General Photography Chat

[bulliver]

^ I have been buying all my books and CDs from Amazon for a few years now, and have never had a problem. I have never bought any 'large' items or electronics from them though...

Also bought from Ebay several times, mostly computers and computer equipment. Ebay is tricky, because most items are sold 'as is' with only a DOA warranty if you're lucky. That said, I again have had no problems, just make sure the seller has a decent amount of positive feedback.

[Aleks]

I've been trying to get a D90 FOREVER! And I want this package. Costco had it a while back and they also had a bag and more accessories but they stopped selling it for some reason... So now I either buy a package from an online retailer or everything separately which will end up costing more.

[bulliver]

D90 kits on ebay...some of these are pretty insane.

[Aleks]

I know, which is why I think most of those kits are too good to be true. First I need to get some monayyy! Damn, why didn't I enter that photo contest? It's gonna be tough saving up monayy for a new camera. I have to get a job, work, then I start school in September then I have to start worrying about college and blah.

This is why I need to meet a sweet old filthy stinkin rich lady [or guy] who's time is up and they have no relatives so I make them give me all their monayyy! Just kidding, that sounds heartless. But it'd be pretty cool if some random old guy came up to me and said "you want my fortune"


ANYWAYS! I'll see what happens. Step 1 will be getting off this site. It's too fucking addictive. Step 2 will be getting a job and saving money. Step 3 will be buying a D90! Which will probably be cheaper by then anyways.

[brickell]

Originally Posted by Aleks

ANYWAYS! I'll see what happens. Step 1 will be getting off this site. It's too fucking addictive. Step 2 will be getting a job and saving money.

Just saying... some of us get to do both at once! Sometimes I even take a picture or two.

[toyota74]

Have been taken pics with my nikon d70(lenses af nikor 70 t0 300mm)
As im a beginner im using automatic settings and taking pics of landscapes.
Iwas expecting good quality images but im getting loads of noise
especially in skys and things far away,im having to do a bit of editing.

e.g



should this pic be clearer ,the image is full of noise,what should i be
doing or is this to be expected..????????

is that particular lense anygood,

[BFHeadstone]

Originally Posted by toyota74

Have been taken pics with my nikon d70(lenses af nikor 70 t0 300mm)
As im a beginner im using automatic settings and taking pics of landscapes.
Iwas expecting good quality images but im getting loads of noise
especially in skys and things far away,im having to do a bit of editing.

e.g



should this pic be clearer ,the image is full of noise,what should i be
doing or is this to be expected..????????

is that particular lense anygood,

First off the question is what iso are you shooting at? For shots in those lighting conditions you should be at 200 or 400. You should also try using your aperature setting instead of auto. The lower the number the bigger the aperature and the more light your camera lets in. The golden rule with a long lens like yours is your sutter speed should be faster than the inverse of your lens length or if you shoot at 70mm you should have a shutter speed of faster than 1/70 of a second and at 300mm faster than 1/300 to get the best shots. The use of a tripod in darker settings will help too.

[ue]

Originally Posted by Aleks

I know, which is why I think most of those kits are too good to be true. First I need to get some monayyy! Damn, why didn't I enter that photo contest? It's gonna be tough saving up monayy for a new camera. I have to get a job, work, then I start school in September then I have to start worrying about college and blah.

This is why I need to meet a sweet old filthy stinkin rich lady [or guy] who's time is up and they have no relatives so I make them give me all their monayyy! Just kidding, that sounds heartless. But it'd be pretty cool if some random old guy came up to me and said "you want my fortune"


ANYWAYS! I'll see what happens. Step 1 will be getting off this site. It's too fucking addictive. Step 2 will be getting a job and saving money. Step 3 will be buying a D90! Which will probably be cheaper by then anyways.

You could sell copies of your photos or something, they're fantastic. Money-worthy, I'd say. Sell enough, and wham! You have enough money for your camera. just a thought.

[The Chemist]

A few questions of my own:

1. I know the rule of shutter speed faster than 1/focal length to make clear images. Now, does this mean absolute focal length or focal length in 35mm equivalent? For example, my lens on my Olympus E500 has a maximum focal length of 180mm (360mm in 35mm equivalent) so should I be shooting faster than 1/180 or 1/360?

