Just bought a D40x!!!!!!
Discussion
eek! impulse buy alert... just bought a D40x!
Actually, i have been thinking about it for a while, and shopping around..
So, ended up getting the D40x with 18-55 - £340 which i thought was a bargin.
also got a 4G HD SD card for £35 and an all weather lowenpro bag for £25..
So £400 all in...
and expect lots of questions and "whys this happening" posts from me!
Actually, i have been thinking about it for a while, and shopping around..
So, ended up getting the D40x with 18-55 - £340 which i thought was a bargin.
also got a 4G HD SD card for £35 and an all weather lowenpro bag for £25..
So £400 all in...
and expect lots of questions and "whys this happening" posts from me!
Once you've caught "NAS"***, that's it - you'll never shake it!!! 
Have you used a Nikon before? (It's a bit like with 'phones, once you get used to one system, like having a Nokia, you can usually pretty easily navigate your way around - although there's always some new setting to find or fox you...
Fidgits said:
and expect lots of questions and "whys this happening" posts from me!
No ask away.Have you used a Nikon before? (It's a bit like with 'phones, once you get used to one system, like having a Nokia, you can usually pretty easily navigate your way around - although there's always some new setting to find or fox you...
"NAS" - Nikon Aquisition Syndrome, the disease in which you always determine there's one more Nikon item you need. As in ~stands up~ "Hello, I'm Beano, I've got NAS" ~sits down~ in darkened meetings all over the globe...Which reminds me - I haven't bought a lens for nearly five months...
beano500 said:
Once you've caught "NAS"***, that's it - you'll never shake it!!!
Have you used a Nikon before? (It's a bit like with 'phones, once you get used to one system, like having a Nokia, you can usually pretty easily navigate your way around - although there's always some new setting to find or fox you...
Nope, my first DSLR... (or SLR for that matter) - havent had chance to play yet... but looking forward to it! Fidgits said:
and expect lots of questions and "whys this happening" posts from me!
No ask away.Have you used a Nikon before? (It's a bit like with 'phones, once you get used to one system, like having a Nokia, you can usually pretty easily navigate your way around - although there's always some new setting to find or fox you...
"NAS" - Nikon Aquisition Syndrome, the disease in which you always determine there's one more Nikon item you need. As in ~stands up~ "Hello, I'm Beano, I've got NAS" ~sits down~ in darkened meetings all over the globe...Which reminds me - I haven't bought a lens for nearly five months...
So, had a play with a piece of fruit - I found on the auto setting the auto focus couldnt lock on the fruit - perhaps i was too close, and on manual i found it was slightly blurred:
I tried the 'flower' setting and that was much sharper and more what i was looking for but lost the warmth of the first one...
Any hints and tips most welcome..
I tried the 'flower' setting and that was much sharper and more what i was looking for but lost the warmth of the first one...
Any hints and tips most welcome..
Edited by Fidgits on Wednesday 16th January 20:06
(1) seems to have the focal point ok, central DOF, but probably suffers from camera shake due to low shutter speed.
(2) is using flash... direct from the camera and thats what you get.
That kind of shooting indoors realy needs a tripod.
Remember for sharp pics you have to consider:
Stability of the camera - 1/focal length (*1.5) shooting speed minimum (according to skill), so 50mm you need 1/50th +, more like 1/100th or faster.
Shoot where your lens is good, most lenses are softer wide open - kit lenses especialy, stoped down to f8 or f9 it'll be sharper but will slow the shutter down (see above).
Correct focus and deep enough depth of field. No good having a razor sharp pin point focus aera if the DoF is so shallow most of the rest of the sibject is out of the DoF. Dof gets smaller as the focal point nears the camera, and as the lens is opened up.
(2) is using flash... direct from the camera and thats what you get.
That kind of shooting indoors realy needs a tripod.
Remember for sharp pics you have to consider:
Stability of the camera - 1/focal length (*1.5) shooting speed minimum (according to skill), so 50mm you need 1/50th +, more like 1/100th or faster.
Shoot where your lens is good, most lenses are softer wide open - kit lenses especialy, stoped down to f8 or f9 it'll be sharper but will slow the shutter down (see above).
Correct focus and deep enough depth of field. No good having a razor sharp pin point focus aera if the DoF is so shallow most of the rest of the sibject is out of the DoF. Dof gets smaller as the focal point nears the camera, and as the lens is opened up.
OK shot (1) was 42mm and 1/13th ISO 1600, f5.3.
Too slow to hand hold.
You've also probably reached the limits of sensitivity of that camera - ISO 1600
And shooting wide open - f5.3 (or close) - don't worry we'll get to that later.
Which means the camera/lens was doing all it could to get the shot but it didn't have enough light.
