General photography

[jennylc]

Hi there guys just wondering if could help out .. i have a nikon d5000 with a 18-55 lens I know i'm not using it to it's full potential .... so I am going out tommorrow to take some street images.

I would like to try it out on manual mode how ever I am just a beginner and still geting know about the, f stop and iso

Just wondering for general photography in the day time

What settings to use

-iso - (as in what range should i use in like 320 to 640)

-f stop- what is ideal number to put in

also the shutter speed what should i put in on and also on the lens it self do I put on manual or auto focus.. and also on the der VR button should that be on or off ??


Sorry if i didnt explain it properly as im not good at explaning lol

Jennifer

 

[WelshNoob]

-iso - (as in what range should i use in like 320 to 640)

-f stop- what is ideal number to put in

also the shutter speed what should i put in on and also on the lens it self do I put on manual or auto focus.. and also on the der VR button should that be on or off ??

Jen, there is no need to go from Auto mode to Full manual straight away and you'll probably be frustrated by the results. From your questions it sounds like you want to set the camera up before you leave the house then use those settings all day for your shooting. It doesn't work like that, the setting need adjusting all the time depending on the subject you're shooting, the look you're going for and the light situation.

To answer your questions, which ISO to go for, anything from the lowest to the highest.

F stop - again anything from F3.5 (or lowest) to F16. Do you know what happens to the photos you take when the F number is a small or large number?

Shutter speed - From really fast to really slow, depends on conditions, what you're trying to achieve, what F stop, what ISO you're using.

I'm guessing that you'd want the camera to do the focusing so leave it in Auto focus.

VR - is vibration reduction so depends on what you are doing with the camera.

If I were you, if you want manual control over the camera (although it sounds like you don't know what any of the settings are for or do) I'd suggest you pick another mode such as Tv or Av (or Nikon equivalent) and go from there.

On each photo that you've taken already there is information contained within the photo that tells you what settings the camera used for that particular shot. It's called exif data. You could have a look through some of you're old shots to see what everything was set at and it might give you and idea what to use going forward.

 

[big soft moose]

the question isnt really answerable as it depends what the light is like - if you choose a given f stop then you'll need a cetain shutter speed and/or iso to achieve a correctly exposed shot (the camera meter will guide you to what it thinks is right via the little bars in the bottom of the view finder.

Personally as street requires reasonably quick reactions i'd forget about M and put the camera in A (aperture priority) with the apperture set as wide as it will go (probably f5.6 on your lens) - set the iso to auto. The camera will select speed and iso to match the light at that apperture.

Autofocus - trying to manual focus an 18-55 is an exercise in futility , as they drift

and VR on (unless you have your camera on a tripod)

 

[surfg1mp]

As big moose said, I'd leave manual mode for another day. Stick the camera in A mode, and have the f/number as low as it will go. I would try and adjust the iso manually as auto iso tends to favor using the highest rather than lowest. You are aiming to at least match the focal length to the shutter speed. So if you are at 50mm you need at least 1/50 of a second. If the shutter speed is slower than the focal length, raise the iso. Once you have got your head around that, take some pictures. You can use the exposure compensation to adjust the exposure....if a picture is under exposed, dial in +ev and take another picture! obviously this works the other way around too. If the picture is over exposed, dial in -ev to get a correct exposure.

Hope this helps and isn't too confusing.

 

[woof woof]

I would like to try it out on manual mode how ever I am just a beginner and still geting know about the, f stop and iso

Personally I use Aperture priority 99% of the time but if you are going to use Aperture, Shutter or manual mode I think you should do some reading up first. Until you've got a reasonable grasp or time to shoot at different setting and look at the results to see what affects what... I'd just use Auto Or P mode.

Just wondering for general photography in the day time

What settings to use

-iso - (as in what range should i use in like 320 to 640)

It's usually best to use the lowest ISO you can whilst keeping the shutter speed at an acceptable speed.

-f stop- what is ideal number to put in

I think you need to read up of the effect of changing the aperture on depth of field but for now perhaps it'd be good to know that most lenses aren't at their best at the widest possible aperture and need to be stopped down a little. Also very small apertures like f16, 22, etc. can cause image quality to fall and are perhaps best avoided unless you make a conscious decision to use them.

also the shutter speed what should i put in on and also on the lens it self do I put on manual or auto focus.. and also on the der VR button should that be on or off ??

It's an AF lens so best make use of it unless using manual focus offers and advantage such as if the camera is having trouble focusing on what you want it to. Might as well use VR too unless there's an advantage in not using it.

