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12/31/2005 02:10:10 AM · #1 |
I got this as a gift i doubt i can return it my dad ordered it online from some place and ill feel bad asking for a receipt and all that stuff. He gave about as much as i could get a good used camera but im trying to make it work. It took me some time to figure out my last one and once i figured out all the little quarks and distances it needed i was cookin. This one can take some decent pics because ive done it but there are some that are just not worth the battery juice.
1 is the flash with a strip of paper folded in half to defuse/split
2 is the stock flash
3 is closer
4 is outside
where can i buy a sun lamp? lol i need the sun in my room where i can turn it on and off when i need it. only if... :(
Message edited by author 2005-12-31 02:11:25. |
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12/31/2005 02:34:47 AM · #2 |
| Is it the Canon powershot A510 in your profile? |
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12/31/2005 03:28:18 AM · #3 |
No i just ordered that wensday. I didnt want to put a lame camera as my main one. Maybe i should of waited till i got it to put it in my profile.
Those pictures were taken with a Quick Clix 3185 by Argus?
Message edited by author 2005-12-31 03:29:34. |
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12/31/2005 03:36:35 AM · #4 |
I think it is just a case of, you get what you pay for here Mike,
the reviews I have read don't give it many plus points.
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12/31/2005 03:48:43 AM · #5 |
It looks to me like you are having flash issues.
If this is true and you are using the A510, you should be aware that a lot of newer cameras use the flash not just to illuminate, but also to calculate.
A lot of these cameras do what is called a pre-flash. This allows the camera to get a rough idea of how far things are away, how reflective they are and stuff like that. This allows it to more accurately judge how much to flash (and sometimes in low light situations where to focus too).
This pre-flash system I believe is called E-TTL or E-TTLII (anyone feel free to correct me here).
Regardless of what it is called, the bottom line is what it does.
You mentioned that you were experimenting with flash diffusion.
Sometimes cameras get a little bit confused when they think they have enough light for something and then the flash is used and it's not what the camera expected.
This is often what happens when you put tissue over P&S cameras' flashes.
Try to learn how to take the shot without the flash.
Actually, a lot of photographers like using constant lighting rather than flashes. You might be surprised what can be done with a 100W light bulb.
I am currently experimenting with pringles cans.
All you need is a light that has been spectrum corrected for daylight. Philips does a nice job usually, but a trip to your local lighting store should yield some useful information.
Using constant lighting prevents both you and the camera from getting confused.
Edit: OOps, got a phone call in the middle of my post, so took a little longer than expected. I see that you have since posted that you are using the QuickClix 3185.
I personally have a tough time sometimes when people get me stuff without doing their research. Just remember that they mean well and that is the purest value of a gift.
Also remember that any camera can usually take good pictures if only it is given the right conditions.
Learning about lighting will help you take good pictures even with a crappy cam.
Message edited by author 2005-12-31 03:51:03. |
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12/31/2005 06:31:19 AM · #6 |
Im learning and WOW is this fun. Its like guitars, i tend to keep the high price stuff put away and tinker on the low end stuff. I found some reflecting umbrella things a guy gave me and they have been hiding in the corner. What an improvement! I never really gave lighting and reflective lighting much thought till i came here and poked around a little. It makes alot of sence now. This is GREAT! :D
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12/31/2005 06:53:28 AM · #7 |
forget the camera, im more interested in your gibson.. me thinks it is a les paul studio, looks like it from here. i have a 1996 gibson les paul standard and a fender 1974 USA telecaster and i just added a gretsch accoustic to the list.. xmas prezzy me to me.. nice axe hope you play it lots
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12/31/2005 09:27:09 AM · #8 |
I think the problem is that you're flashing directly onto a reflective surface. Heck even if the camera does use TTL metering, it's going to screw with the best of them. It probably thinks the scene is much brighter than it is because the amount of light reflecting back into the lens from the super bright surface.
