This week I'm working on... (now with a page 1 directory)

[TheGoofster]

Hey Goof, I'm at work with some free time. I have the camera but no book. How do you set up the White Balance Bracketing?

First go to the menu, and go to the Custom Settings menu (the one with the pencil icon). From there go to the "e" option (bracketing/ flash). In the next set of menus, go to the e2 option (auto bracketing set). That will take you to a menu with three option - AE bracketing, WB bracketing and ADL bracketing. Set it to WB bracketing.
Now push the "I" button to go to your shooting options menu, and move down to the bottom BKT option. click on it, and it will give you the WB bracketing options (WB1, WB2, and WB3), and just pick the one you want.
Like I said before, be aware that you only need to take one shot, and it will automatically do 3 copies at the different WB settings (unlike the AE bracketing feature).

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Thank you sir! Off to go play!

I just had a thought for the guys at nikon. Picture this, the Nikon D9000- with voice activated menu seletions! Never hunt for options again!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Hey Goofster, back again. I took a couple shots of the coffee pot in our breakroom and like you said, it not all that much of a big deal. However, when I merged them together together in CS3 for an HDR picture, I did get a slightly clearer and cleaner looking picture. The lights are pretty dim in here right now and I was just using the Auto WB but I'm curious if it makes a difference outside during the day. If I get some free time tomorrow morning before work I'm going to go outside for a few and play around in the snow.

 

[TheGoofster]

I thought I'd try something a little bit different today. I wanted to see if I could make some "ghosts" using the HDR merge process. These are just my first attempts, but I think there could be some interesting potential using this feature.

My Ghost dog (using HDR merge):

HDR merge ghosts:

Using layers to get ghosts:

I know you can get a much better effect using layers, but it takes quite a bit longer. With the HDR merge, I was able to get the effect in only a couple of seconds.

If anybody else has used this effect to get some neat shots, I would love to see some examples.

 

[TheGoofster]

This week I'm going to focus more on trying to get a better understanding (and working knowledge of) the on-screen / view finder controls. I've had my camera for almost four months now, and I realize that there are still quite a few basic features that I'm not taking advantage of.

Today I was working with:
ISO display on the viewfinder. - It might not be an overly important feature, but I found that I really liked having a nice little reminder of what ISO setting I'm using right on the viewfinder itself. From now on I plan to keep that setting on.

Viewfinder Grid Display - Again, another non-essential feature, but one that can really help when you are trying to make sure that your shot is lined up correctly. This is another feature which I'll probably keep on most of the time.

Rangefinder - I don't necessarily use manual focus all that often, but it is nice to have this feature on when I do. I've had enough shots that came out just out of focus on Manual that this feature seems like it could be very handy when shooting in Manual focus mode.

Exposure Indicator - I actually heard about this the other day on another thread. I'm still trying to get a better working knowledge of it, but it seems like it could be very handy in trying to determine if your exposure level is where you want it to be or not. I think I'll be doing a lot more testing of this feature this week, and hopefully get better at using it properly.

in-camera editing of RAW pictures - I don't think I'll be using this very much. I don't really like doing much in-camera editing, but it is good to know how to do it, especially if a situation might call for some quick editing for an important picture.

If anybody has any suggestions about good ways to use or experiment with any of these features, I would appreciate the help. Some of them are pretty self-explanatory, but some of them (like using the exposure indicator correctly) seem a bit more challenging.

 

[saturndb]

There is a work-around, sort of. Set the camera for bracketing +/- 2 stops then set exposure compensation to -2 and take the three exposures. Now set exposure compensation to +2 and take three more. Five of the exposures will be at -4, -2, 0, +2, +4, and two of the six exposures will be identical so leave one of those out of the HDR set.

If we want more than 5 exposures we are doomed to use manual! Fortunately the base dynamic range plus the extra 8 stops of HDR will almost always be enough to cover the full range of a scene. I used this technique to photograph a black steam locomotive on a sunny day, there was some real dynamic range in that scene!

Nice technique Bob!

 

[TheGoofster]

Last week I mentioned that I was trying to get more familar with some of the different features of my camera. One of the things I mentioned was the rangefinder, which is a meter the camera uses when you are shooting in Manual focus mode to help you determine if your shot is in focus or not (which can be turned on or off).
So today I thought I would test it a bit. I tried shooting some really hard to focus shots out in my yard. It's a very windy day, so that made it even harder. When I tried to see if my autofocus could handle some of these shots, usually it wouldn't even come close (the subjects either kept moving, or there were branches and leaves that kept moving in the way.)
So I threw it into manual focus, and used the rangefinder to help me get the best focus. In almost all of the shots I took, the focus came out almost perfect. From now on, if ever I have to shoot in manual mode, I'll be sure to keep the rangefinder feature on.
Here are a couple of examples of the shots I was working with:

In this shot, even though the bird wasn't moving, there was constant motion in front of him from the wind blowing different leaves and branches around:

In this shot, the subject itself kept moving, and in autofocus, the camera kept trying to switch between the branches in front, the actual subject, and the leaves all around it:

 

[SrisonS]

Hmmmm.... I don't know why I never thought of using manual focus when trying to shooting a swaying subject, or avoid having the camera focus on something else that's swaying in the way. I've always just "chased" the subject. I have to get mind used to knowing when to do this in the future.

