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After coming back from a camping trip, I'm intrigued as to how people take really good photos when something like a campfire is the only source of light. I'm shooting on a fast lens (35mm 1.8) but an old body (D50) with a pretty low ISO. I also think newer bodies might autofocus in the dark a lot better than mine can? I shoot fully manual, aperture fully open and with a shutter speed of around 50 to not cause blur but while the shots look better on the computer than they did on the (pretty awful and dated) LCD screen on the camera, they're not great. Is it simply a case of a newer body with it's better AF and ISO ratings would make for far better shots in these situations, a proper flash that's used correctly so it doesn't just illuminate everything in sight, insanely expensive glass or a combination of these factors that'd make for good photographs in this kind of situation? It's more curiosity than anything as I'm unlikely to go out in these conditions again this year, but I'm enjoying taking my camera out now I have my new lens and it's nice to know how I could improve my photos. (Sorry I don't really have any examples at the moment, I'm gonna mess about in Lightroom and see what I can do with the one or two pics I kept though).
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Aug 26, 2014 16:51
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Good to know my suspicions were right at least! I'll probably consider a new body next year, my friend has a 3100 so I might have a play about with that. Beowulfs_Ghost posted:If you are using the built-in flash, try going into the menus and setting the flash exposure compensation down a stop. Ha, one of the first things I learnt because I used to do gig photos and I felt bad at blasting them with light at short range. Didn't realise until recently I could do it on the fly with 2 buttons and a command dial twist, but I still don't really like the onboard one.
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Aug 26, 2014 23:32
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Yeah I saw the trick using the business card before, but that one seemed to rely on a white ceiling. Will definitely see what other tricks are possible and have a practise! Damnit the 5200/5300 is looking so tempting if I sell a lung before my next vacation...
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Aug 26, 2014 23:52
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Beowulfs_Ghost posted:What that does is it takes the auto focus operation off your shutter button and puts it onto a button on the back of your camera. Should be the second button in on the top right, with a * above it. Half pressing the shutter will no longer engage the autofocus (except in the auto modes, but you shouldn't be using those much any way) This is interesting, I'm still on my old D50 and I have it set up for BBF as I was suggested it for shooting planes overhead and got on with it... but if I put my camera into fully auto (usually when I'm passing it off to someone else to take my photo) I have to fly through the menus to disable it all again. Glad that this isn't an issue with modern cameras, as I think the Auto function truly should be for "The person with the camera in their hands has no knowledge or familiarity with the camera but should still be able to take something that is in focus and exposed to a decent enough degree". Another reason to upgrade from 2005 for me then! e: Actually, got a query too so lets put it here. I have the D50 at the moment, planning on the D7100 (or maybe 7200 if it's released) next year. I have a few lenses but my current go-to is the 35mm/1.8 I picked up recently and really like. I spotted a 50mm/1.8 here in the UK for around $100 which is cheaper than our KEH equivalent ($160). Is it worth me picking it up or is it too close to the 35 to bother with and I should concentrate on getting something like an 85mm prime instead? EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Nov 15, 2014 |
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Nov 15, 2014 20:17
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That kind of sucks then, at least the menu should give the option of having auto modes override the back button setting. Good idea on the custom option, the D50 is before they started adding those so sadly not to my benefit.
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Nov 15, 2014 20:41
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I ended up grabbing it as I'm sure I could always sell it on for a similar price if I find I don't get on with it as well. I have a real basic Nikkor 70-300 f5-5.6 (from memory) but will keep my eye out for that 70-210 f4 if I see one at the right price. Thanks!
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Nov 17, 2014 22:01
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Sorry, was a typo. Yeah 4-5.6. It seems pretty bottom barrel when it comes to bigger zooms, but hey it takes photos at least. I don't tend to use it much, but should probably experiment more.
