Newbie Alert - need some pointers.

[FindJammer]

Hi All,

Just joined the forum. Hope we're all well!

Basically, I bought a Canon 350D about a year ago and have 'dabbled' a bit here and there with the stock kit lens that it came with (EFS 18-55mm). I have just bought a new fixed 50mm F1.8 EF (MKII) and I really want to raise the game basically. I'm still far too hit and miss with getting the camera set up properly and all too often what appears to be a nice shot on the small LCD is actually very noisey.

I've just uploaded some recent pictures I have taken with the 50mm lens (there are compositional problems and focus issues on these). The main problem I seems to keep consistently having is that there is a load of noise in the photos.

Can anyone give me some pointers on what I'm doing wrong?? You can find these pictures at the link below:

http://www.jammer.biz/images/Canon/

I'm off to carry on reading Bens Newbie guide at the top of this forum.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

[DStanic]

The first picture of the baby is not noisy- but it is blurry. EXIF data says it was shot at 1/30second at ISO100 which is too slow for a handheld shot. If it were shot at ISO400 you'd get 1/125 second which would be plenty fast handheld and not too much noise.

Next 3 pics were shot at ISO1600.. they don't look too bad a little noise reduction software should be able to help them. For minimal noise I generally I keep my 400D at ISO800 or below if possible, unless I can't get a fast enough shutter speed.

Last picture: The gentleman is in focus, but the baby is out of focus. This is because you shot at f/1.8 which is a very shallow depth of field. If you shot at say f/2.8 would likely get the baby and man nicely in focus. If you are shooting a large group of people, you may want to go up to f/8.

Remember to focus on the closest eye. If its too dark using a flash such as 430EX and bouncing off a wall or ceiling will yield much nicer results then direct flash from the pop-up flash.

[smirak]

...EXIF data says it was shot at 1/30second at ISO100...

Another stupid question that I should know the answer to...how do you "see" the exif data?

Thanks,
Kevin

[DStanic]

Another stupid question that I should know the answer to...how do you "see" the exif data?

Thanks,
Kevin

There are many ways and it depends on what software you are using. The most basic simple way is in windows.. right click on the JPG and click on "properties", then "summary", then "advanced" button, and it will show your basic EXIF data. In photoshop and most other photo editing software you should be able to see the EXIF, and in browsers such as Firefox and Opera you can right click and "image properties" to see it. I think with Firefox you have to install a plug-in.

[smirak]

Thanks...I was trying to make it hard...

Kevin

[DC Fan]

If you don't like noise (which will appear in ISO 1600 images), try noise reduction software such as Noiseware (http://www.imagenomic.com/) or Neat Image. (http://www.neatimage.com/)

[FindJammer]

Hey DStanic,

Thanks very much for this. I hada good re-read on the manual last night and Bens Newbie guide and I think I'm starting to sort a few of the key things out already.

I hadn't really thought about using noise reductin software since I was utterly convinced it was my camera skills letting me down. I didn't make the connection between it being ISO1600 and the inherant noise from using such a high ISO.

Also the last photo (My dad and my daughter) I used the 50mm lens which has a very shallow depth of field anyway as I understand it, could this have been improved on with different settings?

Thanks again chap, much appreciated.

[DStanic]

Hey DStanic,

Thanks very much for this. I hada good re-read on the manual last night and Bens Newbie guide and I think I'm starting to sort a few of the key things out already.

I hadn't really thought about using noise reductin software since I was utterly convinced it was my camera skills letting me down. I didn't make the connection between it being ISO1600 and the inherant noise from using such a high ISO.

Also the last photo (My dad and my daughter) I used the 50mm lens which has a very shallow depth of field anyway as I understand it, could this have been improved on with different settings?

Thanks again chap, much appreciated.


Yes it looks like you are getting the hang of things. :) With the 50mm set at f/1.8 you will get very shallow DOF, which is good if you want to concentrate on a small object or part of an object (a flower for example, and have the stem nicely blurred). As I mentioned if you bump up the aperture to say f/2.8 or higher you would get more of the picture in focus.

[FindJammer]

Righto, I'm off to shoot some more! Thanks!

[FindJammer]

If you don't like noise (which will appear in ISO 1600 images), try noise reduction software such as Noiseware (http://www.imagenomic.com/) or Neat Image. (http://www.neatimage.com/)

Thanks for this info. Is there anything remotely like this in open source?

Cheers,