Welcome to the Brand New & Revised Camera Settings Challenge 2015
Do some of the camera settings intimidate you? Do you want to learn how to develop your photography skills and learn how to use your camera effectively without always going back to the “auto” function? These challenges are for you!
We are going to walk you through various camera settings starting with the basics and build upon them as we move forward. They will no longer be a competition but rather a type of 365 classroom community. You can join in and follow which ever challenges interest you.
These are designed for those experienced photographers to share their knowledge with others who are anxious to learn and improve their skills.
This week’s challenge is: Using wide Apertures in Aperture Priority.
Explanation:
We’ve looked at Shutter Speeds, the part they play in exposure and how they can affect the look of your images and now it’s the turn of the Aperture.
The aperture is just a hole that lets light into your camera through the lens. You can make the hole bigger by opening it up to let more light in or make it smaller by closing it down to let less light in. The aperture opens and closes in a uniform series of steps with each step identified by an F-Number. The most commonly used part of the standard full stop sequence looks like this:
The smaller the number is then the larger the hole is, so f/2.8 lets in a lot of light and f/22 lets in a lot less.
I’ll spare you the maths but these numbers are constant over all lens focal lengths. f/2.8 lets in the same amount of light on a 24mm lens as it does on a 300mm despite the huge difference in size(and cost).
Like Shutter Speeds, if you move from one full value, or stop, to the next you let in twice as much light or half as much depending on which way you go.
When and why:
As photographers we are going to be interested in two things when making a decision over which aperture to use. The first is about how much light to let in and the second is about how it will affect the Depth of Field in the image. Depth of Field refers to how much of your image is in focus in front of and behind the point you have focused on.
Wide or large apertures, small f-numbers, let in plenty of light making it possible to achieve hand holdable shutter speeds even in low light and without having to resort to really high ISO or using flash, so why not try shooting as the light is fading.
This was taken at dusk, just after the streetlights had come on:
f/2.8 1/50th sec 50mm
As well as regulating how much light comes through the lens the aperture also plays an important part in controlling how much of your shot is going to be in focus, Depth of Field. The wide apertures we are going to be working with mean Depth of Field is going to be relatively shallow.
Compare these two shots:
In the first shot, taken at an aperture of f/4 using a 50mm lens, the main subject, while not particularly interesting, is in focus and stands out from the background which is blurred and out of focus. In the second shot, taken at the same time, from the same place and using the same lens, an aperture of f/22 was used. In this instance Depth of Field has extended to include the rocks behind and the post no longer stands out from the background.
(There will be more about using smaller apertures and controlling Depth of Field in the next challenge
How – Camera Setting
For this challenge we’ll be using the Aperture Priority setting by setting the camera mode to A or Av and we’ll be using the aperture at or near its maximum value. Your maximum aperture will be marked on the your lens, prime lenses could be as fast as f/1.4 or f/1.8. If, like many, you are using a kit or mid range zoom it may be marked as f4 - f5.6. This just means that at the wider end of the zoom range the maximum aperture is f/4 but reduces to f/5.6 at the long end. For the purposes of this challenge anything from f/5.6 or wider will do.
In Aperture Priority mode you choose the aperture and the camera will select the appropriate shutter speed for correct exposure but that doesn't mean you can ignore what's going on with the other settings so keep an eye on the readout in the viewfinder.
What else to shoot:
Even if your lens only opens up to f/5.6 that's still going to be usable:
F5.6 1/500th sec 270mm
Use the shallow Depth of Field as part of the composition:
F2.8 50mm 1/4000th sec
Remember the first challenge ? Use your widest aperture to keep the shutter speed high enough to hand hold your long lenses when it's overcast and get that shot of a birds feet you've been after for ages:
f/5.6 1/400th sec 300mm
Things to look out for:
• Check your shutter speed? Too slow and you’ll get camera shake, or if it’s really bright you could reach the end of your available shutter speeds. Check the readout in the viewfinder or LCD.
• Depth of Field is going to be shallow, more so the closer you have to focus, so focusing has to be accurate.
Critiquing your shot:
• Is your shot properly exposed?
• Is it sharp ? If not , why not?
• Do you notice anything about the shutter speeds your camera is selecting?
• If you are using Auto ISO what’s happening with that?
(ISO will be covered in more detail after the aperture challenges but you should still be aware of what’s going on.)
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 today, Monday, February 9th and lasts until Sunday, February 15th. Please use the tag: camerasavvy-wideaperture
For these challenges we encourage you to post your photo(s) in this thread to receive feedback and/or tips on what could be done to possibly improve the image (based on this specific challenge). We will not have a voting but we will select a few honorable mentions at the end of the challenge.
ASK QUESTIONS, we are all here to help you learn!
Expect to receive constructive suggestions on how to improve your skills.
How to post your photo to this discussion:
1) Go to your page that has the photo you wish to post.
2) Click on the three dots, and copy the code from the pop up box
3) Return to this thread and paste the code under comments
Hope this is better than the last challenge for me. I am still fighting the ghost look. When it is darker, I get nothing, when it is lighter I get all of me. So could still use some advice on this one and what I am doing wrong on the ghost long exposure. Thanks for all he great help.
Sorry forgot he photo again. I was set on AV mode ISO 100 camera set on cloudy day, which it is. And to get to a smaller aperature, do I need to be in a different setting?
@miata2u This is a great start Peggy. Av is where you want to be although you've let your shutter speed drop low enough that you are at risk of camera shake, especially if you have no vibration reduction. If you up your ISO to 400 that would take it from 1/15th, where is in this shot, to 1/60th.
By smaller aperture do you mean smaller F-Number ?
@angelbattlebross It seems like you had a good day for photographing in the garden! Your aperture setting of f7.1 gave you a DoF that was sufficient for highlighting the details in the violet, but maintaining a soft bokeh in the background to set it off well. The fact that even at f7.1, you could shoot at 1/200 means you were able to avoid any camera shake, which also adds to your shot's clarity.
If i look for real sharpness i use a tripod. Not only the aperture but also the focal length and the closeness to the subject has an influence on the dof.
@angelbattlebross Hi Carlos. These challenges are aimed at those are new to photography or at least new to taking control of their cameras. It's not competitive, it's more of a personal challenge for those taking part. I can see from your project that you are an experienced photographer so these may not be the challenge you are looking for.
I've added your name to the list. You'll get a notification when each challenge is issued so please feel free to join in even if it's just to share your knowledge with those who are still learning :)
@yeshanghai I've added you to the list. You should get a notification when the next challenge is issued but you can still join in this one. You don't have to be on the list to take part :)
Thank you for your respons. I am learning the ropes to be on a community like this.. i am liking it very much. So if there is a challenge that i like can i post, just for the sake of showing if it's in the theme?
