First Shots On My First DSLR

[.Hack]

Hi fellow dudes, this is my first time using a DSLR, as well as my first time shooting on Manual mode, playing with the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings. My previous camera was a PnS. Hope all of you will give me some advices on how to get better shots.

Lens used is the Nikon 18-105mm kit lens. No tripod and flash is used. Below are the pictures with the various settings.

1/5s f/8 ISO800

1/5s f/4.8 ISO400

1/5s f/3.5 ISO200

1/5s f/3.5 ISO400 (with flash)

1/2s f/8 ISO400

 

[.Hack]

Your advices are greatly appreciated.

1/5s f/8 ISO400

1/5s f/8 ISO800

1/5s f/8 ISO800

1/5s f/8 ISO800

1/5s f/8 ISO800

 

[jtchoy]

Beautify shots, especially for first shots...

 

[.Hack]

Beautify shots, especially for first shots...

Thanx for the comments. I was playing with alot of different settings on the same shots. Still have to learn alot of things, guess the only way to learn is to Shoot and Shoot and Shoot.

 

[Kit]

Hope all of you will give me some advices on how to get better shots.

Go get yourself a tripod.

 

[.Hack]

Go get yourself a tripod.

I do have a Nikon tripod as a freebie but did not have it with me during the point of shooting, as my camera is with me most of the time but not the tripod. I know having a tripod will greatly improve the images quality. How bout my shutter/aperture/ISO settings? Are they alright? :think:

 

[luna_sea83]

Longer shutter speed, and smaller aperture would help

 

[David Kwok]

Generally the shots looks kinda dark in my opinion. Night scenes normally looks better when u do long exposure. Try that first Get a tripod please

 

[.Hack]

Longer shutter speed, and smaller aperture would help

Generally the shots looks kinda dark in my opinion. Night scenes normally looks better when u do long exposure. Try that first Get a tripod please

Shots look dark due to fairly fast shutter and no flash used. Tried setting my shutter speed to a longer time but cannot make it due to hand shake although VR was on. Guess the solution is either a tripod or a super duper pair of steady arms. I will bring my tripod along for my next night shots to test out. So normally for night shots what settings are you guys using? How long you guys set your shutter speed and the aperture size? :what:

 

[Kit]

I do have a Nikon tripod as a freebie but did not have it with me during the point of shooting, as my camera is with me most of the time but not the tripod. I know having a tripod will greatly improve the images quality. How bout my shutter/aperture/ISO settings? Are they alright? :think:

If you don't use a tripod, then there's not much to talk about regarding your settings.

 

[.Hack]

If you don't use a tripod, then there's not much to talk about regarding your settings.

Will surely bring along my tripod for my next shooting.

 

[chrisbecks86]

I do have a Nikon tripod as a freebie but did not have it with me during the point of shooting, as my camera is with me most of the time but not the tripod. I know having a tripod will greatly improve the images quality. How bout my shutter/aperture/ISO settings? Are they alright? :think:

Hi,
don't put too much trust on the freebie tripods, cos my cam fell from one of those Nikon freebie tripod my pal got, and you wouldn't want yr cam to go for repairs mate..

lesson learnt: get a proper tripod n dun scrimp on the budget, u wouldn;t want to save on yr tripod and end up paying so much more on repairs

agree with the other guys, night shots are better with longer exposure!

take care,
chris

 

[attap seed]

Shots look dark due to fairly fast shutter and no flash used.

not correct.

shots look dark cus

1) they are shot too late. try shooting at dusk, jus after the sun sets
2) shots are underexposed (yours is quite well exposed).
3) flash are normally not used in nite landscape. no flash can illuminate the landscape. unless its a foreground interest tat u intend to lightup.

shutter speed becomes more flexible after mounting on a tripod. tink the longest shutter on your DSLR is 30 sec. if u ve a cable release, can lock it and expose even longer. but i find it hard to get longer than 30sec exposure w/o excessive stoppin down (which i try to avoid).

 

[YqArts]

Another point is that using tripod will allow you to use lower ISO, which will enable the colour to be more saturated and lesser noise .

A general rule is to use the lowest ISO you can get for static scenery pictures :thumbsup:

 

[.Hack]

Hi,
don't put too much trust on the freebie tripods, cos my cam fell from one of those Nikon freebie tripod my pal got, and you wouldn't want yr cam to go for repairs mate..

lesson learnt: get a proper tripod n dun scrimp on the budget, u wouldn;t want to save on yr tripod and end up paying so much more on repairs

agree with the other guys, night shots are better with longer exposure!

take care,
chris

OMG! You mean your cam just fell out or the tripod leg broke?

not correct.

shots look dark cus

1) they are shot too late. try shooting at dusk, jus after the sun sets
2) shots are underexposed (yours is quite well exposed).
3) flash are normally not used in nite landscape. no flash can illuminate the landscape. unless its a foreground interest tat u intend to lightup.

shutter speed becomes more flexible after mounting on a tripod. tink the longest shutter on your DSLR is 30 sec. if u ve a cable release, can lock it and expose even longer. but i find it hard to get longer than 30sec exposure w/o excessive stoppin down (which i try to avoid).

Thanx for the advice, will take that into account.

Another point is that using tripod will allow you to use lower ISO, which will enable the colour to be more saturated and lesser noise .

A general rule is to use the lowest ISO you can get for static scenery pictures :thumbsup:

Thanx for the advice too.

 

[CatByTe]

Hey yea I was accomplice that the TRIPOD caused the camera that came tumbling down. Very hard lesson learnt with Chris haha Sorry mate! Die die must get a heavier Tripod to support the Camera weight...

 

[darkbyte]

lol i know where you go just now. marina barracks right?

 

[MRSAMO]

Can't yet see the images as my internet is reeeeeaally slow, but I also shoot without a tripod except for my recent trips when I need to shoot pictures of stars and bridges. I was shooting at most 3 seconds handheld and getting away with it though a tripod would make things a lot less challenging. I used my camera pretty much like a PnS so had to be creative with taking slow shots like resting the camera close to my body, holding down the capture button after taking a shot and being incredibly still.

Here are a couple of samples of handheld night shots :

and here's the difference with a tripod :

So now I'm looking for a good strong but light tripod that small enough to pack away rather than the bazooka of a tripod I borrowed from a friend.

 

[.Hack]

Hey yea I was accomplice that the TRIPOD caused the camera that came tumbling down. Very hard lesson learnt with Chris haha Sorry mate! Die die must get a heavier Tripod to support the Camera weight...

Then what's the damages to the camera? :think:

lol i know where you go just now. marina barracks right?

Spot on. Marina Barracks and Esplanade.

 

[.Hack]

Can't yet see the images as my internet is reeeeeaally slow, but I also shoot without a tripod except for my recent trips when I need to shoot pictures of stars and bridges. I was shooting at most 3 seconds handheld and getting away with it though a tripod would make things a lot less challenging. I used my camera pretty much like a PnS so had to be creative with taking slow shots like resting the camera close to my body, holding down the capture button after taking a shot and being incredibly still.

Here are a couple of samples of handheld night shots :

and here's the difference with a tripod :

So now I'm looking for a good strong but light tripod that small enough to pack away rather than the bazooka of a tripod I borrowed from a friend.

Some really nice shots you got there, especially the sky full of stars. :thumbsup: