All About DSLR Cameras [Thread 4]

[spacemonkey]

do a CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE rather than setting it to AWB or presets. have a small piece of white paper/cardboard in your camera bag at all times for that.

also, most people forget or don't know that their cameras have a CROP FACTOR, which crops your image, and that the lenses they have are not really what they are

ex: for a Canon 7d/60d, which has a 1.6x crop factor (multiply it by 1.6), your 50mm lens is really an 80mm and your 85mm is actually 138mm.

unless you're using full frame camera, like a 5d.

@letmeloveu - a Nikon D3200, has a 1.5x crop factor, so keep that in mind when buying lenses.

 

heres an example of the difference it makes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4aZ-2cOB2s

[whitebishop]

^yep i agree. if you are a hardcore mixer do the custom white balance but for beginners it's best to use the presets para di kayo ma frustrate. but I suggest take baby steps para ma explore nyo muna yung programmed features ng camera nyo and slowly take it to the next level^_^

^^for prime lenses, their strength is really having a big opening like 1.2, 1.4 or 1.8 for
take note sa prime lenses it will be very difficult for you to take group picture or whole body picture kasi sobrang layo mo na sa subject para magawa yun remember yung point and shoot cameras na film pa ang gamit? but the strong advantage is ang ganda ng effect malinis yung kuha sa mukha and blurred ang background. if you don't want to blur the background then liitan mo yung opening mo. for the prime lens mas madali ang naka auto focus ka then select yung meter mode mo select the center weighted since i would assume most ng shoots mo e close-up or one to three subjects lang. if not then choose evaluative metering. since d3200 i haven't tried that camera but what i want to experiment on is kung maganda ang output kapag mataas ang ISO sa prime lens. i think you'll get more details in your shots. pero if it's too bright set your ISO at 400 or 800 pengeng picture ng pretty girls ha? lol

P.S. I don't recommend using a prime lens outdoors on broad daylight it's not that it won't work pero parang walang advantage yung lens na yun for outdoor shooting unless otherwise medyo makulimlim or hindi harsh ang lights. lens hood will help your prime lens when shooting outdoors.

[queencath]

Not all primes are made for portraits.  There are also wide primes, 14mm, 24mm, 28mm and all three can make you conveniently take group shots or whole body pictures. 

Prime lenses will also do well outdoors because they will allow you to blur a busy background to make your subject pop.  If its too bright, you can always increase the shutter speed and lower the ISO to maintain a large aperture opening. 

[whitebishop]

oh i didn't know 14mm prime lenses thanks for the correction.

but i still think prime lenses are not meant for outdoors on broad daylight. outdoors for cloudy or not on middays siguro. but that was just based on experience. it may be another case to you.

[ohcmon]

Would a Nikon D3100 be suitable for a beginner?

[whitebishop]

^yup. go for it

[spacemonkey]

prime lenses are great anywhere. most of my lenses are primes and we use them all the time outdoors. they produce sharper images than zooms. queencath is right about just adjusting your camera settings.

theres also filters you could use - polarizers and ND filters. theyre pretty cheap, and you should have them on your lenses for protection anyway.

[queencath]

oh i didn't know 14mm prime lenses thanks for the correction.

but i still think prime lenses are not meant for outdoors on broad daylight. outdoors for cloudy or not on middays siguro. but that was just based on experience. it may be another case to you.

The only advantage of zoom lenses hold over primes both indoors and outdoors is the versatility of having different focal lengths.  It has nothing to do with broad daylight on a mid day sun whether cloudy or not.  In fact, primes with focal length of 85mm and above on a crop body are easier to use outdoors.  You can't possibly use an 800mm f/5.6(or even just a 400mm)  prime lens indoors, can you? 

Sorry for whining but I just thought your post might mislead other beginners into believing that primes are meant for indoor use only.  Top notch prime lenses have generally better image quality over top notch zooms on the same focal length either indoors or outdoors. 

[whitebishop]

touche

i just prefer using wide angles outdoors. it's not my thing to use prime lenses outdoors. i guess to each his own. thank you correcting the information that's good from someone who does use prime lenses outdoors at least our other sisses would have different opinions
but i just don't use it outdoors on midday. I still don't recommend it. sorry

[rraine88]

hi mga sis! ask ko lang, ok ba yung d5100 for beginners? naa-achieve ba ng kit lens yung blurred background/bokeh? gusto ko po kasi matutunan yung macro photography..TIA

[whitebishop]

to achieve blurred background in the subject is doable... there should be depth. meaning the subject should be far from the background.  use the biggest opening possible in your kit lens. good luck.

for macro photography I have no experience but you need macro lens for that. non macro lenses have what they call a curvature of field or it tends to have sharp image on the center and the detail degrades as you move away from the center. however nikon has reverse ring that you can use (purchase) if you have a prime lens, macro still has better detaild with if you are on  a budget you can start with the reverse ring.