@angelbattlebross If you look through the "Themes & Competions" forum: http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions
you'll get an idea all the things you can enter. They usually run for a week or so then start over. You'll be welcome to join in any of them. You don't have to apply or be invited. Just read any guidlines or rules, check the start and finish dates and join in :)
@aponi Depth of Field that close even at f5.6 is still pretty shallow but you you've positioned it well and it softens up nicely as you move down from the top :)
Learned something else new today - that when using a kit zoom lens, the aperture you set isn't the aperture you get if you change the zoom. I had set it at f3.5 (widest on this lens) but when I zoomed in closer it changed to f5.6 - shot at 1/1000 ISO 800 and 200mm. Will give it a try with my 50mm fixed lens next. Did like the blurring. Focus could still be crisper.
@iqscotland Thank you for the help. Yes I mean F #. 5 On AV setting it will not let me go any lower than F5. Also if I up the ISO, won't that make the picture even lighter?
@milaniet Hi Milanie. What is happening is that shorter focal lengths on kit zooms will typically have a faster "fastest" f-stop than longer ones. Why? Because of the definition of f-stop. It is actually the focal length divided by the aperture diameter, focal-length/aperture-diameter. And the fact that the aperture cannot grow wider than allowed for by the overall diameter of the barrel, usually a lot less since the engineers have to worry about fitting in the iris leaves and other apparatus.. There will often be no room left for the aperture to widen enough as the focal length increases to keep the same ratio, the f-stop.
For instance the standard kit lens for entry level DSLRs is usually something like an 18-55 f/3.5-5.6. f/5.6 is the fastest f-stop at 55mm focal length, f/3.5 is the fastest at 18mm. Although the absolute aperture at 55mm is almost 10mm in diameter but at 18mm is a smidgen more than 5mm, half the diameter and a quarter the area. But still, since it is the f-stop ratio that is important, not the absolute measurement, we can shoot "faster" at 18 than at 55. The mathematical and physical reasoning of why this is so is for another day though.
Hope that helps to explain what is going on a little.
@milaniet I think with the aperture you have the focus is good on the two front flowers and you have a nice soft blurring depth of field. Very well done
. @miata2u Your lens probably has a variable maximum aperture between f/4 and f/5.6 so at 43mm f/5 is as wide as it will go.
If you change your ISO to 400 that's a difference of two stops (100-200-400)
but because you are in Av the camera will adjust the shutter speed by two stops to compensate (1/15- 1/30-1/60) so the actual exposure will stay the same.
@frankhymus has a post a bit above this one explaining a bit about the aperture on a zoom lens
@frankhymus@milaniet I prefer the short version where fixed aperture zoom lenses are just really expensive to make but Frank must have given you some idea of just how complicated even a kit zoom is :)
@miata2u Peggy feel free to post your attempts in the Challenge #3 thread, I'll pop in and check it every now and then. These are designed as learning experiences after all, not competitions so I'm not feeling too strict about the deadline :)
@weebindi2 If you have your aperture as wide as it will go then your only real option here is to increase your ISO. Failing light will eventually defeat you :)
Ok, I changed the ISO to 400 and it was all white. So went to iso 200 and this has much more depth. Still on AV setting so it was f/50 ISO 200 shutter 1/15. I had the setting on cloudy,,,wondering if that made the iso 400 setting go white? Thank you for help
@aliha Thank you, do you have any suggestion on the ghost shot. I am not getting that at all. Does it need to be in light or does it matter and what setting would you start at and do I set camera on M or AF? Sorry, so many questions lol
my 1st try, not really happy with it, don't care for the background, used my camera's flower or 'macro' mode to get the f/3/5 or widest f-stop i have on my camera since i am still working with my kit lens and knew i could only go to 5.6 so it was an f/3.5 with a shutter speed of 1/25 and the camera set the ISO at 800. very easy to hand hold.
went back and shot in aperture priority, used the table as my tripod, this time the camera chose the shutter speed: 1.3; wide open for my camera is f/5.6; i chose ISO 100. MUCH happier with this shot, like the background so much more, the blur in the window, the clarity of the center cat's head especially. like when things go the way i plan them, not that i am a control freak of anything. . .
OK, so I actually took this for the Alphabet February challenge, but I wanted to focus on the Journey badges in the foreground, and leave the fun badges sort of indistinct in the background, so even though my camera was in manual, it kind of works for this, yeah? (I had it on auto ISO, at least. :) )
ISO 250, f/2.8, 1/80s, 24mm
@miata2u Peggy, the cloudy setting only affects the white balance. The light on a cloudy day can be a little bit blue so the cloudy setting just warms your image up, it doesn't affect the exposure.
The settings you've included in your description don't match the settings in the exif data for the shot you posted.
The settings for the shot you've posted are actually f5 @1/400th ISO400
With the shot that turned out white, was it literally white with nothing to see or was it very light with just faint detail? An image like that is grossly over exposed, going from ISO 200 to ISO 400 isn't enough to cause that.
The shot you've posted today is definitely better than yesterday. It's a bit darker and has more contrast which helps make the tree look sharper, the aperture was the same as yesterday and it looks like you shot from about the same distance so Depth of Field is probably about the same. If you meant the feeling of depth in the image then yes, that's pretty nice.
If we compare the settings from yesterday, assuming similar light and today's being a little darker, then the settings look fine. I don't know how your white shot came about but just to be sure double check your are actually in Av and not Manual, check which metering pattern you are using, you don't want "Spot", and that your Exposure Compensation is at 0.
@catsmeowb I prefer the second one. Using the longer end of your zoom has tightened up the composition and the sun has moved round now so the light is coming through the glass giving it much more life :)
@ithinkithunk There's nice light in both of those but I think I prefer the first one. If you look under her cheek at what she's lying on you can clearly see the area that's going to be in focus. For a shot like this it really needs to be the eye closest to the camera which I think you just got. Good for shooting blind though :)
Used the widest aperture I had - the 50mm - still not totally what I'd like but it did focus on the one rose well - think the blah background was my problem - shot at f1.8 at 1/200 on AV setting
Shot at f3.4 for 1/40 sec hand held ISO 80 at 4mm in the shade. Liked this the best so far - like the detail in the lichen (including the bug)though I would have liked a little more blur behind it.
@iqscotland So sorry. I took so many photos I guess I hit the wrong one. By better dept I meant darker color. Not DOF. Sorry I am not good with the terms yet. Is there a way to put photos on the challenge without putting them on my reg. 365? Thank you for the help. Maybe I need to delete all the photo's except the one I am going to use here so I don;t get confused and post the wrong one. Also, is shutter speed and exposure the same thing?
@miata2u Hi Peggy. You specify an exposure by all three settings you used, e.g. 1/80, f/4, ISO 200, shutter speed, f-stop and ISO. "Shutter speed" is just one of the three settings that make up an "exposure."
