Split from A Photography FAQ

Simon · 1st February 2002

Great effort erwinx,

We shall be compiling all of this into our Coming FAQ sections.

Bluestrike · 1st February 2002

Get that man a Tiger............

Simon · 20th February 2002

Good job, I'll make this a sticky thread.

ckiang · 20th February 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by Bluestrike
Get that man a Tiger............

Nah, give that man a D1X.

Regards
CK

erwinx · 20th February 2002

nahh, i don't want a F100 and I don't want a D1x - too heavy

(F80 and hopefully S2 should be ok) and yes, i should start adding to it. but i can't do a techniques section yet (which would require some sample photos and my scanner is not handy at the moment)

Quote:

Originally posted by ckiang

Nah, give that man a D1X.

Regards
CK

ckiang · 20th February 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by erwinx
nahh, i don't want a F100 and I don't want a D1x - too heavy (F80 and hopefully S2 should be ok) and yes, i should start adding to it. but i can't do a techniques section yet (which would require some sample photos and my scanner is not handy at the moment)

In that case, if someone DO give you a D1X, you know who you can give it to.

Regards
CK

Jed · 20th February 2002

Yeah, me!

ckiang · 20th February 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by Jed
Yeah, me!

not fair, you already have one.

Regards
CK

Jed · 21st February 2002

Exactly why I want another... I'll even swap you my F5

Film is dead, long live digital!

ckiang · 21st February 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by Jed
Exactly why I want another... I'll even swap you my F5

Film is dead, long live digital!

Hey, I smell a potential flame war coming up....

Regards
CK

rty · 27th February 2002

I hope these URLs help:

http://homepage.mac.com/philipgrosset/contents.html

http://www.aea1.k12.ia.us/lois/photoguide.html

http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/toc.html

http://www.camerahobby.com/E-Book/EBook-TOC.htm

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consu...ng/index.shtml

27th March 2002

Hey Erwinx,

Thanks for taking the time to post up the FAQs...keep them coming!

siron · 4th April 2002

Wow.... Cool. Thank mate!

mervlam · 1st May 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by ckiang

Hey, I smell a potential flame war coming up....

Regards
CK

me too!

David · 10th June 2002

Great job in the short but useful writeup, erwinx! Have some comments to make on your point about a good photograph.

I don't think any camera gets the exposure or focus right 90% of the time without user intervention, as u said. It's too general a statement to assume. If anything, I find getting the "right" exposure to be one of the toughest parts in photography. It's a subjective thing and more often than not, you'll want to get one that you like so you really have to step in as the photographer to make such decisions.

Same goes for focusing. Of cos, with AF, focusing is a breeze nowadays but there are still occasions where pin-sharp focusing is a big focus, pun intended. Macro and studio portrait photographers will appreciate this.

As for why some are obsessed with equipment, I think the reasons are quite understandable. They are:

1. show-offs. Pple who get satisfaction from being seen carrying huge or expensive lenses.

2. have lots of money. or at least wouldn't mind spending money till they have little left in their bank account. i always believe there's no end what you can buy in photgraphy if you have the money. But whether that person can take good pics is a different matter altogether. So where does it end?

3. want to attempt pictures that pros take. Sometimes, an amateur sees a beautiful picture of a subject and the photographer stated he used a 70-200mm f/2.8, he starts to dream about getting one, even though he doesn't really need it in his everyday photo-taking. Or a photojournalist says he uses a 35mm f/1.4, and then the amateur starts saving up for one -- in the (false?) hope that pple will also respect him like a pro for his equipment, or that he can take equally good pictures now that he owns that particular lens. (Even though clearly he's not a pro and his skills may be lacking.) Is the $$$ justified? Most probably not.

erwinx · 10th June 2002

I disagree. Please note that the faq is in the newbies corner. Professionals can leave now.

Exposure. Even my ancient Pentax SLR's program mode gets exposure right 90% of the time. For my Nikon, the % is far higher. As such, it is better to spend time thinking about composition. Look at the photos in clubsnap. Most of them are correctly exposed (90%?)

I take loads of portraits and rely on autofocus all the time. To my eye they turn out great.

Pin sharp focusing? Again, relevant to a pro where pin-sharpness is required, but hardly relevant to a newbie (is he going to make 20"x30" prints) Again, the newbie should be concentrating on composition.

