Hi everyone! Kathy(@myhrhelper) has asked me to host this week's camera settings challenge. I have chosen one of my favorite things to play with during shooting- aperture.:) You may be wondering what all the hype over aperture is and why it will make a huge difference in your shooting skills- no worries; I promise to share! First of all, what is aperture exactly? My favorite explanation comes from the online forum DPS(digital photography school) and here it is in a nutshell:
Aperture:
The main function of a camera lens is to collect light. The aperture of a lens is the diameter of the lens opening and is usually controlled by an iris. The larger the diameter of the aperture, the more light reaches the film / image sensor.
Aperture is expressed as F-stop, e.g. F2.8 or f/2.8. The smaller the F-stop number (or f/value), the larger the lens opening (aperture).
[Note: Many camera user manuals today will refer to the aperture in terms of "aperture value" instead of f/value. I'm not sure when this trend started but don't get confused between "aperture" and "aperture value." Aperture value" is simply another way of saying f/value.]
In practice, unless you are dealing with a fixed-aperture lens (many simple point-and-shoot cameras have only one fixed aperture), the aperture of a lens is usually expressed as a range of fstops.
Whew! Now that we got all the technical goobly-gook out of the way, here comes the most fun (and in my opinion, the BEST )way to learn about your camera's function- get out there and PLAY!
I would like to challenge you to shoot with the lowest f-stop number your lens is capable of- often referred to as shooting "wide open". Many cameras have an AV(cannon) or aperture value setting(yep, get out of the green box if you are there:))
which will allow you to control your f-stop while leaving the camera in charge of everything else! Have fun! Here are a couple of examples of shooting wide open:
notice that most everything but where the focus is placed is blurred. This is what gives you a shallow depth of field and in many cases, that wonderful effect known as "Bokeh".
(shot with an f1.8 aperture)
(shot with an f2.0 aperture)
How to post your photo on this link:
1) Go to your page that has the photo you wish to post.
2) Copy the “share” code in the bottom right section of that page.
3) Return to this thread and paste the code under comments
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Experienced photographers who are knowledgeable in this particular setting are encouraged to offer “kind and constructive” suggestions on the posted entries. Those entering this challenge want to learn and improve.
This challenge starts Saturday, 26th and ends Wednesday, 30 12:00pm Pacific Standard Time. All photos must be taken during these dates to be considered. TAG YOUR PHOTO CSC-4AND post your picture in this thread to receive feedback from other experienced photographers specific to this challenge. (It will be painless, I promise:))
Voting will take place Thursday, 31st and the winner will be announced June 1. The winner of the challenge will select an experienced photographer to host a new challenge. It is the winner’s option on who they want to host the next challenge; it may be someone they follow whose work they admire, or someone who is active offering suggestions on previous CSC challenges. Expect to receive constructive suggests on how to improve your skills.
Here is a great forum for learning everything and anything regarding your camera!
for the very first time EVER - I put it on full manual, I put the white balance on cloud, and ISO was at 640. I always changed the shutter speed to see the different effect with the same aperture setting. In each case the aperture was at lowest it could go with those lenses 5.3
3 pic's with different settings but ALWAYS the lowest fstop I could go 5.3.
Using the 18 - 55 lens
I discovered how the shutter speed also changes the brightness of the pic's. Please feel free to offer feedback, and comments of observations I should look at. No thought for composition went into these shots, this is purely practice with settings.
These were actually taken on May 29th at about 8pm, I had to post them in November since I do not have an ACE account
@djepie Thank you. I'm not really sure what liveview is. I only have the option of the viewfinder on my camera, if that is what you mean. Mine does not display on the back of the camera like some cameras do. If it does, I haven't found the setting to do so, however, I do like the viewfinder.
@debrac You are right, I checked your camera and indeed the D3000 has no liveview. So indeed, you just can check sharpness after having made the photo.
@myhrhelper Congrats on your first M shot! This will really help you making better photos, because it's no longer 'a fool with a tool'. Indeed you should know the effect of the three tools you can control light with: iso, aperture and exposure time. And for sharpness: focal length (zoom), aperture, distance between you & object, distance between object & background.
In these three photos I think the first one has been exposed rather correctly, where number 2 and 3 are underexposed. I think maybe an overexposed version could have been even a bit better, because there are no white pixel in the photo.
You have set the whitebalance on cloud, giving a bluish tone. Probably this was your intent, else I would make it a bit warmer. Do you shoot in RAW format? Then you can change white balance in the software.
Enjoy this camera discovery!
@traeumerlein87 @djepie Figured out my AV Mode but didn't like the shutter speed it was selecting. The images seemed too bright so back to manual with this shot
18mm 3.5 1/400
Thanks for your input
After I figured out that I did not know enough about my bridge camera settings, I took shots of a begonia blossom at various settings. I created a collage to help me study these. The settings in this collage (from left to right) are +2.0, +1.0, +/-0.0, -1.0 and -2.0.
If any one is browsing who would like to give suggestions on my posts here- I would love to hear some. I do like the concept and have had fun trying. Thanks
@4stories Hi If you could post the top 5 for voting that would be good. We try to have Thursday voting and Friday Winner announced and the winner needs to find someone to host the next one to start on Saturday.
@4stories e@djepie @abirkill
Would any of you be able to offer feedback on Jann's photo's @jannkc She would like feedback. Thanks
Not the very max of my lens, 5 instead of 4 to achieve a sharp flower and soft background.
TIP: download a (free) DOF app on your smartphone, choose your camera and play with the settings to see the effect on the Depth of Field. When you e.g. see that it's about 2mm you know that these settings will not work. I just installed simpleDOF for the iPhone.
@debrac Liveview is nice for two reasons. All cameras that support liveview, I think also have HD video. But most important is that it is the very best support for manual focus. You turn on liveview, and with a special button you can zoom in the view (so not the zoom of the lens) 5 or 10 times to see if you focus exactly right. So a simple answer to your question is; yes!
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(shot with an f1.8 aperture)
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3 pic's with different settings but ALWAYS the lowest fstop I could go 5.3.
Using the 18 - 55 lens
I discovered how the shutter speed also changes the brightness of the pic's. Please feel free to offer feedback, and comments of observations I should look at. No thought for composition went into these shots, this is purely practice with settings.
These were actually taken on May 29th at about 8pm, I had to post them in November since I do not have an ACE account
.01 10/1000 5.3 640 ISO, 45mm
.004 10/2500 640 45mm
.005 10/2000 5.3 640 45mm
In these three photos I think the first one has been exposed rather correctly, where number 2 and 3 are underexposed. I think maybe an overexposed version could have been even a bit better, because there are no white pixel in the photo.
You have set the whitebalance on cloud, giving a bluish tone. Probably this was your intent, else I would make it a bit warmer. Do you shoot in RAW format? Then you can change white balance in the software.
Enjoy this camera discovery!
18mm 3.5 1/400
Thanks for your input
Bokehpanthus.
f3 at 105mm
@4stories e@djepie @abirkill
Would any of you be able to offer feedback on Jann's photo's @jannkc She would like feedback. Thanks
1/125 th ISO 100 f2.8 @ 200mm, outside date but good example :)
TIP: download a (free) DOF app on your smartphone, choose your camera and play with the settings to see the effect on the Depth of Field. When you e.g. see that it's about 2mm you know that these settings will not work. I just installed simpleDOF for the iPhone.