Thank you for suggesting this challenge. I bought my camera in October and have been relying on auto. This is my first attempt at using the manual settings. I welcome your suggestions! f/2.8 aperture
@april16 This is nicely done. Bright, colourful, well composed and I like the reflection in the background. It's good that you kept the reflection square with the top of he frame, keeps everything nice and straight and helps stop the eye from wandering out of the frame :)
@miata2u No need to apologise. If you don't understand something just let me and I'll try to explain a bit better.
Exposure is just the term for how much light comes into the camera through the lens. Exposure on it's own is simply a combination of how much light the aperture lets in and how long the shutter lets that light in for. The actual amount of light needed for a correct exposure will then be determined by your ISO. High ISO is more sensitive so needs less light and low ISO is less sensitive so will need more. Hence the three settings Frank mentions.
You can post shots for the challenge to any of your albums or you could post them but use old dates. If you just want advice you could probably link them from somewhere else, Facebook or Fickr, something like that.
I photographed this plant on the Widest & Narrowest Aperture to see the difference. The one on the left is f4 1/200 ISO 400, the one on the right is f22 1/13 ISO 800.
When the aperture was wide the shutter was faster & the ISO lower and it reversed when the aperture was narrow to let in more light.
At the widest aperture the edge of the garden bed, the piece of tin and the weeds all blurred out, where as you can see them distinctly if not totally clearly at the narrowest aperture.
I like the one on the left although a few flowers are blurred out, so if I was photographing this plant outside of a 'test' I would have gone a few f stops higher and shifted so that the tin didn't need to be blurred out.
@weebindi2 I would just stick to Evaluative . Your flower shot is good, looks like you got pretty much all of the main flower in focus with the rest more blurred.
@jennymallett I like the wee write up. It ticks all the right boxes and you made some good observations. The flower does have some depth to it so yes, you would need close the aperture down a few stops from wide open to get it all sharp. You will be able to try that next week :)
like this one quite a bit, came out as i had planned it. used spot metering due to the backlight.. also bumped up ISO to 800 because of same.
F/5.6;1/600; ISO 800 please let me know what you think and how i can improve on this.
like the bokeh in this one but, overall, like the above photo much more. just think it is more interesting, that it has more going for it. this one, to me, is just an a practice photo where the other one speaks to me. i don't know, what do you think? shot this one first, with the same set up with the metering. etc.
F/5.6, 1/100; ISO 800
@catsmeowb It may be blown in the highlights, the cat at the window, but not unpleasantly so for me. There is only a trace of severe "banding" or "posterization" on its edges as it blends into the color, and what bands there are are nicely regular, circular. Yes, nice shot with great tone contrasts.
@catsmeowb Yes, you did great on this one too, the first of the glass cats. Lovely image. For this week, it's most notable for the front *and* the back blur you were able to achieve.
@miata2u Re the "ghost" efforts. Are you looking to make yourself look a little transparent? Putting yourself into the shot for some of the shutter time and then removing yourself for the rest? You'll still need to expose correctly or the shot will just be blown white if too much. You'll need a shutter of at least 6-8 seconds, more is better, to give you time to remove yourself without leaving a blur trace. So you will only be able to do it in low light, or if you are in good light, you'll need to put a filter (a neutral density one, ND) over the lens. It would be best to shoot in A (Av), to use the camera's meter to nail the exposure properly.
If this is not what you are referring to above, right at the top of the thread, then I apologize for taking your time.
@iqscotland Thank you so much for your input! I really appreciate it. I needed a push to step away from my auto setting and this is a perfect opportunity for me to learn how to use the manual settings. Thank you again!
@frankhymus thank you so very much for your comments. the quick feedback is so very helpful; i have been trying to apply what has been said to me and what i have read to others. sometimes i tend to get intimidated by what i think are limitations due to only having a kit lens and then realize that i am only doing that to myself and kick my own ass into gear, if you know what i mean? still working on a good ghost image but have not gotten a good one.
I've been trying to find the sweet spot on my 35mm lens. I believe I understand the concept but I still haven't managed a sharp focus (his eye lashes in this case). Any advice would be very welcomed.
@samzee you did well, he is such a cute little boy and looks like he is having so much fun. Your focus on the lashes are good. Couple things with the wide aperture of f2.8 the focus area is somewhat small. But this challenge is about wide aperture so your shot is a good example. As far as focus, when you have a child his age, they are usually constantly moving so to get an absolute sharp focus on the eye can be more difficult - it takes several attempts to get the timing perfect.
@samzee As well as what Kathy @myhrhelper has mentioned you might find it useful, if you haven't already, to try using a single point for your AF.
Your lens is fine. Concentrate on technique rather than the notion that some lens setting is going to make an appreciable difference :)
@frankhymus You never take up my time, it is the other way around. I did get an ND filter. And yes you did help with my question. I was trying to use myself. But keep coming out with just me, not the ghost look. I had llight fro outside window behing me and one towards the front of me. Probably to much light then. So I should leave the ISO on 100 for lower light and make shutter speed # smaller for less light. Right? Or am I still not getting it.
@iqscotland Thank you for the help. When I try to get the ghost look on myself I give myself enough time to get there, but I come out clear yet. So am I right in thinking I need to leave my ISO at 100 and need to use a lower# or smaller shutter for less light. Frank suggested I get an ND filter o get it darker in the light from the windows, so I bought that. And will try again later. Thanks for help.
Set up your shot indoors where it isn't very bright. Set your ISO to 100 and your mode to Av or aperture priority. I know that's not how it was being done last time but it amounts to the same thing. Set your aperture all the way down to F22. That means your ISO is at it's least sensitive so needs a lot of light and your aperture is as small as it can be so it isn't letting in a lot of light. To get the right exposure the camera will have to set a slow shutter speed so that enough light can get in. Now look and see what speed is selected. If it's more than say, eight seconds that should be ok, if not the attach your ND filter and check again. Make a note of the shutter speed.
To take the shot, put your camera on a tripod or sit it on something stable. Have someone stand where you are going to stand or just put something there to focus on.You might have to take your filter off to focus if you are using one. Once you have set your focus set your Auto Focus to manual, you don't want it to refocus when you come to take the shot. Take a test shot first to check your exposure. If everything is ok it's time to take a test shot with you in it. Use the Self Timer to take the shot. Self Timer usually takes about ten seconds before it takes the shot but there should be a little flashing light to let you know. Press the shutter then walk to where you focused on earlier.
Remember that note you made of the shutter speed ?
Whatever that number was divide it by two. When you hear the camera take the shot count out that number of seconds. To count in seconds you can say elephant. If your shutterspeed was ten seconds you want to count five seconds. one elephant, two elephant ... like that. When you get to five step to the side out of the shot. The shutter should stay open for a further five seconds before it closes.
