Must haves for Landscapes - Sun burn out problems

[syburn]

Hi All,

I will be doing alot of Landscape photography for my website, in England during the summer. I will buy a wide angle and either a 350D or a 20D. Is there anything else that will help me to take great landscapes of hills and moors and lakes tc.

My problem is I do tend have no regard for the location of the sun as I just shot what ever angle of shot appeals to me (I am basically a happy snappy budget user that is upgrading). Is there a filter or something that will allow shoot regardless of the positon of the sun (hey I'm not going to point it directly at the sun!)?

My web page was shot with a Canon A45. So using an EOS with 10-22 should (I hope) make a BIG difference.

www.virtual-marsden.co.uk (http://www.virtual-marsden.co.uk)

Any tips? - Simon

[Sean-Mcr]

Just in case you've missed this (which i doubt)
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=82352

[tim]

Get a good wide angle lens, like the Canon 10-22, Sigma 10-20 (not avaialable yet), or the Tokina 12-24 (which i'm prob going to get soon).

[CyberDyneSystems]

You'll be in England... ??

No need to worry about the Sun then really......... :)

[joeseph]

Theres always the "hood" which also doubles as rain protection that you'll also need...

[blue_max]

The Canon A45 is not a bad camera by any means. Don't forget the laws of diminishing returns comes into play here. A DSLR will produce a better picture, no doubt. However, for your intended useage (webpage), it may be better, by less that you might hope.

Certainly a polariser will help reduce reflections and increase saturation, but unless you get a good one, might still suffer if you shoot with the sun in view. A good quality lens will help reduce any flare, as will a hood. Also a tripod may be necessary.

There is much more to taking a quality landscape photo than the equipment.

If you enjoy taking the photos and want to use the site as your showcase for your talent, then you will probably be happy with the improvement. I would say you wouldn't NEED to buy a DSLR.

I hope you make the move, because it makes photography much more satisfying - if very more expensive.

Graham

[ghocking]

Biggest problem I have taking Landscapes and not having the sun in best position is exposure. Taking JPEGS will tend to overexpose and give white skies (RAW will let you bring the sky back), you can meter from the sky and then have a dark forground. Options:

1. Check histogram and change exposure to suit.
2. Bracket exposure.
3. C Pol will help.
4. NG filter will make all the difference and best choice.
5. Always shoot with sun in best position.

I am no expert and users on this forum will prob give better advice.

[blue_max]

Biggest problem I have taking Landscapes and not having the sun in best position is exposure. Taking JPEGS will tend to overexpose and give white skies (RAW will let you bring the sky back), you can meter from the sky and then have a dark forground. Options:

1. Check histogram and change exposure to suit.
2. Bracket exposure.
3. C Pol will help.
4. NG filter will make all the difference and best choice.
5. Always shoot with sun in best position.

I am no expert and users on this forum will prob give better advice.

I am sure with a tripod and bracketing the exposure, if you have a little experience of photoshop, the NG filter will not be necessary. Using the best of each exposure (put them on layers first), will give the ultimate NG filter that can be controlled in the comfort of your chair and will not be restricted to a fixed area.

If you are using a tripod, you could use your body to shade the lens (or your hand if hand holding).

It's really worth exploring raw if your current camera supports it. It's rather more work, but you should see more flexibility.

Graham

[syburn]

Well I dropped my A45 about 8 times in all. It was a damned solid thing, well built and a great camera. But finally it fell to its death on a mountain in China. So I am forced to move on and buy a new one.

So I think I should upgrade, and I actually want to use my new camera for Interior shots as part of my job, so I figured I can kill 2 birds with one stone and get a DSLR with wide angle (10-22). Then when I go back home for a holiday in UK I can capture my home town in wide angle for my website.

If I use RAW do I need a massive memory card, especially if Im out all day hiking?

Cheers. Simon

[blue_max]

Well I dropped my A45 about 8 times in all. It was a damned solid thing, well built and a great camera. But finally it fell to its death on a mountain in China. So I am forced to move on and buy a new one.

So I think I should upgrade, and I actually want to use my new camera for Interior shots as part of my job, so I figured I can kill 2 birds with one stone and get a DSLR with wide angle (10-22). Then when I go back home for a holiday in UK I can capture my home town in wide angle for my website.

