chezzyr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 It is amazing how many people feel they "have" to go out and get the latest and greatest model to take good pictures. Sometimes all it takes is experimenting with other lenses, practice and improving your own technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirra_Bomber_Zeus Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 It is amazing how many people feel they "have" to go out and get the latest and greatest modelto take good pictures. Sometimes all it takes is experimenting with other lenses, practice and improving your own technique. That is true - I know that sometimes I look at someones photos and go 'wow they are awesome' what camera do you use? and its the same as mine - or a model down. Then I have to go 'oh, mine should be that good - no excuse!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Yep, dol can be quite entertaining - as far as lens/camera 'envy' goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Anyway, in what way is the 400d letting you down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocco Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 It is amazing how many people feel they "have" to go out and get the latest and greatest modelto take good pictures. Sometimes all it takes is experimenting with other lenses, practice and improving your own technique. That is true - I know that sometimes I look at someones photos and go 'wow they are awesome' what camera do you use? and its the same as mine - or a model down. Then I have to go 'oh, mine should be that good - no excuse!' I have to agree with this. I see peoples work and think I need to upgrade all the time. But reality is it's not my gear it's me. Look through flickr and then check out peoples cameras. Some of the most amazing work on that site is done with point and shoots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Heck I must be going through a mid life crisis, feeling I want to "downgrade" and get a good point n shoot because I am sick of lugging heavy gear around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I think it just comes down to what the person needs in a camera. I have seen lots of reviews that are all "megapixels are useless", but for *me* they are not, as I am limited in how close I can get (short of going bankrupt by paying for a 600mm) and I like to be able to crop a lot if I choose to. I would upgrade just for larger files! For others that is a complete waste of money. Some people said the screen alone was worth the upgrade whereas I thought.....it's good, but so what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Is it true that good lenses are much more important than the actual camera body? YES. Glass is king. Good glass will last forever and be WOW. Great glass on a mediocre body will give you better results, usually. NO. A crappy body will limit your options so much that no matter what glass you have you won't be able to get the results you want. MAYBE. Depends on what you like to shoot and what your needs are. And great photographers can create images with impact with a disposable so some of it depends on how hard you are willing to work for those images! I'm lazy, so I buy the best I can afford from the options that will suit my needs as it makes my job easier You have the 400D now ... what is it not giving you that you feel you need? There are two things that body would make me know I needed to upgrade: high ISO performance and AF accuracy and speed. But if you don't need the higher ISO capabilities and if you feel you are getting the shots you want in focus (and better glass will also help with this - look for a fast lens like 1.4, 1.8, 2.8 etc), then stick with your body and spend on more glass. Or, go to the 40D and get more glass, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubiton Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) I wouldnt call ANY of the Canon range digital SLRs 'crappy'. Some of the lower models DO less than the higher ones or arent as weatherproof but really does that matter unless you do go and stand in the rain or need the special things that some do. Megapixels are not the be all and end all of photo taking no matter what the advertisers say. I only upgraded from my 10D to the 40D because the 10D was starting to have problems but I held out for the 40D version and glad I did. Now that the 10D has mega problems and cannot be relied upon the 350D will be my secondary rug & headshot camera at big race events. In fact one of my 350D shots was sold for commercial use a couple of weeks back. I prefer using the 40D if I can get the shot with the bigger lens (talking posed shots) but thats just what Im used to - when the 10D broke and I got the 350D and did one of the biggest horse events and the biggest racing event of the year it did a fantastic job. If the current camera is starting to have issues then its time to upgrade not just becuase there is a newer version out. At the weekend I was standing alongside someone with a smaller lens for a brief time - they talked about the 100-400mm lens I had but they had the one I use for the races. Just as good in the particular situation that was being photographed at the time. Edited April 9, 2009 by rubiton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirra_Bomber_Zeus Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 Anyway, in what way is the 400d letting you down? Well, I guess in all honesty its not really Its more likely to be my skills as opposed to my camera Lots of my shots end up looking a bit 'muddy' and not as sharp as Id like - also the colour doesnt seem as 'bright' as it should be. Some are fine though. I might need to experiment a bit more with some of the lenses I have - I tend to just use the same one all the time, even though I own 4 of them. I use a 60mm macro one so I can get close up photos of the dogs but maybe Id be better off using something else. It seems that I have great