Now look and see what you got. If you are too clear try again but don't wait as long and if you aren't clear enough wait a bit longer. If you want to leave a trail move slowly out of shot hth :)
A wide aperture, not only allows blurred backgrounds. It is also useful for night or low light photography. In my case, I selected the minimum aperture of my lens f:2.8, that gave me almost 2/3 EV more light than conventional objective. If we add a high ISO setting from 1600 to 3200, this allowed to me to take the picture handheld, shooting at 1/70s, without need of a tripod or expending much time on a "unconfortable" zone. Finally, due the narrow depth of field of f:2.8, I chose to focus on a distant object and leaving the camera focused at infinity.
OK... so here is a fairly conventional exercise in wide aperture, using my macro lens at 2.8. Because I chose a low key lighting, I had to rest my camera on a stable surface to avoid shake. Here you go:
@jborrases Nice to see someone taking the low light approach to this. I like this, has a bit of a "film noir" feel about it but my favourite part is how you haven't included anything that could date this shot :)
I have a small problem in that I bought a macro lens not realising that it does not have stabilisation which the other lenses I already have for my camera do have....
aperture priority = 3.5 (macro lens: 30mm focal length)
spot metering
auto ISO = 500
exposure = 1/125
white balance = manual
Not sure how to critique this one. Sharp focus on the front and a fairly narrow depth of field. A little bokeh in back. f/5.6 was as wide as my lens would allow. The camera chose 1/20 shutter and ISO-400. Had a hard time getting the background to fade. Maybe I had too much light on the front and not enough behind? Or maybe just need a macro lens for this type of shot?
@weebindi2 A max of 800 should be fine but if the light is poor consider going higher but only as high as you need to to get your shot. Quality suffers as ISO increases so uless you are doing it for effect as low as possible is usually best. That's not to say high ISO is terrible, check @jborrases shot above. That was shot at 3200 but still looks good. ISO is going to be covered in more depth in a week or so :)
today's shot i am quite happy with, looking for comments please? sorry, realized i had not included the shot data: F/ 5.6, as wide as i can go, ISO 100, 34 mm focal length, matrix metering.
@myhrhelper He really never stops moving unless he's asleep at which point he moves slower. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing darts instead of taking pictures.
@iqscotland Ha! Really did think some lens setting was off or I needed a new one. I'll focus on my technique instead.
@iqscotland eThank you so much for being so specific. I need to know why I am doing something for it to make sence o me. And you did that. I see now there is much more to this shot than I was doing. Will probably be awhile trying, but I will get it now. One thing I am still no sure about is,,,,wy do I start with a very lighted room then make it darker with an ND filter? Why wouldn't I want to do this in less light. Thanks so much for your time and help with such a novice like me.
@miata2u You're quite right Peggy. If you read the first bit I said to set up your shot in a room that isn't bright. A dimly lit room is fine. You only have to use your ND filter if you can't get a slow enough shutter speed that will allow you enough time to stand for a few seconds then move out of the picture. All an ND filter does is block light from coming through it which means you'll need a longer exposure it doesn't make the shot darker. Try taking your ND filter outside and take a sot of something with it and without it. Both shots should look pretty much the same but the exposure settings will be different. If you do it in Av you'll notice that the shutter speed for the ND shot will be longer :)
@adayinmallacoota You've still managed to get noticeably shallow depth of field. As your camera is a bridge model it has both an advantage and a disadvantage for this challenge, On the one hand it has a fixed F2.8 zoom which is wider than most DSLR users have but on the other you have a smaller sensor. Images created on smaller sensors have apparently greater depth of field than those created on larger sensors so getting shallow depth of field is a little harder for you. Using the long end of the zoom and focusing in closely should get it fairly shallow but might be difficult to hold steady. being the equivalent of a 600mm on a full frame. The flip side is when you want a lot of depth of field you'll have less to worry about. :)
@quietpurplehaze It's not that much of a problem, you'll just have to be very aware of your shutter speed and remember that camera shake will also be magnified when you are in close. I'm sure you'll have noticed that if you focus in really close Depth of Field is alarmingly shallow :)
@iqscotland Not there yet, but getting closer thanks to your help. This shot was in M mode ISO 100 Aperature F/32. Took one that was to light and settings were 4sec. F22. So when I have more time, I need to try to get a happy medium and not stand in front of the window,,,,,and not to self,,,,put dishes in dishwasher before doing a ghost shot in the kitchen lol. Thank you for help. I must have taken 50 shots to try to figure this out. Slow learner. ;(
@catsmeowb Focus is really good as is the expression. There seems to be a bit of noise and it's kind of warm, maybe colour balance, but that really doesn't detract from it, the warmth maybe even adds to it. It's all about that look :)
@miata2u Got to admire your determination Peggy and you seem to be getting the hang of it now , just a bit of practice to perfect it. One of the great things about digital is you can take as many practice shots as you want. If you had stood right in front of the window you would have been headless :)
@iqscotland I know, I took that headless shot lol. And I am determined. And it will get better. It has to, it can't get worse. Good thing I have a sence of humor about it or I would go crazy trying to get this at my age.
I'm very much enjoying this challenge and am learning more about my camera--thank you. I'm sorry that I missed the first challenge on shutter speed. I found the shutter speed challenge in the archives and will read up. I took today's shot outside. I use a point & shoot and I find that it's easier to get a blurred background if there is more distance between the subject and the background. Perhaps my background today is too blurred. Please comment. The subject is a statue of Christ. f/2.8, ISO 125, focal length 36.8mm. I did some lighting processing to get more contrast between the statue and the background.
Third and final attempt. I think that this one has the main flower in focus but is out of focus in front and behind the main flower. This was my aim but I would like your comments/advise please!
@iqscotland Thanks for that detailed feedback. i'm a bit technically challenged when it comes to the camera but am determined to try and understand - your info is most useful.
@april16 Your observation about distance from the subject to the background providing background blur is right on. If you can achieve subject to nearest background object distance 3x (or more) camera to subject distance, you will usually achieve a nice blur at f/8, even f/11. This can be especially useful for Point-and-Shoot and Bridge cameras where the fixed lens might only have a stop range from something like f/5 to f/8.
The field usually extends 1/3 towards the camera and 2/3 behind the main point of focus of the lens/camera. It can also help to explain why the DoF with true macro focus is so narrow even at relatively narrow apertures; you are so close to the subject that 2/3 behind is also a very short distance.
Your camera might have overexposed a little on this one, making the darker front tones wash out some? Remember the +/- Exposure Compensation button, especially useful shooting in Av or A (aperture priority) mode to drop the shutter from what the camera might be (erroneously) metering. Then there might not have been so much work in post to achieve the contrast you wanted. Great idea though. Nicely seen.
F 1.4, S\S 1/20, Iso 100, 50mm.
I had a nightmare with exposure this week as everything was too dark in Av. Picked up a comment made to someone else and looked in my Dummies book under evaluative metering. Found that I had not set it back to 0! I focus on the silver on the bottle in this image as using the general focus didn't seem to give a sharp enough focus on the front objects.
F2, 1/80, Iso 1250, 50mm.
I was surprised that the Iso was so high, had it set on auto for this. However the light wasn't good. I am posting another shot the same but with a 135mm lens to compare.
F5.6, 1/80, Iso 640, 135mm. Took the same photo as previous with 135mm lens to see the difference. I thought that the shutter speeds would have been faster with the wide apertures but it wasn't good light in the room so I guess that was why. Hoping for better weather to try some outdoor garden shots.
@april16 OK. Don't obsess over the numbers or the detail, the general principle is what is important to put to use. I find knowing about stuff a lot of fun, so don't think I am too geeky. I have been told I am on more than one occasion... :)
1st Photo f/3.5
- ISO was set to Auto, but it changed to 100
- 1/1000 sec
- Handheld
- Lens Stabliser is on
- Environment: Outside, Cloudy
2nd Photo f/ 5.6
- ISO was set to Auto, but it changed to 100
- 1/200 sec
- Handheld
- Lens Stabliser is on
- Environment: Outside, Cloudy
Verdict: I choose the lowest f/no setting that my camera allowed me. I took a picture of the flowers on 18mm focal pt , but once I got closer to the flower (55mm) to get a closer capture, my f/no changed to 5.6 which was the lowest setting at that particular focal point and the shutter speed decreased. WHY does the f/n changes when I change the focal point on my lens? Also why cant I get any lower than f/3.5 sometimes f/5.6 is my lowest?
Both pictures look sharp to me, that I was focusing on and the background not as sharp.
Apertures is still completely foreign to me that is why I rarely use it. The more I try to wrap my head around it, the more confusing it is. I will keep practising. Thanks for your help.
@leestevo Hi Lee-Ann. I answered a similar question above about the f-stop "changing." It's all an issue with the zoom lens, not the camera itself. For your lens, probably an 18-55 zoom, the widest f-stop the lens will allow is f/3.5 at 18mm and f/5.6 at 55mm. It's all about what opening area will "fit" and that f-stop not only depends on the absolute size of the opening, but also the focal length you have set. In these cases, the designation of your lens will probably include something like 18-55 f/3.5-5.6, f/3.5 is the widest f-stop the lens will allow at 18mm and f/5.6 the widest at 55mm. If you have f/3.5 set at 18 then zoom to 55, the camera and lens will reset to the widest f-stop allowed at 55, f/5.6 in your case.
Some zooms (more expensive usually) have a constant "widest" aperture, a common such type is the much prized 70-200 f/2.8 series. The constant aperture is usually a "fast" one, at the low number end.
@mzbull I think so. Great orange-yellow color. While the aperture is not particularly wide, you have nice background blur, achieved because you have so much space behind the lemon back to the leaves.
@frankhymus Ha Ha! Thank you so much! I'm sure that I'll never be accused of being too geeky. Just to be sure, for a rule of thumb for the beginner: camera--1/3 of the distance from the subject and background 2/3 of the total distance behind the subject.
I'm hoping to get in one more photo before the end of the challenge.
@april16 Right! While the *total* hyperfocal distance will vary drastically depending on several factors - aperture mostly but also the size of your camera's sensor and where your main focus is, near or far - the proportions front to back are roughly the same,1/3 and 2/3. Good shooting.
If the distance from you to your subject is, again just as an example, 3 metres then you would want the distance from the subject to the nearest part of the background to be at least three times that.
Don't concern yourself too much with the end date for the challenge, it's only because another one is starting, you can carry on posting in this one but try to tag someone so we don't miss you :)
1/6 f8 ISO 100
I'm not very happy with the focus on this. I would liked the centre burr to be clearer. I will try to go out and do better if only it would stop raining!
@thistle It looks like you've let your shutter speed drop too low so camera shake has affected your image. Try raising your ISO to get a faster shutter speed to sharpen things up :)
@frankhymus Sorry to be a pain Frank but I have a notification saying you had commented on @thistle but I can't find your comment and the link from the notifications doesn't work. I am using a Mac but it doesn't normally cause a problem with 365.
@iqscotland Thanks I will give it another try but will leave it until tomorrow as I would like to use the same subject again. This will make it easier to compare. Meanwhile I try with some other subjects!
@thistle Alistair @iqscotland said it a second or so before I pressed the "send" button, so I deleted it. You might try a tripod too. A pain, yes I know, but...
Hand held, you should always strive for a shutter at least as fast as 1/focal-length, even with image stabilization on your lens.
ISO 100, SS - 1/5, F/10, focal length 140 This has been cropped.
I'm satisfied with the exposure. I think it's sharp.Although cropped, I did not process it in any other way. I did this on a tripod, because one of my hands is bandaged up and I can't hand hold the camera easily. I made some more shots at different apertures, larger and smaller. The one take at f/5.6 (the largest aperture I could use with this lens) was too dark at ISO 100 (manually set). I did notice the smaller the aperture the faster the shutter speed.
Taken with my 50 mm lens, 1/3 sec, f1.8, ISO 100 - using aperature priority, sooc. I took several shots and they all turned out okay. My ISO doesn't change automatically. It seemed that the speed changed slightly depending on angle and distance I took the shot from.
Tried again today, You are so right Frank @frankhymus what a difference the tripod made!! This is SOOC not even cropped.
I am much happier with this shot and surprised that it came out as well as it did as this is a climbing plant and close to the wall. I thought I might have more trouble separating the flower from the background if that makes sense! I would be really grateful for your comments on this one.
Forgot to add the vital statistics. 1/80 sec at f4.5. ISO on auto 400. It is very overcast today and quite shady by the wall. Nikor 50mm lens
Here's my attempt for this challenge, taken briefly at work on my back from lunch, might get time to try another this afternoon, but not sure at the moment. I'm quite happy with it, but still want to play more.
@jennywren f/1.4 is very wide and coupled with being in quite close your depth of field is going to be tiny, maybe not even the depth of the neck of the bottle, so your focus here is spot on.
Did you mean you forgot to reset your exposure compensation? I am very guilty of that :)
@thistle This is huge improvement over yesterday. Camera shake, even a little, pretty much ruins any shot. The background is quite busy but the large aperture has rendered it quite soft so it isn't too distracting :)
@linah Nice example. If you tilt your camera it will alter the highlights and the brightness of the refection on the table, that's probably where your fluctuating shutter speed is coming from :)
@randystreat Exposure looks fine and I can read the writing on the edge of the first coin so focus is good too. Smaller aperture should give you slower shutter speeds. Did you mean smaller F-number (larger aperture)?
Was it only the ISO you manually ?
@iqscotland You're right. I always get the size & number confused. The camera was on AV, so ofcourse the aperture was manual, but the ISO was manual too - set to 100.
@iqscotland many thanks for your feed back. I did mean exposure compensation and hadn't realised what had happened but it was a good learning curve. Taken lots more shots at different F stops, focal length and notice how shutter speed and Iso compensate each other.
