New Camera, expected more

[captivating]

Andrew, you are so right! I started reading tuturials lastnight and already realized the best thing was to keep shooting Auto. That's how I did with my Kodak C195. Really the only reason I wanted to get a better camera was to have more zoom as well as maybe, something that had better image stabilization. Now I realize what I really needed was a course in even the basics

I see you live in Victoria My mother and grandmother were both born there. I still have many relatives I've never met there. I did get to visit once, the city. It is lovely. I will have to go see if you have photos posted. I have some old black and whites from there. I will see if I can post them on my profile and let you know. Some might be of interest. Do you know of William Rivers Park? If they haven't changed the name. That was my great-grand daddy I guess the property was left to the City when he died. Really not sure how it came about, Denise
PS Thank you so much for your reply

Christine, learning about all the features and options of digital anything is rather difficult on your own. Cameras have many features included in the software that none of us may ever use. Start slow and learn what you need to get you started even if it's in full auto. Branch out from there one feature at a time like fstop or shutter speed until you understand how to make the changes and what they do. A good source of information for things like that is YouTube. Search out your camera and hopefully someone has posted some how-to's on the basics. There are many here to help you by pointing you in the right direction but it's still going to mean a lot of work for you. Also look for some continuing education training courses after hours or someone on one coaching from a photographer in the area.

[captivating]

Thank you Mark, yes, I need to understand exactly what you listed, and sooooooooo much more, LOL! I started lastnight with the shutter speed, aperture and exposure (I see the aperture is actually the f-stop now that I look back at my notes

All so interesting and fun to learn! I am really excited about knowing more. For now as I mentioned though, staying in auto mode is best for me. Then, when I get the hang of the settings, maybe I can try some cool things Lots to look forward to and appreciate all of you so much, Denise

Hi Denise,

welcome to CIC and photography, i would start with learning the exposure triangle, so that you understand the effects of aperture (f---- ) shutter speed (#60) and ISO (800) and how they relate to each other and how each one will effect your image. there are tutorials on here and lots of other places as well, have a read and we will wait for your questions.

once you learn these you will probably know what was the cause of your image problem without our help!!

[xpatUSA]

I want to go with Auto settings for now after reading all the posts as well as the tutorials I managed to look at lastnight. I will try a shot or two today . . .

By all means, try full Auto but after a while you will want more control.

I would recommend your next step as being Aperture Priority Mode and you should be able to set the ISO in that mode. Some say they always use ISO 100 unless they have to use more in low-light conditions or to get a faster shutter speed to freeze motion. I fall in that camp, but some will disagree.

You'll need to read up on uses of various apertures but, if it's sharpness you're after, your lens is probably best between f/4 and f/11 with f/5.6 or f/8 giving the best sharpness.

[captivating]

Right now, I hope I have set the camera for my best auto mode. From what I have read the SR Auto might be best for me. It says "selects optimum settings for certain modes". Hmm, now that I read that back, I think the one that just has a little, red camera Icon might be best Auto mode. It says "set according to shooting conditions". I will go look at the manual. Oh geesh, I don't know which to pick but I think plain "Auto" probably. It says "for crisp, clear snapshots. This mode is recommended in most situations". I do like the sound of that SR Mode. Hey, I'm going to go take a couple shots out here and see what I get with those 3 different modes, bbs, Denise!!

[xpatUSA]

So you can look at the specs on a pic just like you can for a webpage?? I understand!! So I can see what the settings were and correct them?

Forgot to mention that you can see the most relevant EXIF metadata by right-clicking on a jpeg image icon (Windows XP, your computer may vary). Up comes a dialog - at the bottom, select "PROPERTIES", then select the "Summary" tab, then click on the "Advanced" button et voila! there they are . . .