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12/31/2005 01:10:24 PM · #9 |
Its not a Gibson, i wouldnt pay that kind of money for a Gibson. This guitar cost me $150. new from a site called "Rondo music" it is an "Agile AL2000" very high quality for $150. it plays as good as it looks. I love it
I just want to learn what is wrong so it will help me understand pictures. This is very interesting stuff to me and i want to learn all i can. Im sure when i get the canon i wont have problems like this but it may not help me learn anything.
The image on the left is an overhead 75 watt bulb and the flash. THe image on the right is no flash overhead lamp only.
I dont think my dad read any reviews he found a camera that said 3 megapixel and he clicked buy it now. I think my brother told him to get somthing with megapixels so he got the first one he seen. This thing is bad. I think people get tricked by the megapixel thing and they over look other details. I got about 20 images from a new fresh set of energizer titaniums. Ive had it with this thing, im gona bite the bullet and ask him to return it.
Message edited by author 2005-12-31 13:17:29. |
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12/31/2005 01:21:52 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by BowerR64:
Im sure when i get the canon i wont have problems like this but it may not help me learn anything |
No doubt your canon will be a much better camera, but even the very best of cameras don't compare to our eyes.
Don't expect miracles, least of all with a small onboard flash.
As was already pointed out earlier, learn to take photos without a flash whenever possible.
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12/31/2005 01:35:31 PM · #11 |
Thanks, what are some good forums for lighting and stuff? The canon only cost me $150. so i dont want $800. alien bees and stuff. I like the idea of using the work lights and stuff for now.
Budget camera lighting sites or somthing? |
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01/01/2006 12:51:33 PM · #12 |
Fully agree with Dpaul's comment.
Also, you might have success if you word it like:
Thanks for the camera, it got me really interested in taking pictures with digital, but I find that it takes only a few pictures before the batteries die out. Would you be bothered if I asked you to return it and we could put the money towards this Canon that is a little better on batteries?
Then you wouldn't be calling down the quality of the camera, just the functionality. People sometimes get offended if you tell them that a gift they got you is low quality, but he had absolutely no way to know that it used power so hungrily.
Then he can feel proud about the gift every time you pull your Canon 510 out knowing he had a part in it.
Regarding the lighting, creativity seems to be a good ally there. The amount of light you need usually depends quite strongly on the subject you need to light.
It's good to get a handle on small to medium sized type subjects (maybe within the context of a head shot being small and a full body being medium sized).
There are some different lighting strategies, but probably the best goals are to figure out how to light from a single source to create shadows (lamps, trouble lights, flashlights, window light) and then to light from broad sources to create more even lighting (from diffusers, reflecting boards and such) before moving on to more challenging lighting solutions like backlighting, multiple zone lighting and external and slave flash lighting.
Flashes can be used very effectively, but have many drawbacks that make learning particularly challenging.
A slave flash can usually be purchased for around 50 bucks or so that responds to your on-board flash.
Other than that, most of this kind of stuff is really cheap.
I've been building supplies of things like old pringles cans, big white sheets of plastic, Big white sheets of paper, A big white sheet, that sort of thing. I find that having a cheap tripod is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to building temporary lighting. Most of this stuff can be found from the 1 dollar to 20 dollar range.
I'm far from a pro, I'm more like a beginner like you, but I'm doing my best to learn.
Just some ideas for you.
PS. My neighbour is an ex-wedding photographer. He says that many of his best shots came from directional, natural lighting. His special favorite is the window. Also, he recommends painting one side of a person's face with light and the other side in shadow, preferring shooting on the dark side of the face. Shadows create depth. Overly lit subjects look blown out and yucky/amateurish.
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01/01/2006 02:02:55 PM · #13 |
I think i need a site, Camera for dumbies because i think i need to learn the basics first. I dont know how shutter speeds and stuff help or hinder.
I messed with some umbrella reflectors yesturday, as the sunlight came into the window i used the umbrellas to bounce the light twards the guitar and wow the colors just pop out.
Left is the new camera, right is the old.
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01/03/2006 10:47:24 PM · #14 |
Dude. You are doing really well for a guy who thinks he needs to know the basics first.