I really have enjoyed this week with the wide aperture - was surprised at how high the shutter speed went (1/4000) - understood the ISO I guess at 400 because there wasn't much light in the woods there - but however it figured it out when I set the f2 aperture I liked the blurring of the background which definitely wasn't interesting!
@iqscotland@frankhymus Thank you so much for your input! My entry today is the cardinal in the snow photo. I kept the 1/3 camera to subject and 2/3 subject to closest object in background in mind. The cardinal is a little fuzzy but he sure is a beauty!
I have been away from home the last couple of weeks and I only packed one lens, so the widest aperture I could use was f/5.6. Both shots were shot at 85mm. The shot on the left was shot at f/5.6 and the one on the right was shot at f/22. Because of the bright conditions the camera chose for the shot on the right ISO 360 and shutter speed 1/125, but because of the combination of bright conditions and wide aperture the camera tried to compensate in the shot on the left by putting the ISO at 100 but then upping the shutter speed to 1/640.
This is one of the first photos I took for this challenge. As you can see with a 6 sec shutter speed and an ISO of 100 I had a lot of camera shake. It took me a few photos to realize that my ISO not being automatic was the problem. Once I started changing that I notice a huge improvement.
Camera: Nikon D3200
Setting: A Mode
Focal Length 30mm
1/3...f4.5...ISO-800
This is a much better and actually clear shot of my dogs toy basket. It took me a while to find the correct ISO, once I did I think the picture looks good. I did notice once I started changing the ISO my shutter speed lowered on it's own.
@milaniet They stand out well. You could easily have dropped the ISO down to 100. If you leave it too high in bright light with wide apertures you run the risk of not having a fast enough shutter speed although that's rarely a problem where I am :)
I know I'm a little late on this...sorry. Hopefully someone will see it still. I took this shot with my 50mm manual focus lens. f/1.8 1/4s It's in focus as much as it can be but is still blurry either at the top or at the bottom depending on where I set my focus point. In this shot I set it in the middle but the top is still blurry. I wanted this object to fill the frame. So my question is if I want to take really clean macros...what is the best lens to use. This lens is an old nikon manual focus f/1.8 so I thought I might be able to get the shot but I couldn't. I've read a lot on true macro lens vs people who love their nifty fifty but I just still don't know which lens I'd be happy with. I also have a 18-55 f/3.5-5.5....thoughts or opinions??
@dianen That shot just needs more Depth of Field so stopping your lens down to f/11 or f/16 would probably help
On it's own, your 50mm f/1.8 won't focus anywhere near close enough to use as a macro lens. A true macro, as I'm sure you've already read, will focus all the way from infinity down to a 1:1 reproduction ratio, where the subject appears life size on the sensor/negative.
I have a 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor from 1984 which I sometimes use with a set of extension tubes from about the same time. They are essentially hollow tubes that fit between the camera body and the lens and allow you to focus closer, up to a bit over 1:1 if I use all three.Not as easy to use as a dedicated macro lens although modern ones can still retain the electrical connection between the lens and the camera, mine don't. Image quality is okay but a regular 50mm is designed to work well when focused relatively far away and not closed down to the very small apertures demanded by macro work. A dedicated macro won't be a s fast as your 50mm but it will perform well when focused in even at tiny apertures, it will actually stop down lower, to f/32, to help with Depth of Field.
50mm with set of tubes, a reversing ring or just some close up filters isn't too expensive if you just want to try it out.
Dedicated Macro lens is a specialised and expensive piece of kit and macro has more skills and techniques you'll have to learn to make the most of it.
Here's one I took using my old 50mm and a set of tubes:
Tweets ahoy!
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If your name isn't on the list and you'd like to be included just post a request in this discussion thread :)
By smaller aperture do you mean smaller F-Number ?
I've added your name to the list. You'll get a notification when each challenge is issued so please feel free to join in even if it's just to share your knowledge with those who are still learning :)
@yeshanghai I've added you to the list. You should get a notification when the next challenge is issued but you can still join in this one. You don't have to be on the list to take part :)
you'll get an idea all the things you can enter. They usually run for a week or so then start over. You'll be welcome to join in any of them. You don't have to apply or be invited. Just read any guidlines or rules, check the start and finish dates and join in :)
ISO 1600
60mm (macro lens)
f/3.5
1/125 sec
This was shot handheld and made the Explore page on Flickr today! YAY!
Learned something else new today - that when using a kit zoom lens, the aperture you set isn't the aperture you get if you change the zoom. I had set it at f3.5 (widest on this lens) but when I zoomed in closer it changed to f5.6 - shot at 1/1000 ISO 800 and 200mm. Will give it a try with my 50mm fixed lens next. Did like the blurring. Focus could still be crisper.
For instance the standard kit lens for entry level DSLRs is usually something like an 18-55 f/3.5-5.6. f/5.6 is the fastest f-stop at 55mm focal length, f/3.5 is the fastest at 18mm. Although the absolute aperture at 55mm is almost 10mm in diameter but at 18mm is a smidgen more than 5mm, half the diameter and a quarter the area. But still, since it is the f-stop ratio that is important, not the absolute measurement, we can shoot "faster" at 18 than at 55. The mathematical and physical reasoning of why this is so is for another day though.
Hope that helps to explain what is going on a little.
Pretty roses, by the way.
If you change your ISO to 400 that's a difference of two stops (100-200-400)
but because you are in Av the camera will adjust the shutter speed by two stops to compensate (1/15- 1/30-1/60) so the actual exposure will stay the same.
@frankhymus has a post a bit above this one explaining a bit about the aperture on a zoom lens
f2.8; 1/80; ISO125
Not so fussed with this shot, it looks a bit busy to me.
my 1st try, not really happy with it, don't care for the background, used my camera's flower or 'macro' mode to get the f/3/5 or widest f-stop i have on my camera since i am still working with my kit lens and knew i could only go to 5.6 so it was an f/3.5 with a shutter speed of 1/25 and the camera set the ISO at 800. very easy to hand hold.
went back and shot in aperture priority, used the table as my tripod, this time the camera chose the shutter speed: 1.3; wide open for my camera is f/5.6; i chose ISO 100. MUCH happier with this shot, like the background so much more, the blur in the window, the clarity of the center cat's head especially. like when things go the way i plan them, not that i am a control freak of anything. . .
ISO 250, f/2.8, 1/80s, 24mm
I happened to do some of my kitty in the backyard yesterday. I was also playing with the sun shining towards me for the warmth/softness.
f/2.5, ISO 200, 50mm 1/1000 (top) 1/2000 (bottom)
The first one I shot blind, so it's more focused the area between her eyes/ears
The settings you've included in your description don't match the settings in the exif data for the shot you posted.
The settings for the shot you've posted are actually f5 @1/400th ISO400
With the shot that turned out white, was it literally white with nothing to see or was it very light with just faint detail? An image like that is grossly over exposed, going from ISO 200 to ISO 400 isn't enough to cause that.