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Nov 18, 2014 19:11
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The Locator posted:
I'm not even convinced he's focussed this correctly, my eye wants the wheel to be in focus but it looks like he's missed and caught the canon that sits a little behind it. Maybe his intention, I couldn't say. --- Because I like watching training videos that go back to the beginning and cover things I've learnt over a ton of times (equal parts to drum in the basics for the 100th time as well as picking up tidbits I've passed over before), I've decided to watch the Fundamentals of Photography on Lynda.com. Appropriately, they start with a 3 1/2 hour long Exposure tutorial that's separated into about 13 parts and it's been fun. Nice mix of being in a studio and having a big plasma in live view so you can see what he's explaining, then jumping into the field to show real life examples of what he's been talking about and covering the multiple ways to fix problems. He's a decent enough host who doesn't have an annoying accent (some tutorials I can't watch because of this), and because it's about fundamentals it doesn't matter what brand/quality of camera you have. If you have access to Lynda and are starting out, I'd definitely say it's worth a watch. http://www.lynda.com/Digital-Photography-tutorials/foundations-of-photography-exposure/71923-2.html (There's 7 other tutorials under Fundamentals too, not just exposure, covering B&W, Low Light/Night Shooting, Composition etc. They all look really relevant too, unlike other sets that have 2 sections that are useful then 4 that I have no interest in).
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Nov 25, 2014 15:35
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The 35 1.8 G DX is overwhelmingly recommended in the Nikon thread. It's a prime, which means it's a fixed focal length, but the benefits are a sharper image and a wider aperture (which can help in lower light situations as well as making those nice blurry backgrounds everyone likes). It's pretty awesome value. If he then adds a nice zoom lens down the line, he'll have a good little system.
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Nov 25, 2014 20:32
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404notfound posted:Don't get the 1.8D for the D3200. While Nikon's lens mount has remained relatively unchanged for decades, allowing you to use some really old glass, their lower end camera bodies (namely, the D3x00 and D5x000 lines) lack autofocus motors to drive the older autofocus lenses. The 1.8D will mount and work fine with manual focus, but you're going to want the newer 1.8G DX. E: bleary, allergy ridden eyes didn't spot this was the D not the DX. All was ok! EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Nov 26, 2014 |
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Nov 25, 2014 20:57
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Funnily enough, that Tamron lens with the VC is coming up on Amazon UKs Lightning Deal later today, so might be worth keeping an eye out there if you're a filthy Brit like me. (I can't afford it regardless, but the lightning deals have been genuinely pretty good so far). Current price is £279 and I can't see it coming down a huge amount more given the RRP (and that's how the sales value is calculated), but if you were after it anyway it might be worth a pickup. There seems to be some not too awful camera stuff, rather than just EOL items they're trying to shift. I've already spent too much on things I was going to buy anyway so I've done pretty well,
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Nov 27, 2014 10:28
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timrenzi574 posted:They don't have freaking mirror lockup or spot meters. You get all the glory of the digital age with all the usability of a 70's era consumer SLR. Even the D50 I'm shooting with from 2004 or 2005 has the ability to spot meter. It's quite ridiculous the stuff they left off. Its why I'm deciding to put my money where my mouth is when I upgrade next year, and get a D7xx rather than a 3/5 because I can't trust manufacturers to not leave things off that I'm used to (like the AF screw...)
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Dec 2, 2014 11:55
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Exactly. Plus the 7200 has had some possible leaks in the press so hopefully that's on its way and might push a used 7100 down to that 7000 price right now. Hopefully it'll fix the burst issues and add some video modes to convince people with the older camera to 'upgrade'.
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Dec 2, 2014 18:55
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KEH will do you a second hand D7100 for less than $500. More if you want the newer D7100. The general consensus in the Nikon thread was to skip over the D5xxx series. I'm pretty sure the D7xxx will give you better compatibility with your existing lenses too.
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Dec 9, 2014 00:28
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Sounds like it's time to block all those lovely shopping channels with a PIN too. One over here was selling refurbished MacBooks from 2009 with a small RAM/HDD boost and didn't once mentioned their age and kept pushing how this was the "best tech this Christmas."!They wanted £500 ($780). Utter crooks.
