffers from the crop factor. Not the worst thing ever, but you'll never have the full focal length of the lense at your disposal (24mm would end up being something like 35mm). When I was shooting film I had a varying degree of lenses. I had a 50mm prime, a 24mm prime (prime means it's a fixed length), a 24-80mm and I think an 80-200mm telephoto. I had a lot of fun with that 24mm. I still use that 50mm on my new camera for some really nice depth of field effects. Edit: As for macro photography, some telephoto lenses also had macro modes in them. The 200mm I had (well, still have but it's broken) had that mode so you get some really nice closeups. I'm sure there are more specialized lenses, but I have not looked into them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katsurugi Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 !? My thread is still alive. D: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mage Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Black Mage are you using macro lens? Actually, I don't even own a DSLR (though I do have a Nikon FM10 and N60 35mm SLR's), I shoot with a Canon Power Shot SX10 IS. Technically it's a point-and-shoot, but it gives me almost as much control as I'd get with a DSLR (it even has manual focus), minus the interchangeable lenses. For my macro shooting, I just switch into super-macro, one of my favorite settings. In that mode the camera has a minimum focal distance of 0mm, so I can actually focus on the lens glass. I'd love to get a good DSLR (EOS 5D Mark II), but my SX10 is a good value for what it can do and what I can coerce it to do. At the moment, though, I can't really justify blowing the better part of my life savings on a 5D MkII. I really wish I could get some sort of a digital back for my FM10, though...that would be kick-ass, having a completely mechanical/manual DSLR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Actually, I don't even own a DSLR (though I do have a Nikon FM10 and N60 35mm SLR's)...I'd love to get a good DSLR (EOS 5D Mark II) Why are you thinking of switching from Nikon to Canon for your SLR system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drack Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Actually, I don't even own a DSLR (though I do have a Nikon FM10 and N60 35mm SLR's), I shoot with a Canon Power Shot SX10 IS. Technically it's a point-and-shoot, but it gives me almost as much control as I'd get with a DSLR (it even has manual focus), minus the interchangeable lenses. For my macro shooting, I just switch into super-macro, one of my favorite settings. In that mode the camera has a minimum focal distance of 0mm, so I can actually focus on the lens glass.I'd love to get a good DSLR (EOS 5D Mark II), but my SX10 is a good value for what it can do and what I can coerce it to do. At the moment, though, I can't really justify blowing the better part of my life savings on a 5D MkII. I really wish I could get some sort of a digital back for my FM10, though...that would be kick-ass, having a completely mechanical/manual DSLR! Neat! I also shoot with an SX10. You may be interested in making it EVEN MORE like a DSLR by using CHDK. With CHDK it can shoot raw (in the standard DNG format), use very short or very long exposures, and do pretty much everything a DSLR does except swap lenses. It's certainly made me a better photographer. Oh, and here are some pics of mine Beppu, Japan. I need to crop the head out from the bottom, lol. When I read the wikipedia article for it, at first I thought someone posted my pic there when I saw the pic they had. Also Beppu, Japan. Pics like this one are the reason I don't use auto white balance. This last pic (of a Red Shouldered Hawk in Wakulla Springs, FL) suffers a lot from JPEG compression. Took it before I got CHDK and the cropping made the artifacts even worse >_<. Still one of my faves. I have plenty more if you want to see em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mage Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Neat! I also shoot with an SX10. You may be interested in making it EVEN MORE like a DSLR by using CHDK. Sweet! I knew thay had that for the smaller powershot cameras, but didn't know that they had it for the SX10. I'm going to give it a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mage Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Drak, do you shoot into CRW, CR2, or DNG? I've tried CRW, but nothing reads it, not ever Adobe RAW converter. I've tried activating the DNG, but it keeps saying to run a badpixel script? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunnowhathuh Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Nice stuff. I might as well chime in with something too: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mage Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Time to resurrect this thread again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozovian Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Time to resurrect this thread again! Looks like somebody likes that weird greenish tint... or doesn't have photoshop. Frost is awesome. Cool use of depth of field, tho at that distance you don't have much choice. The ice and the grate is more interesting that the dirty snow below, a different angle and more grate would have been... uh, great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pezman Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Who can recommend a full frame camera which shoots video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PROTO·DOME Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Looks like somebody likes that weird greenish tint... or doesn't have photoshop. Dude, I LOVE that tint. I'd even 'shop it in if I had to. ^w^ Sweet photos Mage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hy Bound Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Man, you guys are really talented! I wish I could afford the all the stuff associated with photography... This looks like a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocre Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Amateur photography (and photoshop) enthusiast here. These are some older photos I've taken. Hope ya like 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mage Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 The ice and the grate is more interesting that the dirty snow below, a different angle and more grate would have been... uh, great. Gotcha covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 exxcellent stuff in this thread. i just recently started taking photography more seriously than just pointing and clicking and there's a wealth of info here. i'm currently using a nikon d50 i inherited from my late father Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mage Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 More from the past Spring... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kureejii Lea Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 ^ Pretty pretty. The macro there almost gives a kinda painted quality. Lemme see what I have around... I'm getting kinda sick of my current camera and have been eying the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, but alas... monies. Someone had left this little bear in the doorway of a mausoleum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ella guro Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Someone had left this little bear in the doorway of a mausoleum... That bear looks like he's waiting for someone who's never gonna come ... :'( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salluz Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 ^ Pretty pretty. The macro there almost gives a kinda painted quality.Lemme see what I have around... I'm getting kinda sick of my current camera and have been eying the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, but alas... monies. Whatever you're using, I've gotta get my hands on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kureejii Lea Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 That bear looks like he's waiting for someone who's never gonna come ... :'( It is pretty lonely-looking. Kinda creepier finding it in person. Whatever you're using, I've gotta get my hands on it. Really? It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ4. I mean, it's not a BAD camera by any means, but it tends to piss me off a lot lately (my old Pentax Optio had far better macro capabilities, and no matter what I try to increase the shutter speed, it still seems to blur anything moving) and I want something with an actual manual mode now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salluz Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 It is pretty lonely-looking. Kinda creepier finding it in person.Really? It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ4. I mean, it's not a BAD camera by any means, but it tends to piss me off a lot lately (my old Pentax Optio had far better macro capabilities, and no matter what I try to increase the shutter speed, it still seems to blur anything moving) and I want something with an actual manual mode now. I have seen better, usually in the Canon series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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