OT: Photography

[UConnSwag11]

Who here knows anything about photography? I'm planning a trip out west and want to get a good camera for the landscapes and to capture the stars and milky way. Any recommendations on cameras? or stores to go to? Thanks.

 

[Fishy]

The camera isn't terribly important - a budget DSLR and a couple of basic lenses will take terrific pictures.

Nikon's fine, Sony's fine, Olympus is fine, Canon is fine, etc. I have a Canon 7D II and it's fine. The only reason I picked it over anything else is that I have a bunch of lenses and am locked into Canon. I don't know that I recommend it over any other manufacturer. (The one thing that has impressed me, though, is some of the dirt-cheap, optically-terrific lenses Canon has been putting out.)

Whatever you get....it's far better to give a cheap POS camera to someone who can use it than it is to give a top-of-the-line camera to someone who can't. Take a continuing ed class, take an online course, read a few photography books, whatever - learn how to take a picture.

 

[UConnSwag11]

The camera isn't terribly important - a budget DSLR and a couple of basic lenses will take terrific pictures.

Nikon's fine, Sony's fine, Olympus is fine, Canon is fine, etc. I have a Canon 7D II and it's fine. The only reason I picked it over anything else is that I have a bunch of lenses and am locked into Canon. I don't know that I recommend it over any other manufacturer. (The one thing that has impressed me, though, is some of the dirt-cheap, optically-terrific lenses Canon has been putting out.)

Whatever you get....it's far better to give a cheap POS camera to someone who can use it than it is to give a top-of-the-line camera to someone who can't. Take a continuing ed class, take an online course, read a few photography books, whatever - learn how to take a picture.

thanks, will do.

 

[Excalibur]

Milford Photo runs some very good beginner DSLR classes from time to time. If you're going to get a DSLR, learn to shoot it in manual mode.

If you do learn to shoot in manual and want to shoot landscapes, especially sunrises/sunsets, get yourself a decent tripod and a remote cable release.

If you're not going to take the time to learn it, you're probably better off with one of the mirrorless systems from Sony, Samsung, or Nikon.

 

[jleves]

A few things I can add to Fishy's post - There is a huge difference between taking photos of scenery and astrophotography. Being out in a dark sky looking at things is amazing - getting good photos of what you can see with naked eye is really difficult.

If you seriously want to learn about and invest the time and research to use SLRs, then go ahead and get a good entry level model. Costco wouldn't be a bad place if you've done your research. If you don't have the time to do the research, find a really good camera shop near you and pay a small premium over Internet prices to get good advice and play with different models. If you've done the research and are sure you know what you want, there's no better Internet resource than BHPhotovideo.com. You could probably find things a few bucks cheaper, but not usually and you'll never reach the amount of stock they have. Avoid anyplace online that is 20 or 30% cheaper. They will try to upsell you on accessories you don't need and if you don't want them your order will be suddenly back ordered, etc. They will never actually ship you things at a loss. They are just a scam.

If you decide to go with an SLR, find some money in your budget to get a really good point and shoot with a super zoom lens. They take photos that are 95 to 98% as good as a well implemented SLR and often take things better than a poorly executed SLR shot. More importantly, you can pick it up and take a shot in seconds instead of thinking about what lens you need or changing from one kind of shot to another. I've taken several photo classes in high school and college and can work my way around the settings to get a good SLR shot, but most of the time, my wife has picked up her super zoom point and shoot and got the shot I have missed because I'm changing lenses or just too lazy to get the SLR setup. The shot you get with a simple point and shoot is always better than the one you missed messing around with an SLR.

No matter which one you are going to use, a couple accessories that are always handy are a decent portable tripod - hugely important if you try to take sky shots, a UV filter - if for nothing else to protect the lens and a polarized filter if you're shooting anything were you might get reflections (like off the glass of the car you're driving in when you see something you really want to shoot without stopping). My wife and I both shot hundreds of amazing shots on our honeymoon from a helicopter in Kauai and every one of them you can see the reflection of our legs from the window. A polarizing filter would have fixed that. A remote shutter release (either physical or remote) is also a good accessory again particularly important for night shots.

