With the digital camera era, every photographer tends to shoot more pictures. The limitation we have is directly tied to the storage capacity on hand. But then that adds another problem - how do we manage storage on our hard disk.
Here is a article that talks about one of the work flows that this photographer follows to find his keepers. "How to make your photos better by deleting them" - here he uses Adobe Lightroom to organize and identify his keepers.
I typically use Nikon Capture NX for most of my minimal processing and use a RED, YELLOW & GREEN tags to classify my images. I start with ViewNX and browse through my pictures. Flag out images with RED tag if I feel teh image will not be ultimately used. In my second round browsing, I identify images that may be used after minor processing (a crop, exposure value or sharpness adjustment) and flag these images with a YELLOW tag. In the third round I flag images that I feel are sure keepers and flag them with a GREEN tag.
At this point, the ratio of RED vs. YELLOW vs. GREEN on an average is 75 : 20 : 5 respectively. Now I fire up Nikon CaptureNX and start looking at the YELLOW tags, do some minimal processing and try to keep a few. All the keepers and processed images go to a new folder (RAW format). The images get converted from RAW to JPEG for printing or uploading them online. In about a month or whenever I need to conserve some hard disk space I come back and delete the RED tagged images or sometimes the original download folder.
On an average I keep 10% to 12% of the pictures I shoot, of which 1% or 2% are really good images (I don't determine this, but based on feedback & comments). So tell me what you think of this workflow. Do you have a workflow that you use?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Photographing stage events (Low Light shooting)
Photographing stage events brings a lot of challenges for the photographer. You are trying to get the best picture with low light from a considerable distance. Shooting in low light forces you to open up your aperture or reduce your shutter speed or crank up your ISO in your fight against elements such as noise, blur, DoF and exposure. Shooting from a distance means, you need a long lens which will add more fuel to the fire. Here I am going to cover how you should prepare and what equipment will help to get good result.
Lens:
Even though I am a prime lens freak, for stage events I would recommend a zoom lens. Remember that you will need to shoot the picture as it happens, the performer is not going to pause for you, there is no replay and they could be moving all over the stage. So using multiple prime lenses and switching between shots might not suite well.
A lens with a 70-200mm is a good range for shooting stage programs if you have access to area about 30-50 feet from the stage. The further you are going to be from the stage, you will need longer lens.
Wider the aperture (faster the lens) the better. Select a lens that has wide aperture (low FStop) available at a highest zoom value. Some zoom lenses have a constant aperture at the different zoom levels. Some has variable apertures at different zoom levels - at max zoom, the aperture might be narrower (higher FStop) than at the min zoom (wide angle).
Having capability to correct blurs caused due to camera/hand movement is a great advantage. Different manufacturers call it with different names - VR, IS, VC, etc. Some implement this within the lens, others with in the camera.
Camera Settings:
Shooting Mode:
As much as possible I love to control every situation (my wife hates it), so I shoot with my camera in manual mode in most cases. However, for a stage program, I prefer and recommend one of the camera priority modes - "Aperture Priority" or "Shutter Priority". Like I said earlier, the performer is not going to stop & pose for you to shoot, so you have to reduce the number of variables you need to adjust. In the priority mode, you get to select one value and the camera selects a value for the other based on information from the light meter. In Aperture priority, you select aperture value and camera selects shutter speed. In shutter priority it's vice verse.
In aperture priority mode select the widest aperture (lowest FStop number) at the highest zoom if you have a zoom lens with variable apertures at different zoom values. If you have a constant aperture lens, an aperture value of 5.6 (or +/- 1 stop) is what I recommend. Smaller the aperture (larger the FStop number) the larger the DoF will be. Key point here is at the best ISO settings on your camera, the shutter speed should not drop below a point causing blurs due to camera movement.
In shutter priority mode select a shutter speed that will not cause a blur due to camera movement. Remember your hands can get tired holding your equipment (zoom lenses tend to be heavy) through the program.
ISO:
This is the measure of the image-sensor sensitivity to light. When using film, your options are to get a higher sensitive film, thus less exposure time, which means smaller aperture and/or faster shutter speed. Today in the digital era, the film has been replaced with an electronic image-sensor, and the sensitivity can be adjusted by the photographer. Like the film, if you increase the sensitivity of the image-sensor, you can capture pictures at low lighting.Lens:
Even though I am a prime lens freak, for stage events I would recommend a zoom lens. Remember that you will need to shoot the picture as it happens, the performer is not going to pause for you, there is no replay and they could be moving all over the stage. So using multiple prime lenses and switching between shots might not suite well.