[captivating]

Hi All, I just took 3 shots and you will see how each setting worked, although, you can see my shaking hands didn't do well on 2. I am not sure if it was the settings that made the first photo more clear or I just wasn't shaking at that moment. I will try three similar in each mode (Auto, SR Auto and SP) using my tripod next, after some breakfast. The clear photo is full Auto, the second is SR and the third was in SP. Thanks again, all of you! Looking forward to seeing some of your photos and also, learning more!! Denise




Most blurry is the SP mode

[captivating]

Thanks Ted!! I got it! Yeehaw

Forgot to mention that you can see the most relevant EXIF metadata by right-clicking on a jpeg image icon (Windows XP, your computer may vary). Up comes a dialog - at the bottom, select "PROPERTIES", then select the "Summary" tab, then click on the "Advanced" button et voila! there they are . . .

[captivating]

Oh cool Ted, check this out! Now I know exactly what settings are supplied through Auto Mode! Thank you, having so much fun here Denise

[captivating]

Actually, I read that as well, to set it for 100 because of my tremor. If you see this Ted, would you recommend I only change the Aperture setting and leave the rest of the settings as is? I suppose the Exposure will change if I change Aperture but the other settings won't I don't think. I am just a bit nervous to change anything until I have a much better understanding of what I am doing.

You are such a help and I hope to learn more from you. I am reading the tutorial on auto focus now. I notice when I zoom in, everything is blurry until I press the shutter button halfway. I do understand that is how to focus but it would be nice if it just auto focused when I zoom in. Maybe it does, have to read more denise

By all means, try full Auto but after a while you will want more control.

I would recommend your next step as being Aperture Priority Mode and you should be able to set the ISO in that mode. Some say they always use ISO 100 unless they have to use more in low-light conditions or to get a faster shutter speed to freeze motion. I fall in that camp, but some will disagree.

You'll need to read up on uses of various apertures but, if it's sharpness you're after, your lens is probably best between f/4 and f/11 with f/5.6 or f/8 giving the best sharpness.

[Colin Southern]

Hi Denise,

Most cameras won't focus until you press the shutter release 1/2 way down (if it didn't work that way the poor camera would be constantly trying to focus and would probably flatten the batter far quicker).

If you have a noticeable hand tremor then using a tripod is probably your best choice -- but if that's not possible then you're going to need to keep your shutterspeeds quite high -- and that could be a bit tricky depending on other settings (like aperture and ISO).

[captivating]

Thank you much Colin! Yes, I do have a tripod to use and sometimes, my hands shake less then other times but mostly, I will use the tripod I love your avatar and would love to see a closeup. I'll take a look at your link and see if there is one there, plus maybe see more of your photos! Thank you again, Denise

Hi Denise,

Most cameras won't focus until you press the shutter release 1/2 way down (if it didn't work that way the poor camera would be constantly trying to focus and would probably flatten the batter far quicker).

If you have a noticeable hand tremor then using a tripod is probably your best choice -- but if that's not possible then you're going to need to keep your shutterspeeds quite high -- and that could be a bit tricky depending on other settings (like aperture and ISO).

[xpatUSA]

Actually, I read that as well, to set it for 100 because of my tremor. If you see this Ted, would you recommend I only change the Aperture setting and leave the rest of the settings as is? I suppose the Exposure will change if I change Aperture but the other settings won't I don't think. I am just a bit nervous to change anything until I have a much better understanding of what I am doing.

i'm not familiar with your camera, someone else needs to step in with actual settings. In principle, when you select Aperture Priority (Marked as Av on some cameras' selector wheel) you get to set the aperture and the camera does the rest. I would be inclined to go into the menus on the LCD and find where it says "ISO" and if one option is "Auto" set the ISO to something you prefer. Now you have controlled both aperture and ISO leaving only the camera to control the exposure via shutter speed. Your exposure compensation +/- is still up to you and if you e.g. set it to +1/3 the camera will use a longer shutter time to suit.

I notice when I zoom in, everything is blurry until I press the shutter button halfway. I do understand that is how to focus but it would be nice if it just auto focused when I zoom in.