Without image stabilisation to avoid camera or subject movement / blury shots the usual rule is to try and keep you shutter speed the same in fractions of a second as your focal length. So, for a 50mm lens the minimum shutter speed would be 1/50 sec but personally I'd be happier with x1.5 or even x2 the focal length so for 50mm I'd be happier at 1/75 - 1/100 sec. With image stabilisation you can get away with slower speeds but if you want to freeze movement you will probable need a shutter speed of 1/250, more or less depending on what you're shooting and how it's moving.

Sorry if i didnt explain it properly as im not good at explaning lol

Jennifer

I think that experimenting with digital is easy as you can take a shot, change a setting a shoot again and see the effect immediately It's a great way to think and learn

 

[Major Eazy]

Hi there guys just wondering if could help out .. i have a nikon d5000 with a 18-55 lens I know i'm not using it to it's full potential .... so I am going out tommorrow to take some street images.

I would like to try it out on manual mode how ever I am just a beginner and still geting know about the, f stop and iso

Just wondering for general photography in the day time

What settings to use

-iso - (as in what range should i use in like 320 to 640)

-f stop- what is ideal number to put in

also the shutter speed what should i put in on and also on the lens it self do I put on manual or auto focus.. and also on the der VR button should that be on or off ??


Sorry if i didnt explain it properly as im not good at explaning lol

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer.

It is a digital camera with a LCD screen at the back of the camera, and whatever memory card you use can take like over 100 photos, so just play with the controls, pick whatever you like, be creative, and enjoy the fun of seeing what happens to the photos on the display. It would be more fun and it's called experience, after all you can always delete bad photos and try again, it's not like a film camera where you would find it expensive to waste money taking only 36 photos on one roll of film, only to find them all a mix of underexposure or overexposure.

It is not a law, it is just a general rule of a thumb, just guidelines, and you are free to adjust, the following would give you a starting point...

When it comes to ISO setting...

On a very bright sunny summer day, use the lowest you can go for, around ISO 100 or 200, on a dull cloudly day, as long as it is just white clouds, something like around 400, very gloomy day, go as high as you can, around 800 onwards. They're not a law, they're just rules and you can bend the rules, be creative to get photos that stands out from others.

For the aperture: Go for fastest you can, lowest f numbers, so your photos focus on the subject and blur the background, otherwise if you go for highest f numbers and get a greater depth of field, so many objects in the photo will be in focus, and viewers would be wondering which of the subjects they're supposed to be looking for. Unless you want so many buildings to be sharp, then go for lowest number. But again, that is not a law, it's just rules, and again we tend to bend the rules to be creative.

Shutter speed: Higher shuttle speeds if you're using lower aperture numbers, as lower as you can (say no slower than 1/60) if you're using higher aperture numbers. Your camera tend to have a built-in meter that would show a point that goes one way or another away from the middle, so adjust controls to get pointer as near to the middle mark as you can. In viewfinders or on LCD, they look something like

- ''''''''''|''''''''''' +

Adjust aperture and/or shutter to get pointer as near to the halfway mark as you can, don't have to be right on the middle mark. Sometimes photographers like to underexposure their photos to give them a darker mood.

Again, not law, again just typical rules, again you can go creative.

The rest, don't worry, Manual focus or AF, well up to you, you can always use MF if you want some experience in case AF fails, use AF if you can't focus fast enough to keep up with street life. VR, sure why not turn it on, it'll help out a bit.

What matters is to have fun leaning from experience. It's a digital camera, so you can always check after each shots to re-adjust.

Hope that gives you more encouragement?

 

[Phil V]

the question isnt really answerable as it depends what the light is like - if you choose a given f stop then you'll need a cetain shutter speed and/or iso to achieve a correctly exposed shot (the camera meter will guide you to what it thinks is right via the little bars in the bottom of the view finder.

Personally as street requires reasonably quick reactions i'd forget about M and put the camera in A (aperture priority) with the apperture set as wide as it will go (probably f5.6 on your lens) - set the iso to auto. The camera will select speed and iso to match the light at that apperture.

Autofocus - trying to manual focus an 18-55 is an exercise in futility , as they drift

and VR on (unless you have your camera on a tripod)

What Pete said.

The thing is a lot of people in your position think that unless they're in total control they're somehow 'cheating'.

It's not the case at all; Just using Manual settings if you follow the camera meter is no more being in control than using any other mode. And your gear wasn't even designed to be used with Manual focussing, it makes as much sense as getting up and fiddling round the side of the telly to turn it over (when the remote has better and easier controls).

The only 'Auto' you should never leave to your camera is allowing it to choose a focus point. Either select a focus point that covers your subject, or use the centre point, focus and recompose.