Quote:

Originally posted by David
Great job in the short but useful writeup, erwinx! Have some comments to make on your point about a good photograph.

I don't think any camera gets the exposure or focus right 90% of the time without user intervention, as u said. It's too general a statement to assume. If anything, I find getting the "right" exposure to be one of the toughest parts in photography. It's a subjective thing and more often than not, you'll want to get one that you like so you really have to step in as the photographer to make such decisions.

Same goes for focusing. Of cos, with AF, focusing is a breeze nowadays but there are still occasions where pin-sharp focusing is a big focus, pun intended. Macro and studio portrait photographers will appreciate this.
.

David · 11th June 2002

Hahahaha... That's a rude and close-minded remark of yours, but I hope you meant it tongue-in-cheek.

Pro or not, we are talking about good photography here and we should help each other out in any way possible. Along the way, the more experienced pros and advanced amateurs can clear up misconceptions made by novices and beginners like you who may have erroneous philosophies and practices in photograhy.

"Look at the photos in clubsnap. Most of them are correctly exposed (90%?"

My goodness, couldn't they have been touched up in PS or something??

Based on your remarks, I suspect you've been shooting on print films? If so, of course you can't tell the difference as the lab corrects your under and over exposures for you. I invite you to use slide films and your Pentax, Nikon or whatever to shoot lots of different scenes without any exposure "intervention". If you get your exposures spot on 90% of the time, I'd like to meet you.

I don't know what kind of portraits you take, casual snapshots or really those that have some worthy standard. You can ask any portrait photographer what is the ONE big thing that MUST usually be in focus. If you can understand this, you'd know why your AF is not reliable always. I've been in your position b4, relying on the good old AF, so I can understand what you're talking.

Here's a common misconception: pin sharp focusing is not reserved for enlargements, in your case, 20" X 30". You can tell it even from a 4"x6" print. (Incidentally, your 35mm film does it badly even b4 you blow your picture to this size.)
It's a matter of cultivating good habits that you start when you are a beginner in photography, just as in any other crafts. It's a training from young, so to speak.

Yes, you are partly right that composition is important in a good photograph. But what good is it if your focusing is not precise? I'm not trying to be overly academic here but budding photographers should practice good, all round techniques.

erwinx · 11th June 2002

if theres a smiley it usually is.

(I dunno whether or not you are a professional [u probably are since you've taken offence, but no offence intended]) But really, this FAQ is catered to the majority of beginners in clubsnap. One day, if the standard is high enough, there may be a need to talk about needing to use manual focus to achieve pin point focussing because AF is not good enough etc, but we will always have beginners with us

Also, given that the majority of people use consumer digicams and have to manually focus using an LCD screen, I don't think u get better results with manual focus in this case.

Then theres the exposure point, even if people are using photoshop to adjust levels, so what (but again, this is not proven - i believe majority of the time the exposure is fine, given my limited experience with a consumer digicam)? In the end, they are getting nice pictures to show to friends, not for professional use.

There is certainly a place for a more advanced FAQ dealing with technical details, but not something I would burden a beginner with. Of course a beginner should know generally what is shutter speed and aperture generally but given that program mode is generally reliable, he should concentrate on composition.

David · 12th June 2002

Ok ok point taken.

Maybe it's more justified if you had titled your subject as "Photography from MY point of view", rather than state "Photography FAQ". Cos I (and I believe others) can't agree with many of the stuffs you mentioned from a general perspective of photography. You did mention some good points but peppered here and there with some fallacious comments. No offence definitely, juz stating what I feel.

Happy learning and shooting...

erwinx · 12th June 2002

If you disagree, why not write your own photo article, and for that matter, how about posting some of your photos so that people know how important manual focusing, manual metering is? I would like to know what sort of shots you take that are so difficult that you require both in order to get 'decent' 4x6 prints. Who knows, maybe I can produce shots similar to yours by using AF and Autoexposure.

But maybe my shots must be the simple newbie kind which is why I don't need to override the metering 90% of the time.

According to the search you don't appear to have posted anything so far.

After all, you have challenged my views as 'fallacious' without giving any details, so lets see your views.

Quote:

Originally posted by David
Ok ok point taken.

Maybe it's more justified if you had titled your subject as "Photography from MY point of view", rather than state "Photography FAQ". Cos I (and I believe others) can't agree with many of the stuffs you mentioned from a general perspective of photography. You did mention some good points but peppered here and there with some fallacious comments. No offence definitely, juz stating what I feel.

