Katie_H

I finally buckled down and purchased a digital SLR about two weeks ago---the Canon Rebel XTi. So far, so good. Just curious if anyone else has recently bought a new camera or if they have any tips for me? I'm doing my best to return to the basics I learned in my high school Photography class and not use all of the camera's automatic functions.

What camera are you shooting with?

clarasong

Katie: I am a camera "illiterate" so I use a Koday Easy Share, which is so basic to use, but has lots of pixels and takes good pictures as any I have owned. Used to have a fancy Pentax, but by the time you got it focused, the light setting just right, etc., the subject was gone. A good point and shoot for me. I had a Pentax point and shoot that was small but it just 'quit' on me in the middle of a home visit in Mexico. I was mad. Look in Consumers magazine for data on reliability, price, etc.

FainaAgain

I will be the last person on Earch to get a digital camera When taking the film to develop, I aske them to make a set of paper prints, and a CD in addition to it. Use CD for e-mailing, WorldIsRound.

suze

I swear by disposable cameras.
Have for years. I take both the regular & the panoramic type. Then have the film put to disk/digital post-trip. Personally I LIKE automatic functions, camera's usually smarter than I am. Sometimes I then work with the photos afterwards. I have enlarged travel photos framed in my living room and get many compliments on them. People are shocked when I answer "what did you shoot with?"

Katie_H

Suze---you must have a steady hand---sometimes that makes the most difference I find.

suze

Yup, I do. I have done a lot of photography in the past (with 'real' cameras).

I also 'frame' my shots when I'm making them so I don't depend on cropping later on. That's important when working with disposables.

I like the luxury of not having to worry about valuable equipment. If the camera falls off the bridge into the river or over the edge of the baot... well you never lose more than 24 shots max. and minimal monetary value.

LowCountryIslander

Katie...

I just "traded up" in the camera world myself last month.

I had (and still have) a Pentax Optio digital, which is one of those compact ones (it truly fits in an altoids mint tin!). As much as I love that camera I'm starting to explore more with photography and wanted something with more megapixels and greater zoom.

I was a bit intimidated by the dSLR's out there but wanted something that would get me through the next (let's say) 5-8 years.

I bought a Panasonic Lumix with the 18x zoom. I've been using it while out and about here at home and on a weekend trip to see friends in Atlanta and I am liking the results. The pictures are great.

There are lots of modes on this camera both auto and manual, so although not a dSLR, I think I have room to grow into this camera.

ciaony

I’ve been shooting with a Nikon D80 (digital SLR) for about a year now. Before that I was using the film version, the N70, for the last 6 years or so.
I grew up shooting with a 1969 Nikon F and a handheld light meter so for me to make the switch from film to digital was a very personal and agonizing decision. Now that it’s done, however, I’m very happy.
It was after I went to a wedding in Rome (American friends, destination wedding) that I realized what I was missing: the day after we all got home everyone was showing their pictures via online picture hosting sites while my film was being processed and printed.
Yes, I got everything on disc as well, but I paid much more than everyone else and I missed the boat on the fun time everyone had that day sharing their images.

As for the SLR? Point-and-shoot cameras work just fine and they’re easy to carry. I believe everyone should have one to keep in their pocket. You get no picture if you carry no camera. The thing is, PAS cameras are limited in their ability to capture some images and while the pictures you will get with them may be fine or even great, it’s the images you don’t have the flexibility to capture that let you appreciate the mechanics of an SLR.

My advice to you is to keep shooting practice pictures with your SLR and play with all the settings. Deleting digital files doesn’t cost you anything and you’ll get better as you go.
Aside from that, know that your lenses are what make the image. When I finally broke down and spent $1,000 on a serious Nikon lens, I saw the difference immediately from the images I was getting from my $200-$300 lenses.
Comparing them made me feel foolish for having shot with cheap equipment for so long.

Shooting with an SLR is a part of the craft that makes a person a photographer. Refining the aesthetic of your images is what makes you an artist.

You’re doing the right thing, Katie.

toedtoes

Katie - Congratulations! You won't be disappointed. I have the Canon Rebel XT and I love it!

What I was told by some photog friends when I got it was to NEVER shoot in the "green box" - BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD. At the very least, use the P mode - that will allow you to override some functions.

Normally, I shoot in the Av mode with an occasional switch into Tv or M. I can honestly say I have never shot in any of the "creative modes" and I've only shot in the P mode once for a special event for work. "F8 and be there" still stands true.

You should be able to handhold at shutter speeds up to twice the focal length. So, if you're shooting at 200mm, you will be OK shooting at 1/400th or faster. You may be able to shoot down to 1/200th if you're really steady. For me, I've I can handhold at 250mm at 1/250th or faster, but once I move in closer, I need the double measurement (i.e., 275mm at 1/600th, etc.)