Yes, you have to push the button 1/2-way but, more importantly, we must hold it there and wait until the lens has auto-focused. Then hold breath and squeeze, rather than poke, the button the rest of way. Bit like shooting guns, really. Same advice, same reason. They don't call them sharpshooters for nothing . . .

[Colin Southern]

Thank you much Colin! Yes, I do have a tripod to use and sometimes, my hands shake less then other times but mostly, I will use the tripod I love your avatar and would love to see a closeup. I'll take a look at your link and see if there is one there, plus maybe see more of your photos! Thank you again, Denise

Hi Denise,

Here you go (it's called "Barcode")



My website is at www.pbase.com/cjsouthern

[captivating]

LOL, excellent Ted, yes, I need to learn to be a sharpshooter I will look at this shortly, the Aperture setting. I have to run up to the school right now. Lots of excitement in my life since I am being offered a job in PA. They are suffering some of that storm right now but I am still looking at the possibility of moving there, NE. Storms don't scare me. I am one of those sickos that thrive on extreme weather. I'll probably get blown away one day but what a way to go! Denise PS Camera in had when I go buy the way

[captivating]

Oh my gosh, it's lovely and what a perfect name!! I found you on facebook too Colin, wow, I am just so blown away by your work! I just love all this photo stuff!! I'm nuts about it

Hi Denise,

Here you go (it's called "Barcode")



My website is at www.pbase.com/cjsouthern

[jcuknz]

OK Denise ... so it was a calm day with no wind but nobody has told you why and how you use the delay timer, 10 seconds? , on your camera. Firstly there is a huge magnification from the tiny sensor in the camera to even the image posted here so one has ben be very careful. Secondly even though you think you didn't jolt the camera I am sure you did when you pressed the trigger and as you continued to hold the camera you were vibrating it, just a little bit for sure . So I almost always when using a tripod, and we use them to achieve steadiness, select the 10 second delay option and after carefully pressing the trigger and taking my hand away to give the camera a chance to settle down from the jolt of pressing the trigger. A third point is that I doubt that you have a top-line professional tripod so you will find that raising the centre column is a no-no* and you will get better results if the ballhead or Pan and Tilt head is as low as it will go on the three legs on the tripod ... in some situations you could consider shortening the legs .. strong winds etc.

* I have seen these and few have centre columns ...certainly a message there I think ... I did once have a seven foot tripod for awhile, no centre column .

You probably also have a two second delay on the camera. The theory behind this is that the camera gets the jolt of pressing the trigger and then it and your body settles down and two seconds latter there is no camera movement when the photo is taken ... an idea which is rarely mentioned in these days of Image Stabilisation in cameras. Personally it doesn't work for me but many do find it helps.

[captivating]

Super interesting info jc! Yes, I had that center, "extra" column raised so I could have the camera at eye level with me. The photos I posted here weren't taken using the tripod but yes, again, it is not an expensive, professional one at all. I think it was 10 bucks.

So 10 second delay, but that is not the same as a self-timer, or is it? Come to think of it, it probably is the same deal. So I set it for 10 seconds, press the button halfway to focus and then click? That is a little confusing. I set a 2-10 second delay, point, press halfway to focus, then wait (calm down) and press all the way, or, focus press all the way and it will stabiblize before it takes the photo?

Thanks so much, Denise

OK Denise ... so it was a calm day with no wind but nobody has told you why and how you use the delay timer, 10 seconds? , on your camera. Firstly there is a huge magnification from the tiny sensor in the camera to even the image posted here so one has ben be very careful. Secondly even though you think you didn't jolt the camera I am sure you did when you pressed the trigger and as you continued to hold the camera you were vibrating it, just a little bit for sure . So I almost always when using a tripod, and we use them to achieve steadiness, select the 10 second delay option and after carefully pressing the trigger and taking my hand away to give the camera a chance to settle down from the jolt of pressing the trigger. A third point is that I doubt that you have a top-line professional tripod so you will find that raising the centre column is a no-no* and you will get better results if the ballhead or Pan and Tilt head is as low as it will go on the three legs on the tripod ... in some situations you could consider shortening the legs .. strong winds etc.

