How can I improve

[skate2snow]

Hey,

Just bought a Sony DSC-H2 at job. I think it's a fair quality camera. But I am so new to photography. My main problems with be the light... How to have an adequate light or at least have an effect of adequate light...?

These are pretty much the best I could take (I think the shiny finish makes it a bit harder though)... I got a ton more pictures I would like advice, but will limit myself to 2 of my nightmares...

Think I could improve that? BTW I ordered a 58mm Macro lens, I think that will help a bit with the focus.

[benny08]

I'm not that knowledgeable on the subject, though I believe for those kind of shots, a lightbox/light tent is needed, or at least a fill flash. You could always try picking up some cheap portable halogens and filter them with paper/silk. In those sort of conditions, I don't think a camera in this price range is going to cut it for ultra sharp pics.

I would have suggested something more along the lines of a dslr such as a canon 400d or nikon d70/d80, the entry-level dslr's. I think that you should just learn as much as you can about taking photographs, have fun with the camera, then move up when you feel that your experience and needs have surpassed the features of the sony.

*Take above advice with a grain of salt, i'm no professional photographer :)

[Soulburner]

A macro lens simply lets you use the macro mode from a further distance (usually when zoomed). I don't think it would help.

[Ashraf]

With macro on, stood 20 feet away from the bottle.

http://www.royalsrealm.net/IMG_0012.JPG

Not bad. :D

[skate2snow]

Wow!

What Camera?!?!!?

[sacha35]

With macro on, stood 20 feet away from the bottle.

http://www.royalsrealm.net/IMG_0012.JPG

Not bad. :D

Wow what camera is that you have?

[Soulburner]

Check the image data.

Orientation of image: 1
File change date and time: 2007:03:25 20:09:59
Image input equipment manufacturer: Canon
Image input equipment model: Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows
Exposure time: 0.0166667
F number: 3.5
Shutter speed: 5.90625
Aperture: 3.625
Exposure bias: 0
Maximum lens aperture: 3.625
Metering mode: 5
Flash: 89
Lens focal length: 56.8
Focal plane X resolution: 12515.6
Focal plane Y resolution: 12497
Focal plane resolution unit: 2
Sensing method: 2
Custom rendered: 0
Exposure mode: 0
White balance: 0
Digital zoom ratio: 1
Scene capture type: 0

;)

By the way...how do you get the Super Macro mode to work? Still figuring the camera out, but haven't had much time to play with it. I could probably find it in the manual :p:

[Vapor]

skate2snow: more light, highest quality settings your camera has (JPEG fine....the compression artifacts are obtrusive in your pics), use a little photoshop for post-processing.

In terms of actual camera-button-clicking improvement...you seem to be at a middle ground aperture (for the 2nd pic at least) where the whole image isn't in focus, but most of it is. Either reposition the camera to reduce the angle, close it to get it all in focus, or open it up and work on the focal distance and angle to make it more artistic, emphasizing certain parts of the DIMMs.

Oh, and again: MORE varying kinds of light will make the image come out better.

Here's what a little bit of photoshop can do for your images (sorry for the slight muddiness, went overboard on the NR).
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/1706/dsc002462ms1.jpg
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5885/dsc002492fl0.jpg

Nice pic Ash!

[Ashraf]

Image input equipment model: Canon PowerShot S3 IS

By the way...how do you get the Super Macro mode to work? Still figuring the camera out, but haven't had much time to play with it. I could probably find it in the manual :p:

Yes. :D

How do you check the image data, though?

If you have a Basic Camera User Guide, turn page to 12. It tells you how to get it to work.

[skate2snow]

Vapor... That's exactly what I talk about when I say I don't know much about photography and needs tips on... I kinda prefer angled pics sometimes because they seem to show better the product and doesn't block light or make some shadow and direct flash (when on). But I truly try to avoid flash which I think is a good idea and glossy/shiny stuff...

But you have any tips on how to set focal distance and angle and manual focus? I only used auto focus yet...

I am really looking at improving my pictures :)

Thanks for the tips Vapor, quite constructive :)

[Soulburner]

A couple things that will easily improve your shots:

Get plenty of natural light and don't use the flash. This is hard indoors. Try to get light from sources like windows.

Use the macro mode. It will greatly help when taking pictures of hardware :)

About the image data, that depends. If you are using Opera like me you can simply right click the picture and "Image Properties". IE doesn't have this feature, so you have to download the picture and use another method to view the data. In Windows XP you can hover over an image in a folder and it will tell you the camera model.

[Vapor]

Oh yeah, leave the flash off whenever you can...except with certain fabrics that GLOW with a flash (in my experience), which is kind of cool.

Here's a quick way to get some good shots and begin the learn the manual modes of a camera....you can use the same RAM as before for the subject, or something more complicated, like a flower (or bouquet).

First off, what kind of camera do you have? Is it a typical point and shoot or are there manual modes (P, A, S, M typically)?

Autofocus is fine for now, but the first thing you'll probably want to do is go into "A" for aperture. Set it to the lowest possible value you can. This will do a few things: one opens up the aperture as much as possible, allowing a lot of light in (less need for flash and allows for shorter exposure and/or lower sensitivity [better IQ]). However, it will make the focal length a lot more selective. Unless you take the pic from straight on, not all of the image will be in focus.....this adds to a sense of depth of field.