I recommend getting additional memory cards and/or a portable storage device (PSD) if you plan on really taking photos. I've found that when I go through the photos on the camera screen, I am tempted to toss some that end up being my favorites. My rule is "Don't erase any photo unless it's of me, of the inside of the lens cap, or of a work event". I'd rather delete when I get home and see the images big. One instance, I took a photo of a snake's head. It didn't really pop and I thought about deleting it. When I got home, I looked at it on the computer screen and realized that you could see my reflection in his eye. It won 3rd place at the local fair.

What lenses do you have? They make a difference. They also cause lens envy and empty wallet syndrome.

The kit lens (18-55mm) is decent for the cost. It gets a lot of flack, but that's because people don't accept it for what it is and try to compare it to a $1000 L lens. I like to use this lens with some close up filters - I've gotten wonderful macros of butterflies with the pairing.

I got the Tamron 28-75mm a couple years ago as a gift and I really love it. I was using the Canon 24-70mm L lens at work and found I prefer the Tamron - it's lighter and the colors are warmer than the Canon.

My other current lens is the Canon 75-300mm USM (non IS). It's not the greatest lens, but for the money it does the trick. I've been able to get some nice shots with it.

My next lens is going to be the Tamron 200-500mm. Hopefully I'll have it by the end of May. I can't wait!!!

Also, get a decent photo editing program. Photoshop, Photoshop Elements (cheaper version), Gimp, etc. Skip the "artsy" filters, but learn how to use levels and curves and such. Those tools will allow you to "develop" your film to your own preferences, not the camera company's. And if you start shooting RAW, you'll have extra range to correct wash out and to enlarge bigger than otherwise. If you shoot in the black & white mode in RAW, you have to ability to convert the image back to color.

Katie_H

Wow toedtoes...thanks!

I actually did shoot on my trip almost entirely with the lens that came with the kit---I don't think it was that bad. But obviously... I'll want to upgrade. I do have something similar to your Canon 75-300mm, leftover from my time shooting with the film Canon Rebel. I haven't actually tried it out yet.

I'll definitely stick to the "letters" on the camera--- I mostly stuck to AV last week too with some use of the P. I like shooting in Manual mode but as I'm just returning to it I don't make decisions as quickly as I used to so I think it will be some time before I start using it regularly.

I stayed with friends in San Diego recently---they had a porch with a nice view of the flight path of incoming planes to the SD airport. I put the ISO at 1600 and took what I thought were pretty neat photos. The planes look like UFOs!

I do have Photoshop Elements on my home laptop and the real deal here at work. (I actually prep a lot of the photos we use on the site so I know my levels--I love these programs-mostly just for the added contrast, not the crazy stuff.)

I definitely need to be disciplined about extra cards and actual storage space. Do you back up your photos on an external drive? I have one but am not always great at remembering to back things up.

Well.. you've gotten me excited to spend the weekend with my camera. There's this beautiful cherry blossom tree that just bloomed outside my apartment. It must be captured! Thanks for the input.

GreenDragon

I got a Panasonic Lumix (Leica Lens) FZ50 last year, and love it. It's an SLR-like Digital camera, 10Mg, 12X optical zoom. It has a fixed lens, which is great for me as I hate messing with lenses. It does have filters and add-ons I can use (I use the polarizer most). It has image stabilization and the ability to shoot RAW, two things I was especially looking for.

RAW pics take up more space (the full 10Mg, as opposed to 3-4Mg for Jpgs), but as toedtoes said, it allows for great flexibility in the post-processing I do in Photoshop. I take about 100 photos to get 3 good ones - seriously. I sell my photos at art shows during the year, and took 3000 photos in my two weeks in Ireland. I considered 100 of them good enough to print, and have only printed 30 of those.

Take shots at many different angles and perspectives. Keep in mind what your background is doing (to avoid taking photos where a stick is sticking up behind someone's head, for instance). Try different lighting and times of day. Get up close or back away. Frame things in an interesting way, like the countryside through the arrow-hole of a castle And have fun!!!

suze

GreenDragon, Good to hear about new cameras. Katie_H, I'll be interested to hear how you get on with your new one.

Myself I've been eyeing a new Pentax, that is digital but looks kind of like my old Pentax from the 70's. I've been holding off buying a digital (though I borrow them at the office) because they're so teeny and I'm still having trouble adjusting to shooting by looking at the little screen to set the photo, instead of thru a viewfinder.

Happy shooting all

fmpden

The key to quality pictures either digital or film is the glass. High quality lens on a cheap body will produce a superior picture to a cheap lens on an expensive body. I would go with one good lens (I use only Zeiss lens) over a collection of medium priced zoom lens. Focus on your picture and not your equipment. The posting about using a throw away camera is more significant than 18x zoom cameras.

Katie_H

Shooting with my new rebel I only use the viewfinder. Perhaps the screen is set off by default I don't know---anyway, I haven't see it come "on" in that way. Perhaps I should get around to reading the instruction manual...

