Author Topic: David's Shutter Bug Club  (Read 497038 times)

Offline David In Indy

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David's Shutter Bug Club
« on: January 03, 2008, 03:41:31 am »
Since posting my "Cameras: Digital or Film" poll, http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,16068.0.html several people have emailed me with camera questions. So, I decided to create a thread where people could come together and discuss cameras, offer tips and advice, and/or talk about their cameras and pictures.

I have a degree in photography, but I am in no way an expert. PLEASE remember that! I earned my degree 20 something years ago, back when digital photography didn't exist, at least not in its current form. Having said that, I do have quite a bit of experience in photography and I have been fooling around with cameras nearly my entire life. When I was very small, my mother owned a Kodak Instamatic camera. Remember those? She never allowed me to touch it. Then when we were on vacation in Florida, I asked her if I could take a picture and she said yes. She handed me the camera and I took a picture of a cloud. I was around 6 or 7 years old at the time. This cloud picture was my very first photo, and from then on I was completely hooked.

Also remember I am not beyond making a mistake and/or posting inaccurate information. Much of what I will be posting in here will be based on my 20 year old photography degree, and technology has changed quite a bit since then. I will also be posting info based on my personal experiences and preferences. Photography is fluid. There is more than one way to do things, and this is one of the first things the professors will tell you. Therefore...

I welcome constructive criticism and alternative opinions.

If you feel I have posted something in error, please tell me.

Ask all the questions you want.

Feel free to post tips and helpful information for others.

Tell us about your camera and what you like and don't like about it.

Are you planning to purchase a new camera and you don't know what make or model to buy? Ask and hopefully people will chime in to help guide you to that perfect camera.

Post your pictures.  (When posting pictures, please include shooting information if possible. This will help others to understand your photo and what settings and conditions were involved to achieve it.)

Most of what I will be discussing will be related to point and shoot or SLR cameras; particularly digital cameras (unless someone asks a specific question about film or film cameras). I know very little about camcorders and webcams, so I will steer clear of those questions, although if anyone has a question or comment about them they should feel welcome to post it. Hopefully someone knowledgeable will see the question and answer it.

Welcome to the Shutter Bug Club!!! :D

« Last Edit: January 03, 2008, 06:42:44 pm by David »
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injest

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2008, 08:21:34 am »
ok!!

I have been fiddling with the controls of my camera....but here is the deal. What is up with 'my colors'? they all look about the same! well one made the picture all red-y looking...

Offline underdown

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2008, 09:57:29 am »
Yay, you did it !   :D

Good on ya mate.  :)
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Rob


Offline ifyoucantfixit

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2008, 09:58:32 am »


      David are you trying to get your dog to have puppies....?   I hope you know that boy dogs don't
have puppies... :P



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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2008, 04:19:08 pm »
ok!!

I have been fiddling with the controls of my camera....but here is the deal. What is up with 'my colors'? they all look about the same! well one made the picture all red-y looking...

Hi Jess!

Canon's "My Colors" should be used to enhance a certain color in the photo. Many digital point and shoot cameras have this feature, although different camera manufacturers have different names for it. "My Colors" is an attempt by Canon to add some SLR capabilities to their point and shoot/range finder cameras. If you've ever owned an SLR and used color filters, then you should understand what Canon is trying to do. "My Colors" is far from perfect though. Take a look at two pictures I just took outside my house....

The first picture was taken with "My Colors" turned off. I have listed the camera's settings, and I will do this with any picture I post in this thread.


Conditions: Bright/Sunny/Snowy
Camera Equipment: Canon PowerShot G9
Camera Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/1250
White Balance: Manual
Light Meter: Evaluative
Exposure Compensation Value: -2/3
ISO: 80
Flash: Off






Now, take a look at this next picture. All the camera's settings are the same, except this time I turned on "My Colors" and I selected the green filter...






