Taking pictures....

[Drache]

Also, IS is no help at all on moving objects of any speed. This can be a win / lose thing. Something changing directions quickly, like birds in flight, sports, or short track racing, IS will hurt you bad

That is when you turn the dial to sport mode which then IS plus that you can take pictures of any moving object.

The pictures I took of the hawks was just on using IS and not even using sport mode.

The only time you MUST turn off IS if you camera has dual axis IS and you are mounting to a tripod. But most cameras dont have dual axis IS anymore.

 

[inkjunkie]

Been messing around with manual mode....don't know if this will work but here is a link to the full size image....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127158293@N02/15015730555/in/set-72157646373052670

View attachment IMG_3922 (Medium).jpg

To me it looks kinda funky. I did not have the polarizing filter on it. F/5.6, ISO 100 Shutter 1/30 with the lens at 18mm

 

[krazykuda]

You guys have me thinking about improving my picture taking with this thread. ( :finga: )


I've even opened up a better camera that I normally use and start to play with it a little. #-o

Now I have to learn how to use both of them. They are the Sony compact style. :???:


I also bought a Cannon Rebel a few years ago, that I haven't even opened up yet. I have found it and dug it out of my closet. My dad gave me a Cannon Rebel EOS 35mm back in '90 and I think the lenses are interchangeable between them.

Now I'm getting paralysis by analysis. I don't know which one to "focus" on; learning one of them first, or try playing with all of them a little .... :banghead: :violent2:


I like the compact style for going to car shows and snapping some shots of the cars as it's easier to carry. I would like to use the Cannon to take better shots.

So thanks for inspriing me a little and keep bumping it up once in a while so I don't forget about it. There's too much here for me to learn all at once... A little at a time... ale:

 

[toolmanmike]

I enjoy taking photos with anything that will capture a image. I took these with my old flip phone. The lightning shot ended up on the local tv station which was fun. tmm

 

[Drache]

Been messing around with manual mode....don't know if this will work but here is a link to the full size image....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127158293@N02/15015730555/in/set-72157646373052670

View attachment 1714748238

To me it looks kinda funky. I did not have the polarizing filter on it. F/5.6, ISO 100 Shutter 1/30 with the lens at 18mm

Try an ISO setting of 200 next time for something right at dusk or dawn.

Original:

Here is what 200 ISO would have looked like:



Then enhanced the photo a little:

 

[inkjunkie]

Try an ISO setting of 200 next time for something right at dusk or dawn.

Original:

Here is what 200 ISO would have looked like:



Then enhanced the photo a little:

Thanks for the tip. What software did you use? I will be looking into buying [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Corel-AfterShot-Pro-2-Download/dp/B00KQ297FQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408892593&sr=8-1&keywords=corel+aftershot"]Amazon.com: Corel AfterShot Pro 2 [Download]: Software[/ame]
but here comes the trouble...I am not the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to learning new software. I recently purchased some software for Ernie and her Quilting, have had it installed for close to 2 weeks and am no closer to figuring it out then when it was in the box...

 

[67Dart273]

Try an ISO setting of 200 next time for something right at dusk or dawn.

You have to get into your mind the triangle of shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. That's why I suggested earlier you set the camera up to use "standard" shutter speeds and f stops, WHY?


Because if you have "standard" f stops and shutter speeds, one "open click" of the f stop is the same exposure change as "one click" slower on shutter. 1/30 is double the opening of 1/60 shutter, so if you change the f stop by that amount, you HAVE NOT CHANGED the exposure.

The film speed / ISO works the same exact way.

All you did in that photo by changing ISO is to change the exposure. You could have done so by either ISO, shutter, or f stop

WHAT ARE the differences?

GENERALLY you want the lowest 'within reason" ISO for the highest quality photos

You want small enough aperture that you get the depth of field you need. If you get "too small" you can produce unwanted effects, you'll need a much slower shutter which might introduce blur and shake, and or faster ISO, producing noise and grain

You want a shutter speed fast enough which will stop action, or compensate for camera shake. If you lean towards too high shutter speeds, you'll need a higher ISO producing more "noise" and grain, or a wider aperture, reducing your depth of field

And all three have to be "in a balance" to give you the exposure you need.

To take some of the "science" out of this most of us, in some way or other use bracketing. You can set the camera up to do this, or just do it yourself, that is, take a shot, and chance the exposure "one up" and "one down" to be sure you "got" a really great one as opposed to a "good one."

Also, in shots such as sunsets, digital does not have the "dynamic range" the your eye or a film camera has. This means that you "look" at a sunset and you can see the lightest and darkest areas just fine. But your DSLR will either show the darkest areas as way too dark, or the lightest areas as "blown out" OR BOTH

WHAT TO DO about this? Only real cure is to learn how to frame the shot to mimimize the effect, or learn to use "graduated filters." These work just like the windshield in your car........the graded filter has a darker area at the top of the filter, and is more and more clear down at the bottom

So you can take a dark sunet, with the land area "blacking out," and the sky "blowing out," and hold the filter in front of the lens. You can move it down so the "blown out" area of the sky is somewhat lightened, allowing the blacked out landscape to show up

 

[plumcrazy704406]

I have a lot of fun in manual mode. With the digital age, you can really experiment and throw the book away. Something kind of handy in more ways than one.

