Digital SLR Camera advice

[ArkieDukie]

Very important advice. Don't bring it to a laser light show.

http://www.photoxels.com/lightshow-lase ... lr-sensor/

Good to know. Thanks!

[Lavabe]

So I went to the one and only non-chain camera store in the entire county. Wow. Fucking Wow. Played with cameras. Played with lenses....played some more...got in the car...drove halfway home...made Uturn.

Bought Camera. Bought Lens, Bag, Filter...SDCard...made my credit card cry.

The service was top notch. The guy gave me his work and crackberry e-mail. If I'm having trouble e-mail him anytime (ok maybe NOT if I'm shooting a sunrise at oh-dark thirty) he'll help..e-mail copies of pictures if I am not happy with them. He'll try and figure out what I need to do. After I have a couple hundred shots on the card set up a time to come in, they look at all the shots then make recommendations then we'll go shooting and review those.

I am not a fan of buying the warranties, but their's was 3 years and covered everything (including dropping it a swimming pool , the dog chewing it) and covered regular clean so I went for it.

I am singing Simon & Garfunkel's Kodachrome "I got a Nikon camera...love to take the photograph..."

Proud owner of one Nikon D90 and a Tamron 18/270 lens. By the way, that lens ROCKS my world.

Now to figure out what all these freakin' buttons do....

Sorry that it's taken me a bit to respond, but it's been busy lately. This is great news!! Remember to take up ANY offer they give to get you to improve your photos. Any classes available?

[windsor]

Sorry that it's taken me a bit to respond, but it's been busy lately. This is great news!! Remember to take up ANY offer they give to get you to improve your photos. Any classes available?

They offer a number of classes as well as 'shooting' trips. I'm still figurin' out what all the freakin' buttons do!!

[ArkieDukie]

Sorry that it's taken me a bit to respond, but it's been busy lately. This is great news!! Remember to take up ANY offer they give to get you to improve your photos. Any classes available?

They offer a number of classes as well as 'shooting' trips. I'm still figurin' out what all the freakin' buttons do!!

I went on a shooting trip to the MoBot today (a macro class, actually). Will have to post pics later on FB. Got up in the grill of a dragonfly with my 60mm macro lens.

I, too, am still figuring out what all the freakin' buttons do...

[ArkieDukie]

Here's a link to my Flickr album from the macro class: http://www.flickr.com/photos/17449158@N ... 4488541717

Windsor, I've started working my way through my camera manual and also the Red Lantern Guide for my camera. I went through much of it when I first got my D90, but it's making far more sense now.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Love the photos AD!

[lawgrad91]

AD, your pix are great!

[ArkieDukie]

Thanks CB&B and lawgrad91! The class made me want to purchase a flash and a tripod. The flash would be especially helpful; some of my shots have shadows that I don't like. Added bonus would be higher shutter speed. Wonder if a flash would help even more than a tripod?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Thanks CB&B and lawgrad91! The class made me want to purchase a flash and a tripod. The flash would be especially helpful; some of my shots have shadows that I don't like. Added bonus would be higher shutter speed. Wonder if a flash would help even more than a tripod?

Strongly suggest tripod..it's a great benefit when you want slower shutter speeds or just want to use natural light. (Like in night shots)

[ArkieDukie]

Thanks CB&B and lawgrad91! The class made me want to purchase a flash and a tripod. The flash would be especially helpful; some of my shots have shadows that I don't like. Added bonus would be higher shutter speed. Wonder if a flash would help even more than a tripod?

Strongly suggest tripod..it's a great benefit when you want slower shutter speeds or just want to use natural light. (Like in night shots)

Just got back from a walk around Forest Park with some friends and saw the shot that would make me want to purchase a tripod. The fountains in the Grand Basin are lit at night. It's beautiful.

[windsor]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7940273@N0 ... 508593939/


There you go boys and girls...went to Eagle Lake Park (a par 5 from my front door) and down to Sand Key (about 15 minutes away)

Still trying to get a feel for the camera, but already am in love with Tamron 18-270 lens. It is going to be a great walk around lens. All shots were with that lens.

Constructive criticism is welcome!