2. Filters. I want to go buy a filter or two to put on my lens this weekend. Should I get a polarizing filter or a UV filter? Why?

3. Noise Reduction. What is the best way to reduce noise in pictures without resorting to in camera NR? I know that in-camera noise reduction makes pictures softer, but I'm wondering how much extra work it is to reduce through software.

[Doady]

Originally Posted by The Chemist

A few questions of my own:

1. I know the rule of shutter speed faster than 1/focal length to make clear images. Now, does this mean absolute focal length or focal length in 35mm equivalent? For example, my lens on my Olympus E500 has a maximum focal length of 180mm (360mm in 35mm equivalent) so should I be shooting faster than 1/180 or 1/360?

1/360

But if it is a legacy film lens (i.e. designed for 35mm film), I am not sure, probably would be 1/180 instead of 1/360. But yours is not, I'm assuming.

My camera lens has maximum focal length of 22.9mm (110mm equivalent) and I need a shutter speed faster than 1/100 for reasonably sharp images. 1/25 just is not enough.

[ue]

The Chemist, I'll leave the first one for someone else. But I will try to help you with the rest. Filters I've heard/seen don't help too much in the way of image quality...in digital. But, a UV filter is very great because it protects your lens from the elements. If you scratch it, it is a lot easier to replace a UV than a lens.

With Noise reduction, you just got to try and have a low ISO, usually 400 and under, but 100/200 is the best. Sometimes that is hard.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by edmontonenthusiast

TFilters I've heard/seen don't help too much in the way of image quality...in digital. But, a UV filter is very great because it protects your lens from the elements. If you scratch it, it is a lot easier to replace a UV than a lens.

This isn't true. Filters do their job just as well with a digital as film. A circular polarizer can be fun to play with.

The UV filter doesn't do much though other than act to "protect" your lens. Personally, I've never needed a UV filter as I'm generally careful with my camera and I would assume any hard bump or hit on the lens that can actually damage the glass, an extra piece of glass infront of the lens itself would be useless, not to mention any damage inside the lens itself.

[toyota74]

thanks bfheadstone.....ill take your tips and try them.Guess i
have to get off auto settings and experment with apeture etc.
Im gonna select some senery out the window and take pic
after pic with different settings.

[ue]

Originally Posted by Tony

This isn't true. Filters do their job just as well with a digital as film. A circular polarizer can be fun to play with.

The UV filter doesn't do much though other than act to "protect" your lens. Personally, I've never needed a UV filter as I'm generally careful with my camera and I would assume any hard bump or hit on the lens that can actually damage the glass, an extra piece of glass infront of the lens itself would be useless, not to mention any damage inside the lens itself.

Yeah I was meaning more about UV filters. Sorry I was unclear.

[Aleks]

So I've wanted the D90 for a long time but I began to look at the EOS 50D and it's a pretty good camera. What do you guys recommend?

[Doady]

Remember lenses are the most important thing, check out what each system has to offer. Also, the 50D does not compete with the D90, the D300 is closer if I am not mistaken. The 50D is more advanced (and expensive) than the D90.

[Aleks]

Really? Costco.com is selling the 50D for 1270 [1 lens 23-135] and the D90 [used to sale] for 1300 [1 lens 18-105]. They're not selling the D90 anymore and I noticed the 50D was around the same price range so I thought maybe it's time to switch from Nikon to Canon.

[ue]

You've already invested equipment into Nikon. Best to stay with them.

[Aleks]

Yes but they're the stock lens. I didn't want to buy lenses yet because 1. I have a D40X and 2. I wasn't into experimenting with equipment. So if I get a D90 I want to start investing on fisheye lenses and other stuff.

I found some camera's on Craigslist that are used but I'm not sure whether I should buy an used camera, especially from Craigslist. Would you guys rather buy new or used? I'm also not trying to buy expensive equipment because I'm tight on monayy. One last thing, does selling my D40X for 450 bucks sound good? Two lens, 18-55 and 55-200 [stock], carrying bag, dvd's, blah blah blah...?

[ue]

What's wrong with trying a fisheye, tele, wide angle, 35mm, 50mm, whatever on a d40x? that shouldn't hold you back.