The shot you've posted today is definitely better than yesterday. It's a bit darker and has more contrast which helps make the tree look sharper, the aperture was the same as yesterday and it looks like you shot from about the same distance so Depth of Field is probably about the same. If you meant the feeling of depth in the image then yes, that's pretty nice.
If we compare the settings from yesterday, assuming similar light and today's being a little darker, then the settings look fine. I don't know how your white shot came about but just to be sure double check your are actually in Av and not Manual, check which metering pattern you are using, you don't want "Spot", and that your Exposure Compensation is at 0.
@sarahsthreads Works really well for this :)
@ithinkithunk There's nice light in both of those but I think I prefer the first one. If you look under her cheek at what she's lying on you can clearly see the area that's going to be in focus. For a shot like this it really needs to be the eye closest to the camera which I think you just got. Good for shooting blind though :)
Used the widest aperture I had - the 50mm - still not totally what I'd like but it did focus on the one rose well - think the blah background was my problem - shot at f1.8 at 1/200 on AV setting
I kind of thought there would be less in focus if I'm honest.
Shot at f3.4 for 1/40 sec hand held ISO 80 at 4mm in the shade. Liked this the best so far - like the detail in the lichen (including the bug)though I would have liked a little more blur behind it.
F2.2 at 1/320
I love using a shallow dof and look forward to learning more in this thread :)
f5.6, 1/160, ISO 4000
Exposure is just the term for how much light comes into the camera through the lens. Exposure on it's own is simply a combination of how much light the aperture lets in and how long the shutter lets that light in for. The actual amount of light needed for a correct exposure will then be determined by your ISO. High ISO is more sensitive so needs less light and low ISO is less sensitive so will need more. Hence the three settings Frank mentions.
You can post shots for the challenge to any of your albums or you could post them but use old dates. If you just want advice you could probably link them from somewhere else, Facebook or Fickr, something like that.
When the aperture was wide the shutter was faster & the ISO lower and it reversed when the aperture was narrow to let in more light.
At the widest aperture the edge of the garden bed, the piece of tin and the weeds all blurred out, where as you can see them distinctly if not totally clearly at the narrowest aperture.
I like the one on the left although a few flowers are blurred out, so if I was photographing this plant outside of a 'test' I would have gone a few f stops higher and shifted so that the tin didn't need to be blurred out.
F/6.3 1/8 ISO 800
F2.8 1/200 ISO 100
like this one quite a bit, came out as i had planned it. used spot metering due to the backlight.. also bumped up ISO to 800 because of same.
F/5.6;1/600; ISO 800 please let me know what you think and how i can improve on this.
like the bokeh in this one but, overall, like the above photo much more. just think it is more interesting, that it has more going for it. this one, to me, is just an a practice photo where the other one speaks to me. i don't know, what do you think? shot this one first, with the same set up with the metering. etc.
F/5.6, 1/100; ISO 800
got this one unexpectedly - the background is really blown out, i think, but still like the shot quite a bit. criticize, please!
If this is not what you are referring to above, right at the top of the thread, then I apologize for taking your time.
Back and front.
I've been trying to find the sweet spot on my 35mm lens. I believe I understand the concept but I still haven't managed a sharp focus (his eye lashes in this case). Any advice would be very welcomed.
Your lens is fine. Concentrate on technique rather than the notion that some lens setting is going to make an appreciable difference :)
Set up your shot indoors where it isn't very bright. Set your ISO to 100 and your mode to Av or aperture priority. I know that's not how it was being done last time but it amounts to the same thing. Set your aperture all the way down to F22. That means your ISO is at it's least sensitive so needs a lot of light and your aperture is as small as it can be so it isn't letting in a lot of light. To get the right exposure the camera will have to set a slow shutter speed so that enough light can get in. Now look and see what speed is selected. If it's more than say, eight seconds that should be ok, if not the attach your ND filter and check again. Make a note of the shutter speed.
To take the shot, put your camera on a tripod or sit it on something stable. Have someone stand where you are going to stand or just put something there to focus on.You might have to take your filter off to focus if you are using one. Once you have set your focus set your Auto Focus to manual, you don't want it to refocus when you come to take the shot. Take a test shot first to check your exposure. If everything is ok it's time to take a test shot with you in it. Use the Self Timer to take the shot. Self Timer usually takes about ten seconds before it takes the shot but there should be a little flashing light to let you know. Press the shutter then walk to where you focused on earlier.
Remember that note you made of the shutter speed ?
Whatever that number was divide it by two. When you hear the camera take the shot count out that number of seconds. To count in seconds you can say elephant. If your shutterspeed was ten seconds you want to count five seconds. one elephant, two elephant ... like that. When you get to five step to the side out of the shot. The shutter should stay open for a further five seconds before it closes.
Now look and see what you got. If you are too clear try again but don't wait as long and if you aren't clear enough wait a bit longer. If you want to leave a trail move slowly out of shot hth :)
A wide aperture, not only allows blurred backgrounds. It is also useful for night or low light photography. In my case, I selected the minimum aperture of my lens f:2.8, that gave me almost 2/3 EV more light than conventional objective. If we add a high ISO setting from 1600 to 3200, this allowed to me to take the picture handheld, shooting at 1/70s, without need of a tripod or expending much time on a "unconfortable" zone. Finally, due the narrow depth of field of f:2.8, I chose to focus on a distant object and leaving the camera focused at infinity.
f2.8; 1/250; ISO100
aperture priority = 3.5 (macro lens: 30mm focal length)
spot metering
auto ISO = 500
exposure = 1/125
white balance = manual
Not sure how to critique this one. Sharp focus on the front and a fairly narrow depth of field. A little bokeh in back. f/5.6 was as wide as my lens would allow. The camera chose 1/20 shutter and ISO-400. Had a hard time getting the background to fade. Maybe I had too much light on the front and not enough behind? Or maybe just need a macro lens for this type of shot?
today's shot i am quite happy with, looking for comments please? sorry, realized i had not included the shot data: F/ 5.6, as wide as i can go, ISO 100, 34 mm focal length, matrix metering.
@myhrhelper He really never stops moving unless he's asleep at which point he moves slower. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing darts instead of taking pictures.
@iqscotland Ha! Really did think some lens setting was off or I needed a new one. I'll focus on my technique instead.
Thanks again!
Didn't have my macro lens but did have the camera set to Av
f 5.6 ISO 800 1/20 300mm
Will have another go later with my macro lens
While the "hyperfocal distance" http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/02/08/how-to-calculate-hyperfocal-distance-free-photography-cheat-sheet/ is usually concerned with making sure what you want is in the field of focus, landscapes especially, the other side of it can assure that the background is out-of-focus.
The field usually extends 1/3 towards the camera and 2/3 behind the main point of focus of the lens/camera. It can also help to explain why the DoF with true macro focus is so narrow even at relatively narrow apertures; you are so close to the subject that 2/3 behind is also a very short distance.