[ArkieDukie]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7940273@N0 ... 508593939/


There you go boys and girls...went to Eagle Lake Park (a par 5 from my front door) and down to Sand Key (about 15 minutes away)

Still trying to get a feel for the camera, but already am in love with Tamron 18-270 lens. It is going to be a great walk around lens. All shots were with that lens.

Constructive criticism is welcome!

Holy cow, windsor - your pictures are amazing! You have such an eye for composition. The sunset shots are spectacular. I would love to be able to get shots like that. What did you do?

[windsor]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7940273@N0 ... 508593939/


There you go boys and girls...went to Eagle Lake Park (a par 5 from my front door) and down to Sand Key (about 15 minutes away)

Still trying to get a feel for the camera, but already am in love with Tamron 18-270 lens. It is going to be a great walk around lens. All shots were with that lens.

Constructive criticism is welcome!

Holy cow, windsor - your pictures are amazing! You have such an eye for composition. The sunset shots are spectacular. I would love to be able to get shots like that. What did you do?

Aw gee...thank you.

I really like a couple of the sunset ones. What did I do? I moved to Florida where mother natures supplies spectacular sunsets on a regular basis . Seriously...I didn't do anything special. The lens was cranked out all the way...every bit of the 270 I had to play with...I forced the ISO down to 200 to get the rich color (the camera wanted about 400) I don't have I try pod, but I was sitting down and used my knees to steady the camera.

Three dolphins came along and were playing just at sunset...but I just didn't have enough lens for that. 200 yrds away in low light it just wasn't happening. I didn't post those. They look like blurry sharks

[ArkieDukie]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7940273@N0 ... 508593939/


There you go boys and girls...went to Eagle Lake Park (a par 5 from my front door) and down to Sand Key (about 15 minutes away)

Still trying to get a feel for the camera, but already am in love with Tamron 18-270 lens. It is going to be a great walk around lens. All shots were with that lens.

Constructive criticism is welcome!

Holy cow, windsor - your pictures are amazing! You have such an eye for composition. The sunset shots are spectacular. I would love to be able to get shots like that. What did you do?

Aw gee...thank you.

I really like a couple of the sunset ones. What did I do? I moved to Florida where mother natures supplies spectacular sunsets on a regular basis . Seriously...I didn't do anything special. The lens was cranked out all the way...every bit of the 270 I had to play with...I forced the ISO down to 200 to get the rich color (the camera wanted about 400) I don't have I try pod, but I was sitting down and used my knees to steady the camera.

Three dolphins came along and were playing just at sunset...but I just didn't have enough lens for that. 200 yrds away in low light it just wasn't happening. I didn't post those. They look like blurry sharks

Loved the colors in the shots. I haven't tried to take many sunset shots; the ones I have tried look a bit pale and washed out. I try to counteract it by shooting mostly in "vivid" (hence the intense colors in my flower shots). I've also been known to adjust the white balance a bit and add a bit of amber. Have to be careful with that, though - I have a shot of some orange flowers that hurts my eyes.

[CathyCA]

Beautiful pictures, Windsor!

You and AD are inspiring me. I'm thinking of adding a new camera to my list.

[ArkieDukie]

Go for it, Cathy! Taking pics is such fun.

[Lavabe]

Still trying to get a feel for the camera, but already am in love with Tamron 18-270 lens. It is going to be a great walk around lens. All shots were with that lens.

Constructive criticism is welcome!

<SNIP>
Aw gee...thank you.

I really like a couple of the sunset ones. What did I do? I moved to Florida where mother natures supplies spectacular sunsets on a regular basis . Seriously...I didn't do anything special. The lens was cranked out all the way...every bit of the 270 I had to play with...I forced the ISO down to 200 to get the rich color (the camera wanted about 400) I don't have I try pod, but I was sitting down and used my knees to steady the camera.