* I have seen these and few have centre columns ...certainly a message there I think ... I did once have a seven foot tripod for awhile, no centre column .

You probably also have a two second delay on the camera. The theory behind this is that the camera gets the jolt of pressing the trigger and then it and your body settles down and two seconds latter there is no camera movement when the photo is taken ... an idea which is rarely mentioned in these days of Image Stabilisation in cameras. Personally it doesn't work for me but many do find it helps.

[rpcrowe]

Denise, you are correct that the f/stop or aperture is how wide the lens opens and that shutter speed is how long the shutter remains open.

Perhaps I can explain it this way. Consider that you are trying to fill a bucket with water from a garden hose.

The filled bucket represents the correct amount of light needed to be captured for the image to be correctly exposed.

The f/stop or aperture represents the diameter of the hose.

The shutter speed represents the time required to fill the bucket. Obviously using a hose of a wider diameter at the same water pressure, you can fill the bucket more quickly.

The ISO (or sensitivity of the sensor) can be represented by the water pressure you are working with.

Can you envision how all three parameters are related.

If you change one parameter, you need to change another or both the other parameters.

Now, for real life photography.

Using a high ISO sensitivity allows you to shoot with a faster shutter speed (less time for the hose to be pouring water into the bucket) which will allow you to freeze motion. Conversely, a slower shutterspeed with cause motion to blur. A higher shutter speed will also prevent blur from camera movement. Stabilization of camera or lens will also help blur caused by camera shake but will not freeze movement of your subject.

So why don't we always use the highest ISO, giving us the smallest aperture and the fastest shutter speed?

Lower ISO usually means better quality images. I usually recommend ISO levels around 100 to 200 for bright sunlit images.

Using a wider aperture of smaller f/number (the smaller f/number means a wider aperture because we are really talking about a fraction), will also let you use a faster shutter speed. Using a smaller aperture will require either a longer shutter speed or a larger f/stop (or both).

The larger aperture (smaller f/number) will cause the depth of field (distance between the nearest and farthest points of acceptable focus) to decrease, while a smaller f/stop (larger f/number) will provide greater depth of field with more of your image in accceptable focus.

There are sometimes when we purposefully want to reduce the depth of field so that the background doesn't interfere with our main subject. This is called selective focus and an example of that technique is in this shot of my Goldendoodle. Basically only the dog is in focus making it stand out from the background...



Another example of selective focus is found in this shot of two Chinese women sitting on a bench. The focus difference is not as great in this image but the slightly out of focus background doesn't interfere with the subjects and actually adds some interest.



In order to get this reduced depth of field, I selected a wider f/stop which isolated my subjects. In selecting the wider f/stop, I would either have had to increase my shutter speed or decrease my ISO. In these cases I chose to increase my shutterspeed.

You will gain some great insight into the technical and artistic facets of photography by reading and duplicating the tutorials. I have not mentioned how focal length and/or distance focused on will alter the depth of field. But, that is for another time.

Until then, keep shooting and keep posting and welcome to our forum!

I hope that I have not confused you. I have a hunch that it will clear up as you gain experience in photography...

[captivating]

Hello Richard and no, you did not confuse me, very clearly spoken and thank you I love your doggy, what a lover The picture of the girls is lovely as well. I cannot wait to have time to take more pics! I love the tutorials this site offers and love the people on the forums even more

Thank you so much, Denise

[rpcrowe]

I read and sometimes post on other forums. However I never tend to consider any one of them as "my forum" the way I consider CiC. It is because of all the nice (+ talented and expert) people who post and who courteously answer questions. I have never seen any nasty posts or snide remarks such as "That's what the user's manual is for!"

There are many members from all over the world on CiC whom I have never met but, tend to consider as "my friends" due to the interaction I have had with these wonderful folks...