A lens with a 70-200mm is a good range for shooting stage programs if you have access to area about 30-50 feet from the stage. The further you are going to be from the stage, you will need longer lens.
Wider the aperture (faster the lens) the better. Select a lens that has wide aperture (low FStop) available at a highest zoom value. Some zoom lenses have a constant aperture at the different zoom levels. Some has variable apertures at different zoom levels - at max zoom, the aperture might be narrower (higher FStop) than at the min zoom (wide angle).
Having capability to correct blurs caused due to camera/hand movement is a great advantage. Different manufacturers call it with different names - VR, IS, VC, etc. Some implement this within the lens, others with in the camera.
Camera Settings:
Shooting Mode:
As much as possible I love to control every situation (my wife hates it), so I shoot with my camera in manual mode in most cases. However, for a stage program, I prefer and recommend one of the camera priority modes - "Aperture Priority" or "Shutter Priority". Like I said earlier, the performer is not going to stop & pose for you to shoot, so you have to reduce the number of variables you need to adjust. In the priority mode, you get to select one value and the camera selects a value for the other based on information from the light meter. In Aperture priority, you select aperture value and camera selects shutter speed. In shutter priority it's vice verse.
In aperture priority mode select the widest aperture (lowest FStop number) at the highest zoom if you have a zoom lens with variable apertures at different zoom values. If you have a constant aperture lens, an aperture value of 5.6 (or +/- 1 stop) is what I recommend. Smaller the aperture (larger the FStop number) the larger the DoF will be. Key point here is at the best ISO settings on your camera, the shutter speed should not drop below a point causing blurs due to camera movement.
In shutter priority mode select a shutter speed that will not cause a blur due to camera movement. Remember your hands can get tired holding your equipment (zoom lenses tend to be heavy) through the program.
ISO:
Choose an ISO setting, that yields to the least amount of noise in the picture, for the size you plan on printing and using the images. This depends on the camera's technology and you probably can get to what is the best ISO from reference documentation (printed or online). However, if you can experiment and find the ideal ISO setting, there is noting better to make you feel more confident.
White Balance (WB):
WB is the adjustment to ensure the image-sensor understands the neutral colors - White, Grey & Black. This is how I understood WB - my theory may be incorrect and I might change it as I understand & learn more about it.
WB is the adjustment to ensure the image-sensor understands the neutral colors - White, Grey & Black. This is how I understood WB - my theory may be incorrect and I might change it as I understand & learn more about it.
- The fact is neutral colors will look different when we look at them under different light sources (sunlight, incandescent, fluorescent, etc). Unlike an image-sensor in our camera today, our eyes can adapt automatically based on ambient light and reproduces the correct colors for our brain to process the image.
- As color is measured in Kelvin temperature, each light source will produce a temperature range. WB is a configurable value to tell the camera's image-sensor what temperature range to expect when reading the neutral colors.
- In your camera, you select the type of light source for your WB and camera adjusts for the color temperature as it digitized the image. The image-sensor will then reproduce the colors as close as seen by our eyes.
The fun about digital is you can adjust this in post processing. So if you know what is the light source in the stage you are going to shoot, you can set it to that, else go with auto and fine tune during post processing.
Aperture & Shutter speed:
Depending on your creativity, you can play with aperture and shutter speed to produce different results. Keep in mind, higher ISO values will open up more room to play with a range of aperture and shutter speed. On the other hand watch our for image noise.
Depending on your creativity, you can play with aperture and shutter speed to produce different results. Keep in mind, higher ISO values will open up more room to play with a range of aperture and shutter speed. On the other hand watch our for image noise.
Note:
- Wider aperture means faster shutter speeds and the less Dof .
- Slower shutter speed means narrow aperture and more prone to shakes and vibrations.
Exposure Setting:
Using spot-metering can help with exposure to start with. Many stages have black background screens and your camera's light meter end up reading the black area as dark area if you use matrix or center weighted metering and fool you with incorrect exposure. Even though center weighted meeting will reduce the variance in exposure, I highly recommend spot metering.
Using spot-metering can help with exposure to start with. Many stages have black background screens and your camera's light meter end up reading the black area as dark area if you use matrix or center weighted metering and fool you with incorrect exposure. Even though center weighted meeting will reduce the variance in exposure, I highly recommend spot metering.
