Moron with good heart seeking advice

[benca1]

Hello!

Summary: Bought G3. Went to Kaui. Fretted too much. Didn't shoot enough, left Kaui with a zillion questions about my camera. Thank God for forums like this where we can learn from one another.

Okay then:

- f-stop 8. what do you do when you want to close the aperture further? Is the ND filter all we have?

- The zoom seems barely functional. Would the teleconverter help significantly with this?

- How often do you use a tripod? I am without one, but coming from an SLR, I keep wanting to rely on one.

- Is a new flash as indensible and necessary as I think it is? It seems like the built in flash is for nothing more then when you absoutely gotta have some picture.

- Do you depend on a certain degree of ruggedness? I took my camera to the beach (got sand all over it! painstainkingly brushed it all off), I took it on an 8 mile hike though salt water mists, very high humidity, and even walked halfway into a waterfall with it strapped to me. Am I fool to do so? Of course I am, but how big of a fool?

Thanks for your time and input.

I'm off to Costco to develop a few shots at the bargain price of 19 cents a picture.... so how do you develop your pictures? At home? Do you send in a CD?

I'll stop here! The questions are too much and I just noted that 'search' link up above.

Thanks!

[BruceW]

benca1,

Re f8 question:
- Depends on what you are trying to do. If you want more depth of field, the only option left is to change the focal length, if that does not mess up your framing.


Re zoom question:
If you want to get in closer, yes.

I have only used the tripod a handful of times with my G3. Namely for night scenes and for mounting a second flash. There are a few times I should have used one, namely while doing some macro shots.

As one member pointed out, the option to increase the ISO setting above 50 is probably under used through fear of more noise in the picture. However, he posted some excellent photos using available light and high ISO settings. He was using a 10D so was able to get higher than ISO 400. Still it's worth investigating.

Some people prefer to use a tripod when using the Stitch Assist mode, since it allows better alignment and hence less cropping in the final result.

Re the flash question: For me the external flash is indespensible. The internal flash has a few uses but very limited. If you are in to portaiture, you really need an external flash, unless you have studio lights or such.
:D

Re the ruggedness question: Sounds like your just making good use of what appears to be a very rugged camera. You will find reference, on this forum, to people dropping their G3 on a hard floor and in creeks, and the G3 keeps on ticking. Not recommended treatment though. The CF card door may be a little sesitive from what I've read, so be careful there.

My G3 is still in mint condition. I even have the original blue label still attached.

Bruce

[TimNYC24]

benca1,

Should have save $450 on your trip and bought the Canon S9000. Awesome prints and no stops at developers, unless you need the cheap gas at costco :)

[hypokondriak]

I pretty much agree with Bruce but wanted to emphasize the need for a tripod and external flash whenever possible. Whenever possible, I try to use my tripod... The external flash will improve your flash photography quite a bit.

For printing I now use walmart for my printing - they do a great job. If necessary, I will use a local higher end photo lab for really nice prints... but it is very expensive.

[kowen]

Benca1,

Have you tried the much maligned digital zoom? It may not be so bad for doubling the length of the regular zoom (8x). Thing is, you can't use it in RAW mode-I have tried it in JPEG SF mode, ASA 200 at 14x (all the way) to see some results.

Another thing, I have a birdfeeder outside the kitchen window, and just lately have taken pics of Cardinals, Bluejays, and a squirrel. While I enjoy feeding them, I thought the birds feeding would give my inside cat something to look at while perched in the window.

These are taken at 14x,asa 200, early this morning...while not the sharpest, even at sometimes high shutter speeds, (they move fast) I got the picture.

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4101034&a=30590172&p=63669217&f=0

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4101034&a=30590172&p=63669218&f=0

Kerry

[benca1]

Man, I love this forum.

BruceW:Thanks for the helpful and informative post!

TimNYC24: More money! I can't lie to my wife much more then I am now!

hypokondriak: Yes, I'm more convinced then just 2 days ago with the needs of a tripod. It seems awfully important for most all photography, particulary the photography I enjoy most.

