Alright, preparing for my trip I am testing my camera...

My first few night shot pictures without modifying the settings for nightshots.

http://www.pakcafe.com/pics/P1010263.JPG

http://www.pakcafe.com/pics/P1010265.JPG


Here is another shot under terrible conditions in a moist area...

http://www.pakcafe.com/pics/North%20Conway.jpg

1- Decrease the exposure to ISO50 or ISO100 because its making the picture a little bit grainy.

2- Decrease the shutter speed so lens absorbs more light and the picture is naturally brighter. (You will need a tripod to do this though because the shutter will stay open longer and movement of your hands will cause the picture to blur)

3- If possible use a tripod
4- Turn the flash off (Obvious I know, but I dont know howmuch you know about photography)

Also have you bought a wide angle lens? I believe your camera is an olympus E-500? If so go to the following link for a good review of its abilities and how to tweak it a bit.

http://www.megapixel.net/reviews/oly-e500/e500-gen.php

P.S: Save every picture you take in Pakistan in RAW mode! That way you will have unprocessed masters of all your pictures so that you can later process a copy of the master according to the settings you want. It will take up a significant more amount of space but believe me it is definately worth it. If you have a laptop then just burn the masters on to a DVD and freeup your memory card.

As for the exposure it will have to remain high for nightscenes because of the fact I will lack a tripod because of the inconvienience of taking it along with me. And LMAO my knowledge of Photography is average almost amateur. Thanks to the lack of my funds I have not bought a wide angle lens. I also feel that it is not needed and it is just going overboard. These len's cost around 400-600 dollars.

Example of my second point.

These are pictures I took with my friends Olympus E-500 when I was teaching him how to use it.

The first picture is taken in normal settings ie:
- 1/15 shutter speed (One fifteenth of a second)
- F2.7 Aperture (width of angle)
- ISO50 (Lowest Exposure possible to reduce grainyness and noise somewhat, you can definately further tweak this setting to a point where there wont be any noise left)
- Metering Mode is Centred Weighted (Which meters the entire frame but gives more importance to the reading obtained at the centre of the frame, the place that is most likely the focus point of the image.)
- Flash was obviously off because the onboard flash has no effect on wide angle infinite distance focus.
- Auto focus

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6603/img06933tl.th.jpg (http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img06933tl.jpg)

And the second one taken with following changes
- Increased the aperture to 3.5 (slightly wider angle)
- The shutter speed was decreased to 8 seconds (it took 8 seconds for the camera's CCD to capture all the light in the scene)
- Obviously I used a tripod.
- Auto focus
- Flash was obviously off because the onboard flash has no effect on wide angle infinite distance focus.
- Metering mode was changed to Evaluative (Which divides the frame into several zones and meters each zone, combining the results into an average that takes all areas into account.)
- Aperture was increased to 3.5 (slightly wider angle)
- ISO50 (Lowest Exposure possible to reduce grainyness and noise somewhat, you can definately further tweak this setting to a point where there wont be any noise left. Remember this is just a test using the basic functions)

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3093/img06940xe.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img06940xe.jpg)

Well I want have the convienience of a Tripod so I am afraid I will have no luck with that one!

In addition to what oogabooga said, I recommend you buy a remote controlled trigger as well. I built my own, but they cost something like $20 on ebay.

Either get some practice steadying your hand, or increase the shutter speed (and ISO). Don't worry about grain, you can remove it later using software.

Also, when posting pictures, it's a good idea to include the EXIF info, and to resize them down to 800 x 600.

Get a tripod as well, but you can't use one all the time, so its a good idea to get some practice.

The Oly has IS, so why do the pictures look so blurred? Good job I bought the 350D afterall.

Oogabooga, what camera do you use?

Maybe Mehfil Pakistan should have a photography section?

As for the exposure it will have to remain high for nightscenes because of the fact I will lack a tripod because of the inconvienience of taking it along with me. And LMAO my knowledge of Photography is average almost amateur. Thanks to the lack of my funds I have not bought a wide angle lens. I also feel that it is not needed and it is just going overboard. These len's cost around 400-600 dollars.

True, you dont need a wideangle lens. Make sure you make good use of the aperture settings though, it goes all the way upto F8.0 in your camera.

Regarding your understanding of Digital Photography, my suggestion read Digital Photography for Dummies! It explains everything I just wrote in depth. Just glance through the chapters concerning the points I raised here and you will learn allot from it. Thats how I started out. You will understand allot of the functions your camera has to offer after reading that book.

