The Official S-T.N Photography (methods) Thread

[Thunder7]

Not at all. The only times I use a CP is on bright sunny days where I need a more enhanced contrast or reduced reflection. I never saw the sense of using it in a shaded area.

[torags v2]

"Am I off base here?"

Absolutely not and I agree with you 100%. I take the CP on & off when light changes. But I don't think a UV filter does any good in low light either. You need as much light as you can get.

I'm going to slot canyons in mid march '09. They're deep and shaded. Colors are lost because of shade. I'm going to experiment with flash with CP. I figure the flash will produce reflective glare (killing color) & the CP may moderate that. I'll post an example when I get back.

Rags

BTW

Nice moto trail shot in flat light. And I know what it's like to shoot surfers in morning fog with AF going crazy because of low contrast.

[kurtw]

Absolutely not and I agree with you 100%. I take the CP on & off when light changes. But I don't think a UV filter does any good in low light either. You need as much light as you can get.

I'm going to slot canyons in mid march '09. They're deep and shaded. Colors are lost because of shade. I'm going to experiment with flash with CP. I figure the flash will produce reflective glare (killing color) & the CP may moderate that. I'll post an example when I get back.

Rags

  Note: I never said it did anything good for the images. But in the two examples above I was shooting for hours in an environment (dust and salt spray) in which I knew I would need to clean my lens/filter a couple times a day.

The UV isn't for IQ or even for impact protection. It's because I don't like cleaning my L glass with anything more than a blower if I can avoid it.

Looking forward to seeing your photos, Rags.

[doodah man]

Not saying you're wrong for using them that way by any means- Its just something I've never needed to do speaking from personal experience, of course being ultimately subjective.

And there is nothing wrong with not using them - I've often wondered if I should pull mine off.  Then I think of the $1700 I paid for my 7-200 f/2.8 and the UV filter stays on!

On the topic of filters, I finally sprung for a set of ND soft grads and a holder today as a Christmas present for myself.  It was a toss-up between Lee and Singh Ray, and a Lee holder versus a Cokin Z-Pro.  In the end I went with Lee, primarily because there was no Cokin 77 mm Z-Pro adapter in stock and Lee sells a three-pack of filters at a discount.

http://www.leefilters.com/camera/products/show/ref:C476103939BDD6/
http://www.leefilters.com/camera/products/packs/ref:P47A9C932631F0/

[vitaminC]

I took advantage of my polarizer over the break. While visiting family, we took a trip to the Alabama Hills, which are of course located near the Sierra's  



Mt Whitney as seen through Mobius Arch


Borrowed a 70-300 for this one



There are still some dust blemishes present, but things are looking much better after cleaning the lenses, filters, and sensor. Why didn't I do that sooner?  

[torags v2]

Nice shots. Your colors pop and no vignetting... well done

Rags

[Tyrroneous]

Wow...just made it through all 44 pages of this thread...took me about 3 days! Talk about brain overload.  


Anyway, I'm brand new to the world of photography from a hobbyist standpoint.  Over the recent holidays, our 6yr. old little Kodak P&S started acting crazy while the family was returning from a trip to the Smoky Mtns.  So we stopped at a Best Buy and did something we never do...make a big spontaneous purchase.  We walked out with a Sony Alpha 300 and an extra 75-300mm lens, a spare battery and fast memory card.  Getting an entry level DSLR was something we had planned on doing this year, just not quite so soon.  But, we're having a blast with it and I'm excited to learn lots of new stuff.

We took the kids hiking on the 1st and that was really the first chance I've had to play with the camera...here are some of the results (other than cropping, none of these have been touched up).

Some Fun with Fungi...







My kids...




The Sipsey River..


Water fall...


I tried to play around with some of the settings, Aperature Priority, Shutter Priority, etc..just to see how things were affected.  But I shot a lot in full Auto as well.

