Introduce Yourself & Welcome Other Members (archive)

[CM Kwan]

Thanks Donald! I look forward to seeing your wonderful work. CM

[Pirate]

Another newbie joins the crowd

Stumbled upon CiC when googling for some info on how the unsharp mask works, and I ended up devouring the tutorials

I'm a relatively recent convertee to digital photography, "cut my teeth" (and a few fingers ) on manual focus SLR's loaded with E-6, before spending a fortune (on a student's budget) to buy a Canon EOS 300. I love the vibrancy of slide film, however it just became too expensive and lugging out a projector every time you want to share your snaps is rather laborious...

.... so I ended up always getting them scanned directly after processing, but have generally been disappointed with the results. I don't want to spend hours post-processing photos to make them look like the original and being too poor to afford a DSLR at the time, photography took a back seat (to an even more expensive hobby )

I recently treated myself to an EOS 450D and although the "basics" are the same, I realise there is a helluva lot to learn, to make the most of this new toy. I still don't want to spend hours in photoshop, but I also understand that postprocessing is part of the process to get the best result in the end. At the moment I tend to shoot JPEG and do 95% of postprocessing in Canon DPP... but I've had a few good results shooting RAW under difficult lighting and combining different "develops" to render the scene as I remember it (thanks to the "multiple RAW develop" topic in the HDR section )

The more I read on this forum, the more I realise how little I know...

:- P

[Colin Southern]

Another newbie joins the crowd

Hi "Pirate",

Welcome to the forums

We don't normally allow any mention of "pirating" here, but in your case I think it's safe to make an exception! (ok, bad joke - but the best I can do on a Sunday morning!).

On a more serious note, hang on in there with the post-processing - all I can say is ...

- If you get as much right "in camera" it really does cut down the work required - and you do get a better result, and

- As you do more post-processing you'll get into a bit of a rhythm with your workflow and it speeds things up considerably also.

I like to think of my images as "Digital Assets" in that they can keep earning money for a lifetime (and beyond) - and the value of the asset increases if they don't require much work; I was quite chuffed at my last effort - came away from a night's shooting with no less than 5 saleable landscapes that didn't require more than 10 to 15 minutes work each - so hang on in there - we'll do all we can to speed things up for you.

[Jobywan]

Hi folks, I'm Joby. I've been lurking these threads for quite some time now, leeching all of ya'lls valuable information. I'd like to give some feedback on the newest section on filters, or actually, ask for more .
Up until now, nothing on the site couldn't be transerred from DSLR to the camera that I bought for myself to explore the deapths of photography. I've noticed that you handle compact and DSLR, but that you skipped the middle, the bridge solution. It dawned on me when I started reading about filters. One very important aspect about filters when using a bridge solution (DSLR was too expensive for exploring photography). Many or most pol filters I've seen have a little knob on them for adjusting how the light will be broken before it hits the sensor. That ltttle knob could very well ruin a bridge camera, or at least cause you to have to bring it in for repair if you accidentally turn the camera off with the filter attached, or of the camera shuts down automatically. That happened to me, and I was really happy that I hadn't screwed the filter on very securely, because the camera protects itsself and won't make a move if anything is blocking or pinched in the lens when it boots up. Like I said, I was lucky to have not screwed it on securely, which would have prohibited me from getting the filter off of the camera without any special tools, which I, as a newbie don't have.
I hope to see some new information handling bridge cameras on here soon. I'm sure that there are more informative differences between compact P&S cameras, bridge cameras, and DSLR cameras that would help a lot of people in broadening their horizons in the jungle of digital photography.
Keep up the great work already being done on here!!!!

Best regards,

Joby Reynolds
Amberg, Germany

P.S. If I've missed out on any bridge information, I hope someone will post the link or links to them

[nliviu]

Hello all,

I am Liviu from Romania ( the N comes from my last name).

I used to use film SLRs like Zenit and Praktica 20 years ago and I switched to digital recently.

I own a Nikon D80 with a 18-55VR lens for the moment.

I found this forum while searching for HDR info.

Being new to the digital photography I'm trying to learn about post-processing and I'm experimenting a lot.


Greetings from Bucarest, Romania

Liviu

[Colin Southern]

Hi folks, I'm Joby

Hi Joby,

Welcome to the forums - glad your laryngitis has finally cleared up!

I'm quite intrigued by your post - out of interest, can you tell me just what model of bridge camera you're using?

[Colin Southern]

Hello all,

I am Liviu from Romania ( the N comes from my last name).

I used to use film SLRs like Zenit and Praktica 20 years ago and I switched to digital recently.

I own a Nikon D80 with a 18-55VR lens for the moment.

I found this forum while searching for HDR info.

Being new to the digital photography I'm trying to learn about post-processing and I'm experimenting a lot.


Greetings from Bucarest, Romania

Liviu

Hi Liviu,

Great to hear from you. I'm clearly going to have to buy myself a world map and stick some markers in it to keep track of some of these exotic places - names I've heard of, but I'm embarrassed to say wouldn't have a clue where to find them!

Is there anything we can help with with regards to your digital processing? What software are you using?