Once you have practiced and have a few hundred stage event pictures under your belt, you probably should switch to manual exposure mode. During the event, calibrate your aperture and shutter speed based to a value - spot reading based on an object in the stage (a person's face/arm, chair, table, etc) and use that setting through out the event to shoot pictures.
Post Processing:
Let me confess, I am a newbie at this. My knowledge and experience of post-processing is below average and do not consider myself good enough to preach what you need to do. So it's up to you to figure out what you want to do. You will need to read up about the software and figure out how to work on each of these parameters. Also many software provide various features and you have to figure out how to play in that playground. There are many online articles and tutorials to help you understand how to draft a work flow and do certain functionality. I use Nikon CaptureNX2 and GIMP for my image processing. Often use Picasa when I feel lazy, mainly to make small & simple adjustments.
Post Processing:
Let me confess, I am a newbie at this. My knowledge and experience of post-processing is below average and do not consider myself good enough to preach what you need to do. So it's up to you to figure out what you want to do. You will need to read up about the software and figure out how to work on each of these parameters. Also many software provide various features and you have to figure out how to play in that playground. There are many online articles and tutorials to help you understand how to draft a work flow and do certain functionality. I use Nikon CaptureNX2 and GIMP for my image processing. Often use Picasa when I feel lazy, mainly to make small & simple adjustments.
The most common post processing adjustments I ended up doing to my stage pictures were the WB, EV, Composition (CROP) & Sharpness.
Experiment and Practice:
Do your experiment to learn about the limitations of your equipment. Shoot pictures in a room with similar lighting and try to be at an approximate distance from the subject as you will for the program.
Set your camera to aperture priority mode, use an aperture value of 5.6 or +/- 1 stop. If your lens has a variable aperture, that is aperture changes as the zoom varies, use the lowest aperture available at the highest zoom value. Enable "High-Noise Reduction" and set the ISO to the highest value to start with.
Shoot 3-4 test pictures at different Zoom settings (say for example 200mm, 150mm, 100mm, 70mm). Once you have done this reduce the ISO by 100/200 and repeat the test. I would suggest get as many test pictures between ISO1000 and the highest available ISO in your camera.
Once you have all your pictures, compare them in your PC (full screen mode). You are looking for noise (or grain) and camera shake (blurred images) in the test pics. Pick one picture for each zoom setting, that you feel is sharp, well exposed and least grains - look in the EXIF data and take note of the zoom setting (focal length), ISO settings and the aperture you used.
If you are shooting hand held, I recommend selecting pictures taken at around 1/100 sec shutter speed. Anything lower could cause a blur, but again it depends.
I shot a stage event using a D700 and the Nikon 70-200mm F/2.8G VR. Two features that turned out as an advantage for me was high ISO and VR capabilities, which helped a lot. Here are some pictures from the event.
Experiment and Practice:
Do your experiment to learn about the limitations of your equipment. Shoot pictures in a room with similar lighting and try to be at an approximate distance from the subject as you will for the program.
Set your camera to aperture priority mode, use an aperture value of 5.6 or +/- 1 stop. If your lens has a variable aperture, that is aperture changes as the zoom varies, use the lowest aperture available at the highest zoom value. Enable "High-Noise Reduction" and set the ISO to the highest value to start with.
Shoot 3-4 test pictures at different Zoom settings (say for example 200mm, 150mm, 100mm, 70mm). Once you have done this reduce the ISO by 100/200 and repeat the test. I would suggest get as many test pictures between ISO1000 and the highest available ISO in your camera.
Once you have all your pictures, compare them in your PC (full screen mode). You are looking for noise (or grain) and camera shake (blurred images) in the test pics. Pick one picture for each zoom setting, that you feel is sharp, well exposed and least grains - look in the EXIF data and take note of the zoom setting (focal length), ISO settings and the aperture you used.
If you are shooting hand held, I recommend selecting pictures taken at around 1/100 sec shutter speed. Anything lower could cause a blur, but again it depends.
I shot a stage event using a D700 and the Nikon 70-200mm F/2.8G VR. Two features that turned out as an advantage for me was high ISO and VR capabilities, which helped a lot. Here are some pictures from the event.