Your camera might have overexposed a little on this one, making the darker front tones wash out some? Remember the +/- Exposure Compensation button, especially useful shooting in Av or A (aperture priority) mode to drop the shutter from what the camera might be (erroneously) metering. Then there might not have been so much work in post to achieve the contrast you wanted. Great idea though. Nicely seen.
F 1.4, S\S 1/20, Iso 100, 50mm.
I had a nightmare with exposure this week as everything was too dark in Av. Picked up a comment made to someone else and looked in my Dummies book under evaluative metering. Found that I had not set it back to 0! I focus on the silver on the bottle in this image as using the general focus didn't seem to give a sharp enough focus on the front objects.
F2, 1/80, Iso 1250, 50mm.
I was surprised that the Iso was so high, had it set on auto for this. However the light wasn't good. I am posting another shot the same but with a 135mm lens to compare.
F5.6, 1/80, Iso 640, 135mm. Took the same photo as previous with 135mm lens to see the difference. I thought that the shutter speeds would have been faster with the wide apertures but it wasn't good light in the room so I guess that was why. Hoping for better weather to try some outdoor garden shots.
*Camera: Canon 700D*
1st Photo f/3.5
- ISO was set to Auto, but it changed to 100
- 1/1000 sec
- Handheld
- Lens Stabliser is on
- Environment: Outside, Cloudy
2nd Photo f/ 5.6
- ISO was set to Auto, but it changed to 100
- 1/200 sec
- Handheld
- Lens Stabliser is on
- Environment: Outside, Cloudy
Verdict: I choose the lowest f/no setting that my camera allowed me. I took a picture of the flowers on 18mm focal pt , but once I got closer to the flower (55mm) to get a closer capture, my f/no changed to 5.6 which was the lowest setting at that particular focal point and the shutter speed decreased. WHY does the f/n changes when I change the focal point on my lens? Also why cant I get any lower than f/3.5 sometimes f/5.6 is my lowest?
Both pictures look sharp to me, that I was focusing on and the background not as sharp.
Apertures is still completely foreign to me that is why I rarely use it. The more I try to wrap my head around it, the more confusing it is. I will keep practising. Thanks for your help.
Some zooms (more expensive usually) have a constant "widest" aperture, a common such type is the much prized 70-200 f/2.8 series. The constant aperture is usually a "fast" one, at the low number end.
Hope that clears it up for you.
I love the color of the flowers you shot.
I'm hoping to get in one more photo before the end of the challenge.
For the background blur as @frankhymus describes:
If the distance from you to your subject is, again just as an example, 3 metres then you would want the distance from the subject to the nearest part of the background to be at least three times that.
Don't concern yourself too much with the end date for the challenge, it's only because another one is starting, you can carry on posting in this one but try to tag someone so we don't miss you :)
I'm not very happy with the focus on this. I would liked the centre burr to be clearer. I will try to go out and do better if only it would stop raining!
Hand held, you should always strive for a shutter at least as fast as 1/focal-length, even with image stabilization on your lens.
ISO 100, SS - 1/5, F/10, focal length 140 This has been cropped.
I'm satisfied with the exposure. I think it's sharp.Although cropped, I did not process it in any other way. I did this on a tripod, because one of my hands is bandaged up and I can't hand hold the camera easily. I made some more shots at different apertures, larger and smaller. The one take at f/5.6 (the largest aperture I could use with this lens) was too dark at ISO 100 (manually set). I did notice the smaller the aperture the faster the shutter speed.
Taken with my 50 mm lens, 1/3 sec, f1.8, ISO 100 - using aperature priority, sooc. I took several shots and they all turned out okay. My ISO doesn't change automatically. It seemed that the speed changed slightly depending on angle and distance I took the shot from.
Aperture - 5.6
ISO - 640
Exposure - 10/1600
I am much happier with this shot and surprised that it came out as well as it did as this is a climbing plant and close to the wall. I thought I might have more trouble separating the flower from the background if that makes sense! I would be really grateful for your comments on this one.
Forgot to add the vital statistics. 1/80 sec at f4.5. ISO on auto 400. It is very overcast today and quite shady by the wall. Nikor 50mm lens
Did you mean you forgot to reset your exposure compensation? I am very guilty of that :)
Was it only the ISO you manually ?
I really have enjoyed this week with the wide aperture - was surprised at how high the shutter speed went (1/4000) - understood the ISO I guess at 400 because there wasn't much light in the woods there - but however it figured it out when I set the f2 aperture I liked the blurring of the background which definitely wasn't interesting!
I have been away from home the last couple of weeks and I only packed one lens, so the widest aperture I could use was f/5.6. Both shots were shot at 85mm. The shot on the left was shot at f/5.6 and the one on the right was shot at f/22. Because of the bright conditions the camera chose for the shot on the right ISO 360 and shutter speed 1/125, but because of the combination of bright conditions and wide aperture the camera tried to compensate in the shot on the left by putting the ISO at 100 but then upping the shutter speed to 1/640.
Camera: Nikon D3200
Setting: A Mode
Focal Length 40mm
6 sec...f5.3...ISO-100
This is one of the first photos I took for this challenge. As you can see with a 6 sec shutter speed and an ISO of 100 I had a lot of camera shake. It took me a few photos to realize that my ISO not being automatic was the problem. Once I started changing that I notice a huge improvement.
Second photo in next post.
Camera: Nikon D3200
Setting: A Mode
Focal Length 30mm
1/3...f4.5...ISO-800
This is a much better and actually clear shot of my dogs toy basket. It took me a while to find the correct ISO, once I did I think the picture looks good. I did notice once I started changing the ISO my shutter speed lowered on it's own.
You can carry on posting in this discussion but it would be best if you tag someone so we know to check in :)
Thank you for any help/critique!
On it's own, your 50mm f/1.8 won't focus anywhere near close enough to use as a macro lens. A true macro, as I'm sure you've already read, will focus all the way from infinity down to a 1:1 reproduction ratio, where the subject appears life size on the sensor/negative.
I have a 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor from 1984 which I sometimes use with a set of extension tubes from about the same time. They are essentially hollow tubes that fit between the camera body and the lens and allow you to focus closer, up to a bit over 1:1 if I use all three.Not as easy to use as a dedicated macro lens although modern ones can still retain the electrical connection between the lens and the camera, mine don't. Image quality is okay but a regular 50mm is designed to work well when focused relatively far away and not closed down to the very small apertures demanded by macro work. A dedicated macro won't be a s fast as your 50mm but it will perform well when focused in even at tiny apertures, it will actually stop down lower, to f/32, to help with Depth of Field.
50mm with set of tubes, a reversing ring or just some close up filters isn't too expensive if you just want to try it out.
Dedicated Macro lens is a specialised and expensive piece of kit and macro has more skills and techniques you'll have to learn to make the most of it.
Here's one I took using my old 50mm and a set of tubes:
http://365project.org/iqscotland/365/2012-03-18