The Learning Curve

[ghost1000]

Hello everybody I'm jumping into the dSLR world - just ordered a Pentax K100 Super. Why? Good reviews, shake reduction, dust system, price, I like that it takes SD cards and AA batteries, and just general gut feelings.

So I've been reading through this thread now and making notes of links and intend to buy a book or two to get the cobwebs out of the SLR info in the recesses of my brain.

One thing I haven't seen touched on is the "other stuff" besides the camera. For example does everyone here use filters to help out their images a bit and protect the lens (and if so which ones)? Any other doodads or gadgets that are handy to have in your photobag?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

newtodis, you will like the quickness of your dSLR. If you read through the thread, some of the questions you brought up have been discussed. Feel free to ask more questions if you don't see your answers. I went to Borders and bought a couple of good "general" book on dSLRs so I could get the basics down before I even delved into my own manual. I also bought the DVD for my particular camera, but much of it was a snore fest and a bit over my head at the time (I plan to use it more as I get to know the camera better). Some people just like to get out and start shooting. Whatever you do, it's kind of like taking baby steps. So sit down, buckle your seatbelt, and enjoy the ride!

Hey ghost! Hopefully you'll get other replies also, but for myself, I haven't gotten that far yet. I started to think about filters and such, but decided to not spend a lot more money other than on just the basics until I found out exactly what everything was and whether I needed it. Another thought is that it seems as if the quality of some of the extra equipment out there varies a great deal, and ultimately, what you buy will affect your pictures. Welcome aboard.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

 

[Quicklabs]

What a great thread! I love taking photos (although my subjects don't vary much--mostly my dogs), but I haven't progressed much beyond the auto setting. Not good. I love this board and am in awe of so much artistry here and the generosity of spirit by so many. Great introduction above, Pea-n-Me and thanks for starting this thread.

 

[madge]

Who's on it?

I know there are a lot of new, and fairly new, dSLR users here, including myself. I thought it might be nice to have a place to share information, bounce ideas off eachother, learn, share pictures and links/articles of interest, and generally have some fun.

All levels and brands are welcome, it doesn't matter what you use, this will be a general thread (but if you want, you can put your camera image in your signature).

Maybe the "old dogs" here could follow along if they like.

I thought we could talk about all aspects of dSLR use, and if there's enough interest, I'd be willing to index the subjects in this OP. Things like lenses, white balance, focus, gear bags, whatever we want to talk about.

Who's in?

I'm late to the party, but I'm in! I've been a Canon S3 user for almost a year, and bought a Canon Rebel (just a rebel, no letters after it. LOL) in November. I've taken a continuing education class in photography and am currently taking a Photoshop class. I feel like I have much information in my head and can't seem to make it all come together the way I want to.

reading on ...

 

[madge]

Stories: Why did you buy a dSLR?

Camera envy. Pure and simple.

I bought an S3 in May 2007 and a used dSLR in November, after 2 photography classes full of people with dSLR cameras.

Not a very inspired reason, is it?

I still LOVE my S3, though. I have it with me almost all the time. It's a great camera.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thanks, Quicklabs. Glad you're in.

Same here, madge, with the S3. I still keep mine in my pocketbook at all times (unless I stick my dSLR in there on the rare occasion I don't want to carry two bags). It was really a great camera to learn on, and the S3 thread was a lot of fun, too.

 

[mikamah]

This is a great thread with so much helpful info. I got the canon xti last summer, having always had point and shoots. My son had started t-ball, and I really wanted a longer zoom, so I debated getting a point and shoot with a longer zoom, verses the dslr, and went with the dslr, figuring I'd be able to learn more about the camera and photography. I read understanding exposure, and tend to use aperture priority mostly, or program mode, and set the iso. I still have so much to learn, and not as much time as I would like to. I want to take a course at some point, but haven't been able to fit it in yet. I think this may be the course I need.