[molybdenumstudios]

^ Pwede ring lens with a macro ratio of 1:3, for as long as may full-time MF siya.

[queencath]

touche

i just prefer using wide angles outdoors. it's not my thing to use prime lenses outdoors. i guess to each his own. thank you correcting the information that's good from someone who does use prime lenses outdoors at least our other sisses would have different opinions
but i just don't use it outdoors on midday. I still don't recommend it. sorry

But then again, there are wide angle primes. 

[queencath]

hi mga sis! ask ko lang, ok ba yung d5100 for beginners? naa-achieve ba ng kit lens yung blurred background/bokeh? gusto ko po kasi matutunan yung macro photography..TIA

Kaya pa din ng kitlens ang blurred background but you will mainly rely on zoom blur.
Unfortunately, the minimum focusing distance of the kitlens won't allow you to do real macro unless you pair it with a reverse macro ring. 

[ibarra]

makakakuha ba ng okey na sunrise/sunset using my kitlens? eto sample shot ko at Leyte Park Resort.

(http://i932.photobucket.com/albums/ad162/efrenjun10/resize_zpse8a80564.jpg)

paano ko pagagandahin yang kuha ko using my kitlens?

Exposure (1/500)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash

[queencath]

The tilting of the horizon doesn't seem intended so try to improve on this next time.  When a body of water meets the sky/horizon, it should realistically have an angle of zero degrees.

The kitlens is very much capable of producing great sunrise and sunset shots.  Usually, the best time to do this is when the sun starts to peek out(sunrise) of the horizon and just before it disappears(sunset).  The weather condition is another important thing to consider.

If I may ask, in the sample photo you posted, what is it you want to improve?

[ibarra]

sis eto pa yung isa.

(http://i932.photobucket.com/albums/ad162/efrenjun10/resizesunset_zps7483c81a.jpg)

[whatswithjuly]

for the 2nd photo, IMO, mas ok sana kung nacapture mo ng buo un coconut tree in the middle. and same as queencath's comment on your first photo, straighten the horizon. this can be achieved through post processing although it's still better na tama na sya the first time so need to correct it through PP.

[aspau]

sayang naman ang battery ng nikon ko once lang nagamit yun battery ng d5000 ko kaya im thinking na ibenta na lang yun battery, kasi nagcanon  na ko ngayon medyo parang ang dali madrain ng nikon? sayang medyo sanay na ko sa nikon..

[baliwsayo]

ang techie na pala dito.. na-nosebleed ako.. hehe. 

share lang ako in women's term na pang-newbie, kung gusto ng blurred background (bokeh ang tawag ng iba), tingnan nyo yung apperture nyo (pwede din lagay nyo sa A yun dial).. makita mo sa screen yung value ng letter f.. so mas mababa ang number ng f (like f2 pababa), mas malabo background.. dapat lang single focus dun sa subject para umeffect.

yun mga di naman gaano mag-serious sa photography, madami naman point and shoot ngayon na may manual settings at interchangeable na rin ang lens tapos magaan pa, I suggest yun na lang kasi ang bigat ng dslr.. tapos kung entry level din lang ang bibilhin niyo di rin naman gaano mabilis ang shutter eh so nakakafrustrate pa din, kaya dun na lang sa magaan di ba?

i used to have a d40x kasi.. nung nag-aral ako ng photography, nabalagoong lang ako sa bagal ng camera ko.. then i bought a d300s kasi nga nafrustrate na ako sa camera ko.. ang bilis nga parang armalite kaso pasakit sa balikat kaya bihira ko din dalhin.. so wala din.

regarding sa white balance.. okey ang custom settings kung photoshoot ka lang sa isang lugar lang.. pero kung moving ka (photowalk kunwari or travel), yun tipong shoot ka ng shoot at dapat mabilis ka para ma-capture mo ang moment, mas maige ng i-auto mo na lang white balance mo.. alangan magtitimpla ka pa, mamaya makalagpas na subject mo nun.