Do you know how to read a lens?

This is the lens that I recommended Terry to buy.  Terry is going to New Zealand for holidays and he would really like to take some good photographs while traveling.  New Zealand is famous for its stunning scenery.  However Terry is new in photography and he does not want to carry too many things and neither does he want to spend too much money.  I think this lens is all he needs for this trip.

1. This is a telephoto (zoom) lens with a variable f/l (focal length) of 18 to 250mm.  You can vary the f/l just by turning the barrel of the lens.  The 'reach' offer by varying the focal length is enough for most amateur photographer's needs.  Basically you only need to take this one lens during your journey. 
2. At 18mm you can take picture of landscapes, stadium, fields, open spaces etc.  At the other end, 250mm will give you very close up view with great details of your subject.  Of course you can use any of the f/l in between i.e. 24, 28, 35 etc.  
3. The maximum aperture setting (f stop) of this lens for both variables is f 22.  However if you are using  18mm then the min aperture is f3.5 and for 250mm the min aperture is f6.3
4. If you want close up shots of your subject, you only need a minimum focusing distance of 17.7" (45cm).  In other words you can take pictures of any thing that is one and half feet from you.
5. HSM - Hypersonic Motor.  This is the inbuilt motor that causes the lens to focus in the shortest time.
6. OS - Optical Stabilisation.  The lens contain a gyro mechanism to eliminate the slightest movement to ensure you get the sharpest image.
7. DC - is a class of lens made by Sigma for digital cropped sensor.

So Salah (Wrong).

I saw this advertisement on the doors of the lifts that leads to an IT cum electronic hub in a shopping mall.  This picture is so salah (wrong)!  The first thing you learn is never to hold your DSLR this way when taking picture!

Your left palm should be placed underneath the camera to give it support.  Extend your thumb and index fingers to form a U, to fix snugly at the junction where the lens join the camera body.  This is to minimise shakes when you press on the shutter release button.  Camera shakes make blur photographs.   And the right hand should grasp firmly the right side of the camera.  Extend your index finger to engage the shutter release or to turn the dial to change camera settings.  (If you are left handed, just reverse right to left!)

Never hold the camera by grasping the sides.  when you push the shutter realease button you will force the camera to dip slightly.  Even the smallest movement will cause blurriness.  And you would think an electronic hub with experts in camera would know better than to put up such a picture!  Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.

Lost!!

I lost my Canon SX 120 while shooting the Taiping Lake last weekend..  Whoever found it please enjoyed taking pictures with it.  However if you have pinched it from me then beware of the curse .........

'Prep' your camera.

 You must 'prep' your camera before shooting.  Some of the settings you need to do it once,  Some you need to change to change according to shooting conditions.

1.  Make sure you have enough memory cards and battery.  Currently memory cards are relatively cheap, so buy a few.  Make it a habit to transfer all images in the card to your designated storage  (e.g. hard disc in your PC) at the end of each shoot.  Check your PC to make sure you have transferred the images properly.  Only then erased all the images in the memory card.  We tend to let images accumulate in the card.  Sooner or later this will lead to frustration and problems in sorting and storing images.

Personally I think it is better not to buy a card with a very large memory.  This way you will limit the number of images you can store in it.  Sometimes a memory card fails for no reason.  Imagined how frustrating and disappointing this can be if you happened to have several hundreds of  pictures still in it!

2.  Also make sure you have a fully charged battery at the beginning of each shoot.  It is also prudent that you have an extra battery in hand.  Of course do not forget to charge this too.

3.  Colour Space.  This determines the number of colours in your picture.  In the camera menu you have the choice of either 'Adobe RGB' or 'sRGB'.  I suggest you set your camer to Adobe RGB.  This is because RGB is universally accepted.  However sRGB is good if you are going to convert your files to CYMK which is used for offset printings.  If you have the time explore this subject.  There are lots of words and thoughts about this topic.  When you are better informd then make your own choice depending on your camera make, editing software and your picture final output.

4.  Drive Mode.  I shoot 99% of the time in 'single shot' mode.  Check your camera manual to see what other mode are available.  Most cameras will have a timer mode too.  This will set off an in-built timer in the camera to give you a 'delayed' period before the shutter engages.  Other than using this to take a self portrait, this is very good for taking pictures in low lights area witout a tripod.  Just put your camera on a steady surface.  This way you eliminate camera shakes completely!

5.  Picture quality and size.  I shoot almost exclusively in RAW.  A RAW image is an uncompressed format without any camera processing.  When you shoot in JPEG some processing will be carried out by the camera processor.  The biggest advantage o a RAW file is that you can do your own processing using the unaltered original.

Shooting RAW comes with a price.  The file size is very large so you get fewer pictures in your memory card.  And you need to process your RAW files with editing software before you can view your image.JPEG files are universally acceptable and you can send your images straight out of the box to your friends.  If you are shooting in JPEG, then choose the biggest size and best quality available.  You can always resize it smaller if you need to send your pictures using the internet.