If you want to take good night shots of anywhere you will need to decrease the shutter speed to dead slow and you can only take such a picture with proper focus with a tripod otherwise its really no use taking pictures at night time of infinite focus scenes. Just get a case for the tripod and put it on your shoulder, thats what I do. Or put a school bag on your shoulder and everything will fit in it ie: camera, tripod, laptop and accessories for the camera.

Go to Deals2buy.com and get a cheap sony tripod for 20 bucks and a Targus case for 14. Believe me if you want to take nighttime pictures you need a tripod!

Guys Guys!

I know the basics I just need some tips on the settings. As for the remote control I really do not see why I would need it!? About the noise I will just use Noise buster or a similar program. And I definetly will not be taking my tripod with me. It is a goddamn hassle to lug that thing around and it brings unwanted attension.

At least consider a monopod. You'll almost certainly need one if you want to take decent night landscape photographs. Plus they are retractable and don't take up much space.

Wait! Wait!

Oogabooga hit the jackpot with that link...

I will see what I can do with the Tripod after looking at some of the convienient tripod backpack holder.

Ooga can you please suggest a case...

I have a tripod but if there is a deal for the tripod with the case I got no problem with that as well..Just make sure the bag isnt too bulky but able to handle the E-500 and the 150 and 14mm len's and my other equipment with my dual lens kit. Your help is appreciated.

Ooga can you please suggest a case...

I have a tripod but if there is a deal for the tripod with the case I got no problem with that as well..Just make sure the bag isnt too bulky but able to handle the E-500 and the 150 and 14mm len's and my other equipment with my dual lens kit. Your help is appreciated.

And mine isn't? :mad: :mad: :mad: :tongue3:

And mine isn't? :mad: :mad: :mad: :tongue3:
Uhmm...NO :jk:

Off the top of my head, I would suggest the Wenger laptop bacpack. It looks very nice and has loads of space in it. It can hold all your acessories and the camera. Go to circuitcity and try it out they have everything on display. I have a very old tripod bag so if you want just the tripod bag then I'll look it up for you.

And your welcome! Afterall I'll get to see my beloved country through the pictures you take! :cheers:


P.S: Just dont skimp on pictures of Karachi!

I am afraid my Karachi trip was slashed thanks to the cost of the trip and logistical issues I was having.

But I promise excellent pictures of Lahore..Multan..Islamabad..And all the way upto China!

I will also be going to the August 13-14 concert in Race Course Park!

I am afraid my Karachi trip was slashed thanks to the cost of the trip and logistical issues I was having.


:uh:
.
.
.
:gaah:
.
.
.
:rant:
.
.
.
>(
.
.
.
:badnews:

-heartbroken and speechless-

And the tripod bag...

I will take a look tommorow to decide but I was looking for something geared towards photography. I just dont see how the camera will be safe in the backpack considering the lack of protection.

:uh:
.
.
.
:gaah:
.
.
.
:rant:
.
.
.
>(
.
.
.
:badnews:

-heartbroken and speechless-
AWWWW...

Hopefully, next time I will find a contact in Karachi and be able to even check out Gwadar if the area gets developed within that time.

In addition to what oogabooga said, I recommend you buy a remote controlled trigger as well. I built my own, but they cost something like $20 on ebay.

Either get some practice steadying your hand, or increase the shutter speed (and ISO). Don't worry about grain, you can remove it later using software.

Also, when posting pictures, it's a good idea to include the EXIF info, and to resize them down to 800 x 600.

Get a tripod as well, but you can't use one all the time, so its a good idea to get some practice.

The Oly has IS, so why do the pictures look so blurred? Good job I bought the 350D afterall.

Oogabooga, what camera do you use?

Maybe Mehfil Pakistan should have a photography section?

I have a Canon S2-IS, S3-IS in the "like DSLR" category
Nikon D-50 DSLR
SONY DSC-T1 and Olympus E-150 in "Point & Shoot" category
Pentax Optio film camera with 48X zoom lens and Wide Angle lens.

UP remember save all the pictures in RAW mode. Donot have the camera process them in a picture format! Keep the master in Raw mode and process "copies" of the masters.

Can you just quickly go over how I should process a RAW. I will have a lot of free time on my trip and I would like the images to go up immediatly.

Can you just quickly go over how I should process a RAW. I will have a lot of free time on my trip and I would like the images to go up immediatly.

Do you know how to change the image formats? Your camera offers 5 modes. The first mode is RAW mode. Unfortunately I use a D-50 otherwise I would have walked you through the process. Look in the manual how to set the camera to take pictures in RAW Mode.

