file format

sir-les-mp · 2 Jul 2011 at 22:18

Ok as some of you here may remember i recently bought a Canon 400d with a few lenses.
I reently took it with me when i was at Edinburgh and although im happy with some of the shots i took some of them weren't too great but i think this is down to me being a novice with a Digital SLR.

However im was wondering what is the best file format to recording my shots with. currently ive just got it set to high quality Jpeg but was wondering if it was worth while choosing high quality raw and jpeg, as ive read in post processing it is easier to resolve flaws like the wrong filter being used and under/over exposure.

One of the things i have noticed is how much more detail im getting from the pic once zooming in

Derek W · 2 Jul 2011 at 22:39

personally I just use the raw images without the jog as I'll convert the photos i want to process / use as jpgs later anyway. I'd rather just have the one photo to delete off my HD if its not worth keeping than two

Do you do much Post processing at the moment or just take the photos as they are off camera?

ElDude · 2 Jul 2011 at 23:15

I used to use Jpeg, but decided that I wanted more control, and now Lightroom makes managing RAW files so easy I honestly can't see myself switching back to Jpeg. I suppose if I had the camera on a holiday and card space was at a premium, then jpeg could be an idea though.

sir-les-mp · 2 Jul 2011 at 23:31

Derek W said:
personally I just use the raw images without the jog as I'll convert the photos i want to process / use as jpgs later anyway. I'd rather just have the one photo to delete off my HD if its not worth keeping than two

Do you do much Post processing at the moment or just take the photos as they are off camera?

well as i said this is the first ive used this camera for any pic's and found that a lot of the shots i took seemed to be under exposed.

ive currently only got corel digital studio and paintshop pro on my system at present. however i did notice by using the quickfix with digital studio the pics did seem to become brighter and better colour.

i do have a copy of photoshop somewhere for XP which i intend to dig out and reinstall as i think i will need it for post processing of my pic's untill i learn to take better pic's with my camera.

As for card space im not to bothered as it really only takes 30 sec's to switch in a clean memory card.

Derek W · 3 Jul 2011 at 11:23

random question here, you say you found a lot of the shots you took seemed to be under exposed? What settings were you using for some of these shots? Did you go all out manual or were you using fully / semi automatic modes? Also depending on what metering method you were using could have affected certain areas of the image being underexposed rather than the whole scene.

sir-les-mp · 3 Jul 2011 at 16:56

Derek W said:
random question here, you say you found a lot of the shots you took seemed to be under exposed? What settings were you using for some of these shots? Did you go all out manual or were you using fully / semi automatic modes? Also depending on what metering method you were using could have affected certain areas of the image being underexposed rather than the whole scene.

i was using shutter priority so semi automatic would be the answer to that one.
as for metering i was just using the half pressure on the shutter method and allowing the camera to workout the timing

as for other settings im sure all the shots were taken at iso 100 with white balance set to cloudy

sir-les-mp · 3 Jul 2011 at 18:46

ive uploaded the pics here http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll104/sirlesmp/Canon 400D pics/

un editted so you can see and possibly give me pointers

the password to access them is guest1

Derek W · 3 Jul 2011 at 19:04

sir-les-mp said:
ive uploaded the pics here http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll104/sirlesmp/Canon 400D pics/

un editted so you can see and possibly give me pointers

the password to access them is guest1

Had a wee look at them and i think there are a couple of factors which have contributed to them being underexposed apart from as you say being new to the DSLR world.

The sky conditions are very grey so quite often the pictures wont be as vibrant as they could be with blue skies. The shots of the clock are suffering because you're pointing up towards the sky (the brightest part) and the camera has metered the light level from that so the sky is exposed well but the subject matter is very dark in comparison. In this instance switching to manual may be a better option or at least point the camera down to get a better shutter speed for the building although this will result in the sky being completely blown.

I asked before about the metering but you mentioned how you focus with the half press of the shutter. I was referring to whether you were using evaluative / centre weighted / spot metering?

EDIT

Possibly have a look here for some ideas on taking 'better' photos or at least grasp the basics

http://www.morguefile.com/docs/Classroom

Also while I'm at it may as well throw in the usual book recommendation as well Bryan Peterson - Understanding Exposure.

sir-les-mp · 3 Jul 2011 at 19:36

Derek W said:
Had a wee look at them and i think there are a couple of factors which have contributed to them being underexposed apart from as you say being new to the DSLR world.

The sky conditions are very grey so quite often the pictures wont be as vibrant as they could be with blue skies. The shots of the clock are suffering because you're pointing up towards the sky (the brightest part) and the camera has metered the light level from that so the sky is exposed well but the subject matter is very dark in comparison. In this instance switching to manual may be a better option or at least point the camera down to get a better shutter speed for the building although this will result in the sky being completely blown.

I asked before about the metering but you mentioned how you focus with the half press of the shutter. I was referring to whether you were using evaluative / centre weighted / spot metering?

EDIT

Possibly have a look here for some ideas on taking 'better' photos or at least grasp the basics

http://www.morguefile.com/docs/Classroom

Also while I'm at it may as well throw in the usual book recommendation as well Bryan Peterson - Understanding Exposure.

Ah got you now

most of the metering was done with evaluative but i do believe a couple of the pictures of the statue were centre weighted

Scam · 3 Jul 2011 at 19:41

If you're novice I would highly recommend sticking with JPEG until you improve your camera work. Don't listen to the usual "RAW is better therefore you have to use it all the time" argument. I'm perfectly happy using JPEG ninety percent of the time - I'll only switch to RAW if it's a tricky exposure, or I know I want to blend multiple exposures afterwards, or if it's a long-exposure.

If you're struggling with exposure, start to use your histogram when reviewing your shots. It's the best tool the camera provides you with.

EDIT: This is a good link: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml

sir-les-mp · 5 Jul 2011 at 16:21

well ive done a little playing about with light room and so far this is what ive came up with for one of the pics i took at Edinburgh

Before

After