Newbie with G2, have q's

[2005GLI]

My father gave me his G2 when he got his new g-series. I have finally gotten used to it somewhat and have purchased a UV filter and Polarizer. But I'de like to know how to take some really good high def. pics. Im thinking of getting a 58mm adapter so I can put a fisheye lens on. Those kind of pics are my favorite for some reason. But when shooting i never know what to set the camera to? Like when driving and trying to capture someone driving next to you, to get a nice rolling shot of the car and theback ground eitiher streakin or blured.

Can anyone help a newbie out?

[Nabil-A]

Originally Posted by 2005GLI

My father gave me his G2 when he got his new g-series. I have finally gotten used to it somewhat and have purchased a UV filter and Polarizer. But I'de like to know how to take some really good high def. pics. Im thinking of getting a 58mm adapter so I can put a fisheye lens on. Those kind of pics are my favorite for some reason. But when shooting i never know what to set the camera to? Like when driving and trying to capture someone driving next to you, to get a nice rolling shot of the car and theback ground eitiher streakin or blured.

Can anyone help a newbie out?

Your question would be better served in the G-Series forums....
Can we ask a moderator to kindly shift this across

Thanks.

[2005GLI]

Isn't that what forum this is in?

[John from PA]

Right off the bat set your camera for maximum resolution and minimum compression. This will maximum your "definition" (as you put it) when using the JPEG format. Even better definiton can be obtained in the RAW mode but file size goes up tremendously (5-6 meg each). JPEG compresses files and the more the compression the less definition.

Also, when you start working with the pictures in something like PhotoShop remember that photo software loses resolution every time you do a "save". Many of us are in the habit of doing a "save" when doing something unusual in many applications, say Microsoft Word. Then you can always return to the original if the attempt fails. With photo software each save will degrade the photo so always make a copy of the original and work from the copy. That way you have the original resolution to return to.

[2005GLI]

John, thanks for that info about photoshop. Never knew that.

I have the camera setup for max resolution and superfine compression. A friend told me to do that off the bat. But I never know what to do with teh shutter speed or apeture, what to set at for certain pics or what they exactly do?

[2005GLI]

What would happen if I use a fish eye lense that is for a canon SLR/DSLR? It is a 58mm base screw on, will it work?

[v_m_vigilante]

Hi!
Understanding aperture and shutter speed is very important for any photographer who wants to capture more than just family album photos using only the auto-setting.
A lot of info can be found on the subject either on the Internet (try Google for instance) or in basic photography books which you could find in the library. One word you should look for in addition to shutter and aperture is exposure!
The one article that I read first (and was quite baffled by it at first) is here:
http://www.photo.net/learn/making-photographs/exposure
It is quite technical, but you should get the hang of it pretty quickly.

Basically the aperture controls how much light reaches the sensor in the camera. The smaller the f-number, the larger the aperture and thus more light on the sensor.
The shutter speed controls for how long time this amount of light affects the sensor. The shutter allows the light that has passed the aperture-hole to reach the sensor. Shutter speed defines the time that this shutter is open (for instance 1/30 means 1/30s =0.03s). The smaller the number (notice the division - 1/30 is actually bigger than 1/100!) the shorter the time.
The longer the shutter speed, the more chance for your photos looking "shaken". That's because as your shutter allows the light to reach the sensor for say 1/30 seconds, the scene in front of the camera has that much time to change (the most change occurs because of the shaking of your hands).
These two are interrelated in an interesting way. If you want to have a dark picture you either want less light on the sensor - OR you want less time for it to affect the sensor. So either you make the aperture smaller (the f-number larger) OR the shutter speed faster (e.g. from 1/30 to 1/100). The same applies for lighter images - just vice versa the above.
The auto-settings will calculate a nice balance between these two numbers based on the amount of light available, your preferences (exposure setting - lighter/darker), the ISO-number etc. If you want to control all the settings, all of these should be taken into account.

Finally relation between shutter speed and aperture is the basic thing to understand. But that's not all there is to it! Shutter speed, aperture, and exposure are also related to for instance ISO-values and depth of field. So you'll have a bit to learn, but don't worry, it's not too complicated. Once you'll learn it it's very easy!

And hey, the most important thing to do is to explore the different effects of these settings using your camera! Hope this is of any help.
v

[2005GLI]

Thanks for that post, very informative. I actually brought in my owners manual to read up on all the settings. Started to understand it more, so hopefully i'll be able to get some better shots.

[2005GLI]

bumpity bump...

I am having difficutly getting the shutter speed and aperture right for taking night shots where car lights are streaking. What should I have it set up too?

[Nabil-A]

depends what you are trying to achieve. if you are after streaking lights, then a shutter speed long enough for the car to pass is what you are aiming for. If trying to freeze frame a car in motion in the middle of the night is what you are after, youll need a flash, because i dont think it can be done "WELL". In any case to limit the motion, you would need to increase iso setting (noise) and then choose largest aperture F2-F2.8.

Use TV mode in anycase and set the shutter speed, aperture will be set by camera.
And make sure you tripod your camera.

[2005GLI]

The streaking lights is what im looking for, where it looks longer then they really are. What should I start the shutter speed at?

Also is it a good idea to put a Polarizer and UV filter together, like one on the other?

[Nabil-A]

Polarisers blocks 2 stops of light, your camera is already capable of 15sec shutter speed so a polariser is a no no.

Haze or UV filter wont do anything for you at night, but as protection over the lens id leave it on.

Here is a sample setting id start with and fine tune accordingly.

set camera to TV mode.

set up on tripod

set to ISO 50

set shutter speed to 4 - 10 secs.

if aperture comes up in red with shutter is half pressed then increase shutter speed repeat until you have a workable aperture setting.

set delay to 2 secs so that you dont bump the camera by hand pressing the shutter speed.

Voila!.
adjust and experiment with the shutter speed. Your lighting situation will always be different according to where you are.

When you get a little more confident, you ll be able to play with manual where you can adjust the depth of field as well.

[2005GLI]

Ok i should've clarrified what i meant with the filters. I never use them at night. I did that once and when i was in photoshop i was like "where the pic"? So dark looking.

But ok, i'll try these settings, where is the delay on the camera?

[Nabil-A]

On the G6 its in the menu, you can choose between 2 or 10 sec, im not sure about the G2.

[Nabil-A]

Polarisers are great for bright days, they increase the saturation in the sky (more blue or grey) while also allowing you to tame reflections.

But i wouldnt use them indoors or at night or overcast days.