Beginner Help

[bwfc4eva86]

Hello from Sunny Bolton Anyway onto the questions, i purchased a Fujifilm S1500 as a means of starting out in photography and before making the big step onto a DSLR later this year (hopefully) anyway have been fiddling the camera and mainly using it on auto modes.

Now i've bought a couple of books for beginners Understanding Exposure and The Digital Photography Handbook.

Now basically im getting a little confused with the Aperture priority mode at the moment, on my camera it goes from F2.8 - f6.4. now i know the lower the number the the wider the aperture and more light gets to the sensor and the smaller the DOF is. Now when i take pictures i cant seem to get the backround blurry for example like in some photo's. As an example, which i know is quite rubbish.

Also what sort of settings should i be using for Aircraft photos?

Another poor attempt in idiot mode (auto with the old compact)

I know the pictures are poor, but thats the reason for coming here.

Regards

Marc

 

[chris321]

Hi!

Right, firstly you're spot on with what you said about the aperture, and it's effect on amount of light and DOF

The thing about apertures and focal lengths is that their effective values change depending on a few factors, in this case on the size of the sensor. So even at f/2.8 (which is a fairly large aperture), because your camera has a small sensor (bridge cameras and compacts usually do), the depth of field still turns out to be quite large. It's one of the advantages of a dslr, a bigger sensor.

To try and get better background blur (often referred to as 'bokeh', but dont' ask me how you pronounce it!), use the lens at its longest focal length, the widest aperture, and try and take the shot at such an angle so the background is a long way away from the subject.

And if all that fails, give up and buy a dslr

Don't worry, no-one's going to judge you based on your photos or your kit, everyone started somewhere, so post away and enjoy!

Chris

 

[bwfc4eva86]

I'll give that a whirl tomorrow and see how i get on. I was just using the optical zoom a short length so that may have something to do with it.
I suppose the only way to get decent photos, is to get out there and practice?

 

[joescrivens]

FYI it's pronounced "bow-ka"

 

[mrtoad]

if you set on aperture priority...then you should get a good bouquet effect
damn words
small depth of field..
you got the idea right and i think you can get a lot out of your s1500

set your iso at its lowest..80 or 100 to get good detail and choose super quality or whatever the fuji terms the best quality setting

you dont need any auto settings except focus..and dont use the noise reduction either

my olympus has i think the same chip for menus...

its a nice camera and although not a dslr...dont be inhibited and go out to take the best you can...you wont be held back by the cameras potential...and you can learn by mistakes and taking lots of them...

cheers
geof

 

[bwfc4eva86]

I'll have a good play when i get some daylight hours off work haha. Going to use the S1500 for a while until i feel confident enough and then buy a DSLR. I suppose the whole part of learning is just go get out there and practice what i have read in the books and on this forum.