Photography Starter Question.

[egosbar]

heres my first go at birds in flight ,this shows how understanding what your shooting and adapting settings can improve your chances of getting the shot your after , i used a fast shutter speed , continuous focus ( for portraits and landscapes id use single focus) i also used a burst mode of shots so four in a row , knowing what i was shooting and how the focus would track the bird gave me the best chance of getting the bird in focus , pretty much if the eye isnt sharp the shot loses its impact , i was really happy , they are cropped but you have too with birds in flight a lot unless you spend 10k on a lens lol

the thing is ive tried three or four more times too get shots of birds in flight with no success , i go back too what i said in an earlier post that i probably keep about 5 out of 100 , of the rest most wouldnt be bad but not 4 or 5 star , so dont let early learning poor shots turn you off , instead revel in the exitement when you start too put what you learn into practice and nail a couple

so now im hooked on birds in flight lol , hard subject but rewarding when i get it right , be careful though if you do end up liking photography it is addictive and can get expensive , in saying that it doesnt have to

you will also notice the overcast day , soft light is really good for photography.

 

[Tom Mann]

Ego: "...if your really interested in improving your photography you will most likely have too move into the world of dslrs or maybe mirrorless might be the way to go , ..."

One absolutely does NOT need a dSLR or a mirrorless cam to learn photography. In fact, I, and many other people who have also taught beginner classes in photography would argue that one learns the subject better with a camera in manual mode compared to letting the student use a dSLR with alluring automatic features.

Furthermore, an untold number of superb photos have been taken using what are now considered "ancient", completely manual film cameras, and with low megapixel P&S digital cameras that have manual settings and which were sold from the late 1990s to several years ago. Most of these are now being practically given away by the huge number of people who think that they need the latest and greatest camera to take a family snapshot.


Ego: "...just read your post on not being able too afford a dSLR , ...buying an older second hand camera wont set you back more then 1-300 bucks..."

Your $100 - $300 price range is probably still way out of the OP's comfort zone. The camera that he is currently using can be purchased for $35 on Amazon, and from everything he has written, he sounds like he is hesitant to spend much more than that. The good thing is that one can pick up much better, "old" point and shoots for only slightly more money. People are practically throwing away old digital P&S cams. If I have time, I will supply him with a list of suggestions / links later today.

@Ego - I'm not sure why you are showing off your pix of birds in flight. Your first set of images were much more appropriate for this thread: (a) The OP has never once mentioned action subjects, and (b) You know as well as I how difficult birds can be. It is an advanced topic, requires long lenses and good technique, and is clearly not a topic in photography to be introduced to someone who can't get a sharp, low noise photos of buildings. :-(

Tom

 

[egosbar]

your probably right tom , im just trying to inspire ink to keep trying , i like his photoshop work and think he would be very good thats all

the point was too try to understand what your camera is doing to increase the chance of a great shot , not suggesting he will get these shots yet and definitely not with the camera he is using , pointing out the soft light ,showing what can be achieved through learning

pointing out that these four are the only ones that i kept out of maybe 30-40 shots and they were the first four so dont get discouraged

i learned by looking at photos like these and wanting to be able to do them , so if he reads my post and asks himself what is fast shutter speed , what is continuous focus , what is soft light , etc etc it may put him on the path i went on

if i can learn anyone can

 

[inkpad.t]

egosbar... Thanks for trying to inspire me.. your images are really good and one day hope to achieve a standard any where near that.. thank you.

Tom.. thanks again.. your right..$300 is bit of a reach for me.. $100 is on the edge of getting there if i save a little.

I'm going to have a look around the net to see if i can find a camera i can afford that has that manual mode on it.

Even though i now nothing about photography i can see that the camera i have is very limited. I'm sure i can find something that suits my needs in a price range i can afford.

Thanks again guys

 

[Tom Mann]

Hey, Inkpad - Later today, I'll post some links for you to look over.

Tom

 

[inkpad.t]

Thanks Tom... grateful for all your advise.. thank you.

 

[Tom Mann]

Below are links to three high quality digital Point and Shoot cameras that I have owned or used at work since 2000, all of which can now be purchased (either used or new) for around $100 USD (click on the links to Amazon's store to get prices -- they can be bought for even less on Ebay, but it's more risky).

I'm 99% sure all three have a manual mode, but since my memory may be wrong, if you are interested in one of these, I'll double check. Also, I know that the Nikon e995 and the Canon A75 have tripod screws, but I don't remember if the very small Elph also has that feature, but it's very important that you get a camera which does have a tripod screw hole.