Glossary:
ISO - International Standards Organization
ISO - International Standards Organization
IS - Image Stabilization
VR - Vibration Reduction
VC - Vibration Control
DoF - Depth of Field
FStop - Fractional Stop (also called as F Number or F Ratio)
WB - White Balance
EXIF - Exchangeable Image File Format
VR - Vibration Reduction
VC - Vibration Control
DoF - Depth of Field
FStop - Fractional Stop (also called as F Number or F Ratio)
WB - White Balance
EXIF - Exchangeable Image File Format
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Small Strobe Lighting by Paul D'Andrea
Small Strobe Lighting by Paul D'Andrea on Jan 29 in Indianapolis at the Photo Venture Camera Club meeting
Here's some details:
www.flickr.com/groups/indyflickr/discuss/72157612605643758/
Here's info on getting to the Art Center:
www.photoventure.org/content/about-photo-venture/club-meetings.html
Here's some details:
www.flickr.com/groups/indyflickr/discuss/72157612605643758/
Here's info on getting to the Art Center:
www.photoventure.org/content/about-photo-venture/club-meetings.html
Thursday, December 11, 2008
DSLR buying advice - Ask and it shall be given unto you...
You don't realize the advantages of being a member of an organization - local or online, until you seek for advice/help.
I am a member of the "Columbus Viewfinders Photography Club" in Columbus, Indiana. When I was ready to get my DSLR I posted on the club's group page that I am ready to buy my DSLR and there were tons of advices that poured in. This article is to consolidate lot of those advices from our club members, my friends and also bring together what I understood from my 3-4 months of research.
Now, this article is not to influence you to buy a certain product, however, I just wish to help a person new to photography get started on the right path. If you already own certain equipments, many photographers stick to the same manufacturer. This article can help someone new to this industry, someone who wants to start fresh.
#1-Getting the most expensive body does not mean you can take better pictures: True, if you have not understood the basics of photography there is no point in spending $2000 for a DSLR to start with.
#2-Invest more into glass than body: Ultimately, the light that reaches your film/sensor is what matters. So minimum resistance is better and you are wondering how to figure this out - now you need to look for the expert’s websites. I have included a list of links below - these are links I researched to find information.
#3 - Get a good UV filter for all lenses: Don't buy the cheap UVs, look for the PRO filters and spend that $50 for a good filter. It protects the lens front element from scratches and coating ware-off and ultimately saves your $1000 lens.
#4 - Try to match filter sizes of the different lenses you are going to buy: The polarizer, neutral density, etc are filters that you use for certain compositions. Now if your lenses have the same filter sizes you can use one set with all your lenses rather than buy polarizer at 52mm, 67mm & 77mm - you can save some money here.
#5 - Choose your lenses: Based on your photography style, find out if the manufacturer makes lenses that will suit your kinda photography. Example if you are only going to shoot landscape, then look for the wide angel, standard and medium telephoto lens. If you are shooting portraits, look for standard, medium telephoto and longer telephoto lenses. And, if you shoot events, you need a fast & long telephoto lens. Once you have figured out the focal lengths you need based on your style, make up your mind on if you want prime or zoom lenses.
With prime lenses, you probably need to plan a ahead on what lens you are going to use for a shoot. Remember you will also probably end up carrying more lenses, which means larger bag and more weight. However, prime lenses can produce better image clarity and sharpness than zoom lenses.
Zoom lenses are handy, because they work multiple focal lengths and no doubt there are many pro quality lenses that can produce sharp and clear photographs. Some of the recent zoom lenses can be calibrated using software to suite your camera body. Remember, moving parts will need some maintenance after considerable amount of usage.
I look for max & min aperture openings, full metal construction barrel and real glass for optics - generally try to avoid lenses that are made of plastic components. Plastic component makes the lens more economical, however reduces durability. Remember, you don't need to buy them all together, but build your wish list. May be you get lucky next birthday, anniversary or Christmas.
#6 - Understand the sensor sizes: In the good old film days we had 35mm, 120mm and APS film sizes. 35 mm size was the most common and literally ruled over other film sizes worldwide. In the same way we are now at a point where we have different size sensors in the digital age - Full Frame, APS frame and 4/3rd frame (in order of sizes, large to smaller). The price of the DSLR camera body is very much dictated by the sensor size.
A full frame sensor is larger, more silicon needed and more difficult to manufacture, thus the full frame cameras are more expensive. Now manufacturers have lenses that a custom designed to produce the best results on these types of sensors. So you probably need to make up your mind what you are going to shoot with - I mean what type of sensors. A lens made for the larger type of sensor will work well on a smaller lens (as long as it fits the body), here you need to understand that the image is going to be cropped because your sensor is smaller, so the image produced will look magnified. However no magnification happens, you are just loosing a small percentage of the image the lens is capable of.
