the next level

[stingray]

I have been playing with my G3 and I want to go to the next level. Presently, I am using the P mode and experimenting on different settings.
For Christmas , I plan to get a zoom telephoto len and later a flash.

Im just taking pictures of parties and sporting events like horse racing.

What is the next level? And while Im posting what zoom teleconverter is the de jour for the G3?

TIA

[jgaffney]

How about the 420EX Speedlite ? just purchased one and what a difference it makes . just my 2 cents!

[Default9]

quote : And while Im posting what zoom teleconverter is the de jour for the G3?


quote2:How about the 420EX Speedlite


to answer your question, i've got a Canon TC-DC58N 1.75x teleconverter.
i'm quite pleased with it.
there must be a thread around somewhere with comparisons for different converters though.
just do a search on teleconverter and read some posts , may help you lots :D

[sdommin]

stingray wrote:
I have been playing with my G3 and I want to go to the next level. Presently, I am using the P mode and experimenting on different settings.

What is the next level? And while Im posting what zoom teleconverter is the de jour for the G3?

TIA

The next level would be using the AV and TV mode (and knowing when to use each). Then you can go on to Manual mode!

[paul162brown]

I would agree with the last post. I would say do not bother buying any accessories at this stage and just get to know the camera well.

Do most of your experimenting in daylight to get used to using natural light with the various settings before complicating it with flash techniques etc.

I would recommend in concentrating on becoming proficient in just 2 or 3 techniques to start with. For example, portraits, action photography and night shots (or whatever tickles your fancy) Use AV mode to take portraits trying to throw the background out of focus and getting the composure right. Use TV mode to freeze fast moving subjects getting the subject in the frame and getting used to the difference in time between you pressing the shutter and the camera actually taking the picture!- practice at the horse racing you mention. Take pictures of buildings which are lit up a bit at night and use a tripod and set long exposure times in TV mode to get great night shots. When experimenting, take lots of pictures using different settings as opposed to setting the camera's settings and then taking lots of pictures. When you review your shots back on your PC, you can examine the settings data to see which settings worked best for whatever result you were trying to achieve.

The G3 offers a lot of manual control in the same way as a traditional film SLR camera does and as such, most techniques described in various photography books and magazines will work on your camera.

In my humble opinion, I think you should have a really good play with the camera for a while yet and get used to using all the settings and controls first. Once you have mastered these to a decent extent, then further expand your skills with different lenses and other accessories.

I think too many people concentrate on the "techy" side of owning a digital camera and buy loads of extra bits of kit etc and sometimes forget to concentrate on just taking good pictures. Some of the pictures posted on this forum will demonstrate this whilst others are great! I often believe that, when trying to be creative and achieve a good result, and particularly whilst learning techniques for the first time, less is more. Keep it simple! I am sure whatever you do, you will have loads of fun, especially considering the absolute best aspect of owning a digital camera.....you can judge the results of your attempts immediately and as a result the learning curve is much quicker.

I apologise for the length of this post (I tend to ramble) and, if you are new to the G3 as opposed to new to photography, then this whole post will be patronising!, which is not the intention so apologies just in case!.

Have fun in any event.

Paul

[stingray]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Paul, you mentioned
that I should become proficient in 3 different techniques. I sort of like that.

Do you guys think that I should have the custom settings for night shots? And if so, any suggestions, Paul , you mentioned TV mode. Of course, I will experiment but a suggestion on settings will point me in the right direction. I have tried night mode but Im never happy with it. The lights have lines and shadows.

[paul162brown]

Stingray,

Here are a few very very basic settings pointers for a few techniques, but you should get yourself a good photography book or buy some magazines as all will give detailed instructions on achieving popular shot styles. Here are a few basic pointers to get you going:


Portrait: Try outdoors in good light, use AV mode, set the largest aperture setting possible (smallest F number), use maximum optical zoom, and have a nice background that is some distance behind your subject (eg, in a field with trees some way in the background). Either use auto or manual focus but just make sure the eyes are in focus. Have the light facing your subject to start with. If the shutter speed is less than say 1/100 you may need to consider using a tripod although the camera will tell you if there is a risk of camera shake hand-held blur. This should give you a nice basic portrait with the effect of having the subject in focus but the background blurred. Keep the flash turned off for now although there are many effective flash techniques to be learned later.