Shutter speed tells you how long the camera keeps the shutter open. If you have a shutter speed of 1/100 of a second, it will let a certain amount of light in. If you have a shutter speed of 1/50, it will let double the amount of light in (because the time is doubled). If your aperture is the same.
Aperture is talking about the hole that lets light in to your camera. If it is a bigger hole (smaller numbers like F2.8 or F3.5), it will let in more light. If it is a smaller hole (bigger numbers like F7.3, F8.0 {note: this is in the context of Point and Shoot cameras ONLY}), the amount of light that is let in is going to be less.
Aperture also controls something called depth of field, but as you are shooting a P&S camera, we won't worry about that just now.
The tricky part is that these two values are often changed by the camera in ways that are hard to figure out when you are getting started.
So this means that you need to make the camera stop adjusting both numbers and make it adjust only one number so you can see how things work.
Does your camera have an Av (Aperture Priority) mode? I know the canon will. It allows you to set your aperture to a certain value and the camera will change the shutter speed to match.
I personally find it really hard to judge light.
For my camera, where the sweet spot in the lens is pretty close to F4.0, I will usually set it up in Av mode forcing the aperture to F4.0.
Then, I can allow the camera to lock onto subjects and I see what it tells me. For this, I look at shutter speed.
For example, If I look at a scene and lock on to a window, it might give me a shutter speed of 1/125. This is because the window is very bright. The camera will adjust the shutter speed so the window looks good (properly exposed) and you will get nice colors in the sky and trees and whatever is through the window. The wall beside it and anything else that is in the picture, but not in the window, will look very dark and hard to see.
If I look at the same scene and lock onto the wall beside the window, there is going to be much much less light. It might yield a shutter speed of 1/50. This will make the things inside the room bright and easy to see with nice color. The window will go all white and just be a big blank mess.
You can try this out in your room.
Putting it together.
If you have the time, experiment with locking your camera on to various different parts of your desired scene. The wall behind the guitars, the fretboard, the reflective surface of the body (reflective surfaces can confuse the camera too, yeilding strange numbers - whee!).
If the shutter speed doesn't change too much, you will get a picture where most of it looks just right.
Obviously, this process doesn't work too well with the flash mode. It will work great with your reflectors and umbrellas though.
A note about shutter speed. If the shutter speed drops below 1/60, most people find that some of the pictures they take will show what is called camera shake. This is very bad for your pictures. When shooting under 1/100, I take special care to make sure I am being still and don't move the camera much when pressing the shutter. When shooting under 1/60, I try to brace myself as much as possible and when shooting under 1/40, keeping the camera still becomes the primary factor in taking the picture. You can avoid this by changing your aperture to a smaller number too.
Once you get a handle on using a single aperture in several different circumstances, you can start to learn how to change it to help your shooting in different ways.
If you use a zoom (optical), you will find that your camera gets less light and shutter speeds will go down.
Actually, a lot of pro's use Aperture Priority shooting mode because of the simplicity and freedom it gives them with predictability.
You will learn more about this later. |
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01/06/2006 01:01:40 AM · #15 |
oh wow man this is to much. Not only lighting is critical but now i have to adjust how fast the shutter opens and how big the hole is. Im glad i got some rechargables because i think ill be shooting alot just to learn what the stuff does.
The problem is i dont know what im looking at. I know the kind of colors i want and stuff but other then that im not sure what to look for when i make changes.
I remember trying the changes on the other camera that only has 2 manual settings i think the hole size and shutter speed. I couldnt tell much.
What i wind up doing is just bolt the camera to the tripod and change some things taking a picture after each setting then i save the one that looks the best. But i never know what i changed that gave me the best image.
I dont know what settings i have on this picture, but what would you sugest for settings? It is a flat white sheet from walmart as a backdrop. 2 clamp lights with 2 75 watt "sunlight" kinda bluish looking bulbs. The guitar has LEDs around the knobs and around the pickups. I want the image to show the guitar, and see the LEDs glowing also. It looks good to the naked eye but i dont know what settings my eyes are set to HAHA! I think i want low light to see the LEDs
Message edited by author 2006-01-06 01:45:29. |
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