Thread: How to take that perfect photograph

Yep, how do you?

Any tips anyone because I'm looking to buy a more professional digital camera, and would like some tips to get the best out of it.

you mean it involves more than "point & click"???

good question - let me chew on that and make it into a little more organized answer, rather than the current 87 things rolling around in my brain

but of course anyone else with tips can certainly chime in now, during, after I say something of note

Anything in particular that you need help with Darren?

I came up with an idea to blog about photo tips but I fear it will be a long while before I get all of what I want to talk about on e-paper.

And even then I might have to encapsulate 12 entries into something that you might be looking for here, a synopsis if you will.

now I'm just rambling - one of my talents

here's my 1st stab at something useful:

Tim’s Terminology

I'll check the link out Tim thanks!

I take pictures (took tons of my visit to the Greek Islands) and some have come out great, but pictures that look great on my camera have come out really disappointing.

Should you set your camera to a specific specification, i.e. optimised zoom, should I set it to 2million megapixels or 3 million megapixels etc. etc. all this baffles me.

Originally Posted by DarrenC

I'll check the link out Tim thanks!

I take pictures (took tons of my visit to the Greek Islands) and some have come out great, but pictures that look great on my camera have come out really disappointing.

Should you set your camera to a specific specification, i.e. optimised zoom, should I set it to 2million megapixels or 3 million megapixels etc. etc. all this baffles me.

the camera segment on my blog is next...what are all those dang buttons for???

but since you mentioned some things...


1) always shoot at the highest resolution possible. you can always crop and or resize if necessary after the fact but it you START with a small image with fewer pixels(ultimately less quality) you are STUCK with it.

1a) if you're shooting at a lower res. b/c of space issues, BUY more memory...it's dirt cheap these days...I bet you can find 1GB cards for < = $70 these days

2) digital zooms are worthless...avoid them at all cost if you can. optical zoom is the most important factor. see, all the camera is doing when it uses the digital zoom "feature" is cropping the existing pixels. it would be as if you were sitting at home and you crop a picture by 30%...digital zoom does the same thing but in camera!!!

what about the picture(s) aren't very good? exposure, focus, something else?

3) as far as exposure - never trust the LCD. it will never give you an accurate representation of what the exposure of an image is.

ultimately you'd like a digital camera that allows you to see a "histogram" of an image right after or even during the time when you take the picture.

Tim, that has been very useful thanks.

I can see straightaway what I am doing wrong - because I have small memory space 128MB (I think) I'm using 2million megapixels rather than the maximum which I think is 3million.

I always zoom in using the digital camera, and in this picture in particular the quality is shocking, of which would have been the perfect photograph, if I had not used the zoom.

If I am too far away, over than getting closer LOL what should I use to zoom, i.e. should I buy a proper camera with this optical zoom? All these questions LOL!

Originally Posted by DarrenC

Tim, that has been very useful thanks.

I can see straightaway what I am doing wrong - because I have small memory space 128MB (I think) I'm using 2million megapixels rather than the maximum which I think is 3million.

I always zoom in using the digital camera, and in this picture in particular the quality is shocking, of which would have been the perfect photograph, if I had not used the zoom.

If I am too far away, over than getting closer LOL what should I use to zoom, i.e. should I buy a proper camera with this optical zoom? All these questions LOL!

Yes, cameras < 3MP especially, when you zoom, it gets ugly quite quick. Fewer pixels to work with to start and so by the time the zoom crops, you're left with a chunky(pixelated) image.

what kind of camera is it, if you don't mind me asking?

Yes, you might consider getting a newer camera that offers more MP and a better optical zoom...Especially since you are in such places that are astounding to behold.

BUT - just to dispel a 'myth' in that more MP does not automatically equate to better pictures. For instance, going from 6MP to 8MP is a very small difference. MP can sometimes be more of a marketing ploy to sell cameras!

Excellent advice Tim.

I bought a Sony Cybershot approx four years ago, its time for an ungrade for sure - what would you recommend, for both an unlimited budget and a budget of $500?

Originally Posted by DarrenC

Excellent advice Tim.

I bought a Sony Cybershot approx four years ago, its time for an ungrade for sure - what would you recommend, for both an unlimited budget and a budget of $500?

unlimited: would be a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex - i.e. interchangeable lenses).

If it were me and what I currently want, I'd buy a Canon 30D ($1300) and a Canon 24-105
($1100) "L" lens.

Where 50mm is considered near what the eye sees and <35mm = wide angle, and 70mm+ = zoom.

The lens - or "glass" is really the most important thing when it comes to cameras.


I'll have to do a little research on the $500 one

Originally Posted by DarrenC

Excellent advice Tim.