Last piece of advice, if you're really interested in looking at the sky, get a decent set of binoculars with 8x or 10x magnification and as big an aperture that you can afford. If they have a mount for a monopod you'll be even happier and can probably extend to 12 to 16x magnification.

 

[Fishy]

Ignore jleves.

I've seen some of his pictures and I swear he suffers from palsy and wraps his lenses in cheesecloth.

 

[CTBasketball]

CTBasketball is travelling to Colorado for spring break and wants to take a photograph of top of a mountain holding a sign saying a Boneyard slogan, or a traditional Syracuse sucks sign.

 

[jleves]

Ignore jleves.

I've seen some of his pictures and I swear he suffers from palsy and wraps his lenses in cheesecloth.

I had to wrap it in cheesecloth, I didn't have a polararararizing lens. Sorrorrorry the palsy kicked in.

 

[Gurleyman]

CTBasketball is travelling to Colorado for spring break and wants to take a photograph of top of a mountain holding a sign saying a Boneyard slogan, or a traditional Syracuse sucks sign.

Funny you say that - I climbed Mt. Whitney in July and had a piece of UConn 4x champion paraphernalia to take up there and shoot a picture, along with a couple other things. About 1.5 miles from the summit is a place where the trail intersects with the John Muir trail, and lots of people traditionally leave their backpacks there for the final push. I thought "great idea!" (just took water and some of my remaining food) and was halfway done with the final stretch and realized I'd ruined my plans. There was zero chance of doubling back and still making it, so those photos remain in my imagination, until next time.

 

[jleves]

One last thought about scenery vs sky shots. The more light you have, the easier it is to take a shot (to a point, I don't suggest a telephoto shot of the sun). There's usually plenty of light to take a scenery shot and you can decide what f-stop works best for your photo (if you don't know what f-stop or aperture means, learn those before you decide to invest in any SLR). There is so much less light to work with for a sky shot it really limits your options and demands much more precision and understanding of the settings and limits of your camera and even your tripod or release.

 

[CTBasketball]

Funny you say that - I climbed Mt. Whitney in July and had a piece of UConn 4x champion paraphernalia to take up there and shoot a picture, along with a couple other things. About 1.5 miles from the summit is a place where the trail intersects with the John Muir trail, and lots of people traditionally leave their backpacks there for the final push. I thought "great idea!" (just took water and some of my remaining food) and was halfway done with the final stretch and realized I'd ruined my plans. There was zero chance of doubling back and still making it, so those photos remain in my imagination, until next time.

I'm open to ideas for the sign!

 

[Walker11]

I'm open to ideas for the sign!

Your sign should obviously be pranksters poster of Senhor.

 

[CL82]

Who here knows anything about photography? I'm planning a trip out west and want to get a good camera for the landscapes and to capture the stars and milky way. Any recommendations on cameras? or stores to go to? Thanks.

What's a really good camera to you? Do you want to make aperture and shutter speed decisions and have the ability to swap out lenses for specific situations? If so, the advice above is great. It will become second nature to you once you practice a bit. You definitely take better pictures and photography will be more fun for you.

If you just want a camera that give you some flexibility in setting aperture and shutter speed, has decent telephoto capability and decent mega pixels, Best Buy has a Cannon Power Shot SX520 with 16MP, 42x optical zoom (digital zoom degrades the pictures) and 1080p video for $199. You won't have as much control and you can't swap out the lenses, but it will do a lot for you and is a big jump up from the standard point and shoot camera.

 

[Fishy]

Your sign should obviously be pranksters poster of Senhor.

"Connecticut man arrested for holding photo of testicles outside of mountain-top convent."

 

[Gurleyman]

I'm open to ideas for the sign!

As tempting as it is, I wouldn't waste time with fruit-based signage. You'll be on top of something, and that's not exactly Syracuse territory. Their signs really should really only make it to the midway point, where they should be ditched before they get out of their element. UConn stuff, naturally, is perfect for the highest altitudes, having been up to the top on multiple occasions. UConn stuff is worn and endorsed by Sherpas. And our mascot competes in sled races across Alaska, whereas theirs dies when there's a little frost in Florida.