So in the long run, if you plan to turn pro, my suggestion is larger is better. I will sometime in the future write on how these sensor sizes matter and differ.
#7 - Accessories - Tripod, Flash, Media cards, cables, filters, bag, strobes, light stand...: The list of accessories is end less. To start with, you need to look at what basic accessories is required for your style of shooting and can not do without. May be you need a flash & media cards and you can salvage a old tripod from a friend. Or may be you just need a tripod and can reuse old media card. There are plenty of used accessories that can help you started - you local camera sore, or many online stores or EBay can help you get started for a very small budget. When you go for used, think about how long you want to use it, what is the condition, how much is the cost variance. Evaluate if the accessory is for long term and durability is very important - then consider buying new.
I have 2 tripods and don't think either is durable for my D700 with a heavy lens. I bought the first one for $30 to use with my P&S, then I realized that tripod may not guarantee to hold up my film SLR. I then spent another $60 to get a stronger one to hold my film SLR. When I put my D700 with the Nikon 70-200mm lens on it, the thinnest legs started to wobble. So you could end up buying the same accessory multiple times - save the money and invest into the right accessory. Same with media cards, if you plan to shoot at hi-resolution (or RAW) then your cards are going to fill up fast, so invest for a larger capacity. However, you do not want to start with 4 8GB cards. The price of storage only drops. I first bought (2 cards) 4 GB pro-media cards for $72 in Oct 2008, in Dec 2008 I find deals where 8GB pro-media cards are $9.99 after MIR - that is almost $1 per GB. So get what is absolutely necessary and add the remaining to your wish list, you want to give a chance for friends and family to make you happy.
#8 - What's your friends circle using? If you have a circle of friends with interest in photography, look at what they are using. What are the results of their hard work? What did lens did they use? How did they end up with the exposure? Are they interested to share equipments - like lens, camera body, flash, filters, cables, tripod, etc. If you think that you do not want to share your equipment, then forget asking them to share, say thanks for letting you look at their equipment and move on.
#9 - Trial the camera & lens: Go to the store and try the body & lens - this will help answer many questions. Look for how it feels, is it too heavy, do you feel comfortable with the adjustment rings on the lens, are the controls/buttons placed where you can quickly reach, do you like how the menu is organized, do you understand the user manual, can you adjust the viewfinder diaptor to suit your glasses/contact-lens. Many stores let you borrow equipment or rent out equipment. Before you end up scratching the bottom of the account, make sure you are making the right investment.
#10 - Prioritizing and budgeting: Now put all knowledge you gained together and make a list of camera body, lens and other equipments you have in mind - the wish list. Categorize them based on brand, your shooting style and price. Now you prioritize them with 1, 3, 7 & 10.
Beyond the above 10 points: There is one feature that needs very serious consideration when looking for a DSLR - it is sensor dust removal. Dust on the sensor will show up in your image which could turn out bloody - I mean you pulling on your hair and bleeding your scalp. Imagine you are switching between a wide angel to a tele-photo lens on a busy street with many vehicle passing by and a light breeze blowing up dust. Think about eveything you need to do here - take off the rear lens cap, remove the lens from camera, put the lens somewhere safe, pick up the new lens and lock on to the camera. In the time you lock on the lens to the camera, you definitly will have some dust particles blown on to your rear element of the lens or sensor. You bet it's frustrating to look at a great picture and someone ask "what is this spec?". The most common solution is to use a software to remove dust/specs in your image - I do not recommend this. May be becuase I fear my image is altered with out my control or I may have to buy expensive software. So, my suggestion is to getting a camera that can shake - shake the dust off. Most recent DSLRs have dust removal feature now and make sure you get one such camera, keep some hair on your head.
Conclusion:
It really comes down to the person behind the lens to create that balanced equation to get a great picture. So, practice is key. I wish you the best and enjoy the art of photography.
