New camera - beginner questions

quarryman

So I received a DSLR for Christmas. Took it out to try a few shots.

I left it on automatic and just clicked away.

Here's an example below. To my eye the lower part of the pic is too bright.

Can someone give me some tips on how to improve that.

Abelloid

Nice present, I was going to buy a 500D.

Beginner tips would be appreciated here too.

melekalikimaka

take it off auto, a fiddle til your fingers bleed

DublinWriter

Try PhotoShop and balancing the colour channels.

Cracking pic, BTW.

Thecageyone

melekalikimaka is right IMO, you don't get a dslr to stick it in auto mode and hope for the best. There are 1000's of helpful websites out there, magazines, books ... Rear, read, and read some more. You'll never stop learning once you get into it. Most of all ... have fun and take it one step at a time.

Start by searching 'the basics of manual exposure' and work from there.

Sites like this:

http://www.worth1000.com/tutorials/161769/camera-skills-manual-exposure-photography-for-beginners

Lay it out simple enough, so long as you take the time, to take it in

Hecklar

defo take it out of Auto, thats a nasty habit you can get stuck in. Stick it in Manual and have a look at sites like this,
http://www.morguefile.com/docs/Classroom

scroll down to the classrooms thingy on the right and give them a read through. Have the camera with ya and play with the settings it mentions and see what they do. It'll make a lot more sense when you see it in front of your face.

quarryman

Thanks for the links guys.

Also, I don't plan to keep it in auto, i just wanted to know what setting I'd need to adjust to get a better balance of brightness for that shot. ie what is the camera not doing for me that I need to change?

gsxr1

quarryman wrote: »

Thanks for the links guys.

Also, I don't plan to keep it in auto, i just wanted to know what setting I'd need to adjust to get a better balance of brightness for that shot. ie what is the camera not doing for me that I need to change?

mess around with the Exposure Compensation on a more manual mode.

There is loads of things to do to effect the exposure. Thats just one

Thecageyone

I would say, going on what auto selected [which is also a way to learn, see what auto does with a scene and adjust accordingly] For instance, the sky is blown here, so I'd narrow the aperture , auto set it to f/3.5, that's very wide for a scene like this, try in manual mode setting it to f/8, and instead of Auto, try semi-auto modes like 'A' [Aperture priority] A lot of pros use this mode on the fly. Basically, you set the ISO and Aperture, and let the camera deal with the shutter speed. The auto ISO of 400 is too high for this scene too, combined with the wide aperture and slow exposure of 1/25sec. If you set the aperture to f/8 then ISO 400 would work. See, that's why it's not straight forward to explain how to improve, it as there's 3 main factors at play here.

But do try A mode.

babarocks

1) Buy yourself a good tripod

2) set your camera in manual mode and take the same shot in 3 different exposure settings. Starting at zero

3) use photoshop to merge the best sky and ground shots.

Enjoy your new camera. ! : )

Cakes.

I bought a tripod today and can notice the difference in my photos already. I might take it up the mountains tomorrow and get a few pics (if it is dry).

My tripod was only €25, but is usually €50 as there was a half price sale on tripods in Harvey Normans.

I use mostly manual mode too. I would advise you to buy a tripod and take your camera off auto.

babarocks

If you are buying a tripod, I would recommend that you spend as much as your budget allows. I bought a Manfrotto Tripod in Berminghams recently for 50 euro reduced from 100euro. I might as well have poured my money down the drain ! the tripod simply is'nt strong enough to support the camera( canon 50d),and it keeps drooping to one side. I tried straightening these shots in photoshop, but because of the peculiar angle, it just doesn't work. You will probably need to spend 250 euro to get a decent tripod and ball head......you may be able to pick one up for considerably less secondhand though.

Contrary to the above, personally, if I were you, I wouldn't worry about spending a lot on a tripod. Mine cost me €100, which was more than enough for me to pay (and to be fair, it has done it's job well).

I've had no issues with it and don't expect to. It's sturdy and light enough for me to carry around. a friend bought a €50 tripod for his video camera in Harvey's not too long ago, and same again. He couldn't be happier with it.


Try them out in-store if you can, but I wouldn't just throw as much money at it as you can. (I realise you already purchased a tripod).

quarryman

Actually I do have a tripod. This one.

It seems fine but its only 61CM in height.

Thecageyone

Says it's a tabletop tripod, good for indoor use maybe, but how much weight can it hold steadily? Doesn't say on that link. If your tripod is shakey in a strong breeze, it's not so good for outdoor landscapes. I had a cheap Hama tripod, got it on sale for €25 in Argos ... tbh, it was a piece of crap. Would have been better off with a bean bag on a wall. It was ok for indoor shots, had the quick release and all that, but outside even the slightest breeze would shake it, useless for long exposures [which you will want to try once you get the hang of manual control]

I got a manfrotto tripod for Christmas and I gave it a test drive earlier outdorrs, lovely and steady, not a top spec model, it's this one here:

http://www.amazon.com/Manfrotto-7302YB-M-Y-Tripod-Ball/dp/B001TK3EJE

You can't change the head, but, the ball head suits me fine. You can take out the mid section and lock it in upside-down for ground shots, and there's a few different settings to set the legs further and lower out. Holds up to 3.5kg, I don't have any combination of lens and camera, even with grip on, that comes close to that. If and when I do, I'll surely have enough to upgrade