Pea-n-me, thanks for starting this thread. A question on those dark pics you posted with the histogram and had adjusted. Do you always shoot in raw, or do you shoot in jpg? I don't do much post processing, just adjust contrast and brightness, and have only shot in jpg, just for the time involved in post processing all the pics in raw. (plus learning how to do all that). Thanks.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You're welcome, mikamah. Although I'm leaning toward shooting RAW, I haven't made the jump yet, primarily due to space issues on the computer from all the pictures we have (which we're working on). So no, all my pictures thus far have been JPEG. My understanding, FWIW, is that editing JPEGs causes a loss in quality, so I try to edit minimally. Every time you compress JPEG files, you lose quality. This is done both in-camera and in post processing if you edit later, so quite a bit of quality can be lost. Hence, why many shoot in RAW, which does not compress.

I also understand there are two schools of thought on it. First, some like to have complete control of their photos and know that they can adjust lots of things in post processing. These are people who probably enjoy doing this. Then there are those who can't be bothered with post processing, who'd rather take the picture "right the first time" in camera and not have to edit later. I can see both sides. I suppose it matters how much time you have, whether you know how to use a good editing program, and whether you care to put this type of effort into your photography.

I'm not sure where I stand yet. Right now, I just want to learn to use my camera. I'm thrilled when and if I get a shot that I don't have to edit. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen a lot, LOL. In photos I post here, I generally do some cropping and maybe some lightening, etc. But making them smaller to post online causes compression, and you can often see the differences when you compare your original images to the ones here online. Food for thought.

I'll see if I can find something that explains it a little better (and probably more accurately), and if the masters have anything else to add, please do.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Here's some articles to get started

Raw vs JPEG

JPEG vs RAW The Advantages and Disadvantages Explained

Shooting in RAW Part 1

Shooting in RAW Part II

Forgot, and it mentions in the article. Some cameras will do RAW and JPEG at the same time. I believe mine does, will have to look into it more.

Dis Threads on RAW

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1901364&referrerid=70088

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1903515&referrerid=70088

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1996197&referrerid=70088

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2021239&referrerid=70088

 

[handicap18]

Do you always shoot in raw, or do you shoot in jpg? I don't do much post processing, just adjust contrast and brightness, and have only shot in jpg, just for the time involved in post processing all the pics in raw. (plus learning how to do all that). Thanks.

I will say that I was in your camp about a year ago. Then I made the switch to RAW and haven't looked back. I do 1 extra step compared to what I used to do when shooting only JPEG.

The 1 extra step I do is the conversion from RAW to JPEG. I don't do much PP either.

I transfer the files from the card to the computer. Then I open them, look through them and adjust any images for brightness and contrast, as well as white balance. I'll sometimes adjust the exposure compensation. Then I batch change all the pics from "Normal" to "Natural" (other options are Vivid, Sharper, Softer; these are in the Optimize Image option in the Nikon menu, not sure what it is for Canon). Then I convert to JPEG. Any croping I do, I use the RAW image so I don't lose as many pixels in the conversion.

With a JPEG image you can adjust the brightness and saturation and contrast, but adjusting the picture control and white balance is a different story. I've found that since switching to RAW, and doing my own adjustments instead of having the camera do it, that I like the final out come of my images better. The biggest difference I've found is with being able to change white balance and the picture control (Optimized Image). I use to keep the camera on Vivid. Recently I started using a different Nikon RAW converter and adjust a few images to Natural and like the result better. With JPEG, I couldn't have been able to do that.

Overall, I've found its now way near as big a pain as I originaly thought to shoot RAW. I like it better. With media card prices coming down I just bought more cards for the extra space a RAW image takes. So instead of 650+ JPEGS on a 2GB card, I now get about 340 RAW images. Thats still A LOT of images on 1 card. Thats about 14 rolls of 24 exposure film.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I find getting the White Balance correct is a little tricky (in camera) so it would be nice to adjust it if need be.

Kyle, how does it affect your computer in terms of storage and such?

 

[madge]

Thanks, Quicklabs. Glad you're in.

Same here, madge, with the S3. I still keep mine in my pocketbook at all times (unless I stick my dSLR in there on the rare occasion I don't want to carry two bags). It was really a great camera to learn on, and the S3 thread was a lot of fun, too.

