| Author | Message | ||
     Prior |
Looking for some advice from the photo bugs on Badweb- Court, Dave, Corso, EBear, JB2, Reep, Mike, Jon etc. I was talking cameras back in Dec with one of my uncles and I mentioned that I was thinking about getting DSLR in addition to the various point and shoot cameras I've had over the years. I was thinking about a D60 or a D90. Get a package in the mail from him yesterday and it's a Nikon D2X he got in 2006, shot a few pictures on and decided it was a bit much for him, so back in the case it went. HUGE surprise to have show up on the doorstep. It's the complete package with lens, a nice flash, piles of memory cards, filters etc. But I don't know all that much about SLR cameras. So... Was wondering what resources you guys may recommend for getting up and going with this thing. I browsed most of the manual last night, and my uncle also included a CD book by Thom Hogan on the D2X that seems to be pretty comprehensive. Being new to this style camera, it's definitely going to be a learning curve with a pro model. I understand the basics of shutter speed, aparature, film speed etc, but combining them all to get good pictures I am sure will take time and practice. Of course, you can't replace the eye of a good photographer! Thanks, and look forward to sharing more pics with you all! Uncle Roger and I at Newport Beach, CA, Dec 2009. He's the one that got me into Engineering too...  (Message edited by awprior on June 02, 2010) | ||
| Hex |
You should try Nikon NX2 software as a compliment to Photoshop. There are a lot of advantages to only using NX2 with .NEF files. You got lucky with that camera score. You won't be disappointed with your equipment, but hopefully you'll get frustrated with yourself and your photography at times... | ||
| Slowride |
DP Review forums for Nikon is pretty good for general information. I run a Nikon D90 with Nikon, Nikkor and Sigma lenses. Ken Rockwell's site is always a good read. Gimp is a free tool that rocks.... For software editing I use a combo of Adobe CS2 and Adobe Lightroom 2 or you can get the beta 3 for free right now. In my best Boorat voice... "Ietsa a reeeelly niiiccee" Lightroom 3  Uploaded with ImageShack.us | ||
| Damnut |
Wow nice score!! Nikon has these cool DVD's that go over all the functions of specific cameras. They are like 20 bucks each. A good way to better photography is to join a Camera/Photo club. | ||
| Jb2 |
Alex, I can't add anything to the discussion since I'm unfamiliar with Nikon cameras. However, hearing your story this last weekend was very cool and the pic of you and your uncle is way too cool. Er... uh... VTC as D. would say. | ||
| Doerman |
Sorry, I can't add to the camera discussion. I just wanted to say the picture of you and your uncle above is outstanding. It says one thing: We're having a great time together!! | ||
| Danger_dave |
Press the button. See what it does. Change the settings. See what they do. Remember what gets you the result you like. Job done. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I'll be going against the stream a bit here, but here it goes... 1) Don't get yourself overwhelmed by uber complicated software. I'd start with Photoshop Elements for $60 or whatever, or even go get an older version on ebay for $20 or something. I'm still running 3.0. Then get comfortable with that, playing mainly with contrast, color balance, brightness, the clone tool (the zit remover  ) and the sharpness filter. Those tools alone get you 80% of the way down the road if you get good with them, learn them first. When you outgrow photoshop elements, you can move on to photoshop or the gimp and understand and appreciate why you suffer the pain and expense associated with them. 2) Learn to use the spot meter mode and focus lock on the camera. Maybe the uber camera can do better, but IMHO a human will always win. Set the camera into a "spot meter mode", which calculates exposure (and probably focus) for a very small (like 1 degree) circle in the middle of the frame. So you point that little dot at the center of interest (on a person, the eyes, on a thing, look for something else that will be the center of interest). Push the shutter button down half way, and you "lock in" the focus and exposure for that center of interest. If that makes the rest too bright or dark or out of focus, let it be. Once it is locked in, keep the button held half way and reframe the image for best composition, and push it the rest of the way down. 3) Never use your flash unless you are taking pictures of parts for a forensic analysis. Otherwise, always go with natural light, and learn how to crank up the ISO on the camera. Higher ISO's (light sensitivity) will give grainy artifacts that will degrade the photo in interesting analog ways. Flash will degrade a photo by making it look like some kind of crappy mug shot (unless you have several flashes and reflectors and some complicated flashmeter calculations) 4) Fill as much of the frame with your thing of interest, which is getting much more on top of it then you are used to doing. *really* fill the frame. Don't cut off heads, leave room for "movement". Like for a picture of a bike, leave room in the frame for the bike to move forward (even if it isn't moving". If it is a person, give them room to escape. It makes the picture subtly more comfortable and less crowded feeling. 5) Try not to center the center of interest, use the rule of thirds. Put the center of interest 1/3 of the way from the top, bottom, right, or left of the frame (or two of the above). 7) Zoom lenses at full zoom with a large F-Stop (small aperture) will "flatten" the image. So a person 100 yards away, and a motorcycle 200 yards away, will look to a long lens like they are standing right beside each other. Likewise, a wide angle or small F-Stop (large aperture) will tend to amplify the depth between things, and really separate the foreground from the background. I really like ultra wide angle lenses and getting right up in the face of whatever I am photographing. I like the way it fills the frame, but pulls the subject away and forward from the rest of the environment. That'll keep you busy. Shoot early, shoot often, live with the camera and shoot several thousand shots a week for a while. | ||
| Danger_dave |
I think flash is an important part of the arsenal. Any time I'm forced to point within 30 degrees of the sun I prefer a fill flash. I also think that (for the sake of discussion) 'there are no rules for good photographs. There are just good photographs,' - but I don't remember whose quote it was. | ||
| Pdxs3t |
Welcome to the DSLR world Alex! See if you can find this book. National Geographic Photography Field Guide Secerets to making great pictures By Peter K. Burian and Robert Caputo Its about 365 pages and a great resource to have at hand. | ||
| Prior |
Thanks for the info, guys. Corso, I found the book on Amazon for a whopping $3.99 shipped. Cannot beat that. Should be here on Monday. I'll see what demos or whatever I can find for the editing software you all recommended. That's a whole new world to me, I'm used to what I shot it what I got. Reep, I've spent quite a bit of time with my nose buried in teh book reading about what does what etc. Think I am reasonably grounded on that, now to start setting one mode at a time as manual, keeping the rest auto and see what changes. Heather and I are already planning a few day trips on the bike just to play with this thing. I do like that picture of Roger and I, one of the other great ones from that trip is of my grandpa and I, he turned 92 years young a few weeks ago and is still living alone and doing great.  I've only done maybe 200 shots with the D2X so far but am already amazed by the clarity, color and how sharp the pictures are. Yes, I need to wash the bike...    (Message edited by awprior on June 03, 2010) |
