Digital Photography and Macro

[Anouilh]

Technical tips for photographers are improving daily.

This is for Commando whose macro photos are "sans pareil".

http://lioroux.free.fr/index.htm

[commando]

Don't think I need any tips, but thanks, though I don't speak French so the page doesn't help much.

[GuyGermany]

currently i m using a Fuji E 500, but i m not very satisfied with the pictures. For my next NZ Trip i ´m going to buy a new one,most likely a digital SLR. what model would you suggest? i am a total SLR newb. max should be around € 800

[Bum.Bita]

I have a Canon, G series and I have been very happy with it
It does not seem to "Flatten" the images as much as most Digitals do.

I will look forward to Comm's comments.

When are You visiting ?

[Dave A]

I have a Canon, G series and I have been very happy with it
It does not seem to "Flatten" the images as much as most Digitals do.

I will look forward to Comm's comments.

When are You visiting ?

I would say that the Kodak Brownie I have is good, it even has two shutter speeds for sunny or cloudy days.!

[Bum.Bita]

I prefer the Girl Guides

They are so much better with Knots.

[commando]

Canon 400D is my pick of beginner SLRs at the moment. Compact cameras are pretty good these days, you don't need stupid 10 times zooms, for NZ you need a decent wide angle (24mm equilivent would be great) and a zoom out to 70mm or so would be heaps. I dunno much about the baby cameras though, SLRs give you much more control and flexability. Beware though by the time you buy an SLR, a couple of memory cards, a couple of lenses, and an external flash they get pretty expensive! I could write about this for ages so better you ask questions.

[GuyGermany]

thanks for your advice. i did a little reasearch and i found this offer which sounds pretty good to me
http://www.etown.co.nz/store/viewItem.a ... oduct=4123 EOS 400D (EOS KISS X) 2 Lens Kits with 18-55mm U & 55-200mm U Lenses
only thing is i cant tell if the canon made lenses are any good?
downside is, the same kit is about 1044 € (NZ$ ~1750) over here,so maybe i m better off buying the cam when i m in Auckland.
Do you have any advice for some sort of a Beginners Guide to SLR photography?

[commando]

An SLR takes quite a while to learn to use, you can use it in auto right away but I think it takes the better part of a year to get really comfortable with it. If you don't want to invest the time you should get a high end point and shoot. Even with an SLR on full auto you'll get better photos out of a high end point and shoot if you don't know what you're doing. My cameras, higher up models that the 400D, have something like 25 buttons and 4 dials, and you have to know what each one does and how to use it in a hurry! Well I do but I do it for a living.

If you do want to pursue it, then get the SLR ASAP and get the book "understanding exposure". You can spend decades becoming a great photographer... i'm giving it a go.

For lenses neither of those are great. To learn i'd suggest you get the Sigma 30mm F1.4 lens, it doesn't zoom at all, that's why you have feet. Maybe get the 17-55 lens as well, just because maybe you'll want a wider angle than 30mm. If you tell me what you want to do with it, ie everything, landscapes, portraits, macro, etc, I can recommend lenses and gear.

Oh you'll likely want an external flash as well, the 430EX is good. Plenty of memory cards, spare batteries - don't buy genuine use http://www.sterlingtek.com cheap and good - I have a half dozen or so and they work great.

I started out with an NZ$1500 camera, now I have, um, let's just say i've spent enough on camera equipemtn to buy a rather nice car! Then again it's all paid for itself

[GuyGermany]

ok, ordered the book , but it will take 2 - 3 weeks. that gives me time to save up some € to buy a 400D corpus.

If you tell me what you want to do with it, ie everything, landscapes, portraits, macro, etc, I can recommend lenses and gear.

i went through all my old shots and most (~ 80%) are landscapes and architecture like houses, bridges

[commando]

In that case you'll want a good wide angle lens. There's a few to choose from.

Sigma 10-20 (US$500)
Tokina 12-24 (US$500). I have it and it works well.
Canon 10-22 (US$674).

Start with the lens that comes usually comes with the camera, the Canon 18-55, that will let you get a taste for it and see what you think you'll need. A tripod is probably a good idea too. Don't bother with the lens kits lots of places sell with a 17-85 and 70-300, or similar, neither are good lenses.

Getting into photography's pretty expensive eh?! I've easily spent more on lenses than cameras.

[GuyGermany]

ok, one more question comm. what software would you suggest for image corrections?

[commando]

Basic stuff: Picasa (easy to use, does the basics most people want)
A bit fancier: Photoshop Elements, or the Corel editing suite
Best out there: Photoshop CS3 for editing, CS3 Bridge or LightRoom for RAW processing. My workflow is all CS3.

Use Picasa until you need more, then get Elements. The Corel suite might be a good idea, Photoshop is pretty dang hard to use until you get the hang of it, once you have you can do anything you can really think of. Massive capabilities, and a learning curve to match.

[GuyGermany]

"understanding exposure"

very well written book and easy to understand now i cant wait to get my new toy and play with shutter speeds, f-stops and creative exposure.never again i will use full-auto

[commando]

Cool I use semi-auto modes like Av all the time, sometimes I don't need manual.

PS I never read that book I just pass the recommendation on

[GuyGermany]

ok, here we go. not the canon, but a olympus kit with a 14-42mm 1:35-5.6 lens

[commando]

That looks like a great camera, and good value too!

[Anouilh]

It's great to see such an informative tuition thread here, Commando. Thanks to all the questions asked on one of my blogs, I started a section to share links to good photo sites at:

http://shortsights.blogspot.com/

You are all welcome to drop by.

[frood]

A - how many blogs have you got? I'm sure you must have 3 now or something.. I'm losing count.

[frood]

Ah fear not - I've found 4.

Not that I'm a stalker or anything.

[Anouilh]

Quuite a few. However the basic one is photographedublin.blogspot and the others are like chapters added to explain and enhance what I started there. Posters who visited asked so many questions I had to organise the material a bit more tightly. I also made a little ecology section called "My Dainty Little Carbon Footprint", where anybody who is interested in Green Issues might like to post.

I read recently that the Internet is becoming one great library. With this in mind, I try to keep posts thematically linked as much as possible. It has been a remarkable year.

http://www.blogger.com/profile/15427603252937311851