Links:
Digital Photo Review - http://www.dpreview.com
Ken Rockwell - http://www.kenrockwell.com
Fred Miranda - http://www.fredmiranda.com
Thom Hogan Nikon Field guide - http://www.bythom.com
Imaging Resources - http://www.imaging-resource.com
Kim Komando's Photography Tips - http://www.komando.com/tips/categories.aspx?cat=35
Lens Review - http://www.lens-reviews.com
Motley Pixels Lens Review - http://www.motleypixel.com
Photo Net - http://www.photo.net
Lens Specs and Reviews - http://www.photodo.com
Stores where customer reviews:
Adorama - http://www.adorama.com
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com
Other related sites:
Equipment Lady - http://www.equipmentlady.com
Paul van Walree - http://www.vanwalree.com/optics.html
Rolands Nikon Lens Database - http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/
Nikon Digital - http://www.nikondigital.org
Scott Kelby - http://www.scottkelby.com
Photo Attorney - http://www.photoattorney.com
I am a member of the "Columbus Viewfinders Photography Club" in Columbus, Indiana. When I was ready to get my DSLR I posted on the club's group page that I am ready to buy my DSLR and there were tons of advices that poured in. This article is to consolidate lot of those advices from our club members, my friends and also bring together what I understood from my 3-4 months of research.
Now, this article is not to influence you to buy a certain product, however, I just wish to help a person new to photography get started on the right path. If you already own certain equipments, many photographers stick to the same manufacturer. This article can help someone new to this industry, someone who wants to start fresh.
#1-Getting the most expensive body does not mean you can take better pictures: True, if you have not understood the basics of photography there is no point in spending $2000 for a DSLR to start with.
#2-Invest more into glass than body: Ultimately, the light that reaches your film/sensor is what matters. So minimum resistance is better and you are wondering how to figure this out - now you need to look for the expert’s websites. I have included a list of links below - these are links I researched to find information.
#3 - Get a good UV filter for all lenses: Don't buy the cheap UVs, look for the PRO filters and spend that $50 for a good filter. It protects the lens front element from scratches and coating ware-off and ultimately saves your $1000 lens.
#4 - Try to match filter sizes of the different lenses you are going to buy: The polarizer, neutral density, etc are filters that you use for certain compositions. Now if your lenses have the same filter sizes you can use one set with all your lenses rather than buy polarizer at 52mm, 67mm & 77mm - you can save some money here.
#5 - Choose your lenses: Based on your photography style, find out if the manufacturer makes lenses that will suit your kinda photography. Example if you are only going to shoot landscape, then look for the wide angel, standard and medium telephoto lens. If you are shooting portraits, look for standard, medium telephoto and longer telephoto lenses. And, if you shoot events, you need a fast & long telephoto lens. Once you have figured out the focal lengths you need based on your style, make up your mind on if you want prime or zoom lenses.
With prime lenses, you probably need to plan a ahead on what lens you are going to use for a shoot. Remember you will also probably end up carrying more lenses, which means larger bag and more weight. However, prime lenses can produce better image clarity and sharpness than zoom lenses.
Zoom lenses are handy, because they work multiple focal lengths and no doubt there are many pro quality lenses that can produce sharp and clear photographs. Some of the recent zoom lenses can be calibrated using software to suite your camera body. Remember, moving parts will need some maintenance after considerable amount of usage.
I look for max & min aperture openings, full metal construction barrel and real glass for optics - generally try to avoid lenses that are made of plastic components. Plastic component makes the lens more economical, however reduces durability. Remember, you don't need to buy them all together, but build your wish list. May be you get lucky next birthday, anniversary or Christmas.
#6 - Understand the sensor sizes: In the good old film days we had 35mm, 120mm and APS film sizes. 35 mm size was the most common and literally ruled over other film sizes worldwide. In the same way we are now at a point where we have different size sensors in the digital age - Full Frame, APS frame and 4/3rd frame (in order of sizes, large to smaller). The price of the DSLR camera body is very much dictated by the sensor size.
A full frame sensor is larger, more silicon needed and more difficult to manufacture, thus the full frame cameras are more expensive. Now manufacturers have lenses that a custom designed to produce the best results on these types of sensors. So you probably need to make up your mind what you are going to shoot with - I mean what type of sensors. A lens made for the larger type of sensor will work well on a smaller lens (as long as it fits the body), here you need to understand that the image is going to be cropped because your sensor is smaller, so the image produced will look magnified. However no magnification happens, you are just loosing a small percentage of the image the lens is capable of.
So in the long run, if you plan to turn pro, my suggestion is larger is better. I will sometime in the future write on how these sensor sizes matter and differ.