I have learned so much from that thread, this board, and my class. A year ago, I didn't even know I wanted to be a better picture taker, LOLOL. I'm not sure that I am now, but I think I have a better grasp on how the whole thing works.

 

[handicap18]

I find getting the White Balance correct is a little tricky (in camera) so it would be nice to adjust it if need be.

Kyle, how does it affect your computer in terms of storage and such?

With the new computer it's now a non issue. I have 2 350GB internal hard drives. Before this computer I used (and still use) 3 external HD's. I have a 200GB, 500GB and a 160GB (portable). The external HD's were a life saver and work great. Also not very expensive. The 500GB I got for $120 at Best Buy. My old computer only has a 40GB hard drive, so I desperately needed the external drives. Right now, my picture folder (everything since 2003) is about 90GB. This includes RAW & JPEG's along with all my edited images and I also have a bunch of scanned photos & slides from years past.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

With the new computer it's now a non issue. I have 2 350GB internal hard drives. Before this computer I used (and still use) 3 external HD's. I have a 200GB, 500GB and a 160GB (portable). The external HD's were a life saver and work great. Also not very expensive. The 500GB I got for $120 at Best Buy. My old computer only has a 40GB hard drive, so I desperately needed the external drives. Right now, my picture folder (everything since 2003) is about 90GB. This includes RAW & JPEG's along with all my edited images and I also have a bunch of scanned photos & slides from years past.

Yes, our laptop is about 4 years old, and the other two computers in the house are even older. We have one external hard drive for pictures but currently it's not working.

 

[Code]

I graduated from JPG to RAW within a week of having my DSLR simply because of white balance. Theoretically, if you load a RAW photo into the manufacturer's software and develop it to JPG without changing a single setting, you will get the same photo as if you shot JPG in the first place. So at the cost of a small amount of time and some cheap disk space, you get the ability to fix WB after the fact. Worth it for that alone!

 

[MinnieMouse73]

Hi, am I allowed in even though I'm not a dSLR user? (yet!) I posted on a couple of threads recently that I have just graduated from a plain and simple 'point and click' to a Panasonic FZ18 - I wasn't brave enough to jump right in and buy a dSLR but with this camera I can at least learn about aperture (I tried using a low f/thingy with my flower shots at the weekend, and have been taking photos in AP mode as well as auto), shutter speed, white balance (I've used both cloudy and sunny), ISO etc. Today I tried taking a 'burst' of 4 or 5 photos which was a handy function to learn about!

I've also ordered Elements to have a go at adjusting my photos.

I know it's not as good as having a dSLR (and I'm already thinking that one day I will!) but I hope/think that some of the info on this thread will apply to me, so hopefully you don't mind me joining in

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Of course not, MinnieMouse73. Everyone is welcome.

Theoretically, if you load a RAW photo into the manufacturer's software and develop it to JPG without changing a single setting, you will get the same photo as if you shot JPG in the first place. So at the cost of a small amount of time and some cheap disk space, you get the ability to fix WB after the fact. Worth it for that alone!

I'll have to digest that for a while. At least I know where to come for questions.

Wouldn't there be quite a difference in file size between the RAW and JPEG?

Do you use the setting where you can do both?

 

[mikamah]

Thanks all for the great tips on raw vs jpg. I am thinking of some really grey snow pictures I took over the winter when I had left my white balance on flourescent, and that would have been a great option to change the wb in post processing. I think some day I will shoot raw, when I have more time to devote to learning all the ins and outs of the post processing. I am not very computer literate, and my computer is running slow at times, and I know I need to clean it out, and maybe get another harddrive to store all the pictures, but haven't had time to figure it all out. So much to learn, so little time.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am thinking of some really grey snow pictures I took over the winter when I had left my white balance on flourescent, and that would have been a great option to change the wb in post processing.

I'm glad you brought up snow. I think snow and sand, combined with bright sun especially, have some special considerations of metering/exposure compensation as well as WB. Many cameras have a Snow setting, but it's good to know what to do in case you have to tweak it more.

Here are some articles which discuss shooting snow.

http://www.digicamhelp.com/learn/nature/snow.php

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/snow.htm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=photographing+snow

Does anyone have any good snow or sand photos to share?