So as a full on Noob, my first questions are:...What maintenance does a camera need?  Are there lens cleaning kits or techniques I should know about?  What are the necessary tools for shooting outdoors...filters, etc?  The camera has a sensor cleaning mode.  How often does that need to be done?  I've only changed lenses a couple of times and that was indoors.  

I'm really looking forward to taking this camera to the SBK races this year.  The zoom lens will be nice to have compared to the old POS P&S!

[torags v2]

Congratulations... careful it's a slippery slope...

I'd like to make a few constructive comments on your shots, this might help you critically look at them for PP.

#1. It appears the focus is on the rock & the fungi is out of focus. This could be you or the camera. some cameras have front or back focus (manufacturers defect send back for adjustment) #2. I can't figure out, half the fungi is in focus and its not from depth of field (could it be spot focus?). #3 is the best of the fungi shots.

#4&5. The kids are gorgeous. I love the shots

Waterfalls & moving water. There are two schools of thought. Silky water (slower exposures- preferred by landscape photogs) and for lack of a better term, action water (where you stop the suds - like surfer shots) #6 is in the middle. My guess is it's an auto shot and the camera doesn't know there's flowing water. Here's where you choose shutter priority to either stop or silken the water.

If I were you. I would send the cam back to manufacturer for adjustment and send pic #2 with it. The adjustment should be free and you get the benefit of a custom adjustment (non production). But wait until you don't think you'll be shooting for a couple of weeks.

When you go to the races, use shutter priority (ShutterSpeed 350 +/ for wheel blurr and panning)

good luck & take lots of pix.

Rags

[kurtw]

If I were you. I would send the cam back to manufacturer for adjustment and send pic #2 with it. The adjustment should be free and you get the benefit of a custom adjustment (non production). But wait until you don't think you'll be shooting for a couple of weeks.

Also wait until you familiarized yourself more fully with the camera and have experimented with focus in some controlled tests. I seriously doubt that the focus being off in one or two shots, but spot on in others (the kids) is largely the camera's fault. More likely you just need to get familiar with how it focuses and how to control your focus points and depth-of-field.

For controlled tests, you can use this: http://focustestchart.com/chart.html
It's Nikon specific but it's used the same for any (D)SLR.

I could be wrong, but I think you'll find the focus is in an acceptable range. Calibration might improve the accuracy, for sure, but I doubt that's the problem here.

There is a learning curve with these camera, but it's very rewarding.

[kurtw]

VitC, those are some beautiful photos from a beautiful spot.

[Tyrroneous]

Thanks for the input y'all.  At this point, I would tend to think the focus issues are operator induced.    

[doodah man]

So as a full on Noob, my first questions are:...What maintenance does a camera need?  Are there lens cleaning kits or techniques I should know about?  What are the necessary tools for shooting outdoors...filters, etc?  The camera has a sensor cleaning mode.  How often does that need to be done?  I've only changed lenses a couple of times and that was indoors.  

Cleaning: all SLRs need cleaning, even if you never change the lens.  Your camera sheds dust and non-sealed zooms (which is most of them and all of the cheaper ones) pump air in and out of the camera body.

To clean your SLR, start from the outside in.  Remove the lens and clean both front and back elements.  The odd dust speck on or even in the front element of the lens is usually not a problem as it won't show up in your photo.  You can buy a squeeze bulb to blow dust off, or do what I do: blow it off with my breath, humidity and all.  To wipe off smudges, use a microfiber cloth and any type of eyeglass or lens cleaner.  If you have bought eyeglasses or good sunglasses recently you already have all you need.  Spray the cleaner on the cloth, not the lens.

