Newbie question

[Genkisan]

Firstly let me apologise for the level of this question, but Im new to manually setting up a camera as I, like a large number of the populous have spent many years getting used to the point and click technology of the ever increasing digital camera market. Ive recently bought myself a 300D (3 weeks ago)... and the camera has hardly left my side since then... Im loving this new found hobby.

Thought I would be in auto mode for ages, but even the first set of pictures I took I found the auto settings didnt give me the desired results. So.... Im trying to learn the different key elements to configuration to develop this skill.

I have found that at the moment Im using the TV setting for every picture (is this good or bad?) I have been using the ISO setting to relate to two factors, Light & motion, ie low light = low ISO, bright higher ISO (say 400) and relate that to motion, ie lots of activity higher ISO to capture motion. Luckily for me and this damn fine camera I have started to get some half decent shots as all of the other settings are being sorted for me.

However... and my questions are

- Is my current usage and understanding (above) correct?
- Why does TV mode seem to suit all?
- Ive not even touched appature (spelling?)
- White balance

And only found out today that I was mistaken in thinking that ISO and shutter speed are not one in the same, but merely related. So Shutter speed as well.

My last question (sorry) is that to make my pictures web friendly Im cropping my pictures to 800x600 ish in JPEG. How are other people preparing their pictures for presentation?


Any advice or help for this newbie to 'do-it-yourself' photography is very much appreciated.

[intechpcx]

OK, I've got a whole list of things for you. First, Tv mode (as you may already know) is shutter priority. This means that you set the desired shutter speed you want and the camera will adjust the aperature to properly expose the shot. Using this mode for all shots is fine, however you're limiting the creativity of your shots. Tv mode is typically used when you're shooting scenes where the shutter speed is more important than depth of field (such as sports where you want to have a fast shutter speed to "freeze" the action without blurring the main subject).

Av, or aperature priority is what you would use when you want to control the depth of field and shutter speed is not important. You set the aperature to the setting that gives you the depth of field you want. This is typically the setting you'd use in applications such as portraits and macro photography where the subject will be reasonably stationary.

Shutter vs ISO: ISO refers to the sensitivity of the film (or in this case sensor) to light, while shutter speed refers to the length of time the film/sensor is exposed to the light. Higher ISO requires less exposure time however the trade-off is grain or "noise" in the picture. Obviously longer shutter speeds can result in blurred images from movement of either the subject or the camera, while shorter speeds require other settings to compensate (larger aperature, higher ISO).

White balance has been a hot topic around here lately. The camera (more specifically the sensor) has to interpret the signals it gets and convert them to color values. Different lighting situations cause colors to appear differently. The camera has no reference point to know what color is what so in auto White Balance settings it uses the 18% gray rule. The rule basically states that in most properly exposed images, the average of the color values is 18% gray. So the camera calculates this and adjusts the colors as necessary to achieve this balance. However, when you use custom white balance, you provide the camera with a reference point telling it how the color White actually appears in the conditions your shooting. The camera can then base all color settings off this reference making the resulting color more accurate.

As far as image size, for me it really depends on what I'm doing with the pictures. If I plan to make prints at any time, I don't shrink the image any more than I have to. I try to keep croping to a minimum at least until the point I'm actually making prints. If I'm going to email the pictures or post them on a website where the quality isn't as important, I usually go for a size of 640x427 (uncropped aspect ratio) or a similar range if I crop it. That keeps the file size smaller but the picture still takes up over half the screen on a typical PC user's monitor (average resolution is 1024x768 these days).

Hope that was helpful and addressed most if not all of your questions.

[Olegis]

Wow, that's a lot of questions ! :) First of all - welcome, you've come to the right place.
Second of all - read the camera manual and UNDERSTAND what every shooting mode is for and how it works. If you don't understand something, just ask here.

I recommend to set the camera to P mode and start from there. Notice how the camera suggests to handle all kinds of different situations, what shutter speeds and aperture openings it proposes. In most cases, the camera will nail the exposure almost perfectly, but there will be some cases which will confuse the biult-in metering system - which will give you wrong exposure and badly-looking pictures.

You need to learn that the aperture opening and the shutter speeds control the amount of light falling on the sensor. More light = slower shutter speed + larger aperture (smaller f-number) = brighter picture. Less light = faster speed + smaller aperture (larger f-number) = darker picture. Apart from the amount of light, the aperture and the shutter speeds also control other things, like DOF (Depth Of Field) and object movement in the picture. Larger aperture opening = shallower DOF, slower shutter speeds = more object blur. They all are related :)

The ISO represents how sensitive the sensor is to the light - higher ISO = more sensitive. Higher ISO setting also cause the noise in the pictures to be more apparent, therefore you'll want to shoot at lowest ISO possible.

