Complete and utter beginner - unable to make a decision!

snerkler said:
I don’t know the rules for batteries but I’ve never been checked with mine. I don’t have terminal covers for my Olympus ones.
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Some airlines are stricter than others, BA seem happy enough for the batteries to be in individual plastic bags.
Just don't want the terminals exposed so they could be shorted out by another item, I use the change bags from banks
 
Thanks everyone for the info re taking cameras/batteries etc in hand luggage - greatly appreciated. Sorry I didn't respond yesterday, busy day.
Thanks Terry for the info on your fantastic camera strap - if I ever have the time then I will make one although I doubt very much it will look like yours! :)
 
Charlotte Wilson said:
BOUGHT!! The EM 5 and pro lens! :)
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How are you getting on with your new camera Charlotte?

My daughter just bought the same combination and from my brief go yesterday evening it appears to be really good.
Stabilisation seems very effective, even with my shaky hands managed a handheld shot at lower shutter speed than usual.

Bit cheeky no hood given the lens price and managed to move the focus point with my nose on the touchscreen :eek:
 
tijuana taxi said:
How are you getting on with your new camera Charlotte?

My daughter just bought the same combination and from my brief go yesterday evening it appears to be really good.
Stabilisation seems very effective, even with my shaky hands managed a handheld shot at lower shutter speed than usual.

Bit cheeky no hood given the lens price and managed to move the focus point with my nose on the touchscreen :eek:
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Hi there

I bought the kit and there is a lens hood included?

Well to me it looks amazing, but you all know I know nothing! :D and at the moment I am working through the very basic settings. I like the P setting at the moment more than just basic Auto, and hopefully some more playing will get me to full Manual mode but I am not quick enough at using the settings yet so it takes forever. I plan on taking the same shot with lots of different settings to see how that changes things. I think visually that will help me learn what I prefer and what looks better. I'm desperate to get out there and take some proper photos but the light has been very flat white and or torrential rain at weekends so no fun. I will try and post some photos as soon as I can.

I like that it had good stabilisation as well as although I have a very steady hand my boyfriend doesn't. and I definitely feel reassured by the weatherproofing. From the brief couple of plays I have had I think it was the right choice, certainly in terms of size. I wouldn't want to be taking anything heavier or more cumbersome out with me.
 
Charlotte Wilson said:
Hi there

I bought the kit and there is a lens hood included?

Well to me it looks amazing, but you all know I know nothing! :D and at the moment I am working through the very basic settings. I like the P setting at the moment more than just basic Auto, and hopefully some more playing will get me to full Manual mode but I am not quick enough at using the settings yet so it takes forever. I plan on taking the same shot with lots of different settings to see how that changes things. I think visually that will help me learn what I prefer and what looks better. I'm desperate to get out there and take some proper photos but the light has been very flat white and or torrential rain at weekends so no fun. I will try and post some photos as soon as I can.

I like that it had good stabilisation as well as although I have a very steady hand my boyfriend doesn't. and I definitely feel reassured by the weatherproofing. From the brief couple of plays I have had I think it was the right choice, certainly in terms of size. I wouldn't want to be taking anything heavier or more cumbersome out with me.
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Sounds like you are getting on well, P setting is a good starting point, suggested settings that can be altered.
Flat white light is grim, best camera in the world still depends on good light, easily the most important requirement for good photos.

Main thing is have fun, that's what a hobby should be about, look forward to see some photos, not a bad place to live for photography
 
tijuana taxi said:
Sounds like you are getting on well, P setting is a good starting point, suggested settings that can be altered.
Flat white light is grim, best camera in the world still depends on good light, easily the most important requirement for good photos.