But if you're tackling a 14'er (serious hike) you provably know it has to be something small. Only so much room in the pack. I actually took a 4x champion hat UConn-wise, which I wore (at least until I switched to a bucket hat at high altitude). I suppose a sign saying "Mountaintops Are UConn Territory" has a good ring/pun to it.

 

[Deepster]

A common oversight is actually being able to frame and take a nice picture, regardless of your camera. "It's not the arrows, it's the indian". There are really basic lessons you can quickly learn (keeping your horizon straight and not tilted is a hugely common error) that will help you learn to take nice shots with any camera. This is especially true with all the apps and technology out there to help with your brightness, exposure and contrast after the fact. When it was a one shot deal with 35 mm film back in the day, this was even more integral. Now, I think if you learn some of the basics of picture taking, it'll help much more than a fancy camera for a beginner.

 

[Dove]

Who here knows anything about photography? I'm planning a trip out west and want to get a good camera for the landscapes and to capture the stars and milky way. Any recommendations on cameras? or stores to go to? Thanks.

Before I really knew jack about photography I took a point and shoot Fujifilm Finepix to Colorado and took great pictures. This was two summers ago and the camera was my work camera (don't tell the boss).

I now own a Canon T1i and am learning the basics and right now live in manual mode. Still hittin' and missin' but I feel more like a pro kinda.

Not sure how to photograph the stars and milky way yet without buying scope time at Palomar Observatory.

 

[Penfield]

Don't rule out the mirror less cameras as they are starting to catch up to the full DSLRs in quality. I am an Olympus owner and I would recommend looking into the new Sony A7, A7R, or A7 II. Full frame cameras that seem to do a pretty comparable job even in low light. Here is an article comparing to Nikon and Canon for night time shooting. The thing I like about mirrorless cameras is the size. I am not a professional and wont pretend to be so there are certain features I can live without. These cameras have nearly all the functionality and image quality as full DSLRs but in a much smaller package. For traveling or back packing this is great, and that is why I chose to go mirrorless. On top of that the lenses are usually a bit cheaper. I believe Canon is working on their own mirrorless camera so this may be the trend going forward. The Olympus OM-D E-M1 is pretty cool too, but I feel like Sony is a step ahead of them right now.

As everyone else has said before me the key is doing your research and learning how to take a picture. Learn as much as you can before you go so you don't look back, and regret the opportunity. Make sure to practice before you go out there. You might only get one great night to shoot out under the stars.

 

[pnow15]

Unless you're a camera freak, I suggest you worry less about keeping the memory on film and more about creating memories in your brain.
Don't become a slave to your camera. Don't make your enjoyment of a spot secondary to capturing it on film. Think of it like a beautiful woman. Would you rather spend your time being with the woman or taking a picture of her?

 

[Excalibur]

Not sure how to photograph the stars and milky way yet without buying scope time at Palomar Observatory.

Get away from light pollution
Use the widest angle possible
Widest aperture possible (f/2.8 if you have it)
Highest usable ISO (3200 or 6400)
30 second exposure
Tungsten white balance

 

[Catsailor]

I've been shooting professionally and teaching photography for over 30 years. You've received some good advice here. The decision regarding what's best to buy is certainly subjective. Ask 10 peeps you'll probably get 10 answers. One things certain it all depends on what you what to use it for and how critical you are evaluating thew results. DSLR provides greatest flexibility and highest potential quality. Yes you have to learn how to use it but that goes for anything worthwhile. You had to learn to drive your car and manages that, more or less. Smaller cameras are a tradeoff quality/flexibility for portability and convenience.

Taking a photo class before you buy might be a great way to learn what features are important to you.
There are great online resources to learn and compare eg: www.dpreview.com and www.luminous- landscape.com and others.

If you are in CT and near Far Fetched County I teach class at NCC (first class tonight) in in my studio (starts next week). Otherwise ck out a Community College in your area.

If you go for DSLR I would strongly recommend Canon or Nikon as they are the leaders in the industry, offer the greatest variety of lenses and command highest resale when you want to upgrade.

