First shot at my Aquarium, With new camera!

[Michael_Lambert]

Alright Boys and Girls..

So i have had the Digital rebel now for 2 days.. and I'm starting to get things going i think..

Still have issues understanding what allot of functions are and what they do.. I suck and know nothing about SLR.. So maybe you guys can help.. with a couple of issues..

1) Can't figure out the white balance..
2) Can't get the images Sharp..

lets just start with that.. lol, then i might have to buy Travis a Plane ticket to come and teach me how to use this thing :P

Alright,

Here we go, Some samples of what i took.. 99% of them where luck...











Thanks,

Michael.

[livingreef2004]

this is your pic the only thing i did was apply aut adjustments in photoshop cs

[Travis]

I think they're looking great- I'm gonna have to watch out once you get a little more practice.

White balance- Two words: SHOOT RAW.

Sharpness- most look plenty sharp to me, possibly with the exception of the caulastrea and the last one- both of which were definitely in "macro" range and appear to be lacking depth of field. The closer you get, the higher you've gotta crank up that F-Stop.

[Michael_Lambert]

See.. lol,

this is where i don't know..

What is "F-Stop" and "depth Of Field"

See, What i have been doing is just goofing around messing with things and alots of luck, In all honesty i have NO clue what im doing or how..

But im going to go goof around with the Raw.. Just need to check how to figure that out.

[Michael_Lambert]

Alright,

So i got the camrea into "RAW" and took some more shots.. But now how do i get them open into a program?? I mean i use Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and it does not reconize the format?

I have the software that came with the Camera, It lets me view the files but i need to convert them to "tif" in order to open up in Photoshop..

Humm, Am i doing this right??

[Michael_Lambert]

Alright,

So lets see if im getting this...

Took the advise and this is what ended up with..

These are the settings the software is telling me the camera was in.

Shooting Mode
Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/50
Av( Aperture Value )
5.6
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
400
Lens
18.0 - 55.0 mm
Focal Length
55.0 mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Flash
Off
White Balance
Custom
AF Mode
AI Focus AF

And this is what i got





Thanks and keep the help comming

Michael.

[Travis]

OK first get yourself the (free) RAW converter here... does a really nice job. Notice you can adjust the white balance AFTER shooting...

http://www.pixmantec.com/index2.html

Now- Your parameters look pretty good. A couple notes though-
You shot at F/5.6, that's the "AV aperture value" in the EXIF data you posted. That's your F-stop setting also known as your aperture. The higher that number is, the more depth of field you get (keeping it simple here...).

Imagine a line going from the lens through your subject.
Depth of field is the area going toward/away from the camera (on your imaginary plane) that is in focus. Perfecr example would be pic #2 of the clam that you just posted. Notice the back of the clam is out of focus? Had you shot at f/11, it probably would have been in focus, because you would have had more depth of field.

Another note on your EXIF data- you want to keep your AF mode in "One shot" when shooting non/moving objects. AI focus is for fishies. We'll cover that later.

Your composition looks great, and if you're just getting lucky, well, throw some of that luck my way. LOVE the last fish pic!

[Gina]

What a difference a good camera makes in shooting pics! Even if you don't know what you are doing!

[Michael_Lambert]

Alright i think i get it

I took a couple..

The first is at a F5.6 and the second is F11.. The only thing i found is that when shooting in the Higher F-stop i have to hold the camera alot more steady... Seems to take longer to process the image.. I assume this is normal..





Thanks
Michael

Oh, And here is the image data..

Camera Model Name
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Shooting Date/Time
3/27/2004 9:33:06 PM
Shooting Mode
Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/30
Av( Aperture Value )
5.6
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
400
Lens
18.0 - 55.0 mm
Focal Length
55.0 mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Image Quality
RAW
Flash
Off
White Balance
Custom
AF Mode
AI Focus AF

[Michael_Lambert]

Originally Posted by Travis

Another note on your EXIF data- you want to keep your AF mode in "One shot" when shooting non/moving objects. AI focus is for fishies. We'll cover that later.

Okay.. Not sure how to find the "one shot" function.. still seems to be in AI Focus... lol,

[reefrunner]

Learning DOF

Your assignment- find 10 small nails and a piece of cardboard. Draw a line on the cardboard. Push the nails through the cardboard on the line spaced 2 inches apart.

Lay the cardboard on the table so the nails are facing up. Turn the cardboard so you can see all the nails from end-to-end (about 25-30°). Set up your tripod and focus on the third nail in line (you may have to manual focus) using your widest aperture and shoot. Now stop the lens down one stop at a time and shoot again. Repeat for all apertures until you use them all. Now compare the pics and see what your DOF does with each change.

There are three things that control DOF, focal length, distance to subject and aperture. Soooo....once you do the excersise above, repeat it, only increase your distance to the subject, once you've done that...do it again and change the focal length (assuming it's not a prime lens). Then compare all the photos and you'll get a pretty good idea of your DOF in different situations.

Seems to take longer to process the image..

Shouldn't take any longer to record the image, you will have a slower shutter speed, which may account for the extra time involved.

As for AI focus VS 1 shot....I'm not sure if the rebel has it, but AI focus is the camera trying to decide if the object is moving or if it's not, for moving objects you would want AI servo, and for still objects you'd want One Shot, I've found AI focus to be pretty much useless. To figure out how to change it...pull out that pocket guide that came with the camera, excellent little brochure to help you learn how to change your settings on your camera without having to go through the entire manual. Also...read the manual!! It is chock full of great information about your camera and it's capabilities.