Digital Vs SLR's

Loowi_ashley said:
Tamron 70-300mm vs Canon EF 70-300MM III

Which will be best for quality long shots, people slate both :(
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Well, both are very cheap in the grand scheme of things and quality glass costs money. The Nikon 70-300 AF-S VR is a reasonable lens for the money and may represent the best value in this sector. I've also heard that the 55-200 punches above it's weight too.
 
Loowi_ashley said:
Sorry to return to topic while your having so much fun ;)

My camera choice between the Nikon and Canon is going to be decided which lens is better.

Tamron 70-300mm vs Canon EF 70-300MM III

Which will be best for quality long shots, people slate both :(
Click to expand...

neither are particularly amazing, though as a rule you can get good results by stopping town to somewhere between f/9 and f/11 on cheaper zooms.

personally, i would just get the body that most suits you and then buy a zoom seperately. from a budget point of view, the sigma 70-300 dg apo gets decent reviews, though this also benefits from stopping down a bit (zoom lenses and iffy corner sharpness kind of go hand in hand)

I daresay you'll get similar images with any of them. Check out dpreview for reviews on them. I have a funny feeling one of them suffers from CA (chromatic aberration) more than the other. easily fixed in pp, but its better not to have to...

its worth noting that none of the lenses you mentioned (or the sigma) have image stabilisation. its not essential to have (i use the sigma handheld at 300mm quite regularly), but its nice!
 
Thanks for all your help, heres the end result.

28042010037c.jpg
 
After the first few hours of playing around the main thing Im struggling with it the lack of stabilisation, is there any way to try and over come this other than a tripod, its particually hard when changing the "Av" (aperture) to a slower shutter.

Also whats the best general setting for taking impressive stills or of people, the "P" (program) seems to be quite good, anything else I can do?
 
Use Av - set the aperture to the widest option (f/5.6?)

Focal lengths between 70-115 on crop cameras.

Remember 1/1.6*Focal length = recommended lowest shuttter speed.
 
sorry for kidnapping the thread - but Im looking for something very similar so this has been really helpful

One other thing I would like to try and get into is things like having multiple images of a bird's wings in flight in a single shot - or the opposite making a slow moving boat on the river look like its going faster, what feature would I need for these kinds of shots (or would I have to pay huge amounts more money for that kind of thing?)
 
For that you would use a slower shutter speed. Use AI servo and continuos shooting and set the camera up for around 1/320-1/640th shutter speed. Hoever for the boat you would probably want to aim for 1/30-1/100th and follow the boat in the viewfinder.

You can use Av Tv or manual for this.
 
This is what has been confusing me - as I was originally thinking that each closure of the shutter would indicate a seperate frame / picture?
 
FrankJH said:
sorry for kidnapping the thread - but Im looking for something very similar so this has been really helpful

One other thing I would like to try and get into is things like having multiple images of a bird's wings in flight in a single shot - or the opposite making a slow moving boat on the river look like its going faster, what feature would I need for these kinds of shots (or would I have to pay huge amounts more money for that kind of thing?)
Click to expand...


To have multiple images of a bird in flight in a single frame then you should take multiple shots, preferably using a tripod and combine them in Photoshop.

I have seen a friend without a tripod combine multiple shots of a diving
gannet using AutoSticch/some panorma program. This managed to put all the pictures into 1 photo.

The outcome was almost identical to this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2425/3615382184_99596c68a9.jpg
 
D.P. said:
To have multiple images of a bird in flight in a single frame then you should take multiple shots, preferably using a tripod and combine them in Photoshop.

I have seen a friend without a tripod combine multiple shots of a diving
gannet using AutoSticch/some panorma program. This managed to put all the pictures into 1 photo.

The outcome was almost identical to this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2425/3615382184_99596c68a9.jpg
Click to expand...

Im sure this may be the optimum way - but just to start I would prefer this facility on the camera (in some way I was able to do this years ago with a standard SLR, so no reason why it shouldnt be done on a DSLR)

After the equipment Im not sure if I will have any funds available for additional software :)

I like the idea of that, but I personaly like seeing a more smoother transition between the images (maybe thats just a different shutter speed).....hmm actually come to think of it, its software anyway lol
 
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Loowi_ashley said:
After the first few hours of playing around the main thing Im struggling with it the lack of stabilisation, is there any way to try and over come this other than a tripod, its particually hard when changing the "Av" (aperture) to a slower shutter.

Also whats the best general setting for taking impressive stills or of people, the "P" (program) seems to be quite good, anything else I can do?
Click to expand...

there is a rule you need to remember here for removing camera shake

shutter speed should be greater than 1/focal length

the camera you are using has what is known as a 'crop' sensor, meaning that the sensor is small er than a full 35mm frame, which has the effect of making the actual focal length longer than the lens indicates

the crop factor on your body is 1.6

so to get the *actual* focal length you are using, multiply the indicated focal length on the lens by 1.6

so, for a 55mm focal length, the shutter speed should be:

1/(55x1.6) = 1/88,

so your shutter speed needs to be faster than 1/88th of a second to get rid of camera shake. this final number can be divided by four if you are using stabilised gear (so, 1/22 or faster), and isn't really relevant when using a tripod.

You may need to open up the aperture (lower f numbers) or bump up the ISO to get a decent exposure. on the 1000d i find anything up to iso800 quite useable. 800 can be a little noisy, but that is very easily fixed in photoshop etc. anything up to iso400 probably wont need cleaning up.

its all about balancing and compromise to get the best exposure for the situation. sure, you can leave it in full auto, but thats no fun!

have a look here: camera simulator

i found it very helpful in understanding what the different settings do to the final image.
 
Thankx tailgunner, great info, although 300/1.6 in my head on a racetrack might be a little challenging, but I guess it just a matter of memorising.

I also notice there is a "mirror lockup" settings, is this of any use?
 
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yeah, i generally just use 1.5 and estimate up :D

mirror lockup isnt going to be much use to you when handheld. its used to reduce vibration caused by the mirror moving, which is only really an issue on longer exposures on a tripod.

protip- use the custom 'my menu' to put handy things like mirror lockup somewhere quick to get to :)
 
Loowi_ashley said:
After the first few hours of playing around the main thing Im struggling with it the lack of stabilisation, is there any way to try and over come this other than a tripod, its particually hard when changing the "Av" (aperture) to a slower shutter.
Click to expand...

Improve your stance.
Lean against a wall, post or tree.
Stabilise your arms against something like a fence.
Bring your elbows into your body.
Hold your breath as you squeeze the shutter.
 
Tomsk said:
Improve your stance.
Lean against a wall, post or tree.
Stabilise your arms against something like a fence.
Bring your elbows into your body.
Hold your breath as you squeeze the shutter.
Click to expand...


this is also excellent advice. if you are having trouble with your stance etc, you could brace against the strap or something if you have no other support.

also- dont 'grab' the shutter. you should be able to operate it by just lightly flexing your finger.
 
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