When you've got the hang of what controls change the 'look' of your pictures, you need to learn how to react to what the meter is telling you, because it's generally saying, 'if the scene you've pointed me at is 'average' then lining up the meter in the middle will give a 'correct' exposure. So if your scene is brighter or darker than average you need to allow for that in your metering.

 

[fatmarley]

So if your scene is brighter or darker than average you need to allow for that in your metering.

Phil, Do you use exposure compensation?

On my 450D I was playing with exposure compensation on a bright day. I took a photo but it looked too dark so I upped the exposure compensation and took another and was happy with the result. When I got home, and loaded the pics onto the computer, I found that the original photo was fine and the one that I added exposure comp too was too bright.

Ive had it quite a lot where the pics look fine on the 450D lcd screen but not so good when I get home.

Perhaps I should start another thread and upload some pics to show what i'm on about?

 

[MadWoman]

Matt, don't rely on just looking at the screen - you can change its brightness in the menus, or, (I'm not sure on the 450D) it may be automatically adjusting, so it really cannot be relied on. Glance at the screen by all means, but always believe the histogram rather than the apparent brightness on the screen. Hope that helps!

 

[Phil V]

...

Ive had it quite a lot where the pics look fine on the 450D lcd screen but not so good when I get home.

...

Matt, don't rely on just looking at the screen - you can change its brightness in the menus, or, (I'm not sure on the 450D) it may be automatically adjusting, so it really cannot be relied on. Glance at the screen by all means, but always believe the histogram rather than the apparent brightness on the screen. Hope that helps!

This^
When I check the screen for my exposures, I'm looking at the histogram. You cannot judge the brightness of an image on any screen unless it's a calibrated monitor in a controlled environment. Anything else is just guesswork. The histogram and blinkies tell you exactly what your exposure looks like.

 

[fatmarley]

Thanks Sue and Phil I'd completely forgot about the histogram. I'll have to look through my old problem photos to see what the histogram says...

 

[shakilearl]

You might set your camera to auto mode first to see what iso, shutter speed and aperture it sets to. This might give you a rough idea.

 

[Danger_MouseUK]

'P mode' is nothing to be ashamed of. But once you have a shot of something you want, and if you have the time and the subject isn't going anywhere, have a play and see what you can do with the other modes and little adjustments. I personally find the best way to learn, is to change something and see what it does... then change it a little more, or put it back and change something else... experiment, don't be afraid to have a play.

You might get 100 bad shots, but they are worth it for 1 good one. The idea is to know what made that a good shot and how to do it again.

 

[driver_wedge]

Read up on the exposure triangle and also on how the camera meter works. It is very worthy of the time you'll spend doing it.

 

[fatmarley]

Thanks Sue and Phil I'd completely forgot about the histogram. I'll have to look through my old problem photos to see what the histogram says...

Wow! Can't believe how many of my old photos were underexposed (indoor ones with flash mainly)

I've been playing with exposure compensation on the flash, whilst checking the Histogram and my pics now look much better on the big screen.

Give me another 15 years and i'll have this photography lark cracked I recon.

Thanks again Sue and Phil

 

[MadWoman]

It's a pleasure, Matt, glad to have been of help

 

[Thrash]

Just wondering for general photography in the day time

What settings to use

-iso - (as in what range should i use in like 320 to 640)

-f stop- what is ideal number to put in

also the shutter speed what should i put in on and also on the lens it self do I put on manual or auto focus.. and also on the der VR button should that be on or off ??

Your questions have already been answered very well by people with much more experience than me but ill give you my thoughts too
As been said, you need to adjust your settings based on the light and effect youre trying to achieve. Id certainly read up on aperture, ISO and shutter speed to get an idea of how they all work together to correctly expose images. It was one of the first things I did and its definitely worth it, once you know what they actually do you can then know when to adjust them.

Keep the ISO as low as possible whilst still being able to get sharp images, I never usually let me shutter speed go lower than twice the length of the lens i.e. on a 35mm lens I make sure my shutter speed is never lower than 1/70th of a second just to be sure; its easier to work with noisy images than blurry ones!

As a beginner you should pretty much always use auto-focus, manual focus is fairly difficult and a bit of a waste of time if you have autofocus, there are a few exceptions obviously. If you have VR you may as well leave it on, its an excellent way of achieving slower shutter speeds (i.e. when you dont want the noise from high ISO) but not all lenses have it.

The way I improved was getting out there and having a go, trial and error is what its all about. The most important thing though is to have fun and enjoy it

 

[Phil V]

It's a pleasure, Matt, glad to have been of help

Me too