 

[TheGoofster]

Sticking with the topic of "focus", today I did a quick test of the difference between "Single Point" and "Auto-Area" (both in the Auto focus mode). I used a small subject placed between larger distractions, to try and see which would do a better job of actually focusing on the subject I wanted.

Here is the difference: (btw, sorry about the poor lighting quality, I was focused on the focusing, and didn't really consider the lighting).

Single Point - I was able to focus right in on the smaller subject, and pretty much ignore the larger distractions.

Auto-area - I was unable to get the camera to focus on the small background subject. The camera kept focusing in on the larger eagles in front.

As you can see, if you are trying to shoot a specific, small or tightly squeezed subject, then Single Point definitely does a better job.

I also want to try and test both Dynamic area and 3D Tracking focusing. Both of these modes seem to be more motion based, so hopefully today at my son's basketball practice I'll get a chance to fool with them, even though to be honest, I don't know much about either of these modes.

I do have a question for all you well established photographers. Is there a mode that you use the most? I know I usually just keep my camera on the Auto-Area mode. I don't think I've ever even used the Dynamic area or 3D tracking modes. Is there a good time to use one (or both) of these modes?

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Did it change the Aperture from one to the other or did it stay the same?

 

[TheGoofster]

Did it change the Aperture from one to the other or did it stay the same?

From what I can tell (by reviewing the EXIF info, and also by doing another test shot) nothing changed except for the focus itself. I'm sure that somebody who knows more about it can tell you if there is a situation where changing the focus mode could change aperature or shutter speed, but from what I can tell, I didn't change anything.

 

[TheGoofster]

Today my son had another basketball game (outside on a very clear and sunny day). So, instead of just shooting a bunch more pictures of his game (I already have too many to count), I thought I would do some experimenting with Dynamic Area focusing and 3D tracking (11 point) focusing, neither of which I know hardly anything about.
The results I got are kind of confusing me. Most of the shots came out like so many others - pretty clear freeze action shots. But there were quite a few interesting motion shots, as well as some out of focus shots.
I also need to mention that I goofed. I was shooting in Priority aperture mode instead of Shutter aperture, so my shutter speeds vary from 1/30 to 1/250. I was also using my sun hood for the first time (because like I said it was a very sunny day, and the sun was very bright on a good part of the court).

So anyway, here are some of the results I got.

First of all in Dynamic Area focus mode. Here are a couple of the interesting ones. Again, even though the shutter speed might cause some of this effect, I was really interested in how the camera handled the actual focusing:

F/22, 1/40, ISO 640

f/22, 1/50 ISO 640

and here is an example of an out of focus shot using this mode:

f/22, 1/100, ISO 640
I find it interesting that this shot actually had a faster shutter speed than most, yet it is out of focus, but the others aren't.


Now, here are a couple of examples using 3D tracking (11 point) mode:

f/22, 1/30, ISO 640

f/22, 1/50, ISO 640
Why, in this shot, is the boy in front (number 18) in focus, and the people in the background in focus, but the kids in the middle are out of focus?

and also an out of focus example of this mode:

f/22, 1/50, ISO 640

As you can see, both modes offer some interesting effects. Unfortunately I still don't really understand why they produced some of these shots, and why most of the shots came out looking a lot more "normal" (the freeze the action kind of shots).

I do want to do some more experimenting with these modes (and next time shoot in shutter priority, so I can get more consistent shutter speeds). But if anybody has any comments or suggestions about these 2 modes, I would love to hear them.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

It's been a few days so I'm just gonna give this a little bump to see if anyone can help out us new guys.

 

[TheGoofster]

This week (and part of last week) I've been doing quite a bit of experimenting with taking macro / close up shots using my telephoto lens. One of the biggest differences between this and using a real macro lens, is of course, just how close you actually get to your subject. Unlike a macro lens where you are pretty much right on top of your subject, with a telephoto lens, you are normally a few feet away (which comes in handy when shooting bees!). One of the reasons I enjoy using this procedure is because of the way it really blurs out the background (which can be very useful if the background has annoying "noise" or other things which you just don't want to see).
One of the biggest challenges I've found in shooting this way is trying to get the focus just right. Any little bit of movement can easily change the focus enough so that your subject is no longer as clear as you'd like. While reading about this, most sites say to use a tripod when attempting to shoot close up with a telephoto lens. This works great if you have a stationary subject (like a flower), but if you like to shoot things that move (like insects), it is almost impossible to get them to cooperate with your use of a tripod. So quick hand held shots are necessary.
I also find that I do much better in manual focus (using my trusty rangefinder when possible) then I do with auto-focus. Most of my auto-focus attempts give me improperly focused subjects (like getting part of the flower in focus, rather than the bee).
Here are a few examples I took using my telephoto lens (at the max of 200 mm):

In this shot, the background had lots of ugly stuff in it, but I was able to make it look much better by blurring it out

In this shot, I really don't think I could have gotten the bee in focus using auto-focus.