6.  Exposure Mode.  This is perhaps one of the earliest decision you need to make when you switch on your camera. Most beginners will start with 'Automatic' and then progress to Program (P) and then eventually to either Av (Aperture Value) or Tv (Time Value).  Eventually you will come to M (Manual) mode.  In Manual mode you have full control of how much and how fast you want lights to enter the camera.

7.  ISO refers to the sensitivity of the camera pixels to lights.  If you find yourself in low lights conditions then consider increasing the ISO.  In most DSLR the ISO starts at 100.   But remember a big ISO gives you poor quality picture.  When the pixels gets sensitive they leaves alot of noise artefacts in the dark area of your picture.  It is a good habit to set your ISO to 100 (or below if available) at the beginning of each shooting session.

8.  Metering Mode can be a subject by its own.  All cameras are fitted with a light meter.  And the light meter takes its reading from the center of the lens.  The light meter measures the lights at the center and will tell the camera what settings to use for a correct exposure.  However for added flexibility the camera gives you several metering modes.  In Spot Metering mode the meter reads lighs from only 3.5% of the area from the center.  In Partial Metering it takes it a wider area, up to 9%.  For beginners I recommend you to use either the Evaluative or the Center Weighted Average.  In Evaluative the camera will sample lights from 25 zones.  And in the case of the Weighted Average, the camera sets the exposure by averaging the lights reading from all the zones.  As your skills progress you will know which mode to choose in order to  give you the kind of mood you want by accessing the scene in front of you.

9.  Another important setting that you pay attention to is the white balance (WB).  Most people will set their camera to Auto.  However the WB setting not only prevent 'colour cast' but also help to create moods.  When you shoot in a place lighted up with fluorescent lamps, it is obvious you should choose 'Flourescent' as your WB setting.  This setting will utilise a warm cast to cancel the 'blueness' of the fluorescent tubes.  So if you choose a Fluorescent WB to shoot a sunset scene you will intentionally add an even warmer cast to intensify the golden glow of the scene!  Likewise if you want to further cool your image then choose 'Tungsten'.

10.  Picture Style.  This is a standard provision in all Canon DSLKR.  If you are shooting in JPEG then this would affect the fianl result of your picture.  There are 5 different styles and another 3 which you can set as you own.  Each style comes with it's own pre set parameters (sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone).  However you are allowed to tweak these

settings to your own liking.  But some of us may not want the camera to do any processing, preferring to have total control.  If this is the case then set  your picture style to 'Neutral'.  Of course if you are shooting in RAW,  then all these settings will have no effect at all on your picture.

Conceited

 
 Although these writings are meant for newbies' (beginners), I assumed that my reader would have at least some rudimentary knowledge about the camera.

1. I assumed you would know how to charge the camera battery (not more than 4 hours),
2. How to format and insert the memory card (the storage medium that stores your images until you delete them, also what those numbers on the cards mean?) into the housing and
3. How to switch on the camera.

These maybe simple to a seasoned shooter but they can be baffling to a newbie.  The Chinese has a saying for this, 'A new daughter-in-law in the house is just like a baby taking his first steps'!  In this case the daughter-in-law is the the newbie with the camera.

I remember how a simple task like switching on the camera had me befuddled for weeks.  The on/off switch of the Canon 40D has three positions instead two.  The front and back dials will only work in tandem if you put the switch onto the third position.  It took me two weeks before I figured out the reason why the camera was not doing what I wanted it to do!  I was too conceited and never referred to the manual.

The Manual, the map to your camera.

 

The objective of buying a camera is to take pictures. The camera is just the mean to an end. However during the picture taking you will face many challenges. The 'end' is just not folders filled with pictures in your PC. Surely you would like something more than that.

To get good results we need a good tool. Needless to say to use the tool properly, you must have some ideas how it works. The working of simple is pretty straight forward. But a DSLR is a complex electro mechanical tool. Normally it comes with an array of buttons and dials. Some of these work independently, some in combination to perform functions. In the beginning this is all very confusing. Remember when you first learn to drive? After a period of time, the dashboard controls will become second nature. You will know what to do in an instance and most of it instinctive.

It's the same with the camera. There is really no short cut in learning about your camera. The more you handle the camera the better you will become. That is wy you will always hear laments of the drawers' shooter. You know, the type who will only bring out the camera from the drawer when the occasion arises. I really hope you are not one of them.

When I am in a foreign place, the first thing I do is to look for a map. I always like to have a bearing of my location in relation to my journey. This is also true with the camera. The manual is the map of your camera. It is always a great source of information that I can go back repeatedly. Eventually it will be inside my head. Manual are normally printed in the form of a small book. It is very portable and so no excuse for me not to bring it along during shoot. I find that every time when I handle the camera, that's when I come up with the questions!

P.S. do not despair if you forgot your manual. Most of them are available in the net!

Like Underwear.

Obsolete

What!!! The camera I am using (Canon Eos 40D) is now obsolete. It was replaced by the Eos 50D in August, 2008! How come camera manufacturers change the model like changing underwear?