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Dec 24, 2014 11:49
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This may be a really specific question, but hoping someone can guide me in the right direction... I have a D7200 body, with my AE-L/AF-L set to AF-ON for back button focusing. I have Auto ISO set up because it makes my life easier. I usually shoot in matrix metering because I'm unskilled. However, if I want to shoot in spot or centre-weighted metering... can I? I can't find a way of locking exposure in currently. I thought maybe half-shutter would do it, but it doesn't seem to (although I'm not used to the shutter on the 7x00 yet, it feels way different to my old D50). It's not a problem for anything other than the ISO because I shoot in M mode so I can just leave my A/S settings as-is, but the ISO is going to shift whenever I recompose. Is it just a case of locking in exposure on my subject, turning Auto ISO off, recomposing then shooting? It's a little long winded, but it'd work I guess.
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Mar 29, 2015 18:02
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I'm the same boat in that I can buy gear in U.S. or UK due to family, but after I add the taxes/shipping/slight inconvenience of using KEH (US) the prices at MPB are often fairly comparable. All depends on what you're getting of course, but presuming you're generally UK based and the exchange rate is pretty bad right now, you're not going to gain much from the U.S. in a lot of circumstances. Also, have you looked at the Yongnuo flash guns? Less than half the price of the £100 ones you mentioned and generally get excellent reviews. Planning on picking one up myself soon. With regards to ISO, I jumped from a D50 (so comparable to your 70, which I would use up to 800 unless I had no choice) to a D7200 recently and yes the low light is definitely better - but it's not worlds apart. I'll shoot up to 6400, but the noise does bother me and the dynamic range takes a hit for sure. Going full frame seems to be the 'obvious' choice for low light performance, but it was almost twice the cost and I couldn't use any DX lenses going forward, so it was a no go for me. My plan is to get one or two Yongnuos and learn good flash photography to keep the photos looking natural, and to get out of hitting those higher ISOs whenever I can. E: resale rate on your lens isn't huge - I have a 50/1.8 either d or g, I can't remember, and I paid £60 for it delivered from memory. It's a fast, sharp prime - keep it. The nifty-fifty is really well liked. I didn't think the 15mm different between it and my 35/1.8 would make much difference, but it's clear as day in my portrait stuff. I wish I could redo all my 35 stuff at 50 now. EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 16:45 on May 17, 2015 |
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May 17, 2015 16:41
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Ah gotcha. I always forget about those damned internal motors, so made sure I picked up a body that had it or I knew it'd bite me down the line! Surprises me to this day just how featured the 50 was and what's missing from the 3k and 5k series compared to it. Noise reduction in software always surprises me, but I'm in agreement about how annoying it is. I'd rather get the shot than not, but most of my high ISO stays in Lightroom and goes no further. And I'm also a shaky shooter, it's something I plan on working on (as well as pick up a VR lens at some point, like you advised in your previous post).
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May 17, 2015 21:38
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If you go the Nikon route, find out which lenses they are and whether they need the internal screw drive that of the current crop range, only the D7x00 models have. Full frame I don't think is an issue for these. If they're great lenses and match what you want to do then you've saved a lot of money going that route, as glass gets real expensive real fast. Spare body wise, get an older body that doesn't have the ISO/Megapixels/fancy features and you'll be fine. My backup is a D50, it sells for about $80 in the US I think and it has the screw drive your lenses might need.
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Jun 23, 2015 13:48
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Isn't the way it scans across the sensor in order to get the intended rate one of the reasons DSLR cameras suffer from rolling shutter effect when shooting things like propellers?
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Jun 23, 2015 20:40
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There's not much to dislike about the 7100. If you need a fast buffer you might run into problems, but it was the best DX shooter on the market for a while, and only isn't now because of the 7200.
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Sep 28, 2015 10:37
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ABS - Always Be Stackin'
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Oct 23, 2015 17:19
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It's how I shoot too, mainly when travelling with the fiance and trying to balance it. If I'm snapping shots and I see she's no longer next to me, I get the message. I also only take the camera out on a few days, when there's stuff to be seen, or when we're with friends and I like to capture the day and get fun photos of people hanging out. All about balance, and when you can easily take a few hundred pictures in a day without trying sometimes, it's nice to not have a million things to then process when you get back.