difficulty getting enough light to get a fast shutter speed going - even outside unless it is ultra sunny so I have to keep putting my ISO up....... So maybe its me not the camera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I bought a 30D because my 70-200 felt like it was going to snap off my 350D. I love the 30D because of its wider screen and it feels solid. I know some people think it's heavy but I don't find it heavy at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 KBZ: it could be a number of things...lens....photographer error....flat light....contrast/brightness issues (this kind of thing can be tweaked in an image editing program afterwards). You might see images from others that make your jaw drop, but how do you know they havent been made to look a certain way in an image editing program such as photoshop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 FWIW in case anyone thought I was saying a certain model was "crappy", I wasn't. I was making a general point Can you post an example or three of what you are seeing with the muddy colours? It could be your exposure, it could be your processing, it could be something else. Examples will help us troubleshoot. Also, what are you doing when you process and are you shooting RAW or jpeg? Focus being soft could be a whole host of things: - slow shutter - simply missing focus due to lack of contrast in your subject - missing focus due to not having your technique down yet - your lens could be off (there are lens focus test charts on the web that you can download and test your lens) - camera shake due to slow shutter and/or your technique The 60mm is a great lens. If you are shooting wide open (2.8 ... or really anything under about 7.1) you have a very narrow depth of field (the bits in sharp focus) so you could simply be missing the sweet focus spot with a narrow DOF. The closer you are to your subject with this lens, the tougher it is to get a crisp shot when you are shooting wide open. What mode are you shooting? Tv, Av, M, P, Green box? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerfly Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 KJA, without hijacking what is TV and Av for ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Ooh ooh ooh, pick me, pick me! TV is Shutter prioriy and AV is Aperture priority. Use TV if you want to maintain a constant shutter speed and let the camera determine the aperture [if you want 1/1000 to freeze fast moving Staffys!]. Use AV for the opposite [like setting it at f2.8 for creamy bokeh!]. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirra_Bomber_Zeus Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) FWIW in case anyone thought I was saying a certain model was "crappy", I wasn't. I was making a general point Can you post an example or three of what you are seeing with the muddy colours? It could be your exposure, it could be your processing, it could be something else. Examples will help us troubleshoot. Also, what are you doing when you process and are you shooting RAW or jpeg? Focus being soft could be a whole host of things: - slow shutter - simply missing focus due to lack of contrast in your subject - missing focus due to not having your technique down yet - your lens could be off (there are lens focus test charts on the web that you can download and test your lens) - camera shake due to slow shutter and/or your technique The 60mm is a great lens. If you are shooting wide open (2.8 ... or really anything under about 7.1) you have a very narrow depth of field (the bits in sharp focus) so you could simply be missing the sweet focus spot with a narrow DOF. The closer you are to your subject with this lens, the tougher it is to get a crisp shot when you are shooting wide open. What mode are you shooting? Tv, Av, M, P, Green box? Thanks I have never shot in RAW and I dont think I know how to do it I am usually pretty close to the subject with that lens - maybe that is making a difference. I usually use AV mode Heres some examples of shots: NOT at all a nice photo but an example of how I think the colours dont look too nice. This was taken on a sunny day under the patio and this is fuzzy - but that could be just me doing something wrong! But I think this one is ok? Edited April 9, 2009 by Kirra_Bomber_Zeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Huh??? The images look ok to me (rubs eyes and rubs them again). The middle one shows blur - I think because the pup is moving?? (the ladder or whatever the object is in the bottom corner is pretty clear) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Curious as to how your own monitor is set up (calibrated) if you think the pictures arent good re the colours etc because to me they look pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirra_Bomber_Zeus Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 Huh??? The images look ok to me (rubs eyes and rubs them again).The middle one shows blur - I think because the pup is moving?? (the ladder or whatever the object is in the bottom corner is pretty clear) Oh, really? So maybe it really is me!? Curious as to how your own monitor is set up (calibrated) if you think the picturesarent good re the colours etc because to me they look pretty good. I never thought of that..... I just turned the brightness up on my screen for a start off - I usually have it turned down quite a bit because it hurts my eyes... Now Im going back looking at my pics to see! How do I find out if my monitor is calibrated properly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezzyr Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) Monitor colour is a whole other issue LOL. Do you have another screen/computer you can view these images on, if not tonight maybe over the weekend? You may be surprised how different images can look on different computers! Edited April 9, 2009 by chezzyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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