TAKING GREAT PICTURES A Modest Introduction 1
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT CAMERA EQUIPMENT 2
THE REALLY CONFUSING CAMERA MARKET Hundreds of models are now available Canon alone has 41 models 28 compacts and 13 DSLRs The names make no sense... an alphanumeric jungle It s almost impossible to compare sensor sizes A key factor in image quality 3
IMAGE SENSOR SIZE The average pocket digital camera has tiny image sensors with a size somewhere around 28.5 square mm. Cellphone cameras are even smaller. A consumer digital SLR uses a bigger image sensor... about 370 square mm. This is nearly 13 times larger. Due to the larger sensor used in a digital SLR, it has a larger individual pixel size. As a result, a digital SLR produces images with much better quality when compared to consumer point-and-shoot digital cameras. For reference, 35 mm film is 864 square mm... the same as professional digital SLRs. 4
SENSOR SIZES 5
SENSOR SIZES Description Model Area (mm) Crop Factor Compared to 35mm Film 35 mm Full Frame APSC Four Thirds Film Pro DSLR Consumer DSLR Nikon D5100 Olympus EP-3 & Panasonic GF2 864 1.0 1 370 1.5 2.3 225 2.0 3.8 Nikon CX Nikon 1 116 2.7 7.4 1/1.7 1/2.3 Hi End Compact Canon S100 Compact Canon 510 HS 43.3 4.5 19.9 28.5 5.6 30.3 1/3.2 iphone 15.5 7.6 55.7 6
7
POCKET X X ADVANCED COMPACT DSLR 8
EQUIPMENT NEEDED Snapshooter Photographer Pro Photographer Pocket Camera Two 2 GB Memory Cards Pocket & DSLR Cameras or Advanced Compact Camera Two 4 GB Memory Cards Advanced DSLR & Pocket Cameras Several 8 GB Memory Cards 1 or 2 lenses with DSLR Extra lenses with DSLR USB Card Reader Computer Tripod External Flash UV & Polarizer Filters USB Card Reader Computer Tripod & Monopod External Flashes & Reflectors More Filters USB Multi-format Card Reader Laptop & Desktop Computers Basic Photo Software Advanced Photo Software Pro Photo Software 9
KEY TRADE OFFS Pocket Advanced Compact DSLR Small & Light In Between Big & Heavy Least expensive In Between Most expensive Easiest to use In Between Most creativity Limited zoom In Between As much as needed LCD In Between Through the lens Fewest controls In Between Most controls Worst lens In Between Best lens Worst flash In Between Best flash Smaller Chip In Between Bigger Chip Least quality In Between Most quality 10
CHOOSING A CAMERA : MY CONCLUSIONS Your first camera should be Pocket Size You ll have it when you need it Trade off size versus viewfinder and zoom range Your second camera should be a DSLR You ll often want the better quality... despite the inconvenience Decide on 1 or 2 lenses to cover zoom range 11
RECOMMENDATIONS For Compact cameras, I prefer Canon and Panasonic Best reviews and best sellers For DSLRs, I prefer Nikon and Canon Dominate pro market Others are good in certain segments 12
POCKET SIZE RECOMMENDATIONS Make Model Type Price Sensor Area MP Zoom. Size Canon Elph 510 HS Pocket $350 28.5 12.8 12x 28-336 3.9x2.3x0.9 7.27 oz Canon Elph 310 HS Pocket $260 28.5 12.8 8x 28-224 3.8x2.2x0.9 4.94 oz Panasonic DMC-ZS10 Pocket $315 28.5 14.1 Canon SX40 HS Big Zoom $430 28.5 12.8 16x 24-384 35x 24-840 4.1x2.3x1.3 7.7 oz 4.8x3.6x4.2 21.2 oz Canon S100 Advanced Compact (RAW) $430 43.3 13.3 5x 24-120 3.9x2.3x1.1 6.98 oz Panasonic GF2 Four Thirds (RAW) $500 + $265 zoom 225 12.1 14x (2 lens) 28-400 4.4x2.7x1.3+ 9.4 oz body 13
DSLR RECOMMENDATIONS Make Model Price MP Sensor Area Body Only Size Features Nikon D3100 $780 with 18-55 55-200 14.2 370 4.9x3.8x3.0 16 oz HD Video Self Clean Nikon D5100 $1000 with 18-55 55-300 16.2 370 5.0x3.8x3.1 18 oz HD Video Self Clean Nikon D7000 $1130 Body $790 18-200 16.2 370 5.2x4.2x3.0 27.5 oz with batt+sd HD Video Self Clean Canon EOS T3i $749 with 18-55 55-250 12.2 323 5.1x3.9x3.1 17.4 oz HD Video Self Clean Canon 60 D $929 Body $570 18-200 18.0 332 5.7x4.2x3.1 23.8 oz HD Video Self Clean 14