See the difference? Generally I don't use the "My Color" feature. Since it is not an actual lens color filter, color accuracy is often compromised, which is exactly what happened here. The first picture shows the leaves' true colors. "My Colors" tends to oversaturate. This is probably why your picture looked reddish. Either the camera oversaturated the reds in the photo, or the camera couldn't find any red to enhance, and so it enhanced the entire picture with a reddish hue. Remember, "My Colors" is not a true color filter; it is digital - computerized.

"My Colors" does have its benefits though. If you were in a boat out on the ocean, the "My Colors" blue setting would enhance the blueish hues of the water and sky and make it more brilliant looking. Setting "My Colors" to red would enhance the red color of a sunset or sunrise. Just remember color accuracy will probably be compromised when using these settings. But just the same, it can make for some very beautiful photographs.

"My Colors" includes some other interesting "filters" besides the red, blue and green. Canon cameras do a nice job with sepia, which adds a coppery color to the entire picture. The Black and White filter is also quite nice. :)



 
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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2008, 04:20:05 pm »
Yay, you did it !   :D

Good on ya mate.  :)
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Rob



Thanks Rob!!! Hopefully I didn't open Pandora's box here. But I'll do my best! ;)

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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2008, 04:21:21 pm »

      David are you trying to get your dog to have puppies....?   I hope you know that boy dogs don't
have puppies... :P

Hey Janice!! No, I don't want any puppies. Cody has been neurtered so we don't have to worry about him fathering any puppies, but he thinks he's still a pup. He's a big baby, hence my choice of words under his picture! :)

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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2008, 06:34:26 pm »
The word "photography" means "writing or drawing with light". A camera photograph is a picture drawn with light.

Photography is actually a very simple and straight forward process. Light passes through a small opening and strikes an object sensitive to it (film) causing a change (exposure). Add a lens to the opening, and an image is imprinted. Sounds simple. So why is it so complicated sometimes? It is complicated because we can't always depend on perfect conditions. Remember those milk carton cameras? A milk carton camera is photography in its simplest form. But they only worked when the conditions were absolutely perfect; bright light and a steady or non moving subject.

Cameras have evolved to handle difficult shooting conditions, but this evolution has also made for a much more complicated piece of equipment. The upside to this is most cameras can take an acceptable picture no matter how bad the lighting is, or how uncooperative the subject might be. Most cameras today include an on board computer which handles most of the difficult and technical decisions, a luxury we didn't have 25 or 30 years ago. My first real camera was a Canon SLR and I had to carry a light meter with me. It had a cord attached to it, and I would wear it around my neck. Just before taking a picture, I would aim the light meter at the subject and use the information to set the camera's aperture and shutter speed. It was all done manually. Modern cameras have light meters built right into them, which not only takes a reading, but then sends this information to the camera's computer. The computer then uses this information to set the appropriate aperture, shutter speed and exposure. Often the flash will also be programmed by the computer, setting the correct bounce, burst intensity and duration of the burst. The picture is then sent to a imaging processor. The imaging processor cleans up the photo, removing most, if not all light anomalies and noise. The imaging processor checks for color balance and color accuracy and makes any necessary adjustments to the picture. This helps to insure the resulting image is crystal clear and full of rich pure colors and hues. Lastly the image is saved on a memory stick or memory card. The file is often compressed, allowing room for many more pictures.

So, photography is now a more user friendly activity, but the equipment has become very complicated. And with all these settings, buttons and terms comes a lot of questions. I will be posting a FAQ sheet in this thread, containing questions many people have asked me over the years; such as "what does IS mean? What is ISO? What does second curtain mean? What is the difference between digital and optical zoom?" And many more.

Stay tuned!! :D

   

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Offline David In Indy

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2008, 09:58:40 pm »
Sunset Over Indiana

Conditions: Dim/Dusk
Camera Equipment: Sony F-717
Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/30
White Balance: Manual
Light Meter: Center Weight Average
Exposure Compensation Value: 0
ISO: 540
Flash: Off








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Offline Shasta542

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Re: David's Shutter Bug Club
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2008, 10:08:35 pm »
That's beautiful!
"Gettin' tired of your dumbass missin'!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~