Exif data

Camera make : CanonCamera model : Canon EOS 60DDate/Time :2012/11/11 17:40:33Resolution : 3456 x 2304Flash used : NoFocal length : 70.0mm (35mm equivalent 110mm)CCD width : 22.99mmExposure time : 0.020 s (1/50)Aperture : f/8.0Focus dist. : 3.94mISO equiv. : 800Whitebalance : AutoMetering Mode : patternExposure : ManualExposure Mode : Manual======= IPTC data : =======

Remove ExifAnother image

There is no GPS info


http://www.verexif.com/en/ver.php

 

[killnine]

If you don't shoot in RAW, and let the camera do it in jpg, then you are still using software, just the built in software in the camera. Processing raw in a good software like Corel Aftershot is usually better than what the camera can do automatically for you.

 

[inkjunkie]

Spent a half an hour messing around while the sun was going down. Tried juggling the triangle.....aperture....shutter speed.....iso.....and the photos are dark. Shot them in RAW. Adjusted the metering mode to evaluative and the picture type to landscape....still dark....according to the exposure meter they were right....

 

[67Dart273]

You cannot always go with the exposure meter. On sunsets, I just take a wild guess, look at the display and histogram, and then bracket the shots. When the sun gets to the point that I'm sure it's 'what I want' I many times bracket a shot by as many as 10 frames.

Don't judge "dark" until you look at it on your computer.

A sunset with a bright sky and dark land, especially dark green / trees is very very hard to get right. This is why "the pros" use graduated filters

This is a shot I found on the www. It illustrates the concept. It is slid up and down to darken the very bright sky while allowing the dark lower area to show up. You don't need a fancy "filter holder" for your lens. You can just hand hold it against the lens front

Click the link, too large to post here

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/GND_demo.jpg

==============================================

About RAW. Forget that for now. You are having enough struggles getting decent shots. After you learn some, and learn how to use the software, then, if you want, you can shoot RAW. I believe the 40D will save both, but not sure

==============================================

Changing exposure. I forgot about compensation. This basically changes the 'triangle" to a square. All compensation does is skew the exposure without changing one of the other three. But it does not operate in M, only Av, or Tv. Do NOT ask me why Canon just HAD to name them that way.

Av and Tv evidently actually stand for "aperture value" and "time value" even though everybody calls it "aperture priority" or "shutter priority."

 

[inkjunkie]

Not trying to start a war here.....but what difference does it make if I shoot in RAW as far as the pictures being dark? Funny you should mention judging the pictures.....they look great while looking at them thru the display on the camera, it is only on my laptop that they look dark. Going to try the obvious later today, boot up my desk top and attempt to "calibrate" the monitor....Probably should have mentioned the lap top thing earlier, eh?

 

[Drache]

Not trying to start a war here.....but what difference does it make if I shoot in RAW as far as the pictures being dark? Funny you should mention judging the pictures.....they look great while looking at them thru the display on the camera, it is only on my laptop that they look dark. Going to try the obvious later today, boot up my desk top and attempt to "calibrate" the monitor....Probably should have mentioned the lap top thing earlier, eh?

RAW will always look a little darker anyways before you use a program to get them the way you want. That is what RAW is about. Shooting in JPG, the camera gives them a quick process to make them look what the camera believes you see.



Unless you're good with photoshop or paintshop then you shouldn't shoot in RAW and stick with JPG/JPEG to start. Or have your camera take a RAW and JPEG and then practice making the RAW look as good if not better than the JPEG version.

 

[inkjunkie]

RAW will always look a little darker anyways before you use a program to get them the way you want. That is what RAW is about. Shooting in JPG, the camera gives them a quick process to make them look what the camera believes you see.



Unless you're good with photoshop or paintshop then you shouldn't shoot in RAW and stick with JPG/JPEG to start. Or have your camera take a RAW and JPEG and then practice making the RAW look as good if not better than the JPEG version.

Thank you for the explanation Sir, that is sort of what I am looking for....not a don't do this or that response does me no real good....not very educational....as to not going by the meter....what else is there? Just a SWAG? May work when I understand things a bit more. Been reading a book titled Understanding Exposure....should say trying to....and it relies on the meter....

 

[67Dart273]

It's not that easy, Doug. The big advantage to RAW is that you won't LOSE the bits of information that will allow you to correct a bad exposure. That is, once the camera has done it's own "in camera" processing of a jpeg, if it's "way too" dark or light, you reach a point where software won't save it. That's because the "information" in the jpeg has been processed right out of the result. That is, if you have a "blown out" overexposed jpeg, there is no information in that jpeg that will allow software to correct.

What I was trying to get at here, though, is that until you do get some experience under your belt, worrying about RAW or not will simply overcomplicate things for you, because you will HAVE to go through some amount of processing to correct the photo.

 

[67Dart273]

....not a don't do this or that response does me no real good....not very educational....as to not going by the meter.......

I apologize if I'm not able to give you a professional level course. What I meant was "you cannot go by" the meter because in some cases it simply does not give you accurate results. All this automation does have it's limits

Maybe a parallel example is "autofocus" As things "happen" the subject becomes faster moving, and you can't follow it, the contrast of the subject to the focus system becomes poor, and the scene becomes darker and darker, the AF simply gives up

The same holds true for metering.

Bye

 

[inkjunkie]

The root of the problem appears to be my crap top....I mean lap tops miserable "monitor". Looked at them on the an old desk top, night & day difference. Tried calibrating the crap top display but can not get the gamma even close.
Problem with the des top is it has not been booted up in 18 months. Does not have Firefox on it so I was stuck with IE....and sumtin is wrong with it as it does not "load" all the way. Trying to do updates on it but.....if I can not get it running I may just re-install Wionhosed....or have been looking for an excuse to try Linux on sumtin besides this clunky old netbook....