Hey, any recommendations for a good tripod!? There's sooooo many.

kowen: Actually, I played around with it, and caught a good shot of an ocean liner off of the linai while in Hawaii. It does add flexability to be sure. Thanks for sharing those pictures!

I shoot in SF jpeg mode all of the time anyway. Am I missing something with RAW? I only have a 128MB CF card, so I prefer the ability to shoot 65 images over 32... of course.

Thanks again!

[LaiLai]

I would recommend the manfrotto 719b tripod(which is on it's way). Recently they have updated with the manfrotto 724b. Although they have replaced the 719b with the 724b, upon reading the specs, I would stick with the 719b because it is able to hold more weight. No doubt both tripods are excellent.
Lai Lai

[12345Michael54321]

1. If you want to stop down further than f/8, you're out of luck.

However, f/8 with the G3's 7-29mm (approx.) lens is enough to provide enormous depth of field. (DOF is determined by the actual focal length of the lens, and not by its 35mm equivalent.)

If you need to close down smaller than f/8 for proper exposure, you can (a) reset the ISO rating - ISO 50 is your friend; (b) use the camera's built-in neutral density filter, for an easy 3 stops; (c) use a screw in filter - if need be, a polarizer can be good for 1.5-2.5 stops, and actual neutral density filters can be found ranging from 1-stop to 20-stops; (d) combine some of the above.

I enjoy taking pictures of waterfalls, and often choose to employ a shutter speed of 1 - 8 seconds, in order to obtain a desired effect. Even in reasonably strong sunlight, it's easy to shoot at 4 seconds @ f/8, if I've got a 10-stop ND handy.

2. The zoom seems barely functional? It's a 4:1 zoom, going from moderately wide angle, to a moderate tele. Yes, a teleconverter would take the range out even further, but the camera's built-in zoom lens is hardly pathetic.

3. By all means, if it's practical to use a tripod, do so. Preferably a high quality tripod and head. (Some of the tripods sold in department stores are junk.) I'm partial to Bogen/Manfrotto, but that's hardly the only good choice.

Yes, a tripod can get you sharper pictures, give you more freedom in terms of shutter speed selection, permit more careful composition, etc.

If it's not practical to use a tripod, well, such is life. I know full well that in many situations, using a tripod would be ridiculous. But I also know full well that in many other situations, using a tripod would make excellent sense, and the photographer would be well advised to consider using one.

4. Yes, an external flash can be quite handy. (I use a Canon 420EX). The built-in flash isn't worthless - it's sometimes good in a pinch, and I've used it a couple of times to provide fill - but it does have lots of shortcomings (as do nearly all built-in flashes, regardless of make and model).

5. It's adequately rugged for what it is, but it's no Nikon F2. And I wouldn't expose an F2 to sand, salt water spray, and a waterfall, if I could avoid it.

Me, I don't baby my cameras, I tend to treat them more as I do tools. And while I don't intentionally abuse tools, neither do I shy away from subjecting them to a little hard use, where necessary.

I mean, it's a $550 camera, not a signed DaVinci. If you really want the picture, and the only way to get it is to take your camera to the beach, the waterfall, or the volcano, go for it. Clean/dry off your camera when possible, maybe put a protective UV filter on the lens, store the camera in a ziplock bag when it's not immediately needed, and hope for the best.

6. Nothing wrong with having someone else do the printing, at 19 cents per 4x6". But Costco probably isn't where I'd turn, if I needed top quality prints in larger sizes.

[benca1]

Wow, thanks for the time you took to respond to my questions. Perhaps the built in ND filter and my badly wanted polarizer will do just fine for long exposure landscape photography.

I just ordered the 420 flash from androma (or something like that) for 170 and it includes a 15 dollar rebate. Great deal, as that seems like what the thing is going for on ebay.

Good point about the 550 dollar camera (more like 720 for me...). But you know how some people are with new toys, expensive toys. It took me about 18 months before I would even drink coffee in my new car....

Thank you very much for your thoughtful input.