I bought a Sony Cybershot approx four years ago, its time for an ungrade for sure - what would you recommend, for both an unlimited budget and a budget of $500?

this is an early candidate for the < $500

Fuji Finepix S9000 Digital Camera
10.7X Wide Angle Zoom - 9.0 MegaPixel - Super CCD/Real Photo Technology

and oh snap!! $100 rebate from the $469 BUT it ends on Tuesday!!!!

my fist digital cam was a Fuji, and I thought it was a great Cam. These are the features that I like, but the entire list is impressive.

FinePix S9000 Zoom features at a glance:

* New Fujifilm Super CCD sensor with 9.0 million effective pixels
* New 28-300mm (10.7x) Fujinon zoom lens with manual twist-barrel zoom control
* Class-leading sensitivity setting of ISO 1600 for photography in low light conditions
* Low sensitivity of ISO 80 for ultra-high quality photography
* 1.8” tilting LCD screen for easy high and low angle shooting
* Ultra-fast response times (0.01 second shutter lag and 0.8 second start-up)
* Real-time histogram to assist exposure settings before shooting
* Highlight Warning feature for displaying highlight areas in playback
* VGA movie capture of 30 frames per second with zoom capability and sound
* Closed unit design to eliminate dust accumulation on the CCD
* Hotshoe and PC sync terminal
* RAW format shooting for uncompressed and unprocessed images
* xD-Picture Card™ providing large storage capacity, lower power consumption and fast write speeds (16MB to 1GB capacities currently available)

let me know if you need me to translate any of those things - like RAW file format for instance.

Iam going to buy a camera.

From the following companies, which one is the best Tim ?.
Kodak , Canon , Fuji , sony & Olympus.

Kodak got 1st rank here

Originally Posted by designer007

Iam going to buy a camera.

From the following companies, which one is the best Tim ?.
Kodak , Canon , Fuji , sony & Olympus.

Kodak got 1st rank here

Don't forget Nikon! A lot of times it's personal preference. There are 1.13 million Canon vs. Nikon threads in the Myspace photo groups.

I think Canon owns mid-level to upper echelon cameras. You ever see the sidelines of any sporting event, those white lenses - Canon!!! They have better speed, sensors, and glass IMO.

Now for the casual user I wouldn't say it matters as much.

Really a lot of times what I tell people is to visit an electronics store and just start picking them up and playing around with them. Comfort is a determining factor in my mind. A lot of people hated the Canon Digital Rebel XT just b/c the grip was tiny and the body felt like a toy in their hands!

But back OT - If I had to rank them

Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Olympus, Kodak, and Sony is a wild card - I don't know much about them - though their new 'Alpha' looks pretty sweet.

Like I said, Canon has the best lenses and sensors IMO. Now does that matter for the casual photographer? Probably not as much as it would to someone like me.

That being said, in the case of that Kodak camera - something like that is more about aesthetics and portability. Will it take great images? Good enough probably but I doubt it'll give you many options in the way of controls. Might be a good all around camera but nothing to write home about.

http://www.dpreview.com is the ultimate resource for camera reviews/info.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06010201kodakv570.asp

It looks like a great little camera for the price. Probably a lot better than my little camera/video combo unit!

----
flip side of the coin is that - it's not the camera who takes great pictures - it's the person behind it. There are many galleries out there of people who use camera phones and come way with stunning images!!

I see people all the time who have better cameras than I do but they are clueless when it comes to operating said camera, lighting, composition, etc. In cases like that they might as well be using a disposable mg:

Tim, you could write a book.

Originally Posted by Kalina

Tim, you could write a book.

my only problem is I tend to 'ramble on' - I love that song.

then I have a propensity to tangent. perhaps I could turn that into a featured segment: Timmy's Tangents



it might seem impressive but by the same token I marvel at yurs guy's knowledge with the web mastery.

Originally Posted by Kalina

Tim, you could write a book.

No,
2-3 books

Thanks for the info tim...you should get working on that book!

Originally Posted by designer007

No,
2-3 books

Originally Posted by strtbykr

Thanks for the info tim...you should get working on that book!

you guys are too much. if only!

:twisted:

sorry it has taken me so long to write a new entry into my blog...I am wanting to cover camera controls next, unless you want me to talk about something else?

hopefully I can get to that within the next 5.5 to 10.22 days

What about an e-book then?!

Tim, have you seen this site before;
http://www.ephotozine.com/ It's great. Most of the pictures are awesome!

Originally Posted by DarrenC

What about an e-book then?!

Tim, have you seen this site before;
http://www.ephotozine.com/ It's great. Most of the pictures are awesome!

no, hadn't seen it but I'll have to check it out.


ebook is a good idea but at the reate I'm updating the blog it might take me 2.2 yrs