#7 - Accessories - Tripod, Flash, Media cards, cables, filters, bag, strobes, light stand...: The list of accessories is end less. To start with, you need to look at what basic accessories is required for your style of shooting and can not do without. May be you need a flash & media cards and you can salvage a old tripod from a friend. Or may be you just need a tripod and can reuse old media card. There are plenty of used accessories that can help you started - you local camera sore, or many online stores or EBay can help you get started for a very small budget. When you go for used, think about how long you want to use it, what is the condition, how much is the cost variance. Evaluate if the accessory is for long term and durability is very important - then consider buying new.
I have 2 tripods and don't think either is durable for my D700 with a heavy lens. I bought the first one for $30 to use with my P&S, then I realized that tripod may not guarantee to hold up my film SLR. I then spent another $60 to get a stronger one to hold my film SLR. When I put my D700 with the Nikon 70-200mm lens on it, the thinnest legs started to wobble. So you could end up buying the same accessory multiple times - save the money and invest into the right accessory. Same with media cards, if you plan to shoot at hi-resolution (or RAW) then your cards are going to fill up fast, so invest for a larger capacity. However, you do not want to start with 4 8GB cards. The price of storage only drops. I first bought (2 cards) 4 GB pro-media cards for $72 in Oct 2008, in Dec 2008 I find deals where 8GB pro-media cards are $9.99 after MIR - that is almost $1 per GB. So get what is absolutely necessary and add the remaining to your wish list, you want to give a chance for friends and family to make you happy.
#8 - What's your friends circle using? If you have a circle of friends with interest in photography, look at what they are using. What are the results of their hard work? What did lens did they use? How did they end up with the exposure? Are they interested to share equipments - like lens, camera body, flash, filters, cables, tripod, etc. If you think that you do not want to share your equipment, then forget asking them to share, say thanks for letting you look at their equipment and move on.
#9 - Trial the camera & lens: Go to the store and try the body & lens - this will help answer many questions. Look for how it feels, is it too heavy, do you feel comfortable with the adjustment rings on the lens, are the controls/buttons placed where you can quickly reach, do you like how the menu is organized, do you understand the user manual, can you adjust the viewfinder diaptor to suit your glasses/contact-lens. Many stores let you borrow equipment or rent out equipment. Before you end up scratching the bottom of the account, make sure you are making the right investment.
#10 - Prioritizing and budgeting: Now put all knowledge you gained together and make a list of camera body, lens and other equipments you have in mind - the wish list. Categorize them based on brand, your shooting style and price. Now you prioritize them with 1, 3, 7 & 10.
- Priority 10 is you need it or you will die and you have the money saved for it.
- Priority 7 is you need it, but will not kill yourself and can find some money for it.
- Priority 3 is you like to have it, but not necessary, can do without and may end up breaking the bank.
- Priority 1 is wow it makes me look like a rich pro photographer.
Beyond the above 10 points: There is one feature that needs very serious consideration when looking for a DSLR - it is sensor dust removal. Dust on the sensor will show up in your image which could turn out bloody - I mean you pulling on your hair and bleeding your scalp. Imagine you are switching between a wide angel to a tele-photo lens on a busy street with many vehicle passing by and a light breeze blowing up dust. Think about eveything you need to do here - take off the rear lens cap, remove the lens from camera, put the lens somewhere safe, pick up the new lens and lock on to the camera. In the time you lock on the lens to the camera, you definitly will have some dust particles blown on to your rear element of the lens or sensor. You bet it's frustrating to look at a great picture and someone ask "what is this spec?". The most common solution is to use a software to remove dust/specs in your image - I do not recommend this. May be becuase I fear my image is altered with out my control or I may have to buy expensive software. So, my suggestion is to getting a camera that can shake - shake the dust off. Most recent DSLRs have dust removal feature now and make sure you get one such camera, keep some hair on your head.
Conclusion:
It really comes down to the person behind the lens to create that balanced equation to get a great picture. So, practice is key. I wish you the best and enjoy the art of photography.
Links:
Digital Photo Review - http://www.dpreview.com
Ken Rockwell - http://www.kenrockwell.com
Fred Miranda - http://www.fredmiranda.com
Thom Hogan Nikon Field guide - http://www.bythom.com
Imaging Resources - http://www.imaging-resource.com
Kim Komando's Photography Tips - http://www.komando.com/tips/categories.aspx?cat=35
Lens Review - http://www.lens-reviews.com
Motley Pixels Lens Review - http://www.motleypixel.com
Photo Net - http://www.photo.net
Lens Specs and Reviews - http://www.photodo.com
Stores where customer reviews:
Adorama - http://www.adorama.com
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com
Other related sites:
Equipment Lady - http://www.equipmentlady.com
Paul van Walree - http://www.vanwalree.com/optics.html
Rolands Nikon Lens Database - http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/
Nikon Digital - http://www.nikondigital.org
Scott Kelby - http://www.scottkelby.com
Photo Attorney - http://www.photoattorney.com
What I think about photography?
