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Last Edit: Sept 15, 2010 11:47:45 GMT by dbizzle
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What are the odds? Me and JC posted similar photography threads at about the same time...!
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rob0r
East of England
Posts: 2,743
Club RR Member Number: 104
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Photography advicerob0r
@rob0r
Club Retro Rides Member 104
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My girlfriend a few years ago got me a "bridge" camera. Please put me right if I'm wrong, but these are similar to SLRs but the lense isn't swappable? Anyway mine has more settings than I know what to do with and I like to think I get better results than if I used a typical digital camera and the zoom is MUCH better! I'd take my camera over standard point and click anyday, plus I like the way it looks and feels - it's like a novelty! Mine's a Fuji s6500 and at the time cost around £170 a few years ago
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Last Edit: Apr 29, 2010 9:54:01 GMT by rob0r
E30 320i 3.5 - E23 730 - E3 3.0si - E21 316 M42 - E32 750i ETC
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Apr 29, 2010 10:01:38 GMT
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All those pics are great! It's the person behind the camera that takes a good shot. A camera cannot choose the angle, composition etc...
Getting to grips with a good camera, however, will enhance your ability to take good shots. Understanding focal length, apertures and shutter speeds isn't too important to start with, I got my first SLR less than two years ago and didn't have a clue about any of them.
Whichever camer you go for (SLR I'm talking here) try and stay away from all the 'auto' modes which basically give you a very expensive point & shoot. If you buy an SLR then you'll be better off in the manual/semi-auto modes where you can start to learn how a camera works.
One of the best things I found was to just play/experiment with the camera and different apertures & shutter speeds until I learnt for myself what they did and how they could affect any shots I took. Once you understand the very basics you can start to get shots which are taken under your control.
Another good thing to look into is getting a book called 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson. It's an awesome book which covers all the info you need to understand about photography, all written in the simplest most understandable terms and full of lots of great examples of how different settings can create different photos. It's a book that actually inspires you to go out and get shooting.
As for cameras, this is a whole different world again! 2nd hand is certainly the right way to enter the SLR world but choose a camera that has a good/wide range of lenses available (Canon & Nikon being the two best for this). I can't fault the Canon 350/400/450/500 range. Awsome cameras for the money and some superb lenses available for not much money. The 450D has one of the best 'kit' lenses I've ever seen when it comes to cost vs image quality.
You need to decide how much you really want to spend and then start looking for what you can get within your budget. Please feel free to PM me if you want to talk more about it, I am by no means an expert and there are WAY better photographer on here than me but I have been through the whole beginner/buying/learning process quite recently and can probably give you some good pointers based on my recent experience.
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Lawsy
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,615
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Apr 29, 2010 10:01:59 GMT
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I was the same a few years ago and asked a few questions..
I initially bought a Canon EOS 350D, that got damaged - whoops - so now have a canon EOS 400D (wel I bought it cheaper through ebay and got a Rebel XTI which is the american spec but same camera) it came with a 18-55 lense and I've also bought a sigma 70-300 lense for some zoom action
I'm still learning the shutter speed aperature side of it, but find it a good camera to use with simpel functions - it has a few auto settings so let the camera sort it out, and we've taken loads of good pics using the semi auto settings
i'm after a small poin n shoot camera tho as carrying the big one and all the lenses around is good, but a right royal pita
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Last Edit: Apr 29, 2010 10:03:41 GMT by Lawsy
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Apr 29, 2010 10:34:30 GMT
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A lot of excellent advice here, thanks so much. After the whole wedding/honeymoon thing's out of the way in a few weeks, I'll start pestering you all for specifics and get myself a decent camera of some kind!
One thing that's always eluded me (although I have always just used cheapo point-n-shoots) - how do you take a decent photo in the dark? Are there any hard and fast rules?
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awoo
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,506
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Apr 29, 2010 10:43:48 GMT
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if you want a photo in the dark what you essentially need is light.
you achieve this either with;
a flash (you need some skills for good results with a flash though)
leave the shutter open for longer to let more light in
have the aperture wide open (think of the aperture as your pupil - it gets wider the darker it is to let in more light)
or you have a higher ISO - ISO is basically the amount of light sensitivity in the sensor.
those are the things you need to balance essentially. they all have different causes and effects which will change the image in terms of how it will look and quality. so you need to get the mixture right for what you want.
id suggest getting a bridge camera, second hand all the way, you can get a decent second hand one for the price of a new pocket camera.
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Apr 29, 2010 11:29:26 GMT
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As Awoo says, flash, longer exposure, wider aperture or higher ISO.
I've never used a flash and have yet to feel confident enough start - getting them to work without bleaching things out/casting bad shadows takes some knowledge and skill.
Longer exposure is your friend on anything but moving objects. A lot of night time shots of cars are taken with 10sec > 30sec exposures. Not any use if capturing people because they move around....but for cars it's an awesome way of 'gaining' light. Tripod essential here!