Freezing action shots: Use the camera in TV mode and simply set a high shutter speed, say of 1/250 and over to freeze the action. The more light, the higher shutter speed you can get. The higher shutter speed, the more chance you have of freezing the action. Experiment with different high speeds to freeze movement. Try to get used to the shutter lag trying to capture the action in the frame.

Night time shots: You MUST use a tripod! Simply frame your shot, use TV mode again, and just experiment with long shutter speeds of several seconds and review what you get. If it is too dark, increase the time or too bright then shorten the time. Use either the self timer on 2 seconds or fire the shutter using the remote control. This will avoid you having to touch the camera when taking the shot and risk moving it slightly which may blur the shot.

Avoid custom mode for now.

These are VERY basic techniques/settings and your shots will be greatly improved with enhanced techniques using (slightly) more complicated settings/techniques and flash settings etc but these should get you started and move you away from the auto mode. Once you are used to changing aperture and shutter speed settings you could move on to other matters and try techniques shown in books and mags etc.

I personally always stick to ISO50 (particularly with long exposure times in night shots) and use the highest quality settings ie, large file with fine compression, although this can sometimes place restrictions on what shutter speeds etc you can get, it gives you the best quality. The raw setting has its own advantages but takes ages for a review picture to come up and will slow down the process of you shooting and reviewing your shot and making slight changes before shooting again.

Finally, check out the galleries on this site. Many excellent shots taken with a G3 will also say what settings they used at the time.

I hope this helps. Have fun.

Paul

[stingray]

Thank You

[tommy_t]

the next level=300D Rebel :)

[CyberDyneSystems]

tommy_t wrote:
the next level=300D Rebel :)

Ahh yes grasshopper,. but we must first learn to walk before we can run.... :D :D :D

/sorry,. I know I'm laughing at least :D

[phili1]

You can get your toys and learn at the same time.

A quick run through.

Auto forget it and use program.

1st set your own white balance.
2nd set your own ISO. you want great prints ISO 50 portraits and even kids sporting events.
Iso 100 to 200 they wuill give you stop action and in daylight not much noise, in my opinion.

metering

Fast no think shooting program mode.

Sports TV mode. Coming at you 1/250 to 1/500, going a way the same. Side ways jogging 1/500, running 1/1000 and cars 1/2000 and learn how to pan ( Higher ISO you need an F stop of about F5.6. Sometimes that means ISO 200/400.

Portaits, land scapes etc the AV mode. Remember the smaller the opening the greater the deph of field, so if you want a shallow one F2.8, if you want greater depth them F 8.

Experiment with the Ev setting minus decreases exposure Plus increases it.

After you take allot of pictures you will know by looking at the scene what you want. I use my hand meter with my slr for some shots but I am amazed at the G3 program mode. It is hard to do it better. Where you need to get better is difficult light cinditions. Sun to the back you need flash fill. Sun to the front your subject squints. person in dooer way low light building lots of light.

Sunny day lots of shadows, some times bad for the pictures.

Hazy day / mist rain best color depth, no shadows.

Composition is the most important thing. Take several shot of the same subject at different angles, low, high, right ,left.

Film is cheap (Ha Ha )and you can correct it right then and there with digital, cant do that with film.

All the advice you got is good, you need to practice.

New York insitute for photography gave me a subject and had me shoot it in different ways. 2 to 4 rolls of film of the same subject. Different lenses, different exposures and angles. It give you a new prespective. When I did it it was with film and got costly. wish I was digital then.

Most of all have lots of fun.

I hope I helped.