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Oct 25, 2015 01:11
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Dren posted:With the stuff you're talking about shooting I don't see the need for a telephoto. I think you'd be happier with the 35 and an 18-55. The 18-55 gives some versatility you might appreciate and I can almost guarantee you'll use it more than the tele. If you really want a tele maybe wait a while and pick up the 55-300 or one of the 70-300 options. None of the consumer level teles are great but the 300s are better than the 200s and you'll maximize your reach/$$. I'm actually slightly ashamed that the stock 18-55 VR lens tends to be my walkabout for now, but the top end of 55 is a bit limited. Isn't the 18-105 and 18-140 variants essentially the same quality but with better reach? I'd probably go for one of those, they seem well liked. I might plump for one before I upgrade to more expensive glass in a similar range. e: although, with the 16-80 being released, it looks like second hand prices on the older 16-85 are now really rather good. About £200 ($300) for a 'Good' condition one on MPB. That's awfully tempting. EL BROMANCE fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Nov 2, 2015 |
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Nov 2, 2015 12:24
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Dren posted:The thing I was trying to convey is that with a 35 and a 55-200 he'll be missing a walkabout type lens. Oh absolutely. I did used to use my 35/1.8 as a walkabout though, it's wide enough (even on DX) for most things and with a decent sensor you can crop around it. But yeah, having a decent but not super-zoom level focal range when you're in a situation with only one lens, and a mixture of shot types, is pretty essential.
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Nov 2, 2015 14:24
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Could this be it? http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2011/08/getty-photographer-reflects-on-documenting-arab-spring/243932/ It's a video rather than an article, but it might be the same guy talking about the same experience. It doesn't look like camera confiscation is uncommon for this time period/event though, so could be someone completely different.
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Nov 2, 2015 17:42
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It's not a documentary, but I still recommend 'Foundations of Photography' by Ben Long on Lynda.com. It's split into 8 really large chunks covering different aspects, and while it doesn't go into a "heres my day as a photographer" aspect, I do enjoy how it shows you how he approaches a scene, shoots, then reviews the photos and decides what works, what doesn't and how to assess how to improve the composition while in the field. It's all too easy to think the pros roll out of their truck, strap a lens on, take a photo and then go back on their way when that's very much not the case. I'd be interested in more examples as well mind, so hoping someone else has some good suggestions or (even better) YT links. I like it when you see true before and after images so you can see exactly what is done through the lens, and what's in post. It's understandable that a lot of people don't like giving that up though.
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Nov 9, 2015 19:05
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Yeah I follow the B&H YT seminar things, they can be a bit hit and miss (a lot of people shilling their services with not much else on top) but I like listening to people talk about their approach and stories from the trade. I enjoyed the Elia Locardi one I watched the other night - I can imagine his style being very divisive around here, as he blends exposures from a fair range of time so you get different scenes in one photo. It's a similar idea in mind to how I shoot - I don't necessarily care about realism, but how I felt when I took the picture and if that means going batshit insane with the colours of the sky, then so be it. It's why I don't post a lot of that kind of stuff here hah.
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Nov 9, 2015 20:10
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Bubbacub posted:Your job should be simpler, so think about what you liked about those images and go hog wild. Simpler? You've obviously never tried to make it look like 4 dogs are playing a game of poker then, friend.
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Nov 10, 2015 11:28
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windex posted:Which DSLR matters significantly less than people think. I also shoot Canon gear, but one upsetting thing is that Canon and Nikon both severely limit their cameras by software to try to artificially identify markets beyond physical construction charastistics or composition. This is dumb. Yeah it is frustrating, even back years ago you could unlock features on things like MiniDisc players with a bit of firmware trickery. Aren't some of the video limitations implemented due to tax reasons as well?
