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SLR Camera Simulator

camerasim.com

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Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#21

Post by lusr »

subhro wrote: post #20
lusr wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No see you're as confused as she was :) Most zoom lenses are variable aperture, e.g. at 18mm they will open up to f/3.5 but at 55mm they will only open up to f/5.6. The simulation doesn't address this, and it can be surprising for a beginner to see the aperture changing as they zoom - they may become fixated on zooming as a way to control aperture without realising they are observing a side-effect.

Unfortunately, I do not completely agree with the post. With the prices of DSLRs coming down, nowadays everyone has a DSLR. And most of them don't give a crap about photography and its internals. While I agree that constant aperture lenses are substantially costly than their variable aperture counterparts, cameras like Canon 5D Mark III is coming with a 24-70 F/2.8L II lens as a kit.

I'm confused. Are you suggesting that the type of person who would find the camera simulator site useful is likely to be somebody who would own something like a Canon 5D Mark III? That's a $3,500 camera - body only. If you own that camera, I should hope you aren't visiting camera simulator sites, otherwise I suspect you're not going to be putting it to much good use :)

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#22

Post by lusr »

subhro wrote: post #17
lusr wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In manual mode it's not that simple from what I could glean (haven't touched a D5100 myself). You have to half depress the shutter release, simultaneously press the exposure compensation button and only then you can adjust the aperture with the command dial (otherwise you'll just change shutter speed). That's pretty crummy IMO and rather elaborate for a beginner. My D7000 is more straightforward since it has a separa…

lusr, that is extremely non intuitive for sure. Have you checked in Nikon addressed this in a later firmware release?

Looking at the manual you apparently don't have to half depress the shutter, just the exposure compensation button (which has an aperture symbol next to it), but other websites suggest you do have to. I'll look into it when I can see the camera in person in a few weeks.

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#23

Post by anjc »

Good implementation of a good idea. It'd be extra good if there were various scenarios to photograph. E.g. a race car in motion, a dark indoor scene.

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#24

Post by subhro »

lusr wrote: post #21
subhro wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, I do not completely agree with the post. With the prices of DSLRs coming down, nowadays everyone has a DSLR. And most of them don't give a crap about photography and its internals. While I agree that constant aperture lenses are substantially costly than their variable aperture counterparts, cameras like Canon 5D Mark III is coming with a 24-70 F/2.8L II lens as a kit.

I'm confused. Are you suggesting that the type of person who would find the camera simulator site useful is likely to be somebody who would own something like a Canon 5D Mark III? That's a $3,500 camera - body only. If you own that camera, I should hope you aren't visiting camera simulator sites, otherwise I suspect you're not going to be putting it to much good use :)

I have come across at least 2 people holding a 1 series camera and shooting in Auto or Programmed Auto modes. And I was severely disheartened.

I am only expecting people who actually have a DSLR with either a variable or constant speed lens but still shoot auto will come and be able to try their hands out on a same scene with similar type of lighting but different shutter speed aperture combinations and later on be motivated enough to try it out on their real camera.

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#25

Post by chwahoo »

lusr wrote: post #10
chwahoo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can change the aperture in this simulation. Perhaps it was just grayed out since you were in shutter-priority mode?

No see you're as confused as she was :) Most zoom lenses are variable aperture, e.g. at 18mm they will open up to f/3.5 but at 55mm they will only open up to f/5.6. The simulation doesn't address this, and it can be surprising for a beginner to see the aperture changing as they zoom - they may become fixated on zooming as a way to control aperture without realising they are observing a side-effect.

I was only confused about your post :).

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#26

Post by japhyr »

Tloewald wrote: post #6

Is this the same SLR simulator I saw a couple of years back? Can't tell because it's Flash. Seems to me like DSLRs don't really need simulators. Pick up a DSLR, dial it to P or green or whatever, and go. It's simpler and more responsive than a point and shoot, just bigger and heavier. (My four year olds love using my smaller DSLR and have less trouble using it than a small P&S.) Anyone wanting to learn the fine point…

I see value in this. I have seen many people frustrated because their camera's automatic functions did not produce the image they wanted, and they have no idea how to change the settings to get a better image. It almost always boils down to an understanding between shutter speed, aperture, and simple settings such as exposure compensation.

For these people, this kind of simulator could be really helpful. It might be a little better if there was more explanatory text after you press the shutter. For example, I saw "overexposed" once; maybe that message could be more along the lines of "Your image is overexposed. Try decreasing your aperture, decreasing your shutterspeed, or adjusting exposure compensation."

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#27

Post by Splines »

japhyr wrote: post #26
Tloewald wrote: post #6

Is this the same SLR simulator I saw a couple of years back? Can't tell because it's Flash. Seems to me like DSLRs don't really need simulators. Pick up a DSLR, dial it to P or green or whatever, and go. It's simpler and more responsive than a point and shoot, just bigger and heavier. (My four year olds love using my smaller DSLR and have less trouble using it than a small P&S.) Anyone wanting to learn the fine point…

I see value in this. I have seen many people frustrated because their camera's automatic functions did not produce the image they wanted, and they have no idea how to change the settings to get a better image. It almost always boils down to an understanding between shutter speed, aperture, and simple settings such as exposure compensation. For these people, this kind of simulator could be really helpful. It might be…

It seems like there's a balance between the different settings on a camera that can't really be captured well with independent sliders.

I imagine a control that indicates the trade-offs (and when they're ok) as you tweak it would educate users in a better way than experimentation. Stay "inside the envelope" and your picture is probably ok. You can get outside it if you know what you're doing.

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#28

Post by Tloewald »

lusr wrote: post #11
Tloewald wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? To set aperture on a D5100 switch to A and use the command dial. (Shooting in Manual mode is simply torturing yourself unnecessarily if you don't know exactly what you're doing. In Aperture priority — or Program shift — setting aperture is simple and intuitive.)

In manual mode it's not that simple from what I could glean (haven't touched a D5100 myself). You have to half depress the shutter release, simultaneously press the exposure compensation button and only then you can adjust the aperture with the command dial (otherwise you'll just change shutter speed). That's pretty crummy IMO and rather elaborate for a beginner. My D7000 is more straightforward since it has a separa…

Why do this in manual mode?

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#29

Post by 5h »

Bob_Sheep wrote: post #3

It needs to give you the ability to use flash lighting. Then you could learn about how you can use flash to give a scene a completely different look, for example by using a wide aperture and short exposure to get the girl properly illuminated but have the background look very dark. This works because the flash delivers all its light in a very short period of time so it is completely unaffected by the shutter speed. S…

not what your after, but http://www.zvork.fr/vls/ is fun if you like playing with low key / gels etc

Re: SLR Camera Simulator

#30

Post by willyt »

Why not show the result in real time as you adjust the sliders? You can still show the preview off to one side or whatever. It would help develop a tighter iterative loop for experimenting and save the cognitive overhead of trying to remember what was wrong with the one before. Have some image 'troughs' which you can populate with screen grabs including the settings you used to allow quick reference to settings from previous results. If you did that then there would be more of an argument for using this rather than just picking up a DSLR and fiddling with the controls.
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