Next clean the mounting ring and contacts on the back of the lens, then the mounting ring and the lip below it ("the chamber") on the camera.  For this I use a product called Chamber Clean by Visible Dust.  This consists of static-free non-lint-shedding swabs and cleaning fluid.

http://www.visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=302
http://www.visibledust.com/products3.php?pid=407

Finally, clean the sensor.  Don't rely on the sensor cleaning mode.  It won't work very well in humid weather and even in dry weather you will eventually need to clean your sensor.  In fact, at the times I have noticed dust on my sensor and activated the sensor cleaning mode, it has failed to remove it (Canon Digital Rebel XTi).  How to determine if your sensor needs cleaning?  Set your aperture to f/22 (or as small as it will go if it won't go down to f/22) in aperture priority, focus at infinity and shoot a piece of white paper from about a foot away.  Zoom in on the picture in your camera's playback mode and any dust will be easily visible.

Visible Dust also makes sensor cleaning products but I don't use them because the Arctic Butterfly brush is slightly larger than the sensor and can pick up lube from the shutter and spread it around - not good.  I use fluid and swabs from Photographic Solutions.  The Sony Alpha takes an "E2" swab.

http://www.photosol.com/swabproduct.htm
http://www.photosol.com/eclipseproduct.htm

Set your camera to "manual" or M mode and the shutter speed to "Bulb" (twist past the 30 s speed).  Press and hold the shutter and the mirror will lift to allow access to the sensor.  Clean per the sensor cleaner manufacturer's instructions.  Repeat the f/22 shot as more often than not, you remove some old dust but introduce some new dust, or merely move the old dust around.  My average is three tries to get it virtually pristine but I'm getting better.

Filters/outdoors: the most versatile lens for outdoor photography is the polarizer.  You will need the circular type.  Google it to find out what a polarizer does.  Second most versatile is graduated neutral density filters.  Google that to find what they will do for you.  Third most versatile, especially to allow slow shutter speeds to blur waterfalls in daylight, is plain old (non-graduated) neutral density filters.  Goo...ah, you already know it.  I'm betting a circular polarizer is all you will need for the first year unless you decide to get into landscapes in a big way.

Congratulations and good luck.

[Tyrroneous]

'Zactly what I was lookin' for.  

[FZ1 Matt]

Check out this guy's methods! I've really been studying each picture.
Here's some  reports from Kimangao on ADV. Just amazing. The pics just get better and better.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208921

Here's a guy following him around taking pictures of him taking pictures. haha.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=319704

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=281692

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302219

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299471

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278577

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257469

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61267

It's the rider, not the bike, but when a great rider has a great bike -- look out!

[Scoop]

Those are some great reports.  I live in the wrong place and have the wrong job...obviously.

[doodah man]

Some shots from last night including zooming the lens during the exposure.  All shots were 30 s, f/16, ISO 100, which seems to work pretty well for city light skylines.

[torags v2]

Great effect doodah

I gotta try that.

Rags

[CBRXXBLACKBIRD]

Nice shots Doodah

[doodah man]

Great effect doodah

I gotta try that.

Rags

Some hints for zooming the lens:

1. Autofocus at full telephoto, then switch your lens to manual focus to hold that focus (but then be careful not to turn the manual focus ring!).  This will keep the subject in focus as you go zoom in and out.  If you focus at full wide angle first, you may lose focus as you zoom in.  In this case it wasn't too critical because the subject was far away and at f/16 most everything stays in focus anyway.  Also, the most pleasing effect (for me) seems to occur when I leave the lens at full wide angle for the majority of the exposure, and starting with the lens at full telephoto and then zooming out easily accomplishes this.

2. You can zoom slowly, quickly, stop in the middle, etc. to vary the effect.  The more times you zoom back and forth, the more blur.  My first photo was zoomed in and out three times during the 30 s exposure but the second one was only zoomed once.

Obviously the camera must be tripod mounted and you have to be careful not to move the camera while turning the zoom ring.

[torags v2]

I tried the rear curtain flash w long exposure on low light moving headlights. It was a mess, partly because it was on dirt (talk about zigzags). I'm going to try it again on a track with more vertical control of the subject. I think on a moving subject you need AF matrix

Thanks for the primer.

Rags