Don't get sucked into the megapixel marketing scam....# of megapix is overstated and misleading rather its the quality of the pixels, sensor size and quality that are more important. I show students a comparison of12x18 prints made with a 4MP and 12MP. Most cant tell the difference and most would not need to enlarge prints much larger if at all.

If budget permits don't buy kit rather buy body you want with the best lenses you can afford. You'll keep lenses a lot longer than the body since camera body technology improves at a faster rate by far.

You should protect lenses but UV, mentioned above, is a carry over from film and not necessary with DSLR that correct UV digitally with WB. NC or neutral color filter is what you want....it's basically coated optical quality glass.

A "good tripod and head" is a must for landscape photography....caution "good" is not cheap. A cheap tripod is not worth $hi* IMO cause it will loosen up and cease to function with modest use. Regardless of what you spend get one where the head can be removed from the legs for relacement due to breakage or upgrade. Also getting correct tripod height is important. Get one that places viewfinder at eye level with out raising center column or bending over...your back will thank you.

Your choice of remote exposure release will depend on your camera selection. I prefer a simple cable release (w/o timer) you may consider timer depending on what you want to accomplish. Note some cameras won't accept cable release and use IR trigger instead.

Consider full frame sensor which has quality advantages for landscape photographers and those needing the option of large print. Both Canon and Nikon have good choices in the prosumer range.

Also full frame cameras eliminates crop factor which is important consideration in lens selection for landscapes which wide angles dominate.

I also get great use out of my iPhone 6+ it just fulfills a different purpose. And I am severely limited in enlargement size...looks cool on the LCD or online though.

 

[Catsailor]

Unless you're a camera freak, I suggest you worry less about keeping the memory on film and more about creating memories in your brain.
Don't become a slave to your camera. Don't make your enjoyment of a spot secondary to capturing it on film. Think of it like a beautiful woman. Would you rather spend your time being with the woman or taking a picture of her?

Like some of your BB posts but this one is utter BS. IT may work for you but not for everybody.
I love looking at images of my beautiful wife and kids through the years.
And BTW one thing does not negate the other.

 

[Catsailor]

A common oversight is actually being able to frame and take a nice picture, regardless of your camera. "It's not the arrows, it's the indian". There are really basic lessons you can quickly learn (keeping your horizon straight and not tilted is a hugely common error) that will help you learn to take nice shots with any camera. This is especially true with all the apps and technology out there to help with your brightness, exposure and contrast after the fact. When it was a one shot deal with 35 mm film back in the day, this was even more integral. Now, I think if you learn some of the basics of picture taking, it'll help much more than a fancy camera for a beginner.

Sorry this is too simplistic. It depends on what you want to accomplish. You select the tool to match the job. BTW you can easily straighten tilted horizon line in post and it's less time consuming if you don't have to. Oh yeah something to keep in mind: "one man's ceiling is another man's floor."

 

[ctchamps]

Funny you say that - I climbed Mt. Whitney in July and had a piece of UConn 4x champion paraphernalia to take up there and shoot a picture, along with a couple other things. About 1.5 miles from the summit is a place where the trail intersects with the John Muir trail, and lots of people traditionally leave their backpacks there for the final push. I thought "great idea!" (just took water and some of my remaining food) and was halfway done with the final stretch and realized I'd ruined my plans. There was zero chance of doubling back and still making it, so those photos remain in my imagination, until next time.

And here I thought you bleed blue and white through and through. I would have taken the championship paraphernalia and forgotten the food and water.

 

[boba]

Milford Photo runs some very good beginner DSLR classes from time to time. If you're going to get a DSLR, learn to shoot it in manual mode.

If you do learn to shoot in manual and want to shoot landscapes, especially sunrises/sunsets, get yourself a decent tripod and a remote cable release.

If you're not going to take the time to learn it, you're probably better off with one of the mirrorless systems from Sony, Samsung, or Nikon.

You don't need a cable release if the camera has a self-timer.
You do want a decent tripod, preferably a Benbo (Google it) if you are going to be setting up outdoors where I think the Milky Way resides. And if you're taking pictures of food, you definitely want a Benbo.
Milford Camera is pretty good too.