GreenDragon

Reading the instruction manual is a good thing - there are all sorts of options you can miss out on if you don't

Clifton

Katie... there may be models where this is not applicable, but for the most part with an SLR, your view finder is probably your only option. Not sure if there are SLRs on the market that emulate the point and shoot style of looking at the display at the back while you shoot. Any SLR emulates the mirror-flipup to expose the sensor, same as the old one's exposed the film. But there may be some that worked around that somehow. Don't think it's the Rebel though.

I shoot with a Nikon D200. Usually take a long lens, a wide angle and a prime 50mm which is my fav for portraits. I think what seems to wow a lot of people is getting the handle on a nice shallow depth of focus (the blurry background to make a subject pop). Managing DOF is the key thing I like about an SLR over a P&S. And the basics, like the timing to have good low angle warm light of course for dramatic shadows in outdoors shots. Stuff like that.

ps - I like switching to manual sometimes too, but do appreciate the automatic features for capturing "moments", like when street shooting.

Andrew

I have a Canon 5D (and the original Digital Rebel - 6.3MP). Neither of them has "live" view like many P&S digitals have. I think the new 40D has it but I didn't think even the newest Rebel had this feature. I think you are going to be using the viewfinder like the rest of us. Honestly I like it better that way.

My old Rebel is a great camera. I found that even the cheap kit lens (18-55mm) that came with it is very adequate for many basic situations. Not sure what kit lens you got if any (maybe a lens with Image Stabilization?) but I imagine you'll do fine with it.

I shoot landscapes and scenics and often want a wide-angle lens. For my Rebel I had the 10-22mm EF-S wide angle lens - it's really nice and not much distortion (you can do some correction for it anyway). Keep that lens in mind if you find yourself not able to shoot wide enough. (I can't use that lens on my 5D though, because it doesn't have the EF-S mount that the Rebels can use.)

toedtoes

Suze - which Pentax are you looking at? A point & shoot or a dSLR? If you're looking at the dSLRs, you won't have to worry about not using the viewfinder (that's all you can use to take the picture). Very few dSLR have live preview (which is where you look at the screen instead of the viewfinder).

Katie - I've heard the 1600 is better with the XTi than with the XT. On mine, I'm better off using ISO 800 as my highest. I only go to 1600 if I have to take the picture and there's no other way. If you do find that noise gets in the way at that ISO, grab a problem like NeatImage (it's free). It really helps with reduction. I usually do any adjustments with levels, etc., then run NeatImage on the photo, then go back into PS and do an unsharpen mask (which is much better than sharpen).

When you look at digital lenses, remember that the XTi has a 1.6 field of view crop. That means that your 75-300mm lens on the digital will actually give you the same field of view as a 120-480mm lens on your old film camera. You get more zoom for your buck, but you lose out on the wide angle end. The 10-22mm lens that Andrew mentioned is a really good lens if you do lots of landscapes. (P.S. The 200-500mm lens I'm eyeing will give me a 320-800mm field of view. )

I used my 75-300mm lens to get my hummingbird shots(www.toedtoesproductions.com click on Photography, then Galleries, then Animals). It definitely wasn't an expensive lens, but it's made me very happy at times. Usually when I'm disappointed, it's because I'm trying to reach too far. I've found I'm not going to get good detail unless the subject fills up about 1/2 to 3/4 of the image. Then I can enlarge it and retain good detail. Less than that, and the lens isn't pulling in enough detail to handle the enlarging.

As for backing up, I've been trying to get the RAW images all on CDs, and then I put the DNG copy (I have an older version of PS, so I have to convert the Canon RAW format to PS's DNG format) on CDs and on an external harddrive. Then when I process the DNG format, I save the result as TIF and save that to CD and external harddrive. Then if I'm posting online, I save a small copy of the TIF as a JPG and save that on my harddrive.

Unfortunately, I tend to fall behind and do major catchup sessions (which I need to do again).

Definitely get the extra cards. For travel, I got myself a PSD. I ended up with the Hyperdrive. It's very fast and runs on AA batteries. I bought it with a 60gb drive and upgraded to a 120gb drive last year. I will take the 60gb drive when I travel so I can switch drives if I fill up the 120gb. Between the drives and my cards, I've got 187gb of storage when traveling. I spent about $380 for the PSD and the 2 drives.

By the way Amazon has 2gb Sandisk Ultra II CF memory cards for $18.50. Good price to stock up with.

Katie_H

toed toes... thought of you this weekend.. finally went to get some of my photos uploaded on to my computer. You're right when you say "don't delete"; a few photos were definitely more interesting when I viewed them in their entirety. If I get around to posting them on a site I'll be sure to let you know.

toedtoes

Katie - size does matter...

I'd love to see your shots. There are several threads in the lounge that are about online photo sites - take a look at them before signing up for any. Make sure you don't sign up for any site that claims perpetual and irrevokable rights to your photos. You have to read the fine print in the TOS.