The only drawback with Raw mode is that the files it saves are huge. But that still shouldnt be a problem because your camera runs on a compact flash card and these cards are very cheap. Buy two 2GB cards and you should be good for a days worth of photography. Raw mode saves every picture as a 13.6MB file in your camera. Once you have taken the picture you will have to move it to your computer and use the provided RAW Image Processing Software to process the image. Or if you know your way around Photoshop you can also use the third party Raw Plugin for it.

Your camera (like everyother DSLR) also gives you a continuous AF mode in which if you hold down the shutter release button (the button that takes the picture) even after you take the picture then the camera will take multiple shots in quick succession. What this does is that the fast shutter speed takes 7 pictures of the same frame in quick succession in order to eliminate any minute softness in the focus.

When taking pictures in daytime (good lighting) set the shutter speed high because theres enough light for the CCD to capture as it is but for example if you are taking pictures of a moving object or if you are zoomed into something then the slightest vibration of the Human Hand destroys the picture. You have probably seen in hollywood movies whenever someone is spying on someone else they are taking pictures of them, they are always doing it in AF Continuous mode and they capture several shots of the same frame in quick succession in hope that a few will be in perfect focus. Its a very good feature, look into it try it out.

Guys Guys!

I know the basics I just need some tips on the settings. As for the remote control I really do not see why I would need it!? About the noise I will just use Noise buster or a similar program. And I definetly will not be taking my tripod with me. It is a goddamn hassle to lug that thing around and it brings unwanted attension.

If you dont want to buy a remote then let me suggest another feature in your camera. Even if you have the camera set on the tripod and all you have to do is press the shutter release button so it can take the picture, the picture still sometimes gets blurred because when your touching the camera on the tripod to press the shutter release button the vibration of your hand causes a misfocus.

The advantage of a remote is that you wont even have to touch the camera to take the picture resulting in immaculate focus! But if you dont want to buy a remote then use the self-timer feature. This is the feature that gives the photographer 10 seconds of time before the camera takes the picture itself. This primary function of this feature is that if the photographer wants to take a picture of himself and there is nobody to take the picture then the photographer could just set it to self-timer, press the shutter release and run into the scene. The camera has a delay of 10 to 15 seconds (you can set this delay to as long as you want).

So if you substitute the remote with this feature then instead of pressing a button on the remote you will be pressing the button on the camera but the camera wont be focusing at the time, instead it will focus 10 or 15 seconds from the time you press the shutter release button resulting in the same results as you would get with a remote! (for me atleast)

Thanks for you help much appreciated....

Now that we have got our night scene lesson down how about taking pictures of Mountains in a very cold enviroment? I mean we will be going around the base camp of K2 as a tour offered by the PTDC hotel in Skardu.

Good economical Tripod.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830994017

A very good Monopod. (I use the same)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830997416

Very fast 2GB 120X (as compared to standard 80X) CF Card
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=83145-1

Very good and cheap Tripod Bag
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002E1TWC/sr=1-4/qid=1150641435/ref=sr_1_4/103-8217306-3879020?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=photo

Thanks for you help much appreciated....

Now that we have got our night scene lesson down how about taking pictures of Mountains in a very cold enviroment? I mean we will be going around the base camp of K2 as a tour offered by the PTDC hotel in Skardu.

The main thing you have to be careful about when taking pictures of mountains is the snowcover. I dont know if there is going to be any snow cover on the mountains at this time of the year but if there is then you have to compensate for the extra light. What snow cover does at day time is that it reflects vast amounts of light into the lens, so you have to reduce the exposure, keep the aperture low and also a slow shutter speed in order to compensate for it.

By doing this you are not allowing too much light to be absorbed by the CCD (imaging unit). The main problem that people have with mountain photography in snow cover is that their pictures are overexposed ruining the picture. You also have to be very mindful of the lighting in mountainous areas. There is either a very bright sun shining over mountainous areas or cloud cover so you should adjust the white balance to Sunny or twilight respectively also whenever lighting is a problem you have to use the nightscene settings I told you about.

However the snowcover in mountainous areas makes for a very good twilight scene in low light! When the sun is setting and there are still pools of light available, those are excellent conditions for some good twilight shots.

How about Urban city driving. Anyway, I can reduce the blur while taking photos from the car? I took pictures of mountains in New Hampshire while driving and the pictures came out excellent considering the weather conditions and the fact that there was some rain on the windshield.

How about Urban city driving. Anyway, I can reduce the blur while taking photos from the car? I took pictures of mountains in New Hampshire while driving and the pictures came out excellent considering the weather conditions and the fact that there was some rain on the windshield.

If your driving in daytime then just choose AF continuous and take multiple shots instead of single shots. Increase the shutter speed and keep the aperture low at F2.7 or F2.5. Another stupid suggestion but many times people forget to do it, roll the window down before you take the shot. :laugh:

Thanks for the help should help me take shots...