Everything in exposing an image boils down to light, & how much of it - usually quantified by the 'f stop' - a doubling or halving of the amount of light.
Time to learn the basics!! There are 3 settings that govern an exposure - ISO (sensitivity) , shutter speed and aperture.
Say your shutter speed is 1/200th of a second. If that isn't enough light you can change it to 1/100th to double the amount of light you capture (by doubling the length the shutter is open).
Or if its too much you can shorten the shutter time to 1/400.
1/200th to 1/100th or 1/400th is one fstop of light (doubled or halved).
Aperture and ISO are measured in this also.
ISO 1600 is twice as sensitive as ISO 800. i.e. instead of switching from 1/200th above to 1/100th you could have instead moved from ISO 800 to ISO 1600.
ISO 100 is (often) the least sensitive but best for noise - each stop you go up gives you more (shutter) speed but more noise, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 etc.
The above are pretty simple static settings, so long as you (generally) have enough shutter speed to capture the scene without either subject blur or hand shake, and as low noise as possible your OK. (disregarding panning shots, waterfalls etc).
The 3rd, Aperture, affects more than just the exposure, it affects the Depth of field. This is the (vertical) plane of sharpness centered on the focal point. It can be really shallow (say just someones eyes) or very deep (for landscapes) according to how you set it.
The Aperture value is represented by a number - f/2.0 , or f2.0 say. This is relates to how big a hole the aperture blades leave in the middle of the lens (actually usually located at the sensor end these days but..).
And it means the focal length divided by the number, in mm, as a diameter. So 50mm at f2.0 will be 25mm diameter.
So as the number grows, f8, f22 , the hole shrinks.
Again this is measured in fstops, but because were are dealing with area here its not a simple 1,2,4 relation. F2.8 is one stop more light than f4.0. So instead of changing from 1/200 to 1/100 shutter you could go from f4.0 to f2.8 for the same extra 1 stop of light. That's if the lens can open the aperture that much (is that big, or in photo speak, that fast).
Having a lens at its maximum aperture is called 'wide open', 'stopped down' is smaller than this but usually relates to f8 -- f22 or such. A lens is usually sharper stopped down than wide open - depending on the lens.
Depth of field(DoF) is tricky, its a balance of the aperture , the focal length and the distance to the focal point.
Larger aperture (smaller f number) = smaller DoF
Closer focal point = smaller DoF
Longer focal length = smaller DoF
So to get a really shallow DoF (portrait etc) you want a large aperture (f1.8 say) close focal point (30cm say) and long focal length (say 80mm).
The reverse - large DoF (landscape etc) you want a small aperture ( F11), focal point not close (5-10m) and a shorter focal length (20mm).
There's more but get to understand the play between ISO, shutter speed and aperture that governs basic exposure first.
Too slow to hand hold.
You've also probably reached the limits of sensitivity of that camera - ISO 1600
And shooting wide open - f5.3 (or close) - don't worry we'll get to that later.
Which means the camera/lens was doing all it could to get the shot but it didn't have enough light.
Everything in exposing an image boils down to light, & how much of it - usually quantified by the 'f stop' - a doubling or halving of the amount of light.
Time to learn the basics!! There are 3 settings that govern an exposure - ISO (sensitivity) , shutter speed and aperture.
Say your shutter speed is 1/200th of a second. If that isn't enough light you can change it to 1/100th to double the amount of light you capture (by doubling the length the shutter is open).
Or if its too much you can shorten the shutter time to 1/400.
1/200th to 1/100th or 1/400th is one fstop of light (doubled or halved).
Aperture and ISO are measured in this also.
ISO 1600 is twice as sensitive as ISO 800. i.e. instead of switching from 1/200th above to 1/100th you could have instead moved from ISO 800 to ISO 1600.
ISO 100 is (often) the least sensitive but best for noise - each stop you go up gives you more (shutter) speed but more noise, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 etc.
The above are pretty simple static settings, so long as you (generally) have enough shutter speed to capture the scene without either subject blur or hand shake, and as low noise as possible your OK. (disregarding panning shots, waterfalls etc).
The 3rd, Aperture, affects more than just the exposure, it affects the Depth of field. This is the (vertical) plane of sharpness centered on the focal point. It can be really shallow (say just someones eyes) or very deep (for landscapes) according to how you set it.
The Aperture value is represented by a number - f/2.0 , or f2.0 say. This is relates to how big a hole the aperture blades leave in the middle of the lens (actually usually located at the sensor end these days but..).
And it means the focal length divided by the number, in mm, as a diameter. So 50mm at f2.0 will be 25mm diameter.
So as the number grows, f8, f22 , the hole shrinks.