If I use RAW do I need a massive memory card, especially if Im out all day hiking?

Cheers. Simon

1gig sandisk ultra II's are about £65, Grab a couple and you will be good for about 250 shots in raw. Should be enough!

Graham

[syburn]

Hi, So when you talk about RAW image, does it allow me to do more than I could do with a usuall JPG file. I have never used one before, so not really sure what the benefits are!!


Simon

[blue_max]

Raw is a way of shooting that just grabs the data from the sensor. A jpg file is a compressed file that loses data, during the compression process.

If you use photoshop or similar, you can use the raw data and make any modifications to the exposure, contrast and sharpness and then reduce to a jpg file. This ensures that the image is of the best quality and sometimes allows you to save a picture that was incorrectly exposed.

That is not a text book description by any means! but it gives you an idea of what it's advantage is. Give it a whirl if you can.

Graham

[kenyc]

You'll be in England... ??

No need to worry about the Sun then really......... :)

:)

KAC

[dewmuw]

You'll be in England... ??

No need to worry about the Sun then really......... :)

:cry: That was below the belt!

I will have you know that it was VERY sunny here in England yesterday.....................
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between the thunderstorms and torrential rain! :confused:

[blue_max]

Yer, don't tar us all with the same brush!

London is always sunny and the North West is always *raining.

Graham

*apart from yesterday.

[dewmuw]

Yer, don't tar us all with the same brush!

London is always sunny and the North West is always *raining.

Graham

*apart from yesterday.

Hung by your own petard! ;)

See who you come crawling too in 20 years when you've no water! :)

[blue_max]

Hung by your own petard! ;)

See who you come crawling too in 20 years when you've no water! :)

Didn't you know we all use Champagne here now.

Graham

[SHOWSP]

Having been to England many times, I would have to say....If the sun does not shine all the time, then the people sure do. I am looking for a wide lens also...my first thougts are to get the Tokina 12-24. That should be wide enough to shoot the local landscape here in Oklahoma.

[dewmuw]

Didn't you know we all use Champagne here now.

Graham

That's like so 1980's. :)

[blue_max]

I should get hip and walk around with those little bottles of pop, like the young folk!

How wild is that.

Graham

[MCB]

Hi, So when you talk about RAW image, does it allow me to do more than I could do with a usuall JPG file. I have never used one before, so not really sure what the benefits are!!


Simon

Also, with a RAW image you aren't stuck with the white balance used in the jpeg. The DIGIC processor in your Canon camera does quite a bit to generate the jpeg, and you don't have any way to undo that processing. With RAW, you have some conrtol over the saturation, tint, shadows, etc. Much more freedom than a jpg gives you.

In photoshop you can apply a "photo filter" to help get your white balance back to where it should be, but that's one more step and it isn't always perfect. Having the RAW file, you can play around with all of the different white balance settings and see which looks best. There's a lot more, too, but for me the white balance is one of the most useful parts, along with adjusting the exposure. It took me a week or two to get used to it, and I have used RAW on every picture since. Even thought the files are much larger, it's worth it.

[Lesmac]

No one has mentioned a ND grad filters, a must (IMO) for landscape photography, Cokin do a set, are cheap and cheerful, but do the job, if you are getting a wideangle lens, make sure you get the P series, the A series are too small.
Also, buy yourself a hot shoe mount spirit level (around £10 from jessops), worth their weight in gold.
Some UK landscapes in my gallery if you are interested.

Les
http://lesmclean.photoblink.com/

[syburn]

Hi, You mentioned the P and A lens. I was only aware of the EF-S lens that I was thinking of buying.

Love the photos in your gallery.

Can this spirt level devise be mounted on any existing tripod?

Cheers

[Lesmac]

Hi Syburn, the P and A referred to the size of filter (not the lens), Cokin are square filters and slot in rather than screw on.

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/scp/Camera_Accessories/Cokin_Filters.html

The spirit level is made to fit a hot shoe, won't fit a tripod, although some tripods have built in spirit levels, I don't find them much use, especially if you are using a ball head.#

Hope this helps

Les