I will be arriving in Lahore at around 6PM so I probaly wont need the tripod under those conditions.

Ooga, you must be loaded to afford a prosumer and a DSLR as well as a point and shoot.

How long have you been into photography? I've only been doing it for a couple of months. So far I've bought the 50 1.8 and a tripod, and am about to make my second purchase. But should I go for a Sigma flash, or a 70-300mm? I can get either for around £100.

Ooga, you must be loaded to afford a prosumer and a DSLR as well as a point and shoot.

How long have you been into photography? I've only been doing it for a couple of months. So far I've bought the 50 1.8 and a tripod, and am about to make my second purchase. But should I go for a Sigma flash, or a 70-300mm? I can get either for around £100.

I've always been interested in photography, I've been begging my father to let me take pictures with his numerous film cameras since I was 7. Then Finally I bought my first point and shoot Digital camera a while back it was the DSC-T1 (quite a crappy camera might I add). I started out with the most basic camera so that I can learn all the functions.

My friend had a Canon EOS 350D and I played around with it all the time. It confused the hell out of me in the beginning. If I were you I would start with the very basic functions of the 350D. Do allot of testing with it. Take shots of the same frame with different settings and compare them on your computer to see the differences and learn how different settings effect the shot.

Excellent camera though, no doubt. loads of features but it is my opinion that when it comes to DSLR's nobody makes them better than NIKON espescially the D series which is why I have a D50.

Whenever buying any camera or computer equipment always read reviews! Reviews tell you everything there is to know about the product. As far as buying a Lens or a Flash is concerned, I would definately go with the Lens.

I found a website for you on which there was the difference between shots taken with a 300mm lens and a 55mm lens (standard on your 350D) but I just had a power surge and lost the link (along with my recording of Brazil Vs. Australias first half GO BRAZIL! :nocrook: ) . But thats just because I take more daytime pictures than nighttime.

I've had a couple of months to get my head around the basics of DSLRs; exposure, aperture, DOF, white balance, metering etc. I used to shoot on the "preset" modes, but now mainly shoot on Av or M.

^
Was the website about the sigma 70-300? Right now I'm too poor to afford anything with canon printed on it.

I still think my E-500 is better than the Rebel XT despite everyone feeling the other way about it. I have always trusted olympus and I will stay with them until I have a bad experience. As for this camera I am just testing out stuff since I can always factory reset if something goes wrong. I have just bought the bag for my camera and the tripod...

It was a comparison between a Sigma flash and a Canon flash. The conclusion was that one should buy the sigma flash because in the price that you would buy a canon you could buy two sigmas. However the build of a canon flash is superior to a sigma but the sigma might not be compatible with later models of Canon.

But I'd rather buy a lens. Search 70-300mm on Google and look at the websites that come up. Most of the websites have pictures taken of the same object taken with a 300mm lens and a 55mm lens (standard on a 350D). The difference is obvious. But thats just my two cents.

I have just bought the bag for my camera and the tripod...

Excellent!

This was such an informative thread... ooga and others, how about linking us to some photography tutorials!

Hey guys!

Yes, lmao funny to read this thread again considering I am taking a professional photography class at local college. I am now fit to give advice now. LMAO!

Anyways, on what would you like a tutorial on?

For beginers I suggest a study of composition...

F2.7 Aperture (width of angle)

And the second one taken with following changes
Increased the aperture to 3.5 (slightly wider angle)

changing from f2.7 to f3.5 is decreasing size of aperture. you increase DOF though

changing from f2.7 to f3.5 is decreasing size of aperture. you increase DOF though
DOF = Depth of Focus

FYI

depth of field usually. but anyways

depth of field usually. but anyways
Yeah, but I have a really really old professor and he means Depth of field when he says Depth of Focus. It seems like his old ways are rubbing off on me now.:lol:

I'm having a problem with my camera these days. I have a Sony DSC-V1 which I bought 2-3 years back. Anyhow, the problem is that the pictures I now take are focused from the center while they're blurred from the edges. This problem started only 3-4 months back. I suspect the lens has gotten foggy and I did find a solution on Sony's support website (Link (http://www.css.ap.sony.com/consumer/template/KBDetails.aspx?Id=4044&Category=Digital+Still+Camera&model=DSC-V1)). The site mentions a method to de-fog the lens, but I have absolutely no idea what it means by the "inner cover" - what the hell is that? I see no inner cover anywhere on my camera!

