Photography 101 - Q&A is welcomed.

  knibitz said:

It's moreso that their camera has one or two slots and they have a choice between however many billion JPG photos or 1K RAW photos. They'd rather have their billion jpg, because they don't understand how to properly abuse the editing abilities of RAW.

 

 

This is where I'm at-- I bought myself my first DSLR, but haven't gotten to really using RAW yet. I switched to it from JPG once on the camera, then got nervous about memory card space, and didn't really know how to edit them, and switched it off. Do you have any suggestions for learning moree about RAW editing?

  zakka said:

  knibitz said:

It's moreso that their camera has one or two slots and they have a choice between however many billion JPG photos or 1K RAW photos. They'd rather have their billion jpg, because they don't understand how to properly abuse the editing abilities of RAW.

 

 

This is where I'm at-- I bought myself my first DSLR, but haven't gotten to really using RAW yet. I switched to it from JPG once on the camera, then got nervous about memory card space, and didn't really know how to edit them, and switched it off. Do you have any suggestions for learning moree about RAW editing?

 

Depending on the camera, try the RAW editing/conversion software it came with, and/or check out the Post-Processing thread here in the Photography section. There's some nice information about a few kinds of software in there.

Playing with the camera while watering my plants yesterday:

 

Backlit Orchid by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

Backlit Orchid by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

I got to use the single point focus, and center-balanced light metering. Nifty! More on my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8142868@N02/

  PrettyCranium said:

Playing with the camera while watering my plants yesterday:

 

Backlit Orchid by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

Backlit Orchid by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

I got to use the single point focus, and center-balanced light metering. Nifty! More on my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8142868@N02/

Now you just need a macro lens. Oh wait-

Yup, I need a telephoto lens, macro lens and a portrait lens. The camera itself was a gateway drug.

 

Any comments about the shots?

Very nice photos. Yes, buying photo gear could be another addiction

Quite shallow DOF, so now You can try to check the correlation between the F-stop and DOF, to have the needed part of picture in focus.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

 

Of course, this will lead to experiments with shutter and ISO speed and may lead to buying a tripod, light sources, reflectors...

  Kumi said:

Very nice photos. Yes, buying photo gear could be another addiction

Quite shallow DOF, so now You can try to check the correlation between the F-stop and DOF, to have the needed part of picture in focus.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

 

Of course, this will lead to experiments with shutter and ISO speed and may lead to buying a tripod, light sources, reflectors...

I suggest not to get into that much detail. Experimenting with light is only after you are comfortable with your camera.

New information to add regarding Sony's SLT models.

 

With the introduction of Sony's first Full Frame SLT model, the SLT-A99, comes the introduction of the first SLR/SLT camera to possess a dual-sensor Phase Detection system. The primary PDAF sensor is the same 19 point/11 cross type sensor as the A77 (one of the fastest focusing sensors on the market) with a secondary 102 point "assist" sensor array directly on the image sensor. The SLT-A99 utilizes both of these autofocus sensor arrays simultaneously for a special focusing mode known as "Continuous Focus, Depth Map Assist" or "AF-D Mode" to allow for even faster auto-focus performance. That, along with the addition of an in-camera focus distance limiter, allows the photographer to set the range in which the auto-focus will function, thereby speeding things up even further. One good example of the use of the function limiter is of attempting to photograph a subject on the other side of a fence, simply set the minimum focus distance farther than the fence, and the camera will not attempt to focus on the fence.

 

Note: The dual-array PDAF system of the A99 is not possible without Sony's SLT design. Currently, due to the dual-array PDAF system and AF-D modes being new technology, AF-D mode supports the use of a limited number of lenses, with further lens support being added in firmware updates.

 

 

I currently own 2 of the AF-D supported lenses (Sony 50mm f/1.4 and 70-400mm f/4-5.6G), with another of my lenses (85mm f/1.4ZA) slated to be added in the first firmware update. So far, AF-D mode is fantastic for tracking moving objects, and the in-body focus limiter is absolutely amazing. The A99's shutter is also amazingly quiet, making less noise than the A77, and far less noise than any traditional SLR. I'm currently adjusting to the considerably more shallow depth of field that Full Frame provides over APS-C. All this said, I'm head-over-heels in love with my A99.