Below are three images. I took each one using one of these cameras. If you want to figure out which is which, look in the EXIF data. This will also confirm that I took the photo of the 4 inch silicon wafer back around 2002 or thereabouts showing that one doesn't need the "latest and greatest" gear to take good pix. Also, the the ceiling at that airport was quite poorly lit, probably darker than your High Street shot.

More later,

Tom

===============

Nikon Coolpix 995 3.2MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Coolpix-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B00005MA9X

Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 4X Optical Zoom (Blue)
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSh...F8&qid=1401442072&sr=8-21&keywords=canon+elph

Canon PowerShot A75 3.2MP Digital Camera with 3X Optical Zoom
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B0001G6U4S


===============

PS - I think I posted all three shots at full resolution, so click the in-line preview to check out sharpness, grain/noise, etc.

PPS - The reason I keep harping on the importance of a manual mode is not just to teach one the basics, but because, when used with a tripod, the manual mode allows you to set the ISO to the lowest value (so you get the least noise/grain), and set the f-stop to a nice intermediate value (so the lens is being used at its sharpest aperture). Of course, if the light is dim, this means that the exposure time might be too long to hand hold, so, this is where the tripod comes in. Of course, this only works for static subjects -- if you want to shoot anything moving, you can't use this approach.

These three cameras do an average job on moving subjects and/or hand-holding the camera, but if you really want this ability, you probably should go with a more modern (ie, costly) model. My feeling is that you should first prove to yourself that you can produce beautiful images of static subjects, and once you have that down, then move on to more difficult subjects.

PS #3 - All three images were run through PS, but just for tweaking exposure, contrast, color temperature, saturation, etc. Given the excellent PS work you do, I'm sure you will have no problem picking this up, but this is another important (but easy) skill to learn. No camera, even my two d700's produce images that couldn't benefit from some tweaking in PS.

 

[egosbar]

exactly tom , the work that ink does on ps he will have no problem learning photography , youve actually learned the hard bit first lol

you may want too check out bridge cameras , they are half way between a small point and shoot and a dslr , i was using bridges for the last 10 years until photoshop got me really interested in photography again and i purchased my 7100 earlier in the year

i sold my fujifilm hs50exr for $200 , it would be a great camera for you depending though if you want a larger camera with a feel more like a dslr , i got plenty of great shots from this one , bridge cameras have great zooms and the fujihs50 was supberb handheld at 1000mm equivelant

this ones a little cheaper at $199 but you might get one used for cheaper nearer your budget or shop around http://www.cnet.com/au/products/fujifilm-finepix-s4500-black/user-reviews/

with your photoshop talent id be sourcing photoshop jobs off family and freinds to get a couple of extra bucks
feel free too post any camera you may buy before you commit , im sure tom and myself or others can point you in the right direction

ill be looking forward too seeing if you do take up photography and watching your work if you do

 

[Tom Mann]

+1 to all, Ego!!

Tom

 

[inkpad.t]

Hi guys and thanks again for the links... those cameras look good... i will have to save a little more and then look again.. by that time they might even be cheaper.. Thank you.

Great images Tom. Thank you.

BUT.... I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAS HAPPEN LAST NIGHT.

Just ready to retire for the night and my son turns up... I had totally forgotten that i had lent him a camera about 8 months ago or possibly longer to go on his holidays with... so I thought i had lost this one and then and got the Vivitar camera cheap just be able to take photos.

I Don't think this will be a massive improvement but the camera he return is a Sony Cyber-shot. 14.1 mpx's... its the first one of this type they did.

I no longer have the instructions for it and its doing my head in trying the buttons on the rear to see what they do... guess i will have to search for a down load manual like the one did for me..

Here's 2 pics of the Sony one taken by the Vivitar one



You can see how bad the photos are from the Vivitar camera.

Don't know if this makes a difference.. some info of the Sony is as follows...

4x Optical zoom steady shot dsc-w550

26mm wide angle lense

3.0 clear photo lcd 3.0"/7.5cm

The lense has this on it... Carl Zeiss. Vario-Tessar. 2,7-5,7/4,7-18,8.

It has a hole in the bottom with threads in it so I take it that's for a tripod?, it also has what i think is the model serial No 7486533.

It has an imprint in the plastic casing with a circle and a tick in it and next to that has the No N50.

Thanks agian guys... going to see if i can find that manual.

 

[ALB68]

First digital camera I had was a Sony. Don't remember the exact specs, just how amazing it was.
Go get em now Ink!

