dSLR Noob Guide
dSLR Noob Guide: Christmas Tree – Making it lively
Jan 8th
How to make your Christmas Tree look good in pictures?
You will need:
- Tripod
- dSLR
My Setup/Settings
- Stable Tripod
Impossible to shoot handheld, or with a lousy tripod. - Mode: Av – Aperture Priority
- Focus: Auto Focus
- Aperture: Smallest aperture possible.
- Shutter Speed: Let the camera determine this.
- ISO: Lowest possible
Mine will go down to ISO100. - Image Stabilizer: Off
Discussed at Stable Tripod + Image Stabilizer (IS) = Blur - Lens: Up to you
f/3.5 1/3s
f/8 1.3s
f/22 13s
dSLR Noob Guide: Waterfall
Dec 20th
How to get a smooth waterfall effect using a dSLR?
You will need:
- Tripod (You will seriously need a GOOD tripod)
- dSLR
- ND Filter or Polarizer (Optional)
My Setup/Settings
- Stable Tripod
Impossible to shoot handheld, or with a lousy tripod. - Mode: Av – Aperture Priority
- Focus: Auto Focus
- Aperture: Smallest aperture your lens will allow.
- Shutter Speed: Let the camera determine this. At least 1/2 seconds or slower to get a smooth effect. The longer the better.
- ISO: Lowest possible
Mine will go down to ISO100. - Image Stabilizer: Off
Discussed at Stable Tripod + Image Stabilizer (IS) = Blur - Lens: Up to you
- Lens Accessories: ND Filter or Polarizer if the surrounding is too bright.
Samples:
Canon Rebel XSi, Canon EF-S 18-55, f/5.6, 1/250s, ISO200
This is probably what you get when you shoot in auto.
Canon Rebel XSi, Canon EF-S 18-55, f/36, 1/3s, ISO100
Canon Rebel XSi, Canon EF-S 18-55, f/22, 1/2s, ISO100, Polarizer
It was a very sunny bright day which makes it harder to achieve smooth waterfall effect.
dSLR Noob Guide: Fireworks
Dec 20th
To shoot fireworks, I highly recommend:
- Tripod (You will seriously need a GOOD tripod)
- Remote Switch (Highly Recommended)
- Wide Angle Lens
- dSLR
My Setup/Settings
- Stable Tripod
Impossible to shoot handheld, or with a lousy tripod. - Remote Cable Switch
Reduce camera shake. - Mode: M – Manual
Other mode won’t work well. - Focus: Manual Focus
It is nearly impossible to focus a firework before it goes off. - Aperture: f/8 – f/12
Most lens are at their sharpest at about f/8. - Shutter Speed: 2 – 8 seconds or B – Bulb Mode
This depends on your composition. Totally up to you. - ISO: ISO200 – 400
The least important setting. Set according to your exposure. - White Balance: Daylight
- Quality: JPEG
You will want to shoot as many fireworks possible. RAW files wont help much here. - Image Stabilizer: Off
Discussed at Stable Tripod + Image Stabilizer (IS) = Blur - Lens: Wide angle
You can always crop the photo.
Samples:
Canon Rebel XSi, Canon EF-S 18-55, f/8, 5s, ISO400
Canon Rebel XSi, Canon EF-S 18-55, f/8, 6s, ISO200
Canon Rebel XSi, Canon EF-S 18-55, f/10, 6s, ISO200
dSLR Noob Guide: Basics – Aperture
Dec 20th
Aperture is the opening of the lens allowing light to travel through.
Aperture:
f/2.8 is bigger than f/11.
dSLR Noob Guide: Basics – Shutter Speed
Dec 20th
Shutter Speed is the exposure time or the amount of time the shutter remains open.
Shutter Speed:
Slower Shutter = More light.
dSLR Noob Guide: Basics – ISO
Dec 19th
ISO represents the sensitivity of image sensor to the light.
ISO:
Higher ISO = More sensitive to light.
Noise:
Higher ISO = More Noise
The main disadvantage of using higher ISO is the noise generated. Both images below are cropped images.
Canon Rebel XSi
Canon PowerShot SD750 (Consumer Digital Camera)
Conclusion:
Lower ISO provides better image quality.
Places without sufficient light (indoor or night) may require higher ISO to reduce camera shake.
dSLR Noob Guide: Stable Tripod + Image Stabilizer (IS) = Blur
Dec 17th
Equipment:
- Canon Rebel XSi
- Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6
- Dolica Proline Tripod
Setup:
- ISO100 f/8 10s 240mm (IS on/off)
- Tripod stabilized
Results:
Image Stabilizer (IS) ON
Image Stabilizer (IS) OFF
Conclusion:
Turn off Image Stabilizer (IS) on a stable tripod.
Credits:
Ian
