[Sticky] Digital Camera FAQ

226,887 Views | 3079 Replies | Last: 11 yr ago by Ag CPA
Guitarsoup
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Stick up there.
Guitarsoup
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New toys on their way:

40D


Sigma 10-20mm F/4-5.6

3-5days from BHPhoto.
Stymied
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Good choices! I just got home this evening to this:
rjhtamu
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Thanks to Guitarsoup's recommendations, my Canon 50mm 1.8, and Tamron 28-75mm both were deliverered to my door today. Can't wait to see how they both work out.
Guitarsoup
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I think you will love it.

That Tamron is the only non-Sigma/Canon lens I have.


Why can't it be 30 Oct? I want my camera now. *stomps feet*
JerryHughesYourDaddy
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GS, what were you using prior to the 40D?
Guitarsoup
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10D.

HUGE upgrade.
Guitarsoup
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On the way as well:

Sigma 150mm 2.8 Macro EX DG HSM
Stymied
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Heard a lot of good things about that Sigma. Good choice!
Guitarsoup
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Just out of frugality, I have become a big fan of Sigma.
My sigma lineup:
10-20mm 4-5.6 HSM DC
150mm 2.8 Macro EX DG HSM
70-200mm 2.8 EX DG HSM
300mm 2.8 EX DG HSM

All are absolutely wonderful lenses.
AgDoc03
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Of the third party lenses I am also a fan of the Sigma brand. Nice selection you are creating there.
Oh Four Five
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quote:
70-200mm 2.8 EX DG HSM

This is the lens I really want but I can't justify it yet.

Also, do any of you have experiences with shutterstock.com or alamy.com? I posted a new topic here http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=999270&forum_id=30, but this thread may have been the better place.

[This message has been edited by AggieDan04 (edited 10/30/2007 6:51p).]
Guitarsoup
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quote:
Nice selection you are creating there.


Bodies:
40D + BG-E2
10D + BG - ED3

Zooms
10-20mm 4-5.6
28-75mm 2.8
70-200mm 2.8

Primes
50mm 1.8
150mm 2.8 macro
300mm 2.8

Accessories
500EX flash
Lensbaby 2.0
1.4x
2x
cable release
tripod (about to get a new one)
monopod
Way too many bags

quote:

This is the lens I really want but I can't justify it yet.

I only paid ~575 for it. The lens is a wonderful all around lens. It is used for a wide variety of things from sports to weddings to portraits. I don't know many photographers that won't benefit from a 70-200 2.8.

quote:

Also, do any of you have experiences with shutterstock.com or alamy.com?

I haven't used either, but I am looking at submitting pics. I have so many pics, I may as well try it out.
Some stock agencies require files to be from a 12MP camera.

You have nothing to lose but time. Give it a shot.
Oh Four Five
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Where did you find it for 575? I haven't seen anything below 750.
Guitarsoup
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Houston Camera Co-Op.
Came in like new condition with the hood, caps and case.
Guitarsoup
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If anyone is interested, I am going to the Houston Zoo Thursday at 10am to shoot pics. Come by and shoot, borrow lenses, whatever.
MidnightYell2003
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Guitarsoup, do you post your pics for the public to see? Especially of the zoo?
Guitarsoup
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http://www.thomasgcampbell.com
Guitarsoup
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These are my pics from the Zoo yesterday.
Guitarsoup
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Expect some great soccer pics soon. Very, very soon.
Guitarsoup
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http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1004367&forum_id=38
Here are my pics from the FC Dallas at Houston Dynamo game.

[This message has been edited by Guitarsoup (edited 11/4/2007 11:32a).]
agracer
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How long will you be at the zoo??

I've got a meeting at 10, but I could be there by 11:30 or so.
Guitarsoup
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I was there last week. (Pics posted above were the ones I took.)

This Sat, I am shooting a wedding in Danbury and will probably spend the entire day out there.

I could probably make a Zoo trip on Sunday, though.

[This message has been edited by Guitarsoup (edited 11/7/2007 8:43p).]
Oh Four Five
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Pretty cool little photo gallery from one of SI's photographers. Thought you guys might be interested.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0711/gallery.canon.biever/content.1.html
Guitarsoup
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My first shot at macros.