Next thing to do is go into your camera settings and look for an ISO setting, this is sensitivity....set it to the lowest setting possible. Low ISO is not good for low light because it will require a long exposure, and unless you have a tripod and your subject is still, you'll get blur. Higher ISOs should only be used when needed (unless you have a really good D-SLR), like in sports shots or low light.

Bring whatever extra lamps you can find to the photo area.

Next, pic your spot to take your picture from. If you want an 'interesting' picture....lower the camera and rotate a bit, try to show more sides of the RAM from a shallower angle....the fast (low #) aperture setting will be of help here. Take a few shots on auto-focus and look at them, where is the camera focusing on the RAM? Is it the middle, the close edge, the far edge? If the images are all blurry, use the macro mode on the camera, this will tell the software to look closer when autofocusing.

Looking at those, where do you want to focus? On the OCZ? On the heatspreader fins? From here you can use manual focus....it's probably a set of up and down buttons you press to make it closer or further, but center what you want to be in focus and use the buttons until the image becomes very clear (your camera may have a zoomed in view when adjusting focus, this will help a LOT!). When your finished, your focal distance will be set, you can now adjust where you aim your camera....just make sure you keep it the same distance from the distance you're focusing on :)

Hopefully that will get you started with your RAM and making some cool shots of them with manual controls :)

[Ashraf]

About the image data, that depends. If you are using Opera like me you can simply right click the picture and "Image Properties". IE doesn't have this feature, so you have to download the picture and use another method to view the data. In Windows XP you can hover over an image in a folder and it will tell you the camera model.

Ah, I see. Cool.

Without macro on, taken by my sister's camera - Nikon Coolpix something I forgot last summer.

http://www.royalsrealm.net/images/asus_01.jpg
http://www.royalsrealm.net/images/asus_02.jpg
http://www.royalsrealm.net/images/asus_03.jpg
http://www.royalsrealm.net/images/asus_04.jpg

[skate2snow]

Thanks a lot Vapor, :)

I will keep you updated with some new pics. So now I will focus a bit more on my light, by a window, manual focus and the settings your told me (aperture, iso....)

Will try that tomorrow after work.. need some sleep now :)

[Vapor]

Don't forget "JPEG fine" or whatever the highest quality mode is called :)

[lowfat]

A few other tips for close macro'ing, If you have a well lite room or outside, loose the flash and use a tripod. Try lengthing exposure time (only use with a tripod and stationary objects).

[starla-mc]

Also be careful of choosing your light source as fluorescent light sources my cause a greenness or other colouring in the image depending on the type of fluorescent tube.

Also maybe use a big sheet of white craft cardboard as a surface and background. (just an idea i had)

Its really trial and error. Work your way through the setting. To find a setup that works. I think :) Because the best thing with digital there is no wasting money on film or developing, so you can take as many shots as you like.

Also my under standing of macro refers to the closest an object can be to the lens with out going out of focus. E.g. I have a 18-70mm lens with 0.38m macro reading which mean an object has to be a minimum of 0.38m from the lens to be in focus. where as the macro reading on my 75-300 is 1.5m meaning that the object has to be more than 1.5m away from the lens to be in focus.

My under standing is that a compact cameras move the internal lens slightly adjust for the macro setting. Thus allowing you to take a macro shots.





Woohoo first post :D

[ozzimark]

i'm a fan of halogen bulbs for lighting.

you have a digital camera. go crazy with the number of pictures you take. think of it like overclocking: try everything you can think of and find out what works out best. after a while, you will develop a feel for the composition, lighting and camera setup based on your subject and the desired effect.

and you don't need a good camera to get decent pics.. i take all my pics with an old fujifilm s5000, good but definitely not high end.

also, good contrast is pleasing to the eye. ;)

[MaxxxRacer]

When doing Marco shots its best to put the subject on a flat plane (all the same distance from the lense) so that you dont need to increase the F stop (higher F stop allows for less depth of field effect). Keeping the F stop down also means that you dont need as much light to get a good picture. For instance, you need 4x the light power when goign from F2 to F8.. So a 100watt bulb needs to become a 400watt bulb..

a little oversimplified but it gets the point across..

now if you NEED to do an isometric shot (at an angle with higher F stop), I find that getting some natural light colored miniture flourescent bulbs works great for lighting becuase they are lower power (20watts) and produce 125watt equivalent. You will NEED to correct the while balance in the camera for the colors to be correct, but this is a simple procedure in most good cameras.

Halogen bulbs also need color correction, but are about as bright as it gets. The down side is that they are insanely hot..

If you really want to get into lighting, you need tungsten bulbs, but those are stupidly expensive.. The upside of them is that they are as close to natural light as you can get.


Ash, the IS3 is a great camera, though the lack of RAW/TIFF is kind of disapointing. (the menu system also kind of annoys me but thats only because Im so used to my Olympus)

[Magnj]

Strobist.com has a great tutorial on a cheap lightbox and very good stuff on off-cam lighting if you wanna throw down the cash.