Photo tips November 04, 2012, 11:14:53 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134857As promised, I've posted a page with some suggestions for getting better photos, based on my "Colorado summer" web pages: http://www.andybaird.com/travels/skylarking/2012/photos.htmThis is mainly intended for amateurs and snapshooters with consumer-grade cameras --nothing fancy, just some common-sense tips. I hope they'll be helpful.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Photo tips Reply #1 – November 05, 2012, 03:49:41 am Yahoo Message Number: 134860An excellent read, Andy. Well done.Here's a link to something I've been using for years that will fit
Re: Photo tips Reply #2 – November 05, 2012, 10:34:29 am Yahoo Message Number: 134862A great idea and an excellent writeup, George! I'm gonna make myself a string-pod. :-)Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Photo tips Reply #3 – November 05, 2012, 10:53:44 am Yahoo Message Number: 134863On Mon, 05 Nov 2012 05:14:52 -0000, "Andy Baird" wrote:QuoteThis is mainly intended for amateurs and snapshooters with consumer-grade cameras --nothing fancy, just some common-sense tips. I hope they'll be helpful. Just confirms to me, that pro gear is wasted on most people. I will be updating my aging low pixel Panasonic next year for one of the newer ones. Ansel Adams used all sorts of camera's including a box Brownie and he did alright with it.Cheers, Don
Re: Photo tips Reply #4 – November 05, 2012, 12:28:32 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134865"I will be updating my aging low pixel Panasonic next year for one of the newer ones." For what it's worth, I follow this market fairly closely and read a lot of reviews. My reading is that Panasonic's FZ150 and FZ200 are the best in their class (medium-sized ultrazooms)--and I say that as a Canon fan. And Panasonic's compact "travel zoom" models, such as the DMC-ZS15 (http://tinyurl.com/bn4cj53>), are among the best in their class, although Canon's SX260 HS (http://tinyurl.com/bqff8mc>) is also worth a look. "Ansel Adams used all sorts of camera's including a box Brownie and he did alright with it." Yup! Somebody once asked Adams "What kind of equipment do you use?", to which he replied "My eyes." Truer words were never spoken. :-) And one of the best ways to improve your photographic eyesight, so to speak, is Bryan Peterson's book "Learning to See Creatively" (http://tinyurl.com/a875tb7>). It's the only photography book I regularly reread, because it's not about equipment or techniques--it's about using your eyes.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Photo tips Reply #5 – November 05, 2012, 12:33:05 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134866I just updated to a DMC-LX7, and find it really great, but it may not be for everyone.
Re: Photo tips Reply #6 – November 05, 2012, 01:12:31 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134867Sounds like a very nice box, Andy. I have two questions about it thatI can't answer from reading the specs:Does the lens barrel turn and/or extend when zooming? Does Panasonic allow you to use the pop-up flash in macro mode? I'm not concerned about recommended minimum distances on the flash but just whether or not it will fire in auto exposure mode while in macro shooting mode.Thanks, George
Re: Photo tips Reply #7 – November 05, 2012, 01:14:31 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134868Quote For what it's worth, I follow this market fairly closely and read a lot of reviews. My reading is that Panasonic's FZ150 and FZ200 are the best in their class (medium-sized ultrazooms)--and I say that as a Canon fan. And Panasonic's compact "travel zoom" models, such as the DMC-ZS15 (http://tinyurl.com/bn4cj53>), are among the best in their class, although Canon's SX260 HS (http://tinyurl.com/bqff8mc>) is also worth a look. FWIW, we owned a smaller Panasonic because my wife wanted a camera that took panoramic photos. However, without a eyepiece viewfinder, it was extremely hard to use outdoors because of sun washout on the back LCD panel. I have reverted to our Canon SD1100IS with viewfinder and it takes great photos.Thanks for the excellent photos tips write-up, Andy.Chris
Re: Photo tips Reply #8 – November 05, 2012, 01:33:12 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134869I just answered my first question about the lens from product images on the DP Review website. Still interested
