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Got any photography questions? Things that you would like to see discussed?


Tom Mann

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Hey People -

As some of you may know, we are trying to grow the photography section of Photoshop Gurus.com.

Towards this end, we would really like to know if there are any photography related questions or topics that you would like to see discussed. Sure, you obviously can search the web if you have a question, and may find the answer (or a tutorial) on some photography related website, but there are people on PSG with very specific, in-depth expertise and interests that may be able to respond very directly to your questions and expression of interest.

So, would you like more show-and-tell photography threads, discussions of equipment, discussions of technique, artistic critique, technical critique, post processing tips, discussion of different genres of photography (eg, street) or other topics?

Let us know what equipment you use most frequently (including cell phone cameras).

Let us know what you think!

Note, I've made this thread "sticky" so that if something occurs to you in the future, it will be easy to find.

Best regards,

Tom M
 
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Paul

Former Member
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I would like some help with night shots, especially the moon and stars.
 

egosbar

Guru
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im looking at the new fujifilm hs50 bridge camera , probably the best on the market at the moment arguably

i know the sensor is small and high iso will cause noise , i think the 42x zoom can be shot hand with good results

what i want to know is where can these cameras go now over the next few years
, my next camera will be around 5 year investment and there is no wi fi on this one and a few other things that could be better i think

i also want too know if anyone knows of any news on upcoming cameras that may be better then the fujifilm hs50

not interested in dslr , with too many lenses , been there done that , too much hassle too carry around and too expensive
 

Tom Mann

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Great suggestions, folks. We should certainly start some threads on these topics, but let's see what else people have to suggest.

Tom M
 

Tom Mann

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I would like some help with night shots, especially the moon and stars.
You mean like this?

DSD_1961-Focus_magic-deblurred_1400px_jpg-xnv-698px_hi.jpg

Tech specs: d700, 50/1.4 @ f/2, 30 sec, ISO ~1600. One shot, saved as a RAW and processed in ACR / PS.

The real "tricks" were:

a) Pick a good location. I took this at one of the few half-way decent low light pollution locations on the east coast of the USA. This one was in the middle of nowhere, up in the hills of north-central Pennsylvania about 30 or 40 miles south of the NY state line.

b) Dry, cold weather usually means a clearer sky and less sensor noise. Higher altitude usually also means better viewing conditions.

c) Use a "fast", ie, low-f_number lens nearly wide open. Unfortunately, this means that the focus must be spot on.

d) Because of thermal contraction, don't try to focus until the camera and lens have come down to the outside temperature. Use "Live View" to focus. Don't even bother trying to do it through the viewfinder or by the marks on the lens. Focus on some object at infinity that is brighter than the stars and easy to see. Once you have found the best focus, tape the lens at that position.

e) Be sure no stray light can hit the front of the lens, even if it is out of the actual frame area. I'm pretty sure that the green arc in the upper RH corner was from a light on a farmer's barn a mile away and well out of the frame. Unfortunately, I didn't notice it at the time of the exposure.

f) When you are done shooting, put the camera and lens in a ziplock bag to prevent condensation on it when you get back inside to a warmer, more humid environment.

Paul, why don't you start a separate thread on this specific topic?

More later,

T
 

Paul

Former Member
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Can i get good quality full moon images with standard kit lenses on my nikon?
 

Tom Mann

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Can i get good quality full moon images with standard kit lenses on my nikon?

With a kit lens, you can certainly get the moon in the frame, and you can usually get it sharp and well exposed. However, the image will be much too small to be satisfying.

The maximum focal length of kit lenses is usually around 100 mm (maybe 300, if they throw in a telephoto zoom), but to fill the frame with the moon, as I recall, one needs a focal length of around 1600 mm.

About the only way you are going to get frame-filling images with a kit lens is if you couple it to a telescope.

T
 

MikeMc

McGuru
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Tom....how about the differences in digital zoom vs optical zoom.....most do not know the difference, just see it.
 

Janifar

Banned
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I would like to get help to take a plenty creative photo with natural effect for anything.
 

chitkaran

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Tom....how about the differences in digital zoom vs optical zoom.....most do not know the difference, just see it.

Allow me to answer this..

Digital zoom is accomplished by cropping an image down to a centered area with the same aspect ratio as the original, and usually also interpolating the result back up to the pixel dimensions of the original. It is accomplished electronically, with no adjustment of the camera's optics, and no optical resolution is gained in the process. This enlargement of the pixels also creates a pixelation/mosaic effect in the image.

For example - The starting range of camera phones - Nokia for instance - didnt have any zoom to them but there were apps which did offer zoom capabilities. Well, all they did was crop the image giving the illussion that you are zoooooming in where-in all you do is crop with the same aspect ratio and decrease the resolution.


