Sony DSC-H9

[saddison]

Being new to photography I wanted to introduce myself and show off some of my photos from my brand new DSC-H9. I got this camera as a wedding gift to myself so my fiance and I can have some quality images from our honeymoon. I bought this camera because I liked how it felt and since I am stepping up from a DSC-S40 I am already familiar with the Sony product.

I am certainly no expert, all of the below are shot in auto. For right now this camera is what I can handle both financially and technically. I figure if this camera serves me well for a few years and allows me to learn more about the fine art of photography it will have served it's purpose.

I'm sure I will be around often asking for advice, so please feel free to critique, I want to learn all that I can.

My first attempt with a Macro..

More to come..

 

[saddison]

The H9 seems to freeze action quite well..

Taken at 2.2 fps..

Hopefully some non-canine shots tomorrow..

 

[GrumpyOne]

You seem to be doing fine so far.

One suggestion though. These boards are pretty friendly so if you want critiquing, you may need to be blunter in your request at times. It can be a bit demoralizing to want a critique and not get one, I know from experience. Of course, a lot of critiquing is all in how the picture is perceived and while there can be right and wrong ways, most seems to be shades of gray.

Again, the shots you took look fine to me but I do think they could be improved on by getting out of auto. The two of the dog, for instance. By getting out of auto and into Aperture Priority mode, you can either bring the background into better focus or make it more out of focus. When the background has little to do with the subject, I prefer more out of focus, it emphasizes the subject better. In some cases, you can go too far though and the subject then looks kind of flat.

The macro shot is fine but I prefer my macros to have a single subject or a set of related subjects. I'd try to focus in on a particular flower (The H9 should have a macro focus capability of about an inch away) or go for a wide-angle shot. As it is, the other flowers distract from the one in the middle, IMO.

 

[saddison]

Again, the shots you took look fine to me but I do think they could be improved on by getting out of auto. The two of the dog, for instance. By getting out of auto and into Aperture Priority mode, you can either bring the background into better focus or make it more out of focus. When the background has little to do with the subject, I prefer more out of focus, it emphasizes the subject better. In some cases, you can go too far though and the subject then looks kind of flat.

Going into Aperture Priority mode would I need a higher or lower setting? How many stops would I need to go? The exif data for very first photo I posted is 1/60, F 4.0, ISO 200. I am just starting to learn how the different settings affect a shot. I appreciate your thoughts because it made me look at my photos in a different way.

Thanks
Sean

 

[GrumpyOne]

Going into Aperture Priority mode would I need a higher or lower setting? How many stops would I need to go? The exif data for very first photo I posted is 1/60, F 4.0, ISO 200. I am just starting to learn how the different settings affect a shot. I appreciate your thoughts because it made me look at my photos in a different way.

Thanks
Sean

In order to blur the background more, you'll want a lower number in the aperture. This has the effect of widening the lens hole which will let in more light. If you wanted to possibly bring the background more into focus, you would use a larger aperture number which will make a smaller hole letting in less light. As the aperture changes, either the ISO or the shutter speed also need to change or the exposure certainly will.

Since you were at f/4, you can really only widen the aperture by one more stop on most point & shoot cams. 2.8 will give the least depth of field you can have with your camera, resulting in the best background blur or bokah, but pushing a lens to it's extreme is also a good way of reducing optical quality. If your cam has a 3.2 setting, you may want to give that a try instead of 2.8.

Mark started a thread a month or so back with a lot of tips about taking pictures...

 

[GrumpyOne]

Found it. Take a gander through this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1413123

 

[ukcatfan]

Blurring the background on a p&s is very hard b/c the focal lengh is actually much smaller than what the 35mm equiv. leads you to believe. For example, I found that the widest setting on the H5 is only 6mm and telephoto is 72mm. The only ways to get background blurring with a p&s is to zoom in as much as possible and/or get closer to the subject.

Here is a calculator for DOF. Be sure to use your actual focal length and not the 35mm equiv. They do not have the H9, but the H5 lens properties are likely very close. http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

Kevin