CHOOSING LENSES : MY CONCLUSIONS Get maximum Optical Zoom (Forget Digital Zoom) Get Image Stabilization. It works great Wide angle is more important than telephoto You can always crop to get more zoom But you lose pixels with crop or digital zoom 15
DSLR LENS RECOMMENDATIONS Make Model Zoom 35 mm Zoom Equivalent Maximum Aperture Price Nikon AF-S DX VR 18-55 mm 27-72 mm f/3.5-5.6 $110 Nikon AF-S DX VR 55-200 mm 72-300 mm f/4-5.6 $180 Nikon AF-S DX VR II 18-200 mm 27-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 $790 Canon EF-S IS 18-55 mm 27-72 mm f/3.5-5.6 $155 Canon EF-S IS 55-250 mm 72-375 mm f/4-5.6 $200 Canon EF-S IS 18-200 mm 27-300 mm f/3.5-5.6 $570 16
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CAMERA SETTINGS 17
HOW DIGITAL IS DIFFERENT Film is free and rolls are huge. Shoot much more. Immediate feedback on your picture. Review and correct. Crop after the fact. Just get it all in. Correct settings later. Use auto settings more. 18
WHAT DIGITAL CAN T CHANGE Cluttered backgrounds Focus and depth of field The right moment for your subject 19
CLOCK Be sure your clock setting is accurate Synchronize clocks when using multiple cameras at an event so you can sort all pictures by time taken 20
QUALITY MODES Number of pixels Picture Size or Image Size Small / Medium / Large Degree of compression JPG Compression ( Basic / Normal / Fine ) RAW - No compression Best Quality : Use max pixels & least compression If files are too big, use normal compression 21
COLOR MODES Look for Color Mode or Picture Control Choices like Standard Natural/Neutral Vivid Cool/Landscape Warm/Portrait Choice depends on subject & personal taste Reportedly Nikon is more neutral & Canon more vivid With film, Kodachrome = warm and Extachrome = cool 22
EXPOSURE MODES Manual - For the purist. Not needed as much now. Aperture Priority - To control depth of field Shutter Speed Priority - To deal with motion Program - Best-all around. Simplicity + flexibility. Automatic - Most foolproof for the snapshooter 23
SCENE MODES Icons for Portrait, Scenery, Sports, Macro etc. Very useful for providing automatic settings that are ideal for the subject of the picture For many uses you can just alternate between Portrait and Scenery settings 24
MOVIE MODE Useful for movie clips to insert into slide shows Great for kids, sports, music, parades etc. Used to be low quality with pocket cameras Now HD quality with DSLRs 25
METERING MODES Whole Scene - the best choice in most cases Center Weighted Spot - expose subject properly in high contrast light May leave background too bright or too dark 26
SHOOTING MODES Single Frame - The normal setting Continuous or Burst - To capture the precise moment Timer - To get in the picture yourself 27
FLASH MODES Automatic Red Eye Reduction Forced Flash Off - for natural, low-light shots Forced Flash On - for fill flash Slow Sync - for combined flash & natural light 28
FLASH QUALITY Flash pictures vary much more in quality than non-flash pictures. The built-in flash of a DSLR offers much better quality than a pocket camera due to more power and through-the-lens control. An external flash with a DSLR offers much better quality than the built-in flash due to even more power plus the ability to use bounce flash and off-camera flash. Multiple external flashes are even better. 29
ISO MODES ISO is the digital equivalent of film speed The higher the ISO the less time that is needed for a proper exposure, but the more noise that is introduced Auto allows the camera to choose the lowest ISO that gives a proper exposure Or you can set the ISO, usually between 200 and 800, but it can sometimes range from 100 to 6400+ 30