[nliviu]

Hi Liviu,

Great to hear from you. I'm clearly going to have to buy myself a world map and stick some markers in it to keep track of some of these exotic places - names I've heard of, but I'm embarrassed to say wouldn't have a clue where to find them!

Is there anything we can help with with regards to your digital processing? What software are you using?

Hi Colin,

You don't need a map in order to find out where a place is. You only need Google Earth and perform a search for "Bucuresti, Romania"

I use Lightroom and I'm going to learn how to use Capture NX.
I also tried DXO and I like the way it corrects the faults of the optics.

[Colin Southern]

Hi Colin,

You don't need a map in order to find out where a place is. You only need Google Earth and perform a search for "Bucuresti, Romania"

I use Lightroom and I'm going to learn how to use Capture NX.
I also tried DXO and I like the way it corrects the faults of the optics.

Hi Liviu,

I'm already a big Google Earth fan - although I'd really love to have something with 10x the resolution. There's just something "nostalgic" about a map on the wall with coloured pins in it.

For your post-processing, do you typically process a lot of images at once, or is your style to shoot a number and then pick the best of the bunch and then go from there?

I've had a play with DxO - I liked the lens correction aspects, but really wanted to do the rest (exposure / white balancing / clipping points / saturation etc) in ACR / Photoshop, but I couldn't see an obvious way to automatically do one without the other (unless I missed it) (it would be nice to have check boxes to say "do this this this this and this, but not that and that) - plus, for reasons I don't understand, it won't take DNG files as input - and that ruled out exactly 100% of my work. So close and yet so far.

There's certainly a few Capture NX fans here, so you'll be in good company!

[Tristan]

Hello

I live in Vienna, Austria, though am British. Very pleased to have found such a good site and forums to deepen my understanding of digital photography and equipment, as someone relatively inexperienced and keen.

Looking forward to speaking to you : )

Cheers
Tristan

[Jobywan]

Hi Joby,

Welcome to the forums - glad your laryngitis has finally cleared up!

I'm quite intrigued by your post - out of interest, can you tell me just what model of bridge camera you're using?

Oops, the laryngitis passing obviously caused a brainfart. lol
I'm shooting a Lumix FZ28. Got a great deal on it on the web.

So tell me. Have I just missed out on bridge information on the site? I tried the FAQs and the search but didn't get any hits. Maybe I should use a different term to search?

Thanks,
Joby

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Joby,

I am not aware of any pages devoted specifically to bridge cameras here. I shoot with a Fuji Finepix S6500 myself. Luckily my Fuji is manual zoom (not electric) so I don't encounter the problems you have had.

We have another UK member with a different Fuji model and a chap in Florida who has experienced several.

So, if you have any questions in mind, just ask and we'll do our best.
Traditionally, we've covered such queries in the Compact Digital Cameras forum.

Welcome from,

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Tristan,

Good to have you with us (same goes for all new members, even if I forget to say it), I was wondering what sort of camera you are shooting with?

Anyway, welcome from,

[Dave Humphries]

In the last few days, I have missed a few new members posting here, so I'd like to add my welcome to; CM Kwan, Liviu, Pirate and anyone else I have overlooked.

Good to have you all here and if any of you haven't yet asked us a question, now's your chance!
(but not the only one)

My best wishes to all,

[Dunbar26]

I think it's time I began to participate in some of the discussions going on in this site and enjoy the benefit of the very good advice that is being given.. I've been lurking for a while, and that's not very productive. My name is Douglas and I live in Vancouver, Canada. I guess you could refer to me as a keen amateur, one who takes a lot of photos, most of which can be classed as snapshots. But I do work at getting good shots, and sometimes enjoy success; however, I have a very great deal to learn. My interests are largely in landscape and flowers. I use a Sony SLR with a Zeiss 16-80 mm 3.5 - 4.5 lens and a 75-300 mm 4.5 - 5.6 longer lens. I'm looking forward to being a participant.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Douglas,

It's good to have you participate.

Perhaps in a reversal of the norm; I have a question for you, which Sony DSLR do you have?
I ask because I am looking to move on from my current bridge cam and am considering the A300/A350, in addition to other makes and models with movable LCD screens.

Of course, if you have any questions, ask away and don't be shy to post a picture or 3 for comment, or participate in the coming week's challenge for "Team Other", we need more "Others".

Thanks in advance from,

[Dunbar26]

Thanks for the welcome, Dave. I am using an Alpha 100 that I bought when the Alpha series was first introduced. It's amazing how quickly it has become outdated. I'm happy enough with it - I don't know that an upgrade would do much for my pictures. I've decided that as funds are available to upgrade the lenses and then, maybe, upgrade the body.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Douglas,

I've decided that as funds are available to upgrade the lenses and then, maybe, upgrade the body.

By all accounts, this is the right way to go.

Thanks for the quick reply,

[kookeer]

Your images are amazing! I have so much to learn.
kookeer

[ajith.rajeswari]

Hi Douglas ,
Welcome to CiC. You live in a very beautiful place ..Last year I visited Vancouver/Whistler/Harrisons hot springs etc ..awesome place for some good shots..
See you around.

~Ajith