Digital Photography for Dummies

[alfred russel]

I need some tips: I'd like to take pictures with the purpose of framing them around the office/home, but I am a complete novice. I have a 12 megapixel camera--is this good enough?

I'm assuming I can't take pictures at night. I've been told that wildlife photos are done with a tripod, but I'm uncertain why. Do I need to invest in a tripod?

Any tips or pointers are appreciated...

[Tonitrus]

I need some tips: I'd like to take pictures with the purpose of framing them around the office/home, but I am a complete novice. I have a 12 megapixel camera--is this good enough?

Depends on the size you want the framed photos to be.  That's probably the biggest factor that megapixel size would have.  I imagine 12mpixels is probably sufficient unless you're blowing them up into huge posters.

[qoute]I'm assuming I can't take pictures at night. I've been told that wildlife photos are done with a tripod, but I'm uncertain why. Do I need to invest in a tripod? [/quote]

You CAN take pictures at night.  However, this is where a tripod is probably the most valuable, as your exposure time will need to be longer. 

I would argue that more vital to wildlife photography, over a tripod, is the capacity for a longer zoom (i.e. with a telephoto lens).  Now, of course, unless you have a DSLR, you won't really have the ability to use a telephoto lens, but some of the higher-end point-and-shoot cameras have pretty good zoom capability (and I mean optical zoom, don't even bother with digital as the quality will be unusably crappy).

Tripods can be helpful, but most DSLRs, and point-and-shoots, have some level of vibration-reduction.  And there are pros out there who won't bother with tripods, and just either rest their hands/camera on some handy object and try to stabilize themselves as much as possible.

In my experience, the biggest negative to a tripod is actually using it.  If you are disinclined towards carrying it around everywhere, and going through the bother of setting your camera up on it, then what good is it?  I own a tripod, and rarely use it, as it's a pain to carry around and use, and often not worth the effort.  But many people swear by to them to ensure as sharp a photo as possible.

[alfred russel]

Thanks Tonitrus.

A follow up question--few of the pictures I'm taking are visibly blurred. I'm fairly certain this is because I'm not holding the camera steady. I'm worried that if this problem is obvious on a laptop, it is present on all the pictures to a lesser degree. Is there a way to fix this? (short of using a tripod to take a picture of a building in daylight)

[alfred russel]

I'm going to bump this because despite languish dying and all this fell of the front page in about 12 hours.

[The Brain]

Thanks Tonitrus.

A follow up question--few of the pictures I'm taking are visibly blurred. I'm fairly certain this is because I'm not holding the camera steady. I'm worried that if this problem is obvious on a laptop, it is present on all the pictures to a lesser degree. Is there a way to fix this? (short of using a tripod to take a picture of a building in daylight)

Have a drink shortly before taking the pic.

[Warspite]

Thanks Tonitrus.

A follow up question--few of the pictures I'm taking are visibly blurred. I'm fairly certain this is because I'm not holding the camera steady. I'm worried that if this problem is obvious on a laptop, it is present on all the pictures to a lesser degree. Is there a way to fix this? (short of using a tripod to take a picture of a building in daylight)

What is the lens you are using? Are you focusing properly? (are you using autofocus on manual focus?) It sounds silly but have you made sure the lens and mirror are clean?

The reasons a tripod is recommended for wildlife photography are that at high zoom, even the most minute hand shake has a perceptible effect on the sharpness of an image; and, further, that at high zoom, less light enters the lens, so you have to compensate via a larger aperture opening (so a shallower depth of field) or longer exposure (more blur from movement, whether of the subject or your own hand), so you need a tripod to guard against the latter.

12 megapixels in theory is fine, but perhaps check out what your effective megapixels are - this can vary substantially between cheaper and more expensive cameras.

[Brazen]

Do you have a compact or an SLR? Do you have to do your own focussing?

I don't get any visible blurring on the screen with my fairly basic compact, so you may have a problem with exposure time. If it's automatic, it might be self-adjusting to low light levels.

[alfred russel]

Warspite and Brazen, it is autofocus. It is a compact.

Should I just change the camera settings so that I have a minimum of exposure time when shooting buildings in the day?

The camera is below.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-SD780IS-Stabilized-Deep-Red/dp/tech-data/B001SER48I/ref=de_a_smtd

Warspite, how do I find the effective megapixels?

[HisMajestyBOB]

Try lowering the exposure time, or just try using the flash or turning more lights on.