The exposure is determined by the "magic triangle", which is ISO + Aperture + Shutter speed. Let's say you're using ISO 100 and the camera meter suggests Aperture of f/2.8 and the Shutter speed of 1/60sec. If you're using long lens (let's say 200mm), there is no way you can get sharp picture with the shutter speed that low, so you'll have to increase the speed. To do it, you'll have to use larger aperture opening (smaller f-number), or to set higher ISO setting to make the sensor more sensitive to light (and end up with some higher noise figures). If you can lower the f-number - fine, if you can't - you'll have to go with the ISO. Increase the ISO to 200 - the meter will tell you that the shutter speed is 1/125sec now. It's still quite low for such a long lens, so you'll have to set the ISO even higher, to ISO 400. Do it and the meter will suggest that shutter speed of 1/250sec - which will be fine (usually the " minimal shutter speed = 1/focal length" formula works fine).

Hope it helps

[Genkisan]

Olegis, Intechpcx, Thanks for your quick and very detailed responses.

They have been very helpfull. For my mind one of the things that makes the manual config difficult is the interrelationship between all the settings. Its not like you can learn one discrete from all of the others. I will read and read your answers tonight and try and absorb them.

In the mean time I will also practice on 'P' and continue my quest.

Thanks again!

[Olegis]

You welcome :)
The best learning is through practicing - shooting, taking notes about exposure values and then analyzing the results on your computer monitor. After you analyze every picture, ask yourself - am I happy with it ? What should I do to improve it ? Make the picture brighter ? Darker ? How much darker / brighter ? Maybe make two, one darker and one brighter and then overlay them in post-processing to get best results ? Implement your thoughts during your next photo-shoot and start the cycle all over again.

Another suggestion - get a good book about exposure. I recommend the "Understanding exposure" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817437126/002-7315927-8940062?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance) by Bryan Peterson, it's very informative, easy to read and includes many inspiring photographs.

[robertwgross]

I use my camera in P mode a lot.

Many decades ago, when I purchased my first SLR camera, the typical standard for automatic exposure mode was what we now call Av. In other words, the user would set the aperture, typically based on what he wanted to do with depth of field. Then the camera would continuously vary the shutter speed to get the necessary exposure. However, the camera that I got was non-typical. It had only Tv mode automatically. So the user would set the shutter speed to stop motion blur and the camera would continuously vary the aperture to get the necessary exposure. Either way works, and it is just a matter of what you want to do. After shooting that camera for ten years, it was burned into my brain exactly what Tv mode does, but I could not think any other way.

The second SLR was the same brand, but it had Av and other modes as well. That didn't matter. Tv was burned into my brain.

When I got my third SLR (Canon), there were more modes also, but I still tended to shoot in Tv mode by force of habit.

When I got my fourth SLR (Canon DSLR), there were the same Canon modes. Due to the effect of it being digital, I could more easily see what was going on as I shifted from mode to mode, and I could better use depth of field to perfect my shots. Now it stays in P mode most of the time, which is kind of a "best of both Av and Tv" mode.

---Bob Gross---

[intechpcx]

Its not like you can learn one discrete from all of the others.

True but not. That is precisely what the Av and Tv modes allow you to do. You can worry just about one setting (Aperture or Shutter) and the camera handles the rest. However at the same time, to fuly understand photography and make the most of your pictures, you do need to understand how all of the settings/factors affect eachother and work together to produce your finished product. I had a link to a really good primer on the internet, I'll see if I can find it again. I really helped me a few years back when I was trying to learn to use my first SLR. If I can find the link, I'll post it.

[Genkisan]

Thanks chaps...

Helpfull bunch around here...

:)

[Olegis]

Helpfull bunch around here...

You have no idea ... ;)
But the main specialty of the people around here is to spend other people's money - you'll see about that in a while :lol:

[Genkisan]

You have no idea ... ;)
But the main specialty of the people around here is to spend other people's money - you'll see about that in a while :lol:

LOL...

Well I traded all my money for the 300d. Allthough can see Birthdays and Christmas being chocker with lenses etc from the wife...

[Olegis]

:lol:
One more thing - don't let your wife read these forums, so she wouldn't find out how much the things REALLY cost around here !

[Genkisan]

:lol:
One more thing - don't let your wife read these forums, so she wouldn't find out how much the things REALLY cost aroung here !

I think she is too shrewd now.

When I said that I had decided to take this hobby to the next level and buy a 'real' camera. Im sure she estimated in her mind for about £300. So when I came home with a £750 camera I think her expectations where altered for ever. But then again she is used to my gadget addiction.

I earn it, I spend it, she saves it. Thats the way it seems to work :)