Happy learning and shooting...

1st February 2002	#1
Simon ClubSNAP Admin Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: ClubSNAP Town Posts: 1,788	A Photography FAQ Great effort erwinx, We shall be compiling all of this into our Coming FAQ sections.

27th February 2002	#11
rty Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Here and Now Posts: 1,106	I hope these URLs help: http://homepage.mac.com/philipgrosset/contents.html http://www.aea1.k12.ia.us/lois/photoguide.html http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/toc.html http://www.camerahobby.com/E-Book/EBook-TOC.htm http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consu...ng/index.shtml Last edited by rty; 2nd March 2002 at 09:37 PM.

11th June 2002	#18
erwinx Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,492	if theres a smiley it usually is. (I dunno whether or not you are a professional [u probably are since you've taken offence, but no offence intended]) But really, this FAQ is catered to the majority of beginners in clubsnap. One day, if the standard is high enough, there may be a need to talk about needing to use manual focus to achieve pin point focussing because AF is not good enough etc, but we will always have beginners with us Also, given that the majority of people use consumer digicams and have to manually focus using an LCD screen, I don't think u get better results with manual focus in this case. Then theres the exposure point, even if people are using photoshop to adjust levels, so what (but again, this is not proven - i believe majority of the time the exposure is fine, given my limited experience with a consumer digicam)? In the end, they are getting nice pictures to show to friends, not for professional use. There is certainly a place for a more advanced FAQ dealing with technical details, but not something I would burden a beginner with. Of course a beginner should know generally what is shutter speed and aperture generally but given that program mode is generally reliable, he should concentrate on composition. Last edited by erwinx; 11th June 2002 at 09:42 PM.

1st February 2002	#2
Bluestrike Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: There lor~ Posts: 4,843	Get that man a Tiger............

20th February 2002	#3
Simon ClubSNAP Admin Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: ClubSNAP Town Posts: 1,788	Good job, I'll make this a sticky thread.

20th February 2002	#7
Jed Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,077	Yeah, me!

21st February 2002	#9
Jed Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,077	Exactly why I want another... I'll even swap you my F5 Film is dead, long live digital!

27th March 2002	#12
katie Guests Posts: n/a	Hey Erwinx, Thanks for taking the time to post up the FAQs...keep them coming!

4th April 2002	#13
siron Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: somewhere near... Posts: 2,123	Wow.... Cool. Thank mate!

10th June 2002	#15
David Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,149	Great job in the short but useful writeup, erwinx! Have some comments to make on your point about a good photograph. I don't think any camera gets the exposure or focus right 90% of the time without user intervention, as u said. It's too general a statement to assume. If anything, I find getting the "right" exposure to be one of the toughest parts in photography. It's a subjective thing and more often than not, you'll want to get one that you like so you really have to step in as the photographer to make such decisions. Same goes for focusing. Of cos, with AF, focusing is a breeze nowadays but there are still occasions where pin-sharp focusing is a big focus, pun intended. Macro and studio portrait photographers will appreciate this. As for why some are obsessed with equipment, I think the reasons are quite understandable. They are: 1. show-offs. Pple who get satisfaction from being seen carrying huge or expensive lenses. 2. have lots of money. or at least wouldn't mind spending money till they have little left in their bank account. i always believe there's no end what you can buy in photgraphy if you have the money. But whether that person can take good pics is a different matter altogether. So where does it end? 3. want to attempt pictures that pros take. Sometimes, an amateur sees a beautiful picture of a subject and the photographer stated he used a 70-200mm f/2.8, he starts to dream about getting one, even though he doesn't really need it in his everyday photo-taking. Or a photojournalist says he uses a 35mm f/1.4, and then the amateur starts saving up for one -- in the (false?) hope that pple will also respect him like a pro for his equipment, or that he can take equally good pictures now that he owns that particular lens. (Even though clearly he's not a pro and his skills may be lacking.) Is the $$$ justified? Most probably not.

12th June 2002	#19
David Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,149	Ok ok point taken. Maybe it's more justified if you had titled your subject as "Photography from MY point of view", rather than state "Photography FAQ". Cos I (and I believe others) can't agree with many of the stuffs you mentioned from a general perspective of photography. You did mention some good points but peppered here and there with some fallacious comments. No offence definitely, juz stating what I feel. Happy learning and shooting...