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

AnnieBananie wrote in post #12301795
Was thinking about Rafa's post this morning and shooting with a high ISO, which I have never really done before. Was really afraid of having so much noise to deal with. Of course, there was nothing much to shoot this morning (not even water droplets), so I settled for some bees and decided to play with ISO 1600. My thinking was that if I only upped the shutter and shot on TV mode, everything comes out dark, so with ISO 1600 at f/8, it might catch them without so much of the blur I generally get and without the darkness.

Did my usual adjusting (minimal shadow/highlight, brightness/contrast, hue/saturation), and also ran these through Neat Image (remove noise and sharpen setting), and then gave them just a touch of USM.

What do you guys think? I'm not usually great at seeing noise in photos, unless it's really unbearable, and even at that I don't tend to notice.

Hosted photo: posted by eaglssong in
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forum: Canon Digital Cameras

Hosted photo: posted by eaglssong in
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forum: Canon Digital Cameras

Annie, I love these pics-the high ISO worked great. The quality of your pics are improving daily and are quite excellent.
Keep up the great posts! I look forward to seeing them (as well as all the other great pics).
(I'm not sure why the images didn't repost)
Susan

gepixelt wrote in post #12304532
ok everbody ... just one more cutenessness

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/gepixelt/566189​1259/
*quack* by gepixelt, on Flickr

He really is cute. Great light in the shot too.

LuFaiNe wrote in post #12304420
Couldn't have been presented any better *mouth watering* Very nicely done.

Thanks! Product photography is quite fun!

bobobird wrote in post #12302600
While on the subject of posting pics. Flickr pics are embedded so that clicking the pic takes one to the main pic and we can see the exif and other info.

How to do that with Picasa ? I usually post a direct link. How to post a clickable link ?

There is no way built by flickr that I know of to link to the EXIF, but you can do this:

EXIF info is found in this link:

Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

T2iMdSue wrote in post #12304578
Annie, I love these pics-the high ISO worked great. The quality of your pics are improving daily and are quite excellent.
Keep up the great posts! I look forward to seeing them (as well as all the other great pics).
(I'm not sure why the images didn't repost)
Susan

Susan, thank you so much. You have no idea how much those words mean to me. I go out daily (usually twice a day) and just practice with various settings, etc. Then I come home and look at them and compare. Sometimes, the differences are glaring, and at other times, hard to see much difference from one setting to another. But it's all finally starting to sink in and make sense to me. I figure the only way I'm going to really improve is to get out and practice, practice, practice. Yes, I have the books, but frankly, they were never much help. But by doing it, I think I'm finally getting it.

So, once again I say to everybody.... shoot anything, but get out there and shoot. It really does help and make a huge difference.

Just a couple more from this afternoon. It's so hot out there that even the critters are hiding. Not a bird to be found, and just this one little lonesome dragonfly.

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AnnieBananie wrote in post #12304938
Susan, thank you so much. You have no idea how much those words mean to me. I go out daily (usually twice a day) and just practice with various settings, etc. Then I come home and look at them and compare. Sometimes, the differences are glaring, and at other times, hard to see much difference from one setting to another. But it's all finally starting to sink in and make sense to me. I figure the only way I'm going to really improve is to get out and practice, practice, practice. Yes, I have the books, but frankly, they were never much help. But by doing it, I think I'm finally getting it.

So, once again I say to everybody.... shoot anything, but get out there and shoot. It really does help and make a huge difference.

That's how I've been learning as well, especially since I'm usually shooting in low light conditions that differ from day to day. There's really no textbook answer that can be used to generalize the settings needed. It doesn't matter whether you're in kindergarten or an amateur photographer... hands-on learning always seems to work the best!


I really should be getting an external flash sometime soon since I need it for basically any photographer's assistant job that I'm applying to. However, being a jobless college student isn't exactly helpful.

Here's a few nature ones I've done. I don't have much experience with that kind of photography, so any suggestions would be appreciated!

klock wrote in post #12305019
That's how I've been learning as well, especially since I'm usually shooting in low light conditions that differ from day to day. There's really no textbook answer that can be used to generalize the settings needed. It doesn't matter whether you're in kindergarten or an amateur photographer... hands-on learning always seems to work the best!


I really should be getting an external flash sometime soon since I need it for basically any photographer's assistant job that I'm applying to. However, being a jobless college student isn't exactly helpful.

Here's a few nature ones I've done. I don't have much experience with that kind of photography, so any suggestions would be appreciated!

You're doing great. This one's my favorite, given my new found love of shooting water drops. There's no exif info, but can you tell me if you used auto focus or manual on this one? I've discovered that this particular type of shot seems to do better with manual focus.

AnnieBananie wrote in post #12305050
You're doing great. This one's my favorite, given my new found love of shooting water drops. There's no exif info, but can you tell me if you used auto focus or manual on this one? I've discovered that this particular type of shot seems to do better with manual focus.

Thanks! I used auto focus on it, but I have noticed that the camera has trouble focusing on closeups. I should try more manual focus shots when all of the flowers start blooming!

bobobird wrote in post #12302098
Yesterday, visited a 1000+ years old monastery undergoing restoration. It is high up on the hills and can be reached only on a very steep one way road. Had to walk up that road as our cab could only take us half-way up. Must be a real challenge getting building materials and workers to that place.

Some pics from the excursion.
Saved this guy from an untimely death and he rewarded me by going to a nearby pillar and staying there until I had finished
The complete series can be viewed from here
https://picasaweb.goog​le.com …nHongKong?feat=​directlink

Btw, this new Sigma 17-50 is simply amazing. None of the pics needed sharpening (but did it anyway out of habit). Another thing was how close it could go - the bug was shot from very close range with the lens hood almost touching the pillar. Wow!

Nice shots Bobo reminds me of my trip to China and Tibet. The monasteries were so interesting. I wish I would have had a dslr then instead of S5is point and shoot.

klock wrote in post #12305246
Thanks! I used auto focus on it, but I have noticed that the camera has trouble focusing on closeups. I should try more manual focus shots when all of the flowers start blooming!

If you're having trouble focusing with close-up shots you're more than likely exceeding the minimum focus distance for that lens. Every lens is different and it should be printed on it somewhere. You'd be surprised, but some lenses won't focus on things less than three feet away. But most lenses are in the 1-2 foot range until you go macro or some wide angle. Even being just an mere inch closer than that will not only render your auto focus useless, but even manual focusing will never get an image in focus if you're too close.

marubozo wrote in post #12305279
If you're having trouble focusing with close-up shots you're more than likely exceeding the minimum focus distance for that lens. Every lens is different and it should be printed on it somewhere. You'd be surprised, but some lenses won't focus on things less than three feet away. But most lenses are in the 1-2 foot range until you go macro or some wide angle. Even being just an mere inch closer than that will not only render your auto focus useless, but even manual focusing will never get an image in focus if you're too close.

Thanks for the advice! I believe all of those photos were from using just my 18-55mm lens. I don't have a macro lens yet, but I have a slight telephoto one.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I liked the road shot too. I was drawn to the hills in it.

Annie - I've not used my lens yet as the weather isn't cooperating. Maybe tomorrow

Good pictures everyone. Wow this thread moves so quick. It's daunting to go through it after coming back from work but it's worth it to see such great work and inspiration!

klock wrote in post #12305331
Thanks for the advice! I believe all of those photos were from using just my 18-55mm lens. I don't have a macro lens yet, but I have a slight telephoto one.

Yeah, the kit lens has a MFD of around a foot. So, just keep that in mind when using it for getting close and if you back up a few inches you'll probably find it has no problem focusing as long as the light is pretty good.