It could also be because of being a cheap camera - I have an older Sony that rarely takes blurry pictures, even when on auto settings, while my newer $70 camera more often has problems with blurriness, focusing, and weird white balance.

[Warspite]

Warspite and Brazen, it is autofocus. It is a compact.

Should I just change the camera settings so that I have a minimum of exposure time when shooting buildings in the day?

The camera is below.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-SD780IS-Stabilized-Deep-Red/dp/tech-data/B001SER48I/ref=de_a_smtd

Warspite, how do I find the effective megapixels?

Well that's not a cheap camera and the reviews in the press say it does a very good job, so perhaps if you could post a couple of pictures where the result has been unsatisfactory, I'll see if I can work out what the problem is.

For comparison, it would be useful to take a picture of something on a table a) while you are holding the camera and b) while it is sitting on the same table, using self-timer.

[Pedrito]

Some random advice:

1. Firm hands are a prerequisite, except if you're taking pictures in sunny daylight.

2. with digital, post-production is as important as production; get yourself a good retouching software, you'll need it: Photoshop Elements, even Adobe Lightroom 3 can do a good work.

3. If you're going to print your photos, and even more so in case of big prints, either you have a very good and correctly profiled pc-monitor-printer combo, or prepare youreslf for a good deal of headaches, swearing and tons of photo paper and inks thrown away

4. Never underestimate a shot of flash, even in full daylight

More to come.

L.

[Oexmelin]

I am going to take advantage of Russel's thread to ask for recommendations myself. My camera is getting oldish (4 megapixels)... plus, I would like to buy a better one if only for the fun of taking pictures.

I need a good camera to take tons of pictures of old papers. Most public archives (damn you, private research libraries!) permit visitors to take their own pictures... I need readability - not necessarily perfection. What do I need to look for?

Also, what's the difference between "point-and-shoot" and other so-called "types" out there (i.e., "compact", "DSLR": I know what these stand for, but point and shoot?)

[Pedrito]

I am going to take advantage of Russel's thread to ask for recommendations myself. My camera is getting oldish (4 megapixels)... plus, I would like to buy a better one if only for the fun of taking pictures.

I need a good camera to take tons of pictures of old papers. Most public archives (damn you, private research libraries!) permit visitors to take their own pictures... I need readability - not necessarily perfection. What do I need to look for?

Also, what's the difference between "point-and-shoot" and other so-called "types" out there (i.e., "compact", "DSLR": I know what these stand for, but point and shoot?)

You'll need a small tripod and a large dose of sharpening in post-production, assuming the libraries won't permit the use of flash.

There's no difference between a  compact and a point-and-shoot camera; there's the "bridge" class of cameras, in which you usually get a higher-MP sensor, some more controls, the ability to shoot RAW files instead of the compressed JPG, a somewhat longer zoom, higher quality lens, more picture modes.
The rage right now is about the so-called mirrorless SLRs, cameras where the body is just a  bit bigger than a compact, but the lenses are intherchangeable, thus giving the flexibility of a DSLR without weight and size of them.
Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Olympus launched their versions of mirrorless, and some of them seem really interesting cameras.
Uh, I forgot: a large number of the most recent cameras can shoot movies: this is particularly interesting for interchangeable lens cameras.

L.

[alfred russel]

Well that's not a cheap camera and the reviews in the press say it does a very good job, so perhaps if you could post a couple of pictures where the result has been unsatisfactory, I'll see if I can work out what the problem is.

For comparison, it would be useful to take a picture of something on a table a) while you are holding the camera and b) while it is sitting on the same table, using self-timer.

:blush:I apologize for giving the wrong info, but I was at work and for some reason thought I bought a Canon. I actually bought an Olympus I've linked to below.

http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Digital-Camera-Optical-Blue/dp/B0036VNPGG

It seems to be much cheaper than the first camera I linked to, although the salesman assured me it was "muy bien" and charged as much as the first camera. So I should be okay, right?


I don't think I can post pictures--unfortunately I'm on the road and only have a work laptop that I can't use to download photo resize programs. I did try some tests in my room--taking pictures by hand and balanced on a table. Unfortunately, my hand taken photos were much worse. I don't think there is a way I can make my hands steadier and I think that may be the source of the problem, is there a setup I can give my camera to compensate for this? Otherwise, I guess I need to invest in a tripod?

[starbright]

I got some nice photos with a compact using manual settings and five second delay. Plus one of these http://www.amazon.com/Joby-Gorillapod-SLR-Zoom-Flexible-Digital/dp/B000KFRSG4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303179080&sr=8-2 works great wrapped around a branch.