Every tool has its limitations. I believe the art of photography is how the photographer creates that balanced equation for that picture between time, light, angle and moment irrespective of using a SLR, P&S or DSLR.
After using a 35mm SLR for over 15 years, I switched to a digital P&S just to get a hang of how the new world order in photography changes the photographer. I bought (in 2003) a high-end P&S with all bells and whistles, and was surprised that you still need and have to use a lot similar techniques from the 35mm SLR age. Off course the new world order came with it's own new bells, whistles, buzz words, formats, etc. I guess as the world progresses there are some new learning we go through and some old practices we forget.
Now as a photographer I am looked upon as a serious photographer. Why? Now I have a Nikon D700. Is it really true that only if you have a SLR/DSLR you are a serious photographer. I don't think so. A picture taken in a $100 P&S can look better that a picture taken in $2000 camera - it all depends on what is the context and who is looking at it. However, for a picture to look good the eyes behind the camera will need to create that balanced equation between time, light, angle and moment.
Definitely you can do lot more with expensive gear, because you have a tool with better or more features. As long as you can end up with that balanced equation, you are definitely going to see those jaw dropping result. So first understand the basics - you can do the light learning where you get enough information to understand aperture, shutter, flash and ISO or the extensive learning on compensation, bracketing, depth of field, white balance, etc.
Having used my Nikon D700 for 2 months, I still apply my SLR experience to almost every frame I shoot. It's the basics that is helping the learning a bit more easier. As for the camera itself, I like it, I like the way it fits in my hand, the weight of the body, the location of the buttons (need some getting used to), and most importantly I like the Nikon's menu layout/structure.
So nothing comes easy and cheap. You will need to learn & practice to get good results and tools that overcome certain limitations are expensive. Just having a good collection of equipments will not bring you pictures, break the suction between you & the chair and get out with your gear. Shoot anything and everything you see - if something you see is interesting, take lots of pictures of the subject at different angles, apperture setting or shutter setting.
Let the artist in you arise, for you can tell the world
Let the mind see, enjoy, learn and mold.
After using a 35mm SLR for over 15 years, I switched to a digital P&S just to get a hang of how the new world order in photography changes the photographer. I bought (in 2003) a high-end P&S with all bells and whistles, and was surprised that you still need and have to use a lot similar techniques from the 35mm SLR age. Off course the new world order came with it's own new bells, whistles, buzz words, formats, etc. I guess as the world progresses there are some new learning we go through and some old practices we forget.
Now as a photographer I am looked upon as a serious photographer. Why? Now I have a Nikon D700. Is it really true that only if you have a SLR/DSLR you are a serious photographer. I don't think so. A picture taken in a $100 P&S can look better that a picture taken in $2000 camera - it all depends on what is the context and who is looking at it. However, for a picture to look good the eyes behind the camera will need to create that balanced equation between time, light, angle and moment.
Definitely you can do lot more with expensive gear, because you have a tool with better or more features. As long as you can end up with that balanced equation, you are definitely going to see those jaw dropping result. So first understand the basics - you can do the light learning where you get enough information to understand aperture, shutter, flash and ISO or the extensive learning on compensation, bracketing, depth of field, white balance, etc.
Having used my Nikon D700 for 2 months, I still apply my SLR experience to almost every frame I shoot. It's the basics that is helping the learning a bit more easier. As for the camera itself, I like it, I like the way it fits in my hand, the weight of the body, the location of the buttons (need some getting used to), and most importantly I like the Nikon's menu layout/structure.
So nothing comes easy and cheap. You will need to learn & practice to get good results and tools that overcome certain limitations are expensive. Just having a good collection of equipments will not bring you pictures, break the suction between you & the chair and get out with your gear. Shoot anything and everything you see - if something you see is interesting, take lots of pictures of the subject at different angles, apperture setting or shutter setting.
Let the artist in you arise, for you can tell the world
Let the mind see, enjoy, learn and mold.
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