Three dolphins came along and were playing just at sunset...but I just didn't have enough lens for that. 200 yrds away in low light it just wasn't happening. I didn't post those. They look like blurry sharks

Good first attempts. Several constructive criticisms:
1) What software are you using or not using? The reason I say this is there seems to be a haze/purplish tinge on many of your shots. Even the sunsets have the same sort of haze. You have two options: a) use a haze or UV filter on your lens (you should ALWAYS have a filter on your lens, even for protection); and/or b) use some software on Photoshop or Corel to correct the haze. In high sunlight conditions, I'd suggest buying a polarizer filter.
2) The downside to using the zoom in lower light levels is that you wind up sacrificing depth of field in your photos. This is NOT a problem with the sunset photos. On the other hand, you may want more depth of field in human shots. In that case, I'd get the shots when there is more light outside. If you can't do that, then use more flash on the human shots. I also say this because I CAN NOT WAIT to see what you do with the dog photos. Shooting them is all about maximizing the depth of field.

But really, you're framing things nicely. I'd like to see you bring out more color.
Good work!!

[Lavabe]

By the way, I make PLENTY of dumb choices when I photograph. The lemur in my avatar, for example, was tough to shoot (lots of green light shading him), but I managed to get it with little difficulty on my 70-200mm f2.8 lens. I had the f at 2.8 (sacrificing depth of field to correct for the green light), but got it in a wonderful sequence. The camera shot about 20 frames in 10 seconds.

It wasn't until afterwards when I was showing this to another person who was into photography at camp. He looked at me and asked how long I had been shooting WITHOUT MY IMAGE STABILIZER ON!! This lens weighs about 3-4 pounds (seriously), and just about the only way to photograph with it is with a tripod (not possible with these lemurs) or with an incredibly steady hand. I lucked out. I braced myself well, and photographed without trouble. Having said that, my friend couldn't believe I took the photo without image stabilizing. I was really lucky.

However, I lost another 30 frames (some would have been killer photos) because of this problem. I have learned my lesson!!

But yeah, I wish I could photograph subjects that required a tripod. It would be a LOT easier.

[windsor]

Beautiful pictures, Windsor!

You and AD are inspiring me. I'm thinking of adding a new camera to my list.

Give it a try. I find photography zen like. I always go shooting alone (although having an big camera around your neck is a conversation piece for sure!) and when you are out just looking for shots you start to really 'see' things that you wouldn't notice normally...light, shadow, the bend of branch the reflection on the water. Ohhhhmmmmm

The current generation of DSLRs are awesome. I can shoot on full auto and let the camera take care of everything (although if I wanted to do THAT on a consistent basis I'd have bought a point/shoot and reduced my costs by a factor of 10!) There are times when full auto is handy. I can also go full manual and control everything about the shot. With the Nikon downloader (and my friend tells me his Canon is the same) the settings for that shot are imbedded...so I can see what the focal length was, or the ISO or whatever.

If you are serious about a camera I would echo the advice I was given. Find local non-chain camera by it store and go talk to them. You will pay a few dollars more for your equipment...but the advice/assistance is worth it.

[windsor]

Good first attempts. Several constructive criticisms:
1) What software are you using or not using? The reason I say this is there seems to be a haze/purplish tinge on many of your shots. Even the sunsets have the same sort of haze. You have two options: a) use a haze or UV filter on your lens (you should ALWAYS have a filter on your lens, even for protection); and/or b) use some software on Photoshop or Corel to correct the haze. In high sunlight conditions, I'd suggest buying a polarizer filter.
2) The downside to using the zoom in lower light levels is that you wind up sacrificing depth of field in your photos. This is NOT a problem with the sunset photos. On the other hand, you may want more depth of field in human shots. In that case, I'd get the shots when there is more light outside. If you can't do that, then use more flash on the human shots. I also say this because I CAN NOT WAIT to see what you do with the dog photos. Shooting them is all about maximizing the depth of field.

But really, you're framing things nicely. I'd like to see you bring out more color.
Good work!!

I didn't use any software. Those were straight out of the camera. I have photoshop but I wanted to push the pictures out uncorrected...that way if something was out of kilter (like a purple haze...hmmm that would be a cool name for a song...but I digress)
It would be obvious.

I have a UV filter on the lens. The camera guy pretty much refused to sell me the lens without a filter.
My next two additions will be a polarized filter and the battery grip...followed probably by a tripod.

What I need to do is go out and take the same shot with various settings so I can SEE the difference. I've done some dog headshots but doggies in motion is coming soon....maybe this weekend if I have time.

I appreciate the advice...it is always welcome!