Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

[BlueZero]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Ok, got a couple of things today. 55-250 lens, remote and a tripod. Let the games begin!

Oh no! We've created a monster!

I feel partially responsible for you buying all of this gear. So if you decide you want to go back to a point and shoot camera just send all your gear to me. In return I'll get a point and shoot sent to you right away.

Have fun with the new gear!

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Hahaha... Nick, didn't you want a point and shoot a while back?

Oh well, I find DSLR images to be far superior to the point and shoot images.



Have fun with the new 55-250mm! It's supposed to be a better lens than the stock 18-55mm.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Ok Tim, here is F11 on the tripod with IS off

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Hahaha... Nick, didn't you want a point and shoot a while back?

Oh well, I find DSLR images to be far superior to the point and shoot images.



Have fun with the new 55-250mm! It's supposed to be a better lens than the stock 18-55mm.

We'll see. All of this stuff may be for sale here in a couple of days if I can't figure it out

[ZoranC]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

We'll see. All of this stuff may be for sale here in a couple of days if I can't figure it out

I have DSC-H1 for trade

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

I have DSC-H1 for trade

I already have one of those.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Here's another with the 55-250 lens

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Ok Tim, here is F11 on the tripod with IS off

Hey Nick,

What do you think of this image compared to your first?

That looks quite a bit better to me. The sky is still blown out but that is tough to not have happen with the lighting you are dealing with. Now increase the in camera sharpness by 1 notch and you will be pretty darn close. I would reduce your ISO back down to 200 as you are using a tripod and do not require the higher shutter speed.

Remember it is almost expected that with DSLR that do should perform some post processing. I am not sure if your camera has it, but the 40D has a fairly strong anti-aliasing filter which means some pictures may come out a little soft and require a little sharpening. On the Canon 1D series, Canon recommends using Unsharp Mask setting of 300, 0.3, 2. But if you use their DPP software, you probably need a slight boost from 3 to 5 in sharpness and maybe a slight boost in exposure and it should be looking pretty good!

Tim

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Comparison.... Really hard for me to tell since the lighting is so different

1st image



last image..

[seth1066]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Comparison.... Really hard for me to tell since the lighting is so different

last image..

Nick, you can see how the camera wants to meter for the whole scene. For example, the garage interior should be somewhat darker (as should the concrete driveway), yet the camera has allowed it to be "lit." Find the "Metering mode" and set it to "Spot metering." It should look (hopefully) like this or similar:



Now aim the center of the viewfinder, the visible outline, it should look exactly like the one highlighted above with the dot (spot) in the middle, at the center red part of the van and take your shot. Depending on the existing lighting, this may not be the perfect shot, but should come out as a nice saturated and contrasty result.

Now, to really get what is happening here, take another shot, leaving the spot metering on, but this time put the center spot on the interior of your garage and while holding the shutter down slightly, swing the camera back to take in the original van scene and press the shutter. The garage interior should end up nicely lit while the rest of the picture will be overblown.

I'm not suggesting you use the spot metering for all your shots, in fact I think there are several other options for the metering that you might play with that may also give better overall results over whatever the default setting is. This spot metering is more of an easy experiment for you to learn about how lighting has to be taken into consideration depending on the scene you are shooting. Spot metering, however, does come in handy for when a vehicle is the main subject of the picture.

BTW, when you see those insanely incredible photos in a magazine like National Geographic, they were selected out of hundreds, if not thousands, of shots taken; given a good photographer, sometimes it's all in the editing.

[ZoranC]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

I already have one of those.

Whoops, I thought you got XSi cause you didn't have H1 anymore, sorry for the misunderstanding

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Whoops, I thought you got XSi cause you didn't have H1 anymore, sorry for the misunderstanding

No, I still have the H1. Bought to XSi to upgrade.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Nick, you can see how the camera wants to meter for the whole scene. For example, the garage interior should be somewhat darker (as should the concrete driveway), yet the camera has allowed it to be "lit." Find the "Metering mode" and set it to "Spot metering." It should look (hopefully) like this or similar:



Now aim the center of the viewfinder, the visible outline, it should look exactly like the one highlighted above with the dot (spot) in the middle, at the center red part of the van and take your shot. Depending on the existing lighting, this may not be the perfect shot, but should come out as a nice saturated and contrasty result.

Now, to really get what is happening here, take another shot, leaving the spot metering on, but this time put the center spot on the interior of your garage and while holding the shutter down slightly, swing the camera back to take in the original van scene and press the shutter. The garage interior should end up nicely lit while the rest of the picture will be overblown.

I'm not suggesting you use the spot metering for all your shots, in fact I think there are several other options for the metering that you might play with that may also give better overall results over whatever the default setting is. This spot metering is more of an easy experiment for you to learn about how lighting has to be taken into consideration depending on the scene you are shooting. Spot metering, however, does come in handy for when a vehicle is the main subject of the picture.

BTW, when you see those insanely incredible photos in a magazine like National Geographic, they were selected out of hundreds, if not thousands, of shots taken; given a good photographer, sometimes it's all in the editing.

I'll give that a shot in just a bit. Ran the battery down, so we're charging right now

[BlueZero]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

I'll give that a shot in just a bit. Ran the battery down, so we're charging right now

Here's a good site for extra batteries... http://www.diamondbackbatt.com/

[ZoranC]

Re: Playing with the new camera....I have a LOT to learn!

Morning,

As far as I know the main differences between the XSi and the 40D:
...
But otherwise, would you likely see a difference in general non-action photos, I doubt it. From what I have read and seen, you would be hard pressed to see the difference in picture quality. It is when you get into high speed shooting, certain picture settings and higher ISO's that the 40D takes over.

Good morning, or actually an afternoon by now

I have given a thought to this and as 99+% (practically 100%) of the things I shoot do not move much (if any at all) so "action" photography abilities are not enough to justify the difference for me.

Also, I have went back and analyzed low light abilities of each camera. At ISO 1600 RAW to RAW XSi is very close to both 40D and K20D. It does not have ISO 3200 but result with ISO 3200 from either D40 or K20D is not of quality that I would find acceptable. If it is almost $400 to get me from ISO 1600 to 3200 I feel I would get much better return on investment by staying with XSi and applying the difference toward monopod/tripod/faster lens.

So XSi it is.

I do not think a new Rebel will come out until next August or so as the XSi is new this year.

You are very likely correct. As I am looking at release dates they have been

20/08/03: Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel (6 mp)
17/02/05: Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT (8 mp)
24/08/06: Canon EOS 400D / Digital Rebel XTi (10 mp)
24/01/08: Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi (12 mp)

However, I am not having in mind waiting for new model announcement because of new features, I am not expecting there revolutionary changes and XSi is already good enough, but to judge timing with possible price drops.

With that in mind

XTi is $600-ish now while list price at time of introduction was $900
XSi is $700-ish now while list price at time of introduction was $900

In other words it seems significant price drops are not likely over next 6 months, maybe $100 at maximum.

I will be the first to admit, I spend too much time worrying about and nitpicking the differences when really I should be out using and enjoying the items more.

Amen. Guilty as charged here.