 

[MikeMc]

Great Thread, Read and agree with Tom the Teacher...

I have a different view on cameras...silver or digital. I look at cameras from a technicans angle..I repaired cameras and optics for 20 years. I look at glass first...Quality optics, with good resolution and lots of contrast...yep you will pay for what you get..Zeiss has great optics. Then when you find your price range...GO PLAY !! You pick up the cameras and feel them, put them up to your eye....NOW see if you are comfortable..if not look at the others. Fit and feel, along with locations of controls let you shoot w/o thinking..If you just shoot, your brain can compose, rather than adjust the settings.

Film is cheep... shoot in bursts, delete is just a click away. When done shooting...pick the images that you love and work with those first. Go back in a week or so and re look at those "other" shots..I find many new ideas using crop tool.

 

[Tom Mann]

Hi Inkpad -

What a wonderful and timely surprise! You're a lucky guy!

Here's some info on it that I found:

http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/DSC-W530
- - - support page, all sorts of useful links including manuals, useful software, etc.

http://www.camerauserguide.net/sony...ra-users-manual-guide-owners-instruction/2259
- - - other links to the manual, and other documentation

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cyber-Shot-DSC-W530-Vario-Tessar-Wide-Angle/dp/B004H8FNNA
- - - listing on Amazon

... hummm... FWIW, on quickly thumbing through the user guide I didn't see a manual mode. Maybe I just missed it. If it really doesn't have a manual mode, learning the fundamental pples of photography gets a bit more difficult, but that's OK ... we can still work with it.

T

 

[inkpad.t]

Thanks very much Tom... much appreciated ...

Here's a link i found to my camera as well.
http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/DSC-W550

Taking at look at the manual.

That was weird how i was asking about cameras then he turn up with the one i lent him, I had totally forgot he had it, that's why I got the Vivitar one, Thinking back i should have remembered he had it as I am sure i made a post about this Sony one some time back when I wanted to start Photography back then.

It took me time to save for it so can not understand how I forgot about it in the first place, that's just cost me money i could have saved when buying the vivitar one.

Turns out he return it as his mother was asking about it for our nrxt holiday which is coming soon.

Thanks again.

 

[inkpad.t]

Is this camera any good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-Digit...F8&qid=1401620847&sr=8-2&keywords=dslr+camera

Thinking of pushing the limits if the wife's OK with it.

 

[Tom Mann]

The d3100 would be a fantastic step up (in several ways) from the pocket cameras, so long as your sure you not going to wind up with a great camera and no wife - LOL .

I thought something like that would be beyond your budget, so I didn't even mention it. If you can swing it, you may also want to consider a used or refurbished model from a very reputable company like www.KEH.com. I see that they are selling some in "like new" condition for around $340 USD. This would save you about $100 USD compared to the one from Amazon for 269 pounds, which is about $450 at today's rates.

T

 

[egosbar]

pull the trigger your destined for photography you had the sign lol

great start camera for u, heaps better then a bridge camera

second hand might be the way to go , for the same price as new you will most likely get a 55-300 or 70-300 with it

ive looked on ebay some good deals there

 

[egosbar]

where do you live mate , i have a freind who has one and jsut bought a d7100 she might be interested in selling

has a 70-300 i think and a smaller lens not quite sure which one

 

[inkpad.t]

Thanks guys...

It is out of my price range... but if I keep a subtle pressure on every now and then over getting one and convincing her of the benefits of having one, at the same time as putting a little extra to one side, I might..just Might get a look in at getting it.. i will still have to save a little but might just get there.

I'm going to try and get across that the money spent on ANY upgrade of a camera below the standard of this one would be money ill spent rather than putting it straight in to the dlsr, it will take rather a lot of convincing when some one doesn't really know why you want it, or isn't not their thing so is not really interested in it..Therefore dos not see the benefit of it, especially since it's not that long since i have took an interest in photography.

So it will probably cost more in wining and dining than it will to get the camera.. I can only hope that the outcome will go in my favor.. if not then i am stuck with the Sony for now.. not to be dishearten though.. this better than the Vivitar.

Thanks again and will keep you updated on how the sucking up go's.

 

[Tom Mann]

Spoken like a wise man, experienced in the ways of marriage! :mrgreen:

Good luck with the campaign, but in the interim, there is no reason you can't start with the P&S that just landed in your lap, as long as it works. Us Yanks have an expression (slightly modified) that fits:

"A camera in hand is worth two in your dreams."

T