Optical Zoom is the actual zoom .. ie it is caused by the actual movement of lenses inside the camera. An optical zoom in cameras works similar in principle to a telescope. By increasing the distance between the real lens and the zoom lens, the image is made to seem like it has come closer. The number before x is the amount by which the image is zoomed compared to the actual image. So if it is 4x, the image is 4 times zoomed or brought closer compared to the real image. So this gives us as close a picture to the real view as possible and is definitely of better quality. Unlike digital zoom, optical zoom enlarges the subject without sacrificing resolution. It is the true zoom.
 

egosbar

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i have a question on off camera flashes remotely controlled

i have a fuji hs50 exr and i just purchased a flash diffuser and it works great , id like too get the flash off camera and control flash photography better , i currently have a canon speedlite 420ez i think without pulling it out but it has a broken hotshoe , im sure would be relatively cheap too get fixed

the fuji flash i will most llikely buy if worth it would be a ef-42 , i have googled if this can be controlled with a ttf remote with full control not manually having too go too the flash if i want too change settings and i dont think it will so would i be better off getting the speedlite fixed and getting a cheap manual flash trigger and accept i have too change settings on the flash if needed

its a shame fuji have thier own hotshoe or i could use a nikon or canon set up
 

Tom Mann

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Hi Ego -

Unfortunately, I doubt you are going to be able to use your Canon 420 with your Fuji system. The way remotely controlled flashes of this type work is that the master sends out a *very* rapid series of flashes, much like Morse code to tell the remote slave unit how much light to put out. The slave unit interprets these pulses and follows the instructions.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, each of the major camera/flash manufacturers have their own codes and other flash specifications, so a slave (remote) from one mfgr won't even realize that a master flash made by a different mfgr just fired.

Your suggestion to set the remote on manual and trigger it with a cheap optical trigger is probably about the best choice. However, realize that while cheap optical triggers work fine indoors, they are very unreliable outdoors -- to the point of almost being useless.

Sorry.

Tom
 

Hoogle

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Well yes TTL functions are pretty much limited to manufacturers and maybe some compatable models but you can get cheap radio remotes of ebay for around $30 which I also have a set of these and they are brilliant once you have learnt the power of your speed light you dont need to adjust them that much once you have found a good setting.

If you want to spend more then you can buy 1s that will let you have minimal control over the receiver and transmitter usually 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full power and all though I don't like saying this you can get it close enough to fix in post production especially if your shooting raw.

in an ideal world we would all have 3 or 4 strobes/speedlights all connected that are all high quality being controlled with pocket wizards or smart lighting systems like nikon do with 1 speedlight such as the sb900 or sb 800 just used as the remote to trigger off camera flashes and settings, But anyone knows who have looked at this it soon becomes a huge expense.

if you are on a budget then get some practice equipment from ebay if you want quality and want to buy good then do so at the expense it takes.

people will frown upon ebay purchases but in all honesty it takes a long time to master off camera flashand you would see very little difference between a $200 lighting system and a $2000 system for the first few months of learning.

But that said once you know how to use equipment you will have huge flexibility and quality with a decent premium setup
 

besmirched

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I just bought the entry level canon 1100d. Is there any point trying to use an old nikon sb50dx flash I have? I had a quick google and people think it can work in manual mode which looks complicated.

Also, I have been looking at some lenses on ebay. I can't afford nothing... maybe a nifty 50 or the pancake 40mm 2.8. There is a TAMRON SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR DI II LD for around $300 that has caught my eye but that is more than I paid for the camera and something that would be a luxury to replace the 17-55 kit lens given to me. Can someone suggest a cheap nice lens I should be saving up for $300ish?
 

Hoogle

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well how good are you at manual focus you can get some nice high quality lenses on ebay and 2nd hand shops that are old lenses but they will work on modern cameras just no auto focus. I do use some lenses that cost me around $30- $120 but they are really good high quality glass even though they may be 10 - 20 years old.
 

besmirched

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Sounds perfect and I am all ears Mr H.... what do you reckon? I used to use a pentax slr before digital so I hope manual focus won't be a problem. I'd love to buy some cheap wide glass for landscapes and perhaps for some night photography.

I just watched a you tube video where a kid explained that you can buy a converter mount for between $10-$20 on ebay. He went on to say you lose a f stop when using a converter.

I have a vivitar 28mm f2.8 in a pentax mount, do you think that would be worth converting? It's a cheap lense I bought for my pentax slr about 25 years ago.
 

Hoogle

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lenses are useless if you can't use them, so sure if you can get a convertor, just be aware though some convertors will adjust actual focal length and cause vignetting on your shots.
 

Paul

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This was taken at one of our local parks here in WA, probably Kings Park as it's near to the city.
My question is simply this how was it taken and what settings used, that dark look even though it is vibrant and bright still?

outdoors.jpg The image is taken from mu local online newspapers out and about feature.
 

Tom Mann

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Good advice from Hoogle on learning by using manually adjustable off-camera lights. I worked this way for years and still do in the studio. However, IMHO, learning on a manual system is the only way to learn how to quickly fix the unwanted effects one will accidentally create, even with a full blown Nikon CLS system. ;-)

That being said, I currently own and regularly use several lights (sb-600, 800, 900, 910) from the Nikon CLS system, and when you have to work fast (say, at an event), they can save your rear end and allow you to nail many shots that you would otherwise completely miss. If you are shooting as a pro, they pay for themselves many times over. In contrast, if you are just fooling around doing family shots in your living room, they are totally unnecessary and much more than you need.

Just my $0.02,

Tom
 

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