-= T2i / 550D users UNITE! (2) =-

VFVhho wrote in post #12190750
I have to admit i feel kind of stupid.. by the way, for a beginner, would you reccomend using the viewfinder or screen for pictures?

Absolutely the viewfinder.

If you back up to post #3178 (upper right corner of each post has the numbers), there are some good reasons you would want to use the viewfinder. For me, it's a matter of what I'm more comfortable using, and that's the viewfinder.

And never feel stupid here. You're among friends, and we all had to start somewhere. The only stupid question is the one not asked.

So I asked my wife to take a picture of me riding my new toy. I'm obviously in trouble now :P Big Al's Daily Round Up coming soon!

IMAGE LINK: http://wolfy317.smugmu​g.com …o3s#1245650731_​QBqU6-A-LB

wolfy317 wrote in post #12190892
So I asked my wife to take a picture of me riding my new toy. I'm obviously in trouble now :P Big Al's Daily Round Up coming soon!

IMAGE LINK: http://wolfy317.smugmu​g.com …o3s#1245650731_​QBqU6-A-LB

Like I told you on facebook......... You are OUT OF YOUR MIND!!! And if your wife kills you, I'll back her up that it was justifiable homicide.

DS_Monsoon wrote:
...Secondly, I may be announcing myself as an idiot...

RafaPolit wrote in post #12189859
We have a policy here not to contradict members, so... under that premise... you are correct!

No, just kidding!...

Best regards,
Rafa.

Thanks, Rafa! I think my excitement over what an improvement this has made has resulted in a record shutter day (for me)! I think I've taken about 800 shots! Many are not keepers as I've adopted the burst shooting method (especially when trying to keep up with the kids!). However I feel an extreme empowerment from the much faster auto-focus. I don't plan to ever shoot pictures using live mode again.

I was finally able to try something that I never felt capable of trying before. Now that I'm shooting using the viewfinder (as opposed to live view) the auto-focus is fast enough for me to try shots like the ones below. Note; I've never actually tried to shoot these (at least not successfully) so these are kind of my first motion shots.
Feedback??

DS_Monsoon wrote in post #12190921
I was finally able to try something that I never felt capable of trying before. Now that I'm shooting using the viewfinder (as opposed to live view) the auto-focus is fast enough for me to try shots like the ones below. Note; I've never actually tried to shoot these (at least not successfully) so these are kind of my first motion shots.
Feedback??

Well done!!!

ofwiah wrote in post #12190933
I just got back from the circus. This was one challenging day to shoot. Low light, crowds getting in your way, bright lights, lots of movement in low light and so on and so forth. I shot most of my shots in TV and Sport mode. I shot with my ISO reading around 1600 to 3200 for the majority of the pictures.
I will post a few more latter. I hope that you like what I have done so far.

Nice low light shots. Those are always challenging and yours turned out very well.

But I'm as scared of clowns as Rafa is bees.

marubozo wrote in post #12190955
Nice low light shots. Those are always challenging and yours turned out very well.

But I'm as scared of clowns as Rafa is bees.

Maru,

Thank you. It was a challenge since there were a lot of factors involved.

I love clowns and I will post something a little more to your taste soon <smile>

ofwiah wrote in post #12190933
I just got back from the circus. This was one challenging day to shoot. Low light, crowds getting in your way, bright lights, lots of movement in low light and so on and so forth. I shot most of my shots in TV and Sport mode. I shot with my ISO reading around 1600 to 3200 for the majority of the pictures.
I will post a few more latter. I hope that you like what I have done so far.

These look great! Were you using the 55-250?

DS_Monsoon wrote in post #12190973
These look great! Were you using the 55-250?

Monsoon, Yes, I was using the 55-250. The nifty is the lens that I use for the majority of my shots. The 55-250 is my just about everything lens.

Great stuff guys!! Got out for a walk just after 7 taking a break from studying haha. Sun was just setting. These are all cropped, and ISO 1600, 1/320-1/400 shutter speed, f8.

Dove

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Allan.L wrote in post #12191125
Great stuff guys!! Got out for a walk just after 7 taking a break from studying haha. Sun was just setting. These are all cropped, and ISO 1600, 1/320-1/400 shutter speed, f8.

Nice series Allan.

DS_Monsoon wrote in post #12190921
I was finally able to try something that I never felt capable of trying before. Now that I'm shooting using the viewfinder (as opposed to live view) the auto-focus is fast enough for me to try shots like the ones below...

Ds_Monsoon, I'm very happy you are enjoying your recently re-born baby! I'm quite surprised though you never posted before a bitter complaint about the speed of the AF or wondered how is everyone getting focused pictures of anything not still. I am quite surprised actually that you haven't thrown the camera at a wall trying to make it understand "I needed that shot in focus in less than 3 seconds!!" . I am genuinely surprised that you have been able to take all those great images using only live view! I expect an exponential improvement on your images using the viewfinder, you'll see!

Also, congrats on those panning shots! Very well done, specially for first time using the viewfinder. For those panning shots (which are quite difficult to accomplish) and for which you have done very good! my suggestion is to set all the focus points active (as opposed to just center focus) and use AI Servo focusing system, since it just keeps focusing all the time while you have the shutter button half-pressed (if you are focusing with the main shutter button) or while you have the back button pressed if you are using back-button-focusing. Also, I recommend following the car prior to start shooting, and, using the continuous shooting mode, shoot 3 or 4 consecutive images while following the car with the camera. From those, one is probably sharper than the others. Of course, you will need slow shutter speeds like 1/60th and below to achieve the effects.

With that technique and using only the Kit lens (didn't had anything else at that time) I dragged the shutter as low as I could, some pictures even at 1/40th or less, I did this a while ago:

ofwiah wrote in post #12190933
...I just got back from the circus. This was one challenging day to shoot...

Fantastic shots all by themselves, and they are even more impressive considering the circumstances!!! Fantastic use of light and perfect dimmed exposure for such a condition!

I'm interested in knowing if you used much Exposure Compensation to achieve the results or if you relied only on the metering system for the exposure? Also, which metering mode were you using?

You have shot many situations where I think the camera would have 'misinterpreted' the light and try to compensate for the dark background. Great set Ofwiah, looking forward to more from the circus!

Rafa.