WHITE BALANCE MODES White Balance matches your image to the color temperature of the light that exists Settings include Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Shade, Flash, Incandescent & Fluorescent With the wrong White Balance the picture has an unnatural color cast Auto usually works fine unless there is a mixture of light or you want a special effect, such as a warmer (more red/yellow) or cooler (more blue/ green) look A pro told me he uses the cloudy setting in sunlight to get warm skin tones 31
EXPOSURE ADJUSTMENT The camera tries to choose the best exposure but sometimes you need to adjust it based on the subject and your creative intent Exposure Compensation : choose + to brighten the image and - to darken the image Bracketing : Take multiple pictures that vary the exposure up and down from the Auto setting Exposure Compensation and Bracketing are much less important now with better electronics plus software editing 32
THE TRADEOFFS Size vs. Quality Zoom vs. Crop Natural vs. Flash Aperture vs. Shutter Speed vs. Depth of Field 33
THE TRADE-OFFS Portrait Scenery Small f-stop Big f-stop Big aperture Small aperture Short shutter speed Long shutter speed Narrow depth of field Wide depth of field 34
THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS Backlighting Low Light Color Distortion Moving Subject Focusing The Right Moment 35
BACKLIGHTING OPTIONS Automatic Setting - let the camera decide Exposure Adjustment - lighten the whole image Spot Meter - properly expose the subject Fill Flash - Add artificial light on subject Reflector - Add natural light on subject 36
LOW LIGHT OPTIONS Use maximum aperture Use fast lens Use vibration reduction Adjust ISO setting Use tripod Use flash 37
COLOR OPTIONS White balance setting For realism For desired look Color Mode Saturation setting Hue setting 38
MOVING SUBJECT OPTIONS Camera tracking for sharp subject Camera fixed for blurred subject Autofocus setting Lens setting 39
FOCUSING OPTIONS Controlling depth of field Choosing auto focus mode Selecting focus point Using continuous auto focus Face detection feature 40
DEPTH OF FIELD Shallow Depth of Field Deep Depth of Field Aperture Bigger (Smaller f stop) Smaller (Larger f stop) Distance to subject Closer Further Lens focal length Telephoto lens Zoom in Wide angle lens Zoom out 41
THE RIGHT MOMENT Use Burst mode For fast moving subjects For gettings smiles & avoiding blinks Use exposure and focus lock to be ready Anticipate what will happen next 42
REMEMBER When you adjust a setting to solve a specific problem, such as ISO, white balance, metering or camera mode, be sure to return to the normal setting afterward! 43
TRAINING YOUR EYE 44
HOW TO GET GREAT PICTURES Have a clear subject or theme. Simplify. No distractions. Focus attention on the subject. SOURCE : NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY 45
DISTRACTION OPTIONS Remove distractions Change point of view Move subject Use shallow depth of field Control lighting Zoom in and/or crop 46
HOW TO FOCUS ON YOUR SUBJECT 1 Placement - rule of thirds 2 Relative size! 3 Framing 4 Converging lines 5 Selective lighting 6 Focus 7 Repetition 8 Color SOURCE : NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY 47
REMEMBER Improve your composition by : Look at the total scene in the viewfinder when you compose a picture, not just the subject. Don t just put faces in the center. Look for things being chopped off around the edges. 48
REMEMBER Add drama to your pictures by: Looking for ways to create depth. Shooting from an unexpected angle Getting close up on your subject 49
MORE INFORMATION Read your manuals and other photo books Go to www.kiawahphotoclub.com for links Come to more of our Workshops & Lectures Experiment with the lessons learned 50
TAKING GREAT PICTURES A Modest Introduction 51