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Photography for geeks

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Re: Photography for geeks

#101

Post by jeromenerf »

atoav wrote: post #74

Longer focal length, more zoom, more perspective compression, more blur outside of the focus area. Wider open arperture, more light on the sensor, more blur outside of the focus area. Longer exposure time, more light on the sensor, more motion blur. Bigger sensor sensitivity (ISO), more light collected per unit of time, more grain/noise. Bigger sensor, bigger field of view, more blur outside of the area of focus. The…

> Wider open aperture, more light on the sensor, more blur outside of the focus area.

/ shallower depth of field

Re: Photography for geeks

#102

Post by dsego »

safeimp wrote: post #41
post_break wrote: post #40

Somewhat related but if anyone is looking to get into photography Fuji is putting out digital cameras that emulate their film stocks. The results are pretty incredible. Also they have manual dials on the top so you're not trying to program a computer to use it. It's like driving a manual transmission vs an automatic.

Any specific recommendations?

I'm very happy with my xt-30 and a combo of 35mm f2 prime + 18-55 kit lens. This is my first interchangeable lens camera though, so take it with a grain of salt. I don't miss the ISO dial found on the more expensive models, because I like to keep the ISO on auto and don't worry about grain and noise. The mode dial on the left is a bit gimmicky and the autofocus can sometimes struggle, but overall it's been nice. I have been eyeing the x100v but so far I can't justify the price, and I'm not sure the fixed 23mm would work for me, I love the flexibility of the zoom lens. I only wish there was a lighter zoom lens, like the 15-45 but without the power zoom and maybe f2.8. I also love using the film modes, specifically Astia with the color chrome on max is my go-to choice, I don't have the time and will to edit so I like good jpeg results straight out of camera.

Re: Photography for geeks

#103

Post by throw0101c »

excite1997 wrote: post #58
throw0101c wrote: post #5

If anyone wants to move beyond using the "auto" setting on their camera (or phone), I would recommend the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, the first edition of which was published in 1990: * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/142239.Understanding_Exp... The principles involved haven't changed much in the intervening decades; the current fourth edition was publish in 2016. If all you have is a phone you…

> The principles involved haven't changed much in the intervening decades. My problem with many old-time tutors is that they refuse to recognize that photography has gotten a lot easier. We don't need to learn the craft the way they did. For example, you don't need stuff like the "sunny 16" rule of exposure if you have real-time previews in the camera. You use visual feedback, usually with better accuracy. In the sam…

> For example, you don't need stuff like the "sunny 16" rule of exposure if you have real-time previews in the camera. You use visual feedback, usually with better accuracy.

Except that it may not, unless you know what you are doing and press the right button:

> With the monitor or viewfinder, you may see an image with an aperture that differs from the shooting result. Since the blurring of a subject changes if the aperture is changed, the blurriness of the actual picture will differ from the image you were viewing prior to shooting.

> While you press and hold the key to which you assigned the [Aperture Preview] function, the aperture is stepped down to the set aperture value and you can check the blurriness prior to shooting.

* https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/1420/v1/en/contents/TP0000226...

* https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/how-to-use-the-depth-of-...

* https://www.slrphotographyguide.com/depthfield-preview-butto...

> In the same vein, you probably don't need to learn about flash guide numbers when modern continuous LED illumination covers 99% of use cases without any guesswork.

And leaving your camera in "auto" also probably "covers 99% of use cases without any guesswork"… but you give up creative control to the software. Why bother learning what aperture is at all if 99% of the time you won't ever matter to taking a photo?

The whole point of reducing the use of "auto" is to make creative choices yourself.

Re: Photography for geeks

#104

Post by Etheryte »

dsego wrote: post #93
WA wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understood the parent comment like so: if your subject is not interesting, no amount of technical mumbo jumbo will make your photo truly great. Whereas the counter point is: if you get the technical aspects right (especially composition and light), a simple piece of wrapper paper can become an interesting subject.

When there is nothing that stands out, I usually resort to playing with the compensation dial (or you can do spot metering) to get some silhouettes and light-dark dynamics. Also look for reflections or different angles. Inspired by street style: https://youtu.be/yRkZc8jcHas

That's very neat, it's almost the opposite of the problem you usually have when photographing people, but it works really well to create a unique mood.

Re: Photography for geeks

#107

Post by dsego »

Etheryte wrote: post #104
dsego wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When there is nothing that stands out, I usually resort to playing with the compensation dial (or you can do spot metering) to get some silhouettes and light-dark dynamics. Also look for reflections or different angles. Inspired by street style: https://youtu.be/yRkZc8jcHas

That's very neat, it's almost the opposite of the problem you usually have when photographing people, but it works really well to create a unique mood.

Just to clarify, it's not my video, just something I found inspiring on youtube.

Re: Photography for geeks

#108

Post by antihero »

safeimp wrote: post #41
post_break wrote: post #40

Somewhat related but if anyone is looking to get into photography Fuji is putting out digital cameras that emulate their film stocks. The results are pretty incredible. Also they have manual dials on the top so you're not trying to program a computer to use it. It's like driving a manual transmission vs an automatic.

Any specific recommendations?

Would recommend the X-Tx range over the X-Ex range, as they have an ISO dial on the top at the cost of being slightly bigger and heavier. I have an X-T2 and it's great, but obviously the X-T4 etc will have more features.

One BIG caveat with Fuji though is that the X range use an APS-C sensor instead of full frame, so if you get into vintage lenses (really good fun) your effective focal length is times by 1.5. Your nifty fifty becomes a 75mm because it is making an image too big for the sensor (so it's cropped).

Another thing to note - if you do shoot RAW (I would highly recommend this for maximum post-processing fun), you won't benefit from the camera's film simulation profiles as it isn't handling the render (to JPEG). However, all is not lost. All of these color profiles are embedded into the RAW file (I think that's how it works) so that whatever software you are using (Lightroom, Capture One, etc) can pick them up and select the profile you shot in to render it when you import the photos (on LR it's like a dropdown in the settings somewhere). It is quite cool to shoot in black and white, and then surprise people with being able to switch the colours back on :)

The profiles aren't EXACTLY accurate to the onboard processing, though for me it's good enough. However if you do want to shoot raw and get the perfect film simulation Fuji provides a tool: https://fujifilm-x.com/en-gb/support/download/software/x-raw... which uses the camera's onboard chip to do the processing at your convenience.

They also have the GFX series which are medium format, take absolutely silly quality pictures, and have the price tag you might expect attached.

Re: Photography for geeks

#109

Post by bambax »

Re: focus. Most cameras focus on shutter button half-pressed. Learn to use this by focusing first (with a half-press), framing, and then taking the picture by finishing the press (not doing a complete press again as that would reset the focus point).

Some cameras let you have a focus button different from the shutter button. This can be super useful and can become natural after a little while.

Re: Photography for geeks

#110

Post by antihero »

dsego wrote: post #94
nbzso wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using a film camera will force you to take the picture with your mind first. You will understand exposure and light in a fundamental way. You always can use your phone, computational photography will give you the best result, algorithmically speaking.:)

You can force yourself by setting everything to manual on a digital camera. Especially on a non-pasm camera, like fujifilm, where you can see and control physical dials.

It's still way too easy with digital mirrorless where you have a tight feedback loop of being able to see the image respond to adjustment live, and also there's no cost associated with pulling the trigger.

I guess the best thing to do would be turn off exposure preview (so you can't see what settings are going to look like and the EVF becomes "dumb"), and perhaps buy a tiny 512MB SD card or something so you can only fit 26 or so RAW files on it :)

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