Newbie to DSLR. Got a Canon.

[porsche4life]

I picked up a Canon Rebel XTI with a 35-80mm glass used on CL for about half price.
Here are a few of the shots from today at a Horse Show. Feel free to give pointers etc...







Played with that one in photoshop a little bit.

[porsche4life]

Yes thats a Gelding.... No he's not gay...

[Bill Douglas]

Works OK

[slodave]

I'll get critical tomorrow (Later today).

[911pcars]

Pics look a little soft. Kit lens?

Sherwood

[masraum]

If you want to learn to get the most out of the camera, always either use P, Av, Tv, or even better M modes. Don't use the green square or the icon modes.

I think I mostly use Av mode. For the first few pics of the horse with the houses in the background. If you'd opened the aperture up to the max, the horse would have been in focus, and the background would have been blurred which would have really made him stand out in the photo. The houses in the background would be less distracting if out of focus.

Get the "Nifty 50" lens. It's about $100 and worth every penny.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-USA/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html

Huh, apparently the price has gone up. It used to be available for less than $100, now it's $115. Still, it's worth it. It's a great lens and anyone with an SLR should own one.

[masraum]

Ah, something that most photos end up with these days (photoshop tip)

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/unsharp-mask.htm
http://www.scantips.com/simple6.html

If you'd like to poke around a bit on a Canon photography forums that's comparable to Pelican, go here.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

[masraum]

You may also want to try some manual focusing. Since you're young, your eyes are probably still good.

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by masraum

Ah, something that most photos end up with these days (photoshop tip)

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/unsharp-mask.htm
http://www.scantips.com/simple6.html

If you'd like to poke around a bit on a Canon photography forums that's comparable to Pelican, go here.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

Better to start with a sharp image.

I don't know the shutter speed this was shot at nor the focal length or whether this was hand held or on a support.

Suggest you put the camera on a tripod and take some test pictures to determine whether it's the camera/lens setting, unsteady camera or maybe a faulty lens (some kit lenses are better than others, btw.).

Sherwood

[masraum]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

Better to start with a sharp image.

I don't know the shutter speed this was shot at nor the focal length or whether this was hand held or on a support.

Suggest you put the camera on a tripod and take some test pictures to determine whether it's the camera/lens setting, unsteady camera or maybe a faulty lens (some kit lenses are better than others, btw.).

Sherwood

Yes, best to start with a sharp image.

There have also been some reports of some not getting perfect results with the auto-focus.

[porsche4life]

It's a 35-80 lens that the guy I bought it from used gave me.

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

It's a 35-80 lens that the guy I bought it from used gave me.

I'm not a Canon guy, but here's one site that might be helpful:

http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses.html

Sherwood

[HardDrive]

I have the same Camera and love it. I agree that the 'green square' auto mode can make some odd (and VERY irritating) setup choices. I typically leave mine on P and make adjustments on the fly. If you want to shoot an event at night, you will need a flash. I picked up the Cannon 430 EXII and its done well for me.

I also have the 35-80 lense that came with the camera. It works alright for day to day, but its light gathering qualitys are pretty poor. Worthless at night.

[ChkbookMechanic]

I've got an XTi and am using these lenses:

Canon 35mm f/2 EF
Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS EF-S
Canon 100mm f/2.8 EF USM MACRO

I like the 35mm since it is really nice standard lens to learn on but I find myself using the 17-55mm lens the most and the macro the least. The macro lens does get more of a work out than I expected however.

The next lens I want to buy is the Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS since I borrowed one and got some really nice shots like this one below.



Another thing that you might find helpful when shooting in Av mode are these steps:

1. Choose your ISO value
* ISO100 when the sun is bright outside
* ISO400 for when it is slightly dark outside
* ISO1600 for dark indoors
2. Choose aperture
* Large if taking pictures with the available sun or wanting a shallow Depth of Focus (DOF)
* Smaller if wanting a large DOF
3. Check the shutter speed to ensure it is sufficient and your camera can handle it. If not, back to step 1.

[BRPORSCHE]

great little camera. I picked up an XTi in November. I shoot with the 18-55 IS lens.

[imcarthur]

Canon XSi stock 18-55mm IS lens shooting on Auto - handheld.



The flower photo is completely unaltered - just cropped & sized.



I sharpened this with PS very slightly & sized.

Ian

[slodave]

I don't know about Canon, but Nikon has different levels of in camera sharpening. If Canon is the same way, it's possible that Sidney's camera has sharpening turned off or at a low level. It's true about soft lenses as well. My kit lens is very sharp compared to some of the more expensive Nikon lenses. So much so, that my dad shelved one of his good lenses and replaced it with another - he had been frustrated with pix from that lens, so he did some tests...

P.S. Digital camera's are not as sharp as film. P&S camera's are usually tweaked by the factory to produce sharp images, as these camera's are designed for the general masses. DSLR's give you the control. Magazine's don't want you to submit a picture that has been sharpened, they want it straight out of the camera. They will manipulate the image as they see fit. I think I have minimal sharpening set on my camera and sharpen (unsharp mask in PS).

[slodave]

Now...

In the first three pix, you have a lead line leaving the frame. Two thoughts, first if the horse did not have the lead attached, it would have made for a better picture. Since this is not possible, it would have been better to have the trainer in the frame as well.

The fly on the boot. Well, the lens you have is not meant for macro photography, so shooting things this small will not be very exciting.

I can't figure out why the pic of your GF is soft. There is no exif data on the image. What was the shutter speed, ISO?

I think the last two show the problems with hand holding and low light. Depending on your settings, you should have bumped up the ISO, allowing for a faster shutter speed.

Read up on the rule of thirds for photography. <- This has nothing to do with the above shots.

Most of all, go out and take a lot of pictures! Your film is cheap

[jhc]

I don't post much but I have to say that you really need to get a better lens such as a Tamron or Sigma 17-50 2.8. The nifty fifty is also a good idea, try to shoot at a signle focal length for a while to better visualize what happens at each focal length and each aperture (lens opening). Get a better understanding of the effect of depth of field and shutter speed.
This was shot with a 5D on a tripod with a 24-70.

[porsche4life]

Ok does anybody know if I sharpen them up in the camera?

I'm definitely going to have to get some lenses soon. As soon as I can afford it anyways....

I am going to shoot some stuff in NM this week and I am going to try to shoot from a tripod some. I was on the move a lot at this show so I had to go handheld.


I was using the P mode mostly but some of them were shot in the sport mode. I was just playing with the different settings as I still don't fully understand all the settings and numbers. I just knew I wanted more ISO and aperature in low light.