Main thing is have fun, that's what a hobby should be about, look forward to see some photos, not a bad place to live for photography
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Exactly - I can't wait to get going properly as nothing will beat getting out there and practising. Yes we are very lucky with the landscapes here - hoping to be able to take some nice photos as the weather improves, and then you can all tell me what I am doing wrong! :D
 
tijuana taxi said:
Another point is where do you put the lens cap when you take it on and off all day?
Possibly in a pocket with all sorts of crap which then transfers to the lens when the cap is replaced.
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I use caps and put them on and take them off all the time.
Mine are pinch caps for a couple of quid off eBay, the manufacturer branded originals stay in the boxes at home.
They have retaining strings which I clip to the camera strap with a tiny carabineer from ebay.
It sounds fussier than it is now I've typed it :)
e.g.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/37mm-Sna...631782&hash=item3d44cc155c:g:7O8AAOSwG2tZ6b8h
and
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lobster-...hash=item282e56ab96:m:mQWokKF-5sBoblhtuf7Zktw

That means my lenses are all protected when I stick them in and out of the bag.
I'm mainly worried about scratching the front element when I'm doing something else or someone pushes past you in a crowd.
I don't use hoods or filters.

tijuana taxi said:
Just check on the battery carrying situation for hand luggage, think its along the lines of two spares with their terminals insulated
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snerkler said:
I don’t know the rules for batteries but I’ve never been checked with mine. I don’t have terminal covers for my Olympus ones.
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I would never check any of my camera gear. Baggage handlers are known as "chuckers" amongst people who work at airports.

The rules for batteries are pretty sensible given the amount of energy they hold and the problems with dealing with a battery fire in a plane.
The much larger capacity ones in drones are much more of a problem than camera ones.

I generally keep one in the camera and if I'm carrying a spare, tape the contacts and put it in a clear plastic bag in the camera bag.
I know the risk is very small but I don't want some jobsworth at airport security binning my £50 Olympus battery and leaving me without power on a trip because I didn't put £0.000001 worth of insulating tape over the contacts.
It's worth making sure you can power up the camera with the batteries you're carrying too though I've never seen anyone asked to do that.

Airlines have different rules, for the sake of not having an argument I have a copy of the terms for my flight printed out in my bag
These are KLM's rules (PDF link)
https://www.klm.com/travel/gb_en/images/Lithium-batteries-on-KLM-aircraft_tcm638-671555.pdf
 
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Thanks for this advice everyone - I wasn't aware that the batteries could be damaged - it seems obvious now when I think about it but I hadn't crossed my mind.
Cheers
Charlotte
 
Dear All

Sorry I have been absent, I have been busy and when weather and time permitting(!!)) out taking photos. I am slowly moving from P mode to manual and taking several photos of the same thing with different settings so that I can get a feel of what works best. P produces good photos for me at the moment, I think M will need more practice. I will get a flickr account set up and try and upload them this week...and I am now looking at buying a telephoto lens and reading on the forums here for advice as we are about to embark on big hikes soon where I will need that extra zoom, although I do love my pro lens....there was so much snow it has limited our hiking up until now....
Anyway just wanted to update you all and to ensure you that all your good advice has been put to use... :)

Thanks again

Charlotte
 
Just a couple of comments...

tijuana taxi said:
Flat white light is grim, best camera in the world still depends on good light, easily the most important requirement for good photos.
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Just like there’s no such thing as bad weather- only inappropriate clothing.

There’s no such thing as bad light, only light that’s inappropriate for the chosen subject.

Charlotte Wilson said:
P produces good photos for me at the moment, I think M will need more practice.
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Don’t stress over using M mode, most pro’s rarely use it (there’s a time and place, but that comes later). The key knowledge is understanding your meter, so you know when to override it. Using M and slavishly following the meter isn’t ‘being in control’, using auto modes that give you the image you want and overriding the meter as necessary is being in control.
 
Phil V said:
Just a couple of comments...


Just like there’s no such thing as bad weather- only inappropriate clothing.

There’s no such thing as bad light, only light that’s inappropriate for the chosen subject.



Don’t stress over using M mode, most pro’s rarely use it (there’s a time and place, but that comes later). The key knowledge is understanding your meter, so you know when to override it. Using M and slavishly following the meter isn’t ‘being in control’, using auto modes that give you the image you want and overriding the meter as necessary is being in control.
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That's really interesting - thanks for this...this has given me quite a bit of reassurance to maybe stop overthinking it and just crack on and take some photos at the moment. I definitely prefer P to full auto mode :)
 
Charlotte Wilson said:
That's really interesting - thanks for this...this has given me quite a bit of reassurance to maybe stop overthinking it and just crack on and take some photos at the moment. I definitely prefer P to full auto mode :)
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The important thing starting out is to make sure you’re in control of what’s in focus and producing pleasing compositions. After that, it’s learning about exposure compensation so you can control the exposure rather than always accepting the cameras guesses.

