Tips from Sutton photographer
Discussion
Not sure if any of you look at the ITV-F1 website but currently they are running a little series on photographing cars.
I've not read it yet so might be rubbish, but thought I'd share it.
Here You Go
I've not read it yet so might be rubbish, but thought I'd share it.
Here You Go
Absolutely right Simpo, I know you guys have explain it to me but I am still trying to get to grips with it all.
I think the problem lies with all the auto features now, it really is just point and click and most people don't want anything else.
Trouble is, when people like me want to learn a little it can take time to understand fully because there is less knowledge out there.
I imagine a few years back you probably couldn't take a half decent picture without knowing about AP/EV etc.
I think the problem lies with all the auto features now, it really is just point and click and most people don't want anything else.
Trouble is, when people like me want to learn a little it can take time to understand fully because there is less knowledge out there.
I imagine a few years back you probably couldn't take a half decent picture without knowing about AP/EV etc.
Gotta agree with that Mark.
I have looked through a few books and actually got one as a present but found the best source of knowledge was actually the manual that came with the camera body.
There is a range of books specifically based on camera models. (ie How to use your EOS300).
I cant remember the exact names though, I saw them in Auckland.
I have looked through a few books and actually got one as a present but found the best source of knowledge was actually the manual that came with the camera body.
There is a range of books specifically based on camera models. (ie How to use your EOS300).
I cant remember the exact names though, I saw them in Auckland.
DustyC said:
...the best source of knowledge was actually the manual that came with the camera body.
A Japenese translation???
Perhaps I should RTFM DustyC said:
There is a range of books specifically based on camera models. (ie How to use your EOS300).
I cant remember the exact names though, I saw them in Auckland.
Well apart from seeing the Sagais on Saturday and the Spa on Sunday I don't have a lot on.
Perhaps you could pick me one up next time you pop over there? .Mark said:
Absolutely right Simpo, I know you guys have explain it to me but I am still trying to get to grips with it all.
The funny thing is that the deeper you go, the simpler it is. Any camera is just a box with a hole in the front! Oh, and a lens of course.
.Mark said:
I think the problem lies with all the auto features now, it really is just point and click and most people don't want anything else. Trouble is, when people like me want to learn a little it can take time to understand fully because there is less knowledge out there.
Ironically I have the opposite problem - my Olympus Mju300 has silly 'modes' which prevent me from understanding what's really going on - if anything! So if I want to photograph a gate I need 'gate mode', a llama needs 'llama mode' etc...
But seriously, who can explain this:
I have Portrait Mode. The manual says it helps 'skin texture' WTF? Perhaps it gives me a larger aperture to blur the background.
I also have Landscape Mode. I imagine this gives me a smaller aperture for greater depth of field.
But best of all, there's Landscape+Portrait Mode.
I give up!
IME The best way to learn, is to find the most basic, manual SLR you can find - i learned on a fully manual - not even an aperture priority mode.
Ive now upgraded to a Minolta X700, and my only concession to autonomy is Aperture Priority - whereby i set the aperture and the camera will then work out the shutter speed - i still aim the camera at the best midtone though, and then lock the aperture reading to take the pic, so im still in control. I was offered a Canon EOS1000 recently, and i turned it down as it was
a)hard to use
b)very complicated to use in manual mode - it wanted to do everything for me!
Ive now upgraded to a Minolta X700, and my only concession to autonomy is Aperture Priority - whereby i set the aperture and the camera will then work out the shutter speed - i still aim the camera at the best midtone though, and then lock the aperture reading to take the pic, so im still in control. I was offered a Canon EOS1000 recently, and i turned it down as it was
a)hard to use
b)very complicated to use in manual mode - it wanted to do everything for me!
Priceless.Mad Dave said:
IME The best way to learn, is to find the most basic, manual SLR you can find - i learned on a fully manual - not even an aperture priority mode.
:northern accent: Luxury! My first camera was hewn from solid rock and needed a team of navvies just to switch it on....'
But you're right. It's like learning to drive a manual car, then choosing an automatic one later - but you still know what gears do.
First SLR: Chinon CM4 - manual everything. I thought AE was cheating!
Second SLR: Ricoh XR-7. The luxury of AE freed me up to focus and compose. I thought AF was cheating...
Third SLR: Nikon F70. The luxury of AF freed me up to worry about composition and the meaning of life.
But I still know what's going on underneath it all!
I just figured out what 'Landscape + Portrait' must mean. It's for taking portraits in fields! That must be what the depth of field preview is for...
LOL
My first SLR - Konica FC-1 - it had AE but i never used it, it always exposed for the wrong thing as you couldnt lock it!
Second SLR - Minolta X700 - its got AP, fully auto (never used it!) and depth of field preview but its still manual focus.
Id like auto focus but only if i could get a camera with AF that was still easy to focus manually - eg, has a 'two semi circles' focussing screen - the EOS i looked at had one rectangle that you basically just guessed the focus on!
My first SLR - Konica FC-1 - it had AE but i never used it, it always exposed for the wrong thing as you couldnt lock it!
Second SLR - Minolta X700 - its got AP, fully auto (never used it!) and depth of field preview but its still manual focus.
Id like auto focus but only if i could get a camera with AF that was still easy to focus manually - eg, has a 'two semi circles' focussing screen - the EOS i looked at had one rectangle that you basically just guessed the focus on!
Dull and boring facts:
By pressing the DOF prieview button, you are 'stopping down' the lens to the aperture selected by the camera (or by you in speed/aperture or manual modes)... this will be bound to darken the view.
It'll only give you an approximation of the depth of field you'll end up with, but it sometimes helps (I prefer looking at the stats printed on the lens)
Interesting facts:
It's going to be sunny this weekend so I'm out for a big blat.
edited to add this >
>> Edited by getcarter on Friday 16th January 19:00
By pressing the DOF prieview button, you are 'stopping down' the lens to the aperture selected by the camera (or by you in speed/aperture or manual modes)... this will be bound to darken the view.
It'll only give you an approximation of the depth of field you'll end up with, but it sometimes helps (I prefer looking at the stats printed on the lens)
Interesting facts:
It's going to be sunny this weekend so I'm out for a big blat.
edited to add this >
>> Edited by getcarter on Friday 16th January 19:00
Mad Dave said:
BTW What in the hell does depth of field preview do? On mine, if i use preview with the lens set to f/22, the whole screen goes dark, whereas on f/2.8 its the opposite - surely, f/2.8 has far less depth of field than f/22 so it should be more greyed out?!
Adding to what getcarter said, you're being foxed by the light/dark thing. What you should also see is that as the aperture decreases (ie screen darkens) your depth of field is increasing. So if you're about to take a picture with (say) an object in the midground and one in the background, and you want them both to be sharp, put the camera on manual focus, focus between the two objects and adjust aperture until they're both sharp. After a while you'll be able to guess it.
It's worth pointing out that DOF is much greater with wide-angle lenses, so you don't need such a small aperture.
DustyC said:
Gotta agree with that Mark.
I have looked through a few books and actually got one as a present but found the best source of knowledge was actually the manual that came with the camera body.
I agree with you Adam - reading the manual at the same time as playing with the camera is very useful, although having a basic understaning of what the camera is trying to do is useful as well.
For example, it's all well and good knowing how to take spot meter readings by pressing button "A", but it is also useful to know what sort of surface gives the most accurate reading, and I've found this really only comes with getting out there, trying different settings, taking lots of different photos and seeing how they come out.
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