So I came home and there was a big grasshopper looking bug on my front door. My door is all glass.

Apparently it needs, to be cleaned as well.

Anyway, I had some time, so I figured it was a good chance to bust out my brand new 150mm f/2.8 Macro.

I really don't like bugs all that much, but I had a protective layer of glass between me and my subject. Also, there was a shoe nearby.

None have been cropped. Just a little touch in lightroom. All manually focused.




Apparently he was eating something. This is with the 150mm 2.8 macro and the 2x teleconverter.


This is with the macro + 2x tele + 1.4x tele.

http://thomasgcampbell.smugmug.com/macros/
Stymied
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Cool pics. Macros let you create some really creative images.

Since this thread has taken a zoo/image sharing stint, I thought I'd throw a few from this afternoon in the ring.



rjhtamu
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I know they're not anything that would win any awards, but I thought I'd post some of my first pics taken with my new 40D and Tamron 28-75mm lens.












[This message has been edited by rjhtamu (edited 11/16/2007 12:08a).]

[This message has been edited by rjhtamu (edited 11/16/2007 12:10a).]
AggieEyes
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Gorgeous pics!
Guitarsoup
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rjh - three especially needs to be a bit darker. Looks overexposed. I would darken the first three, add a bit of contrast, and saturate it a little.

Great camera/lens combo.
Stymied
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Great colors. Living in LA really makes me miss changing seasons.

The last one with the dog is pretty cool, too.
Guitarsoup
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I'm thinking we should probably leave this thread to questions, and I will start a photography show-off monster thread.

http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1017421&forum_id=30

Resume with the questions.
rjhtamu
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Thanks for the advice, I'll keep working on it.
rjhtamu
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I was wondering if any of you guys could offer some advice on proper exposure or maybe some good websites with information on it.

For instance, say I'm outside and I see something that I want to take a picture of. What is the thought process that you go through when you take the camera out of the bag in full manual mode as far as determining what aperature and shutter speed you initially dial up.

I know how and why you select the ISO and when to use each ones, as well as the quality with each. I also understand when you change the white balancing and evaluative metering.

Just wondering how you improve at saying, "Ok with this shot I definitely want to start out with a f/8 at 1/250 ss."

I've heard of the "Sunny f/16" rule, but that it's rarely even used at that.

(also excluding depth of field with varying aperatures)
Stymied
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Good set of questions! I'm sure this will spur a lot of discussion.

Websites:

A good primer on exposure:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understandexposure.shtml

and something to keep in mind with digital sensors:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml

I'm sure this will create some questions, especially the last link regarding "exposing to the right".

Regarding white balance:
If you shoot RAW, it doesn't matter much as you can adjust white balance after the fact. Heck, I'm not even sure if I could set the white balance on my current camera without reading through the manual.
Guitarsoup
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I am shooting more RAW now, and keeping it on auto WB. Pretty good job.

I set my exposure based on what DOF I want.

Generally I want a super shallow DOF, just because that is my style. So I shoot wide open at 2.8.

I generally shoot in Aperture Priority (Av) mode.

Wide open for shallow depth of field.

Stop down a lot for a deep DOF. Today I was shooting panoramas in Central Park in rainy weather. I think I was shooting at 200ISO, F/11 and whatever shutter speed.

The higher your ISO, the more grain you are going to have. If it is dark, you may just be dealing with 800+ ISO. I am trying to stay at 640ISO at night if I can help it. I am also blessed with extraordinarily steady hands that can hand hold much slower than most people. I am regularly hand holding shots at 1/4th s here in NYC.

You generally want your shutter speed to be at least 1/factor of focal length.

So a 20mm lens would require most people to have a 1/32th s (remember to add 1.6x crop factor for Canon and 1.5x crop factor for Nikon.) That is just to prevent camera shake blur. This is what IS or VR can help you overcome so you can hand hold much slower shots.

So - figure out what you want in a pic.

If you need speed (sports, fast action, etc) you should go ahead and set the aperture wide open and you will get a faster shutter speed. If you still need speed - bump up the ISO as fast as you can handle.

If you want a deep DOF - you need to stop down the aperture. At least F/8. You have to let the ISO and shutter speed adjust accordingly.
 
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