dSLR tips for dummies (me) Tip of the day.

[Mickeears]

As someone who is venturing into the new world of dslr.
I was hoping to start an ongoing thread with the help of you knowledgeable folks.

Maybe a daily tip of the day you could provide to me(us) just starting out,
such as.

What settings to have in this scenario.
Must haves for your bag.
Filters and when to use them, if you need them.
Lens hoods...
Don't make this mistake like I did....
What lens for this pic.
etc..
etc..


Whatever advice you can provide would be very much appreciated.
Make this a reference thread where we may revert back to this in the future.
Trial and error will be my learning curve but would appreciate any & all help.

Thank you,

 

[Kelly Grannell]

from my photography blog ( see link in my signature )

rules of thumb for semi-auto camera settings:

1. If you want deeper depth of field (more things in focus), use smaller aperture (the bigger f number)
2. If you want to freeze action, use faster shutter speed (for sports, 1/600 is a good start)
3. If you want more of the background to be picked up in a low-light situation, use higher ISO.


for item 1 or 2, sometimes you can't boost the shutter speed to the speed you want or the speed you're comfortable holding your camera, so you boost the ISO. Each stop of ISO increase, it doubles the shutter speed.

note:
1-stop meaning ISO 100 up to 200, 200 to 400, 400 to 800, 800 to 1600 and so forth.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

another one from my blog:

photography rules of thumb

I don't really create these rules, I just compile them.

1. Remember the "Rule of Thirds"
2. Remember the "Golden Rule"
3. Approximate minimum shutter speed should be the same (or faster) than any given focal length (unless you use Image Stabilizer)
4. Get the eyes in-focus as much as possible.
5. Have a back up of everything (battery, memory, or if budget permits, bodies and lenses)
6. Never buy a Kodak camera equipment

 

[Kelly Grannell]

another one:

Wednesday, May 31, 2006
taking concert pictures

Some people claim this is to be the holy grail of photography. I say it's not. Maybe I got off easy, maybe my in-depth background in music, music production and stage production helped. I don't know.

Settings:

- Use lenses with f/2.8 or larger ONLY. f/4 is not good enough (well, good for Jazz concert, but definitely not for Rock or Pop) . My current favourite is Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS for wide shots and Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS for medium to waist-up shots. I'm contemplating for a Canon 400 f/2.8L IS for close up shots but the cost is extremely prohibitive (currently about US$8,000 shipped)

- Set the camera to ISO 1600. Nothing lower than that.

- Use spot metering. Focus on the face, press Auto Exposure lock button, recompose, take the pic. Do all that in a split second. You're guaranteed to have great results.

posted by Kelly Grannell @ 8:37 PM

 

[Kelly Grannell]

and another one:

Tuesday, May 30, 2006
how to get great shots in tricky situations

Action shot:
you will need a shutter speed of at least 1/600, ideally 1/800. This can be done if your camera has a Tv (Shutter Priority) mode. This speed is easy to obtain if you're outdoors in the sun. If you're indoors, this is going to be trickier. Forget flash, it's pointless. The only to do this is by boosting the ISO as high as possible (most cameras nowadays can do ISO 800, if your camera can't do ISO 800, in some cases, you might as well forget about taking the picture)

Portrait shot:
you can use Portrait Mode on your camera (usually the one with an icon that looks like a person) or use the largest aperture possible for your lens (use Aperture Priority or Av on your camera and choose the smallest number such as 2.8). Make sure your subject is as far away from the background. The result? You'll get a nice portrait with blurry background.

Backlit shot:
The sun is behind your subject? The background is brighter AND behind your subject? Use your flash to fill-in the subject. Of course, if your subject is too far away then the point is moot, but if your subject is within the flash range, switch your flash from "AUTO" to "FLASH ON" or "FILL".

posted by Kelly Grannell @ 3:30 PM

 

[0bli0]

-use the histogram. the lcd is great to inspect composition, but it can give you a false impression of the photo's exposure. use the histogram and 'expose to the right'. basically make sure the exposure bars aren't all down at the left (underexposed) and also not all completely over on the right (blown).

- i always keep a squeeze-ball blower to remove dust from your lens. one big speck of dust can render an entire day's worth of shooting. if possible, use it when you change your lens. if you can't, then when you have a break, it's a good idea to do it.

-if possible, shoot raw. it will give you about an extra stop of exposure latitude and better control over sharpness and colour. it will take longer to process your photos but the time spent is worth it.

-have spare charged batteries. this one is pretty obvious. this is especially important in very cold weather for Lithium based batteries. if you have a battery grip which takes AA batteries, you might consider having a set just in case.

-when it's humid (like Florida or Hong Kong), lens fogging can be a problem for awhile after going outdoors. if you're in an air conditioned hotel or bus, take your camera out of the bag as soon as you can to help it acclimate quicker. some people put their cameras in plastic bags with dessicant gel bags until they're ready to shoot, but i've found it doesn't really help. this is only a problem for about 15-30 minutes (longer if you keep your camera in the camera bag).

-remember the rules, but also remember rules are meant to be broken occasionally. it's digital so it doesn't cost anything to try different things or settings.

 

[boBQuincy]

Know what you are metering and what your light meter does with it.

The light meter in a dSLR (and any other camera) is not smart, it wants to make anything it meters into 18% gray. Iow, if you meter something mostly white the image will be too dark (gray), meter something mostly black and the image will be too light (gray again).
Meter something with 18% reflectance (like green grass) and the image will be perfectly exposed.

