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RE: Help-First DSLR camera

Tonka — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:22:45 GMT

Usually they aren't oof but just as sharp as I would like..really, I know I have said it but I will use the pod..
okay but back to the original post..

so sorry ...

RE: Help-First DSLR camera

hahn23 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:55:42 GMT

[color="navy"]Almost all flashes.... built-in or hot shoe attached.... have a control for brightness/illumination power. In conjunction with a diffuser and or bounce angles or reflectors, you can control the amount of flash and reduce shadows. Don't hate your flash! It's an invaluable tool.

With regards to image sharpness, it is of prime importance. One has to do everything one can to capture an in-focus image in the first place. It will save you hours of time and frustration to figure out how to capture sharp images. I don't know of any way to sharpen an out-of-focus image, although I know a lot of people try[/color].

RE: Help-First DSLR camera

Tonka — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:11:05 GMT

Well I think you answered it :)...

You know I love sharp images, and I don't really use PS, which I would use unsharp mask if I did..so I do use the sharpen tool...often...instead of using my pod often ...lol..

So I really can't ever use sharpen if I take images at 400 up...

I know I confuse you all often, but there is a whole lotta things to get around..like being able to view the images on a screen big enough to be able to see the actual image I took at it's actual size...uploading into different programs and how they behave,,that is..... what they do to the images can be different in some programs(they read and auto adjust the info?)...then the finished product after edit and resizing and conversion..okay but that is kinda off topic..

So what I am gathering is that your images are already very sharp when you take them..I am not as talented yet as that ...and therefore, I do use sharpen. I just wish I could use the higher ISO when there is little light outside and no other light source.(I hate the flash and don't have other light sources and lack the time to set stuff up anyway, I do what I can when I can and how I can on the fly) .I would imagine that images indoors might have enough light with flash and all the lights such as in basketball games where noise would not be a big issue using 1600....any images I take at that ISO get deleted...always tons of noise...
anyway yes you did answer my question with that info..thanks :)

RE: Help-First DSLR camera

hahn23 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:39:13 GMT

Wright offers good comments. I use Noise Ninja, but usually only on portions of images captured at ISO 800 or greater.

Tonka, not sure I understand your question. In my mind, the ISO setting is directly correlated with electronic noise. The higher the ISO setting, the more noise one will encounter. It depends on the subject and lighting, but the noise reduction applications can remove a percentage of the noise, usually at the expense of some image detail.

The ISO setting only affects image sharpness to the extent it allows a fast enough shutter speed to reduce camera shake or motion blur, or both.

By the way, I never use the sharpen tool. It's the most artifact inducing tool around. I will use "Edge Sharpen" once in a while. Most often, I make two small USM filter passes.... usually as my last step before converting to a JPG file for Internet upload purposes. I never apply any "sharpening" tool to a JPG format image.

Ask more questions. I don't think I understood your question.

RE: Help-First DSLR camera

Tonka — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:29:44 GMT

Cool beans WE:D

I have bookmarked the last one there,, I think I tried neat image before but couldn't figure it out :(...maybe it was a different one I don't know but I was totally lost on how to use it...
maybe this will work...

thank you !!

RE: Help-First DSLR camera

wemor — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:26:30 GMT

Most of my indoor shots (basketball/volleyball) are taken at ISO 1600. Check out these "noise reduction" software vendors if you need to use HIGH ISO's (of course a tripod could help you shoot at lower shutter speeds thus allowing you to keep your ISO (and noise) down. WE:D

NOISE NINJA

NEAT IMAGE (free demo)

NOISEWARE (free community edition)

RE: Help-First DSLR camera

Tonka — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:50:38 GMT

Richard, quick question for you...I hope in all sincerity this isn't hijacking btw..:)..

about 400 iso..

when you use that, are your images usually just about sharp enough where you don't need to sharpen much more?
I only ask because I can't seem to get away from terrible noise issues unless I use, under 400.. I mean I can use 400 and be okay but anything above and forget it if I need to sharpen...

any further advice? or fyi's?
thanks :)

RE: Help-First DSLR camera

Flowergirl — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:09:09 GMT

Thanks so much, Mr. Hahn. I do so admire your work and you always give such helpful advice. I will try your suggestions.

Diane:)

RE: Help-First DSLR camera

hahn23 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:01:10 GMT

[color="navy"]Just some quick suggestions for wildlife photography.

1. Aperture priority mode usually works best. Be sure to choose the most wide open aperture available for your lenses. (smallest aperture number). Animals and birds move a lot. You'll want all the shutter speed you can muster.

2. Try ISO 400 or ISO 800 to gain even more shutter speed. The ISO 800 will mean more electronic noise, but might be worth the extra stop of shutter speed it allows. ISO 400 is usually where I start when I'm photographing live animals.

3. I think your new camera has a vibration reduction mechanism. That is meant to be used with handheld shots. You might want to turn it off for tripod mounted shots, as it might be working against your best efforts.

4. If your camera has a shutter release cable available, it can really help. Most people, including me, transfer body vibrations to the camera when "punching" the shutter release button. Better to keep your hands off. An alternative to the shutter release cable is your self timer. Sort of hard to time your shots with that, though.

5. Shutter slap can cause vibrations. Sometimes I use the "mirror lockup function". It's worth a try.

6. I read that your camera has a 45 point zone focus, or something like that. That's great for landscape or people shots, but not for wildlife. If you can select a single focus point and place that focus point on the part of your subject you want to be in focus, you'll like the results better. The 45 point zone focus will try to maximize the in focus elements in the frame. I think you want to use autofocus, but you don't want the camera overriding your idea of what the subject is. And, for the 45 point focus system to get everything in focus, the DOF plane would be deep.... hence, the aperture would be tiny (big number). See suggestion #1 above.

7. Be aware of the minimum focus distance for your lens. For example, my 400mm lens has a minimum focus distance of 11 feet. If my subject happens to be closer, the auto focus cannot lock in.

Okay, that's plenty to try. Be sure to ask more questions. Looking forward to see the output from your new DSLR[/color].

Help-First DSLR camera

Flowergirl — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:15:29 GMT

Hi everyone.

I just purchased my first DSLR camera with two kit lenses. I did a lot of research and the Olympus E-510, a 10mp camera, got very good ratings at a very good price. My old camera is an Olympus C-765 ultra zoom 4 mp and I really get good quality pictures from it. I have been reading the manual and experimenting with taking bird pictures on a tripod with the 40-150mm lens. I am just not getting the clarity that I know I should be getting when I enlarge the pictures.

I am getting frustrated and I would really appreciate any help that I can get. I know that it takes time to get used to a new camera and I know this is a good one. Yesterday I went to the website of a UN photographer named John Isaac. He uses the same camera and takes fantastic pictures. He emailed me just before he took off to India on assignment and briefly said that he shoots mainly on Aperature setting and that the kit lenses are very good. There must be something that I am not doing correctly. Thanks in advance for your input.

Diane