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Nov 30, 2015 12:37
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Mightaswell posted:Then take the other $600 and buy a Canon 5D (original) and a EF 50mm 1.8. Use the poo poo out of that (in manual mode) until you can answer the above questions. I'm not the biggest fan of DigitalRev, but coincidentally they just put up a video comparing a 5D to a 5D III, and I can see he's using what I imagine is that 50mm 1.8 you're talking about. Might be useful for COME AT ME GHOST to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqVBWTVgr8Q
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Dec 8, 2015 17:17
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Of my three main lenses, I have 2x 77mm and 1x72mm. Bloody typical.
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Jan 11, 2016 22:56
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It's my 18-35 DX that has it and I'm sure I read that it's susceptible to vignetting with a step up ring. Maybe it was one of the others and I've gotten wire crossed.
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Jan 11, 2016 23:35
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Ah good stuff. I know my 10-16 Tokina definitely has issues with some filters, so as long as I base the choice around that I should be golden then. Good to know, as much as a Lee system looks lovely, it's a lot of cash too.
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Jan 12, 2016 00:01
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Just be stupid careful when it comes to chargers from Chinese knockoffs. I have a $2 Nikon charger that's only used in emergencies, as this house doesn't need to be burnt down. Again.
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Jan 13, 2016 21:17
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The ones you're not happy with are fully open too, is that lens known to be particularly sharp at that aperture? The keeper is stopped down to 6.3 which might be partially affecting things.
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Jan 19, 2016 14:06
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If you find there's a consistent level of mis focus, you might have to send lens and body away to be calibrated together, as there's no AF fine tune on the 5200. Either that or live with the amount it's out by.
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Feb 15, 2016 01:15
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I'm not a Canon guy so I don't know the differences off the bat with regards to the two cameras, so I'm relying on SnapSort which is a spec-by-spec comparison which isn't always the best way to compare. But I know with regards to the Nikon lines, I'm continually surprised that some of the functions that I had in my 10 year old D50 don't make it to the D3x00 or D5x000 series that are currently out. I shoot the D7200 which is Nikon's equivalent of the 7D Mk 2, and I don't think I'd like to go down even though the D5x00 series has one of those touch flip screens that some people love (and the T5i seems to have), but I want as many buttons and dials under my fingers as I can get ideally. Overwhelming? Sure, but just because features are there doesn't mean you need to use them. There's so many menu options that there's probably a similar thing on Canons where you can compile your most used ones into their own submenu. 90% of the stuff in the menus are "set once and ignore" kind of things, and by default none of them are generally bad. If you're serious about learning properly, my gut feeling is stick with the better camera* and learn the fundamentals. The course you're talking about will probably start with explaining exposure which is the key to getting good images. Learn what shutter, aperture, and ISO do and how they work with each other to expose the image. It's the same basics across all cameras but you'll find the higher end cameras make dealing with these things easier than the lower ones by giving you the controls at your fingers. The three modes you'll want to spend 99% of your time in are Av, Tv, and M. The first two are semi automated (Av you use when you care mostly about how much depth of field there is, Tv you use when you care how fast the photo is taken) while M gives you full control. You have a light meter telling you whether you're exposed correctly based on what the camera thinks is right, and you can push this in either direction based on circumstances (the camera thinks the world is grey, so a shot in the snow or at night is going to be different). If you can correctly expose an image to your taste on your camera, you're on your way. * as said, this is based on presumptions that the 7D is still 'better' than the T5i which I can only assume based on what I've seen.
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Feb 20, 2016 17:03
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timrenzi574 posted:Having a back wheel and a top screen are pretty good reasons to keep the 7d too. gently caress that exp comp button nonsense Is this strictly due to an implementation I won't be aware of, or do you dislike EC in general? I'm curious as to why.
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Feb 20, 2016 21:04
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Ah gotcha. My D7200 has two dials on the right hand side, but I think EC is always a combo of button+dial also. My age old D50 was the same, so it's not something I've had to worry or think about, but I can imagine anything like that is a pain if you're used to something easier. Not sure what the pro Nikon method is, I've not got access to one.
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Feb 20, 2016 22:58
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