So, it is up to you to interpret the exposure and if necessary, change it from what the camera sets it to. And it is often necessary.


boB

 

[jann1033]

this is second hand so hopefully it's right

...don't change lenses with the camera "on"..supposedly it attracts more dirt to the sensor

 

[rtphokie]

a Kodak camera equipment

This made me laugh. But thinking back over my purchases and what my parents owned, it's good advice.

When people ask for advice on buying a (digital) camera and offer up some Casio, Kodak or HP or some such they saw in the Sunday sales circulars I offer this advice:

Casio makes great watches
Kodak makes great film
HP makes great printers
Canon makes great cameras
Nikon makes great cameras
see a pattern?

 

[rtphokie]

- Set the camera to ISO 1600. Nothing lower than that.
posted by Kelly Grannell @ 8:37 PM

can you expand on that

 

[Kelly Grannell]

concerts are full of sudden lighting changes and sudden movements, especially rock concerts.

You want to get the highest shutter speed possible. Using f/2.8 aperture and highest possible (native) ISO setting (not 'boost mode') will yield superfast shutter speed (some rock concerts I can get up to 1/3200 shutter speed, which I need for the band member's jumping, hair flailing, split second head-turns)

 

[0bli0]

-if you are having exposure issues, metre off of the palm of your hand. learn how to effectively metre and recompose.
-for sports, use a single AF spot and AIServo in av mode. if the subject is helmeted use spot metering on the face or a dedicated metre.
-a lens hood is a much better protection for the front element than a filter.
-if you do get a filter, get a decent one (don't skimp). beware of secondary filter reflections at night (filter can reflect the light which is being reflected off the sensor and you won't see it through the viewfinder). don't use a circular polariser on an ultrawide lens otherwise you'll get a banded sky.
-if you are interested in a pro lens but aren't sure if it suits your needs, rent a copy.

 

[0bli0]

if you are doing a multi-shot panorama, shoot in manual mode and don't use a polariser. get your exposure to accomodate the brightest scene without blowing highlights. this will prevent having different exposures and creating 'lines' in your stitched pano.

 

[spoon2003]

Wish the LCD shows ISO as a reminder.

 

[0bli0]

- i find it's best to format the cards in camera. if simply delete files, often the files are in the trash but still on the card (if you forget to empty the trash before you remove the card from the reader). then you start to take a shot and find the card is full - leaving you with a dilemna - delete that one pic you've taken and format the card, or put that card with 1 pic in your bag and use another card. if you let windows format the card, you will probably be using the default fat32/4k clusters which may, or may not be the most efficient usage on your camera.

-(canon) if you use the card from another Canon camera, it will re-number the next picture to be in sequence with the data on the card. so your might have taken up to pic img-0295.jpg and then suddenly after swapping cards, the next picture is img-6490.jpg

-(canon) not all 3rd party lenses work with EOS digital bodies. older lenses might generate an ERR099 error message when attempting to stop down the lens. for Sigma and Tamron, they will generally 'rechip' the lens for minimal cost if it's in warranty and it's still a current lens. unfortunately most of the older lens have been replaced with newer models which don't generate the error message. when you're buying a lens in the shop, test the lens at an aperture other than wide open. for Sigma, be cautious of the older gold or white/red boxes.

- (canon) 3rd party flashes must be ETTL compatible. TTL compatible lenses will not operate properly. they can be used in manual mode, but you cannot use the flash correctly in TV or AV modes (fill, etc.).

 

[jann1033]

- i
-(canon) not all 3rd party lenses work with EOS digital bodies. older lenses might generate an ERR099 error message when attempting to stop down the lens. for Sigma and Tamron, they will generally 'rechip' the lens for minimal cost if it's in warranty and it's still a current lens. unfortunately most of the older lens have been replaced with newer models which don't generate the error message.

for lens that are out of production as long as they have chips, they will rechip them( my lens is out of p but they rechipped ) for $10 and it wasn't in warrenty either i don't think( it's over 5 yrs old,think it was 1 yr warrenty?)

 

[0bli0]

that's good to know. CRKennedy, who manages Sigma sales & service here in AUS/NZ won't do any that aren't a currently active model. and let me tell you, there are an awful lot of old stock items sitting around on shelves, here. outside of the 1 year warranty is fine, (or without warranty card) for a fee.
CRKennedy is a fantastic outfit and have looked after me with some lens and flash issues.

 

[handicap18]

Here's one I didn't notice yet:

Tripod. Don't be affraid to use one even on sunny days. It comes in handy when bracketing.

Also don't be affraid to use it during the day (or late afternoon/early evening and overcast days) for slower shutter speeds. When those last few hours of light for the day come aound you can get some nice lighting using 1/30th and slower shutter speeds.

They also come in handy for those long shots with the zoom lens. If you don't have a VR or IS lens, then camera shake can be a problem with your 70-300mm lens extended out to 300. A tripod makes it easier.

 

[JR6ooo4]

A great scene is only as good as it's lighting. Morning and evening light has the best color. The Noon sun makes terrible shadows and washes out the color.

Everyone is in awe of a beautiful sunset. But turn around to see the rest of your world bathed in that gorgeous light. (not my tip, posted by Andy Williams at Dpreview a while ago)

Mikeeee

 

[JR6ooo4]

Also,
when shooting at the zoo in winter do not go directly into the 80 degree farenheight primate house directly. THe cam will fog up and moisture can condensate inside your lenses and camera. I held my cam inside my coat for a half hour. Then spent another half hour "holding the door" for folks, before my camera acclimated to the differnt temps and humidity. Same affect leaving a cool resort room and going into the steamy florida summer weather.
Mikeeee