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Photography Equipment & Software Thread

rundll

By rundll
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PopeSmokesDope

PopeSmokesDope

Posted
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Just purchased my first "proper" camera, got myself a Canon 20D really cheap. Slightly apprehensive about using it and composing pictures but I need to get some practise in before I go away to Norway/Sweden in the summer as I'm sick of taking shots on a compact and they end up looking terrible. Luckily I have a friend who is a pro so he's going to get me started, I have no prior knowledge other than point and click so it should be very interesting, seeing some of your photos on here is getting me excited, although I'm sure it'll be a while before I post anything decent :)

Are there any definitive websites for me to have a browse though that explain the basics (this thread is huge not reading it all!!) or is it a case of just getting out there?

Ta

Get out there and shoot is probably the best way, as you're starting don't worry too much about settings and what not, work on composure. When you look at the pics you like, you can then work out how you would like to make them better and what setting you would have needed to make to make it hwo you wanted it...it's probably the easiest way to learm otherwise you'll get overwhelmed with loads of jargon and forget abotu taking the actual picture!

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TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap

TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap

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Are there any definitive websites for me to have a browse though that explain the basics (this thread is huge not reading it all!!) or is it a case of just getting out there?

Both - read up a bit AND go out there. Use the theory to get an idea how you should get your desired results. Then go out there to practice and experiment, then go back in and evaluate and see what you get right and wrong, also based on this theory. That's probably the best way to get predictable results in the longer run. I've been using the DSLR for a little over 6 months and slowly I'm now getting the pictures I have in my mind before clicking the shutter button more often.

Anyway, here's some basics http://www.digitalphotographybasics.com/the-ultimate-newbie-guide-to-digital-photography/#more-234

I find most basics a bit overly technical though, the primary basic rules are:

- Aperture: the amount of light going through the lens to the sensor. Larger values mean a broader depth of field (and a smaller hole, letting less light through), lower values mean a narrower depth of field (and a bigger hole, letting more light through). Trade-off for broader depth of field is that you need a longer shutter time to get the same amount of light on the sensor, which means a risk of unwanted motion blur.

- Shutter time: the duration when the shutter is open and the light falls on the sensor. Use short shutter times to freeze motion, use longer shutter times to capture motion (like the flow of water for example). When shooting from the hand, pictures taken with short shutter times are more likely to be sharp, for longer shutter times you'll need a tripod or other method to fix your camera in place. A lot of lenses/cameras have a method of 'Image Stabilising' - this will allow you to use longer shutter times while shooting from the hand.

- ISO: the sensitivity of the sensor. Lower values mean sharper pictures, but also longer shutter times. Higher ISO will add noise to your pictures, but you can shoot in darker environments without the need for a tripod because the shutter time will go down.

This triangle will determine your entire picture, and every part has its benefits and tradeoffs. Boost your ISO so you can shoot with shorter shutter times, but accept that you'll get some more noise. Increase your shutter length, but accept a higher risk of having a picture with unwanted motion blur. Increase your aperture (lower its value) and you can use shorter shutter speeds but will have a shallow depth of field. Combine low ISO, long shutter times and a tight aperture for great looking, sharp pictures but bring a tripod. Based on the effect you want to achieve and the conditions you're working in you may use these limitations to your advantage, and that's when you start going from snapshots to 'true' photography.

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revlob

revlob

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Posting this on behalf of my girlfriend.

She's after her first DSLR, now that she's starting to see the limitation in her current compact. Thing is, she's a student and we're getting married this year, so disposable cash is harder to come by. I don't really know a whole lot about photography, but I'd have guessed her best bet if she's determined to get something is to start looking second hand? I guess the 350D which was all the rage a few years ago must be getting on a bit now, and there should be a few people looking to upgrade away from them if they haven't already, would that sort of thing be a good place to start looking?

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iwan_canobi

iwan_canobi

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Fantastic Nap that helps a great deal, still waiting for the camera to arrive so once I have it I'll start playing about and see how I get on. Will look at that link now also!

That's a nice camera you've got there to start with, my brother has one! What lens will you be using with it?

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Zomby

Zomby

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It comes with the standard lens, 18-55 EF? I'll probably just be using it with that for now until I understand it all a bit more, got a bit of extra cash in the paypal account in case I need to buy anything else.

Not heard form the seller on eBay at all and it's been since Friday tea time so getting a little freaked out.. hope he posts it soon.

All in all it cost me £210 and it comes with lens, charger, battery, 1GB memory, card reader and carry case.. not a bad deal by the looks of it! I think next thing will be tripod and a lens or two but I shall resist for now.

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NecroMorrius

NecroMorrius

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No, sorry, I was referring to the Zeiss 50/1.4

Blast from the past but I just noticed this on kenrockwell.com and was reminded of your comments...

This Canon 50mm f/1.2L lens (about $1,600) is the sharpest 50mm lens I've ever used at very wide apertures, but I've not used any other aspherical 50mm lens. It easily outperforms the conventional Zeiss 50mm f/1.4.
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g wings

g wings

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Not sure I agree and anyway sharpness is just one criteria that a lens should be judged on. The overall rendering and especially the bokeh of the Zeiss way outperforms the canon, it also handles highlights far better. All to my subjective taste that is.

Of course the Zeiss doesn't autofocus, so the Canon wins points there. Mind you, the autofocus of the Canon is slow and unreliable anyway, at least on the examples I have used.

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gerald.d

gerald.d

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x-posting from ATF just in case people here don't see it there:

I've got around 1500 images taken with a circular fisheye.

I want to apply sequential rotation to the circular part of each image.

I know how to select the circular part of the image and apply a rotation, and I know how to record this as an action and apply it to a batch of photos, but I need to increase the amount of rotation for each image. i.e. rotate first image by 1 degree, 2nd image by 2 degrees, 3rd by 3 degrees, etc etc.

Is this possible?

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Inept Pig

Inept Pig

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At this time of year me and the dog tend to trek across the countryside in the early morning (before it gets light); I see some lovely things (and when it was snowing all the more so) - but I didn't have a camera that could do justice to what I could see (the conditions being too dark for the cameras that I had to produce a photo, and flash wouldn't really have helped).

I'm not much of a camera bod; so much of the terminology used on websites tends to go over my head - but if I wanted something that could take excellent pictures in very little to low light, what would I be looking for?

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scribble

scribble

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Can you just talk through the gubbins on the front of the lens please?

Sure- thats a matte box at the front, which is basically a lens hood with adjustable sides. Next you have the follow focus, which makes pulling focus far, far easier, and more accurate. The compact primes have the gearing for follow focus build in already- and you get kinda zip tie like attachments for normal EF lenses. Then the bit on the back is just an optical viewfinder attachment.

Nap - yeah, those are EF mount- the camera in that photo is a 5D! These lenses are designed for video though- I wouldn't recommend using them for stills.

edit- You can get these Zeiss ones for Canon too, and apparently they're really good for stills: https://photo-shop.zeiss.com/en/Categories/Objektive/ZE

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g wings

g wings

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Probably a dumb question, but humour me. I take it Zeiss lenses are not available for Canon?

They are available for Canon fit, they are called the ZE lenses. Prime lenses only though and only MANUAL focus.

18mm f3.5

21mm f2.8

28mm f2.0

35mm f1.4

35mm f2.0

50mm f1.4

85mm f1.4

50mm f2 Macro

100mm f2 macro

I haven't used them all but the ones I have (25,50 and 85) all outshine the Canon L equivalents, except of course you have to live without autofocus.

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NecroMorrius

NecroMorrius

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I bought a 7D grip this weekend.

It makes the camera rather massive and heavy, but much more functional. A nice tradeoff. I bought it to take on holiday with me in March, 25% for the battery life, 25% for the easier portrait mode shooting and 50% to look cool. I was surprised at how much steadier my portrait shooting is now that I can keep my elbows tucked in. Early low light tests were very positive.

I also got chatting to the guy in Jacobs and played with a bunch of lenses with him while he rolled his eyes at my pretence of considering which one to buy. 70-200 f2.8L IS USM (awesome, a magnificent beast of a lens) 70-300 f4-5.6L IS USM (interesting, variable focal length a bit of a downer though) 50mm f1.2L (fun, overpriced) 16-35mm F2.8L II USM (cool, might rent one for rome trip for those wide shots) 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM (not for me, too fiddly and suspicious image quality at 100%).

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gerald.d

gerald.d

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Sure- thats a matte box at the front, which is basically a lens hood with adjustable sides. Next you have the follow focus, which makes pulling focus far, far easier, and more accurate. The compact primes have the gearing for follow focus build in already- and you get kinda zip tie like attachments for normal EF lenses. Then the bit on the back is just an optical viewfinder attachment.

Nap - yeah, those are EF mount- the camera in that photo is a 5D! These lenses are designed for video though- I wouldn't recommend using them for stills.

edit- You can get these Zeiss ones for Canon too, and apparently they're really good for stills: https://photo-shop.zeiss.com/en/Categories/Objektive/ZE

Cheers, but it's the bits between the hood and the front of the lens that I don't understand (the two things with 4x4 on them).

(I've got the Z-finder. It's excellent for focussing the tilt-shift lenses!)

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