Re: Photo tips Reply #9 – November 05, 2012, 03:43:20 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134871"Does the [Panasonic FZ150/FZ200] lens barrel turn and/or extend when zooming?" In going from its 25mm (wideangle) to 600mm (telephoto) setting, the lens extends an additional inch and a quarter. This doesn't interfere with use of 52mm filters and accessories, however, and there's no rotation of the lens barrel."Does Panasonic allow you to use the pop-up flash in macro mode?" Yes. However, as with most cameras, the popup flash is useless for macro work, because it's pointed straight forward--not downward at the subject--and because when using flash, the lens barrel casts a shadow on the subject. But again, these drawbacks are typical... in fact, I can't remember ever seeing a camera with a popup flash that worked well for macro photos. For that kind of thing you need a softbox, light tent, or ring light. "we owned a smaller Panasonic because my wife wanted a camera that took panoramic photos. However, without a eyepiece viewfinder, it was extremely hard to use outdoors because of sun washout on the back LCD panel." Yes, that's a problem with many of today's compact cameras: no eyepiece viewfinder, and an LCD that washes out in sunlight. The FZ150's electronic eyepiece viewfinder eliminates this problem. and as you noted, the discontinued Canon SD1100 IS is one of very few cameras in the ultracompact class with an optical eyepiece viewfinder. It's a great little camera if you can live with a 3x zoom... too bad Canon omitted the eyepiece viewfinder on successor models. With regard to panoramic photos, I find it easiest to do these in software rather than in the camera. There are many panorama-stitching programs available; I use Photoshop because I have it, but Photoshop Elements will do just as well for less than a hundred bucks, and there are lots of others. I don't bother with a tripod or indexing head; I just swivel my body while snapping a series of images, allowing about one-third overlap between frames. Adobe's software does the rest, and does it so well that I rarely need to make any adjustments. There's one exception to what I said about doing panos in the computer rather than in the camera: my iPhone 5's Camera app does a truly remarkable job of creating panoramic images on the fly. I just shot a 180° panorama of my rig's interior--an extremely difficult subject, if you've ever tried it--and with one continuous swing of the camera Apple's software created a perfect 25 megapixel pano. Panorama software has been around on cell phones for a few years now, and I have several apps that do it, but for ease of use and image quality, I've never seen anything this good.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Photo tips Reply #10 – November 05, 2012, 04:01:13 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134872....my android phone does great panos, and the LX7, does great in cam panos. but I agree, and prefer shooting multi exposures, and stitching in software ....if you want a very powerful, open source panoramic software, look to Hugin...free. And powerfulWith regard to panoramic photos, I find it easiest to do these in software rather than in the camera. There are many panorama-stitching programs available; I use Photoshop because I have it, but Photoshop Elements will do just as well for less than a hundred bucks, and there are lots of others. I don't bother with a tripod or indexing head; I just swivel my body while snapping a series of images, allowing about one-third overlap between frames Adobe's software does the rest, and does it so well that I rarely need to make any adjustments. There's one exception to what I said about doing panos in the computer rather than in the camera: my iPhone 5's Camera app does a truly remarkable job of creating panoramic images on the fly. I just shot a 180° panorama of my rig's interior--an extremely difficult subject, if you've ever tried it--and with one continuous swing of the camera Apple's software created a perfect 25 megapixel pano. Panorama software has been around on cell phones for a few years now, and I have several apps that do it, but for ease of use and image quality, I've never seen anything this good.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Photo tips Reply #11 – November 05, 2012, 06:27:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 134874That "Yes" is what I needed to know, Andy. It may take me a while to re-construct the necessary post but I plan to remove that particular "however" from your lexicon for good. :-))) And best of all, the near-zero cost solution will fit into your fanny pack or your shirt pocket. I'll try to get to it this evening unless the call to go play a bit of one-pocket pool comes as I hope.George
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