Then control DoF to suit your subject and at some point you’ll realise that Manual is easier than juggling auto in certain situations.

I used Manual for years before I had any option, now I rarely use it. But knowing when to is important.
 
Charlotte Wilson said:
That's really interesting - thanks for this...this has given me quite a bit of reassurance to maybe stop overthinking it and just crack on and take some photos at the moment. I definitely prefer P to full auto mode :)
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It's very rare that I will use full M mode. Even if I use M mode so that I can control both shutter speed and aperture I will still use Auto ISO. When I'm moving the camera around why would I want to be frantically changing the ISO to get the exposure right when I can let the camera do it? It does of course help if your camera allows exposure comp in manual mode though, not all cameras allow this.
 
snerkler said:
It's very rare that I will use full M mode. Even if I use M mode so that I can control both shutter speed and aperture I will still use Auto ISO. When I'm moving the camera around why would I want to be frantically changing the ISO to get the exposure right when I can let the camera do it? It does of course help if your camera allows exposure comp in manual mode though, not all cameras allow this.
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Thanks very much! Yes it did seem like a lot of hard work using M I have to say.....this is reassuring for a beginner! Right.....off to buy my M Zuiko 40-150 mm lens :)
 
Charlotte Wilson said:
That's really interesting - thanks for this...this has given me quite a bit of reassurance to maybe stop overthinking it and just crack on and take some photos at the moment. I definitely prefer P to full auto mode :)
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I use P mode most of the time. Having said that, I very often deviate from the suggested settings to get the DoF or shutter speed I want/need and fairly frequently lob in some exposure compensation one way or the other as well. Very occasionally I'll use M having decided on the settings I want/need using test shots to nail the exposure. Not sure I've ever used full auto other than on old film compacts (well, more instamatic than compact but no possible adjustments!)
 
Nod said:
I use P mode most of the time. Having said that, I very often deviate from the suggested settings to get the DoF or shutter speed I want/need and fairly frequently lob in some exposure compensation one way or the other as well. Very occasionally I'll use M having decided on the settings I want/need using test shots to nail the exposure. Not sure I've ever used full auto other than on old film compacts (well, more instamatic than compact but no possible adjustments!)
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Isn't P short for Profesional and M short for Moron? :D
 
Apparently. :p
 
I've never used P mode, explains why my photos are so pants ;)
 
Hi everyone

So I have finally uploaded some of my first photos to flickr - obviously I have taken another 500 to get just a few that I think are ok, no editing or processing except one with a sloping horizon....
Would be really interested in any feedback on what I need to work on, and any processing tips - I appreciate that they look really rubbish compared to a lot of the stuff I've seen on here - I really love looking at what other people post on here for inspiration :)
I have since bought a tripod, polariser and ND filter as I realised I really like landscape photography especially water, so I am hoping that will all help for the future!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/142179251@N08/

Not sure how to share photos or link flickr profile so bear with me :D
 
They look fine to me (but I'm no landscape photographer, plants and flowers is my thing).

Ps, there is a tutorial somewhere about how to share from flickr (maybe in the tutorials forum).
 
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Charlotte Wilson said:
Hi everyone

So I have finally uploaded some of my first photos to flickr - obviously I have taken another 500 to get just a few that I think are ok, no editing or processing except one with a sloping horizon....
Would be really interested in any feedback on what I need to work on, and any processing tips - I appreciate that they look really rubbish compared to a lot of the stuff I've seen on here - I really love looking at what other people post on here for inspiration :)
I have since bought a tripod, polariser and ND filter as I realised I really like landscape photography especially water, so I am hoping that will all help for the future!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/142179251@N08/

Not sure how to share photos or link flickr profile so bear with me :D
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I'm very impressed, are you sure you're a complete beginner? ;) I don't have a lot to comment on tbh. You generally have a good eye for composition, the only thing I would say is that on some there's a bit too much foreground with little interest. What gives you the wow factor a lot of the time is light. Light is key to photography, and especially landscape photography. Learn how light changes throughout the day and throughout the year. I rarely take landscape pics this time of year as I prefer light in spring and Autumn.

As for posting on here, click the arrow at the bottom right of your pic on Flