Your best tips for a DSLR beginner?
Posted 13/01/2011 - 02:00
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lisali wrote:
Well with a B-setting the battery is your only boundary ( unless you have an extortionately priced mains supply and an outlet nearby - not usually found in the street though )
Smeggypants wrote:
In low light I love placing the camera on the pavement/road/walls/lamposts/etc/etc to take long exposure shots.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE long exposure shots - my old Lumix could do 15/30/60 seconds! So I have experimented with that quite a bit. I'll have to look into getting a proper tripod with that quick release plate you talk about!DrOrloff wrote:
Use a tripod often.
... to add, if you have a tripod with a quick release plate, leave the plate on the camera and it makes for a good camera protection when placing the camera on all manner of rough but stable surfaces, for long exposures.Use a tripod often.
In low light I love placing the camera on the pavement/road/walls/lamposts/etc/etc to take long exposure shots.
[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
Posted 13/01/2011 - 16:55
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One tip from Don to me was;
Walk out of your front door. Walk 25 meters. Then take 25 shots of what ever you find there, from different angles, and work out which ones work and which don't, and why.
(I never did it though, but the point is a good one! )
Walk out of your front door. Walk 25 meters. Then take 25 shots of what ever you find there, from different angles, and work out which ones work and which don't, and why.
(I never did it though, but the point is a good one! )
Getting there! Thanks to you guys
Pentax K3ii, Pentax K10d, Kit lens ( 18-55mm ), 50mm f1.7 lens, Tamron 70-300mm lens, Prinzflex 70-162 manual lens, Various old flashes.
Pentax K3ii, Pentax K10d, Kit lens ( 18-55mm ), 50mm f1.7 lens, Tamron 70-300mm lens, Prinzflex 70-162 manual lens, Various old flashes.
Posted 14/01/2011 - 20:19
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My biggest tip for anyone starting with a kit lens is to buy instead a fast 50 and use that exclusively for the first six months. The smc A 50/1.7 is a perfect choice since it has handy automatic aperture coupling but forces you to do the focusing. And it is dead cheap.
Zooms are annoyances. A prime lens takes you back to photographic basics and gives you better image quality in the bargain. This is mostly important since then you might realise that all the mistakes are your mistakes. Blaming the gear is a crutch too many use for too long.
A fast f/1.7 provides photographic options that a slow zoom will never offer and makes it tons easier to appreciate the difference aperture makes to rendering a scene.
Zooms are annoyances. A prime lens takes you back to photographic basics and gives you better image quality in the bargain. This is mostly important since then you might realise that all the mistakes are your mistakes. Blaming the gear is a crutch too many use for too long.
A fast f/1.7 provides photographic options that a slow zoom will never offer and makes it tons easier to appreciate the difference aperture makes to rendering a scene.
Posted 14/01/2011 - 20:22
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rparmar wrote:
My biggest tip for anyone starting with a kit lens is to buy instead a fast 50 and use that exclusively for the first six months. The smc A 50/1.7 is a perfect choice since it has handy automatic aperture coupling but forces you to do the focusing. And it is dead cheap.
Zooms are annoyances. A prime lens takes you back to photographic basics and gives you better image quality in the bargain. This is mostly important since then you might realise that all the mistakes are your mistakes. Blaming the gear is a crutch too many use for too long.
A fast f/1.7 provides photographic options that a slow zoom will never offer and makes it tons easier to appreciate the difference aperture makes to rendering a scene.
Could'nt agree more. Get a fast fifty and use it. This will be the best way to learn about Depth of field. Plus the images will have so much more quality and impact than the lens provided with the camera at the same focal length.
My biggest tip for anyone starting with a kit lens is to buy instead a fast 50 and use that exclusively for the first six months. The smc A 50/1.7 is a perfect choice since it has handy automatic aperture coupling but forces you to do the focusing. And it is dead cheap.
Zooms are annoyances. A prime lens takes you back to photographic basics and gives you better image quality in the bargain. This is mostly important since then you might realise that all the mistakes are your mistakes. Blaming the gear is a crutch too many use for too long.
A fast f/1.7 provides photographic options that a slow zoom will never offer and makes it tons easier to appreciate the difference aperture makes to rendering a scene.
Some Cameras
Posted 14/01/2011 - 23:40
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Another vote for fast fifty here. Although I prefer my fast thirty as it's a more normal angle of view on an APS-C. My sigma 30/1.4 is one of my favourite lenses
[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
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22 posts
15 years
Use a tripod often.
In low light I love placing the camera on the pavement/road/walls/lamposts/etc/etc to take long exposure shots.