Please help! and Puh-lease don't suggest throwing this one away and getting a new one! I'm only an amateur and this is all I need (in working condition that is). By the way, I haven't taken it to any Sony agent yet since I don't trust the agents here in Pakistan to fix it.

I'm having a problem with my camera these days. I have a Sony DSC-V1 which I bought 2-3 years back. Anyhow, the problem is that the pictures I now take are focused from the center while they're blurred from the edges. This problem started only 3-4 months back. I suspect the lens has gotten foggy and I did find a solution on Sony's support website (Link (http://www.css.ap.sony.com/consumer/template/KBDetails.aspx?Id=4044&Category=Digital+Still+Camera&model=DSC-V1)). The site mentions a method to de-fog the lens, but I have absolutely no idea what it means by the "inner cover" - what the hell is that? I see no inner cover anywhere on my camera!

Please help! and Puh-lease don't suggest throwing this one away and getting a new one! I'm only an amateur and this is all I need (in working condition that is). By the way, I haven't taken it to any Sony agent yet since I don't trust the agents here in Pakistan to fix it.

Same thing happened to my DSC-T1 once. I had to send it to the Service center. I think what you can also do (if you live in Karachi) is take it to the electronics market and have them service it infront of you, that way theres no chances of foul play.

^ It got fixed, right? I'll take it to Sony's service center soon. I just hope my $720 don't go down the drain - that's what I paid for it when it was launched.

^ It got fixed, right? I'll take it to Sony's service center soon. I just hope my $720 don't go down the drain - that's what I paid for it when it was launched.

:eek: SWEET MOTHER OF KRISHNA! You paid $700 for a DSC-V1?!?!? Dear Lord! You got ripped off! lol. Where did you buy it from? never buy a newly launched product, always wait a couple of months for the price to fall, espescially if its a camera!

When the Canon S3IS first came out it was close to $700 but when I got it had fell to $400.

And yes it got fixed. But I wouldnt trust the Sony people in Pakistan, with my camera either. I would rather have them do it infront of me, just make up some story about how you once got ripped off when you left something there to get fixed.

^ :(

I got it from Saudi Arabia. One year after I bought it, it was still selling at $580 at Carrefour, not a significant decrease eh? It was probably expensive since there weren't many 5.0 MP cameras loaded with options as DSC-V1 back then... but then the technology had shifted to fifth-gear and it hasn't looked back since then. Anyhow, I've learnt my lesson.
Will probably send it back to get it repaired... btw, I'm amazed Sony has such a crappy online support - they don't respond to emails!

What the hell? THATS A HIGHWAY ROBBERY!

Why dont you guys just buy a 2.0 Mega Pixel Sony Ericsson w810i ?

Phone+Walkman+Camera

http://www.carrollcommunications.com/Images/5402telephone.jpg
+
http://www.jhin.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2005/q1/2005-03-10-sony_new_flash_walkman.jpg
+
http://www.diskinternals.com/images/digital-camera.jpg

=

http://mobiledigest.org/wp-content/SonyEricssonW810i_01.jpg

Not to mention a 512MB memory (2GB here in Canada)

Or a 3.2 MP Nokia N93i

http://i.gsmarena.com/ii/pics/nokia/nokia-n93i-00.jpg

http://i.gsmarena.com/ii/pics/nokia/nokia-n93i-01.jpg

Or a 5 MP Nokia N95 (has built in GPS)

http://i.gsmarena.com/ii/pics/nokia/nokia-n95-01.jpg

http://i.gsmarena.com/ii/pics/nokia/nokia-n95-02.jpg

Buy Nokia...keep your brother Red aRRow employed! :lol:

Or a 3.2 MP Nokia N93i

http://i.gsmarena.com/ii/pics/nokia/nokia-n93i-00.jpg

http://i.gsmarena.com/ii/pics/nokia/nokia-n93i-01.jpg

Or a 5 MP Nokia N95 (has built in GPS)

http://i.gsmarena.com/ii/pics/nokia/nokia-n95-01.jpg

http://i.gsmarena.com/ii/pics/nokia/nokia-n95-02.jpg

Buy Nokia...keep your brother Red aRRow employed! :lol:
Abbey yaar kya dhamakha thakha diya hai! When you stealing me one?

Did the plan I spoke of on MSN not seem good enough?:ohno:

Maybe because they all are phones and not cameras?

Abbey yaar kya dhamakha thakha diya hai! When you stealing me one?

Did the plan I spoke of on MSN not seem good enough?:ohno:

Arey mein keh raha hoon 'keep me employed' not 'get me fired' :lol: :lol:

Maybe because they all are phones and not cameras?
Yeah yeah...just showing off converged devices with almost camera like results.