Wider aperture....as Awoo say, lets more light in so you can capture more light faster, but often not fast enough. This can be combined with slightly higher ISO (see below) or slower shutter speed (see above) to gain a better shot.
ISO - in old fashioned 'film' format, this meant the film was more sensitive to light. It allowed more light to be captured but also meant that image quality started to degrade. Modern digital camera replicate this but can go way beyond what normal film can. A common high ISO film would be something like 400 (ISO 100 being 'everyday' outdoor flim) but modern DSLR's can go up to 3,200 and even 6,400. Expect a loss in quality the higher you go.
Combine shutter speed with higher ISO and wider aperture and you can start to get good exposures at night. Tripod still pretty essential on anything but a pro-level camera though (unless you're using a flash...see above)
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Apr 29, 2010 11:42:46 GMT
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Apr 29, 2010 11:50:41 GMT
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This is fascinating, I had no idea that you could take shots like those without a flash or some sort of external light source.
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Apr 29, 2010 11:56:22 GMT
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Most of the shots are just what light spills out from the open doors of the unit. Sometimes there is a security light on in the yard....but the camera always makes it look a LOT lighter than it really was.
The shot of Adrian & Phil working on the wiring in the unit, that was about 8pm in December and the only light in the whole unit was the little worklight on top of the Delica. Anyone who was there will be able to vouch for how damn dark it actually was in there that night!
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berendd
Europe
why do I need 3 keys for one car?
Posts: 1,449
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Apr 29, 2010 12:17:47 GMT
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I've got a basic Nikon SLR and I'm learning every day..
don't spend your money on megapixels
spend money on a decent (and preferrabley FAST) 4GB min SD carb and a tripod
And above all save some quid to buy decent lenses!!!!!
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Apr 29, 2010 12:25:46 GMT
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Good thread.
I got a Canon 450D a couple of weeks ago for my 30th, I'm still using it on auto as I don't really understand the other functions as yet, I keep see other peoples great results and fancy creating my own but still don't know how to do it so thanks Brucie for the advice, I'll have to keep practicing and learning I think.
Oh and Dbrizzle, there's nothing wrong with any of them shots, they are all still better then my results!.
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Last Edit: Apr 29, 2010 12:26:10 GMT by trigger
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Apr 29, 2010 12:43:01 GMT
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I got a Canon 450D a couple of weeks ago for my 30th, I'm still using it on auto Try setting to TV or AV modes, they offer some flexibility allowing you to alter the shutter speed or F number (focal ratio) depending on which setting you use. The camera then adjusts everything else on a auto setting to give you the best shot. You can still alter ISO levels, White balance though. I shot like this most of the time rather than full auto. I do occasionally run fully manual and set everything, but I find it time consuming when at a show so save it for the shots I've got time to play with. ;D
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Apr 29, 2010 12:44:56 GMT
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Apr 29, 2010 12:55:42 GMT
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,536
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Apr 29, 2010 13:21:20 GMT
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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Apr 29, 2010 13:29:47 GMT
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Brilliant stuff!, I've found that book on ebay Bruce and popped a bid on it though I suspect I'll get out bid before the end... Also thanks Speedman, I've tried playing with those setting and quite like the results you can get by setting it on monochrome like this one I took on Sunday. this one was on Auto, especially for B&D ;D
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Last Edit: Apr 29, 2010 13:31:11 GMT by trigger
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Apr 29, 2010 13:42:34 GMT
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A little tip I learnt (from that book actually!) Never shoot in B&W....even if you think it'll make a great shot. Always shoot in colour then convert to B&W afterwards. The reason - if you ever decide at some point you want to see the image in colour, you can't! Easy to remove colour, almost impossible to (effectively) put colour back in. The book has a little story about how he missed a brilliant opportunity of a shot because he has the camera set to B&W. He's shot in colour ever since. Also, you get a lot more control when converting an image to B&W than the 'decision' the camera makes when shooting B&W...which comes out more 'grey' than true black and white. Just a quick example - here is a shot I took of Ian (BiAS) ....but I can also have it as a colour shot as well if I feel like it: It's certainly a tip that I has stuck with me since reading about it.
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awoo
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,506
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Apr 29, 2010 17:43:27 GMT
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yeah defo shoot in colour^^^ as you can take colour out etc
but its worth keeping in mind that if you shoot in raw you can preview the image in black and white on the camera but the file stays colour when you take it to the computer. at which point then you can convert it.
i always do that when intending to get the final shot black and white. high iso can look good in black and white too, the noise and grain can add character to a black and white shot quite nicely.
for what its worth also, if you want to try flash its best to dive in. expensive gear but i personally use a flash about 90% of the time now, its rare that i don't use a flash since the results are so good
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