PHOTOGRAPHIC THREADS: camera queries, any photo tech stuff!

[Maggi Young]

The next thing is to learn enough about your camera that you know how to outwit it when you wish to.

Yes, David, Ian is always saying that is the important thing!

[shelagh]

It may be difficult to take a bad picture with a digital camera David but I still manage it.  At least you can delete them without the expense of having them developed before you discover your disasters.

Shelagh

[mark smyth]

Shelagh I wouldnt say it's difficult to take a bad photo it's actually very easy.

[Paddy Tobin]

David,

Many thanks for your comments on the Nikon. Much appreciated. The selection of lens is certainly quite puzzling.

Paddy

[ian mcenery]

Paddy a lens the standard lens will not focus as closely as your compact and I quickly became dissatisfied mine. You should try a zoom lens with a macro or near macro facility which will give you some flexibility. I have a Sigma 17 -70 mm 2.8 with a 1:2.3 macro (not actually a macro which should be 1:1) but good enough for my purposes for plants and family - became a grandad again today so it needs to be dual purpose. There are few other choices there is a Nikon 24-85 which has a 1:2 feature but because of the sensor sizes on SLR which are only a proportion of the area of 35mm film camera you need to multiply the focal length by , in the case of Nikon, 1.5 to obtain the 35mm equivalent meaning that the 17mm Sigma wide angle is equivalent to 26mm wide angle whereas the 24mm Nikon (which was built for film camera) is equivalent to 36mm focal length meaning that it is restricted in wide angle capability though  it is an excellent lens. The choice is yours but there aren't many suitable zooms with a reasonable macro facility on the market. I do have a 1:1 macro but the fixed focal length is not flexible or convenient when composing pictures.

Hope this helps and doesn't confuse

[David Lyttle]

Paddy,

I pretty much concur with what Ian has said about lenses; most of the pictures I have posted on this forum were taken a 18-70mm zoom lens (AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor ED 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G IF) so you can judge the results for yourself. All the letters mean different technical stuff that you can look up on the web if you are interested. The closest focus distanceof this lens is 1.2 feet (0.38m) and it does not give true macro 1:1 reproduction ie image is less than lifesize. However for a Nikon lens it is relatively economical and versatile. Its gratest advantage is that you can rapidly frame up a subject whether it be a garden scene or the mother-in-law (or you could remove the mother-in-law from the garden scene). It is not particularly good as a telephoto ie for bird shots.

The 60 mm lens I have (AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D) does not have to do so much stuff so it is simpler in construction and performs its basic functions better. It has a wider maximum aperture (f 2.8 compared to f3.5) so you can get more light in. The closest focus distance is 8.75 inches (0.219m) so you can get closer to your subject and it gives a reproduction ratio of 1:1. Good for flower shots and for snapshots for the photo album as well.

Two more economical Nikon lens that you could consider are the  AF-S 18-135mm DX f3.5-5.6G IF-ED and the AF-S 55-200mm f4-5.6G VR IF ED. These are designed specifically for their digital camera range. The latter is a medium telephoto zoom with vibration reduction technology (VR). Apart from these the sky is the limit for Nikon gear ($NZ 10,000 and up- It possibly looks less painful in Euros) Hope this clarifys some of the lens issues.

[Paddy Tobin]

Right, I've got it all now.

Paddy

[Rob]

There is a chance to win a digital slr kit on the telegraph site

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml;?view=CAMPAIGN&grid=A1NoGoogle&pg=/ETHtml/content/promotions/2007/05/03/earth/index.jhtml

I put an entry in last month which is in gallery 26, but I'm assuming the flooded grafitti was the winning photo.

I will enter again this month and October when the competition ends if I can find suitable photos.

'This competition is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland aged 18 years over, except employees of Telegraph Media Group Limited, or anyone else professionally associated with the competition'

[Maggi Young]

Nice shot of the Goldenrod, Rob... interesting to hear that you have seen no honeybees, there aren't many around here, either.

[David Shaw]

Don't know where to put this post but as I am not satisfied with the picture I will put it in the camera thread.
Dirk sent me this wonderful Crocus banticus albus this year but I have a complaint - I cann't photograph it! The white is too pure. There is no contrast between the various parts of the flower. I have taken numerous picture with various backgrounds and this is my best effort. Do any of you photographers any suggetsions? I am using the S5700.

[Carlo]

Dave,


You've got the same problem that wedding photographers have with a white wedding gown next to a dark tuxedo; and landscape photographers face with snow.

My guess is you're matrix metering and the dark background is telling the camera to open up its aperture and let more light in--over exposing the flower, which of course is an absolute contrast. (These cameras think for themselves...but they aren't too smart. We've got to out-fox them.).

Try changing the metering to spot or center-weighted so that the camera meters off the flower...

OR just manually expose the shot and shut down a stop and a half or so from what the meter tells you...

OR meter off a neutral light grey or the lawn or anything that is mid-toned (instead of the two ends of the spectrum you're dealing with)...

OR just fiddle around with your aperture/shutter speed bracketing the heck out of things until you get a satisfactory shot...

[Maggi Young]

I think Ian's covered this in a bulb log... now, which one??

[David Shaw]

I will go away and try your suggestions, Carlo. The picture I posted was the best effort of many pictures of the flower using assorted methods and backgrounds.

[mark smyth]

white flowers come out really well against very pale grey card. Is your camera on automatic? The flash isnt on? Was the day over cast or bright sunshine?

[Ian Y]

Try reading this log David.

http://www.srgc.org.uk/bulblog/log2006/250106/log.html