You can also adjust just how blurry you want the background to be. In this shot I wanted to be able to see more of the background while still focusing on the leaf in front:

Later I plan on trying more actual macro shots (well at least as best I can with my 18-55 mm lens), but for now, I'm really enjoying using my telephoto lens to get close up shots.

Does anybody have any helpful suggestions / comments / examples of this technique?

 

[MICKEY88]

and here is an example of an out of focus shot using this mode:

f/22, 1/100, ISO 640
1.I find it interesting that this shot actually had a faster shutter speed than most, yet it is out of focus, but the others aren't.


Now, here are a couple of examples using 3D tracking (11 point) mode:

f/22, 1/50, ISO 640
2.Why, in this shot, is the boy in front (number 18) in focus, and the people in the background in focus, but the kids in the middle are out of focus?

and also an out of focus example of this mode:

As you can see, both modes offer some interesting effects. Unfortunately I still don't really understand why they produced some of these shots, and why most of the shots came out looking a lot more "normal" (the freeze the action kind of shots).

I do want to do some more experimenting with these modes (and next time shoot in shutter priority, so I can get more consistent shutter speeds). But if anybody has any comments or suggestions about these 2 modes, I would love to hear them.

1shutter speed has nothing to do with focus, high shutter speed will eliminate motion blur, but that is different than focus, so although you have high shutter speed, the camera missed focus..


2..on this shot, you have a small aperture, so you have a large depth of field, everything is in focus, the boy in the middle is blurred from movement, since he is moving right to left rather than towards you the movement is more noticeable, plus I think your focus was actually locked on the people in the back, they seem sharper than those in front.

 

[TheGoofster]

@Mickey88

Thanks for the explanations. It helps me to better understand what happened.

Any other comments / suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

 

[MICKEY88]

@Mickey88

Thanks for the explanations. It helps me to better understand what happened.

Any other comments / suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

even though you were shooting basketball in aperture priority, you could have dropped aperture to f8 and you would have had higher shutter speeds to freeze the action

maybe even on some open your aperture all the way to narrow your depth of field, that way your main subject will be sharper than the other playerss...

 

[TheGoofster]

even though you were shooting basketball in aperture priority, you could have dropped aperture to f8 and you would have had higher shutter speeds to freeze the action

maybe even on some open your aperture all the way to narrow your depth of field, that way your main subject will be sharper than the other playerss...

To be honest, I'm not really sure what I was thinking (or not thinking) when I took these pictures. Probably I was so focused on using the different types of focusing that I didn't even pay attention to what priority mode or what settings I was using.
Tomorrow my son has another game. If we can make it (my wife has surgery in the morning, but I'm still hoping to make my son's game in the late afternoon), I want to retry some of these shots using the different focusing modes, but this time to try it in Shutter Priority.
But, I like your suggestion of using a wider aperture as well, so I might try some shots like that also.

Have you had much experience with shooting in either Dynamic Area or 3D tracking modes? I really want to at least get a better understanding of them to give myself more options when shooting motion shots.
Auto area definitely seems like an easier mode to get normal looking action shots, but I don't want to limit myself if there is another way to get other shots.

 

[MICKEY88]

To be honest, I'm not really sure what I was thinking (or not thinking) when I took these pictures. Probably I was so focused on using the different types of focusing that I didn't even pay attention to what priority mode or what settings I was using.
Tomorrow my son has another game. If we can make it (my wife has surgery in the morning, but I'm still hoping to make my son's game in the late afternoon), I want to retry some of these shots using the different focusing modes, but this time to try it in Shutter Priority.
But, I like your suggestion of using a wider aperture as well, so I might try some shots like that also.

Have you had much experience with shooting in either Dynamic Area or 3D tracking modes? I really want to at least get a better understanding of them to give myself more options when shooting motion shots.
Auto area definitely seems like an easier mode to get normal looking action shots, but I don't want to limit myself if there is another way to get other shots.

nope I'm old school, I either use focus priority, spot focusing, or manual focus..

 

[scoot241]

This week I'm waiting for my 580EX II Speedlite to come in. Should be here by the end of the week, then I have a whole new can of worms to open up with bouncing my flash.