Again this is measured in fstops, but because were are dealing with area here its not a simple 1,2,4 relation. F2.8 is one stop more light than f4.0. So instead of changing from 1/200 to 1/100 shutter you could go from f4.0 to f2.8 for the same extra 1 stop of light. That's if the lens can open the aperture that much (is that big, or in photo speak, that fast).
Having a lens at its maximum aperture is called 'wide open', 'stopped down' is smaller than this but usually relates to f8 -- f22 or such. A lens is usually sharper stopped down than wide open - depending on the lens.
Depth of field(DoF) is tricky, its a balance of the aperture , the focal length and the distance to the focal point.
Larger aperture (smaller f number) = smaller DoF
Closer focal point = smaller DoF
Longer focal length = smaller DoF
So to get a really shallow DoF (portrait etc) you want a large aperture (f1.8 say) close focal point (30cm say) and long focal length (say 80mm).
The reverse - large DoF (landscape etc) you want a small aperture ( F11), focal point not close (5-10m) and a shorter focal length (20mm).
There's more but get to understand the play between ISO, shutter speed and aperture that governs basic exposure first.
Edited by RobDickinson on Wednesday 16th January 23:50
Fidgits said:
thanks Rob - i obviously have a lot of learning to do!
In addition to Robs' explanation There are loads of photography books discussing exposure, one that seems to get mentioned on photography forums is "Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera" by Bryan Peterson, its about £15-£20.
Fidgits said:
took some more, but i think the problem is im shooting in my kitchen without great lighting..
You may find that when shooting indoors without using the flash I'm not sure about the d40x, but some cameras have the option to fire the flash to help with focusing, then not fire when actually taking the picture.....its normally a good indication that your at the 'limits' of your lens though. When you look through the viewfinder to compose your shot the camera always has the aperture at its largest (only closing the aperture to your chosen setting when you take the photo), sometimes even this doesn't let enough light into the camera for the auto-focusing to work properly. This happens more often with 'slower' lenses with maximum apertures of f4, f5.6, etc..
So if it struggles to focus you can use the flash, or invest in some 'faster' lenses (warning: this is the expensive option
)Cheers.
While we're still on 'basics', can we please call the hole in the front an 'aperture'? It's not an apature or even an aperature.
okay, a few random questions (while im at work and dont have the instructions to hand)
How do you turn off the flash? I know there is a setting on the wheel - but say i want 'close up' without flash - i pressed the button next to the lens and got some menu-thing, but couldnt seem to change anything?
Also - tripod vs monopod - assuming i want to take great holiday snaps - but want something that i can carry (at least a little way) to help me take great shots? Or just practice handheld?
And lenses - yes im at it already - if i want a bigger zoom - without costing the earth, what should i be looking at getting?
How do you turn off the flash? I know there is a setting on the wheel - but say i want 'close up' without flash - i pressed the button next to the lens and got some menu-thing, but couldnt seem to change anything?
Also - tripod vs monopod - assuming i want to take great holiday snaps - but want something that i can carry (at least a little way) to help me take great shots? Or just practice handheld?
And lenses - yes im at it already - if i want a bigger zoom - without costing the earth, what should i be looking at getting?
oh, and a couple more pics...
can someone tell me where i went wrong with this one?
and i think, maybe, just maybe, this is the first picture i've taken that i'm really happy with - and kinda what i expected to be able to get from a SLR (yes, yes, I know im the weak link not the camera!)
can someone tell me where i went wrong with this one?
and i think, maybe, just maybe, this is the first picture i've taken that i'm really happy with - and kinda what i expected to be able to get from a SLR (yes, yes, I know im the weak link not the camera!)
Fidgits said:
oh, and a couple more pics...
OK pic (1) - Framing isnt good - doesnt apply any of the 'rules (3rds etc) - Bokeh (out of focus areas) is poor and distracting (down to the lens there sorry), and I think a little hand shake?Sugestions - dont shoot with such a fussy high contrast background, put the subject off center (rule of 3rds or whatever), try get the subject sharper and isolate from the background ( closer in, wide open lens).
Pic 2 has flash with overdoes it , composition is better but could do with a shallower DoF.
Sugestions - use flash compensation to tone it down - opent he lens more or get a bit closer if you can , hard with the limited kit lens.
On tripod vs monopod - every photographer should have a solid tripod, biggest way (and cheapest compared to other kit) to improve your pics. Allows you to 9almost) ignore shutter speeds etc.
Monopods are good but need technique to use properly and also a ball head.
Not into nikon lenses but your after one with AF-S, more zoom you mean longer focal legnth? 55-200 or 70-200 or 70-300. Look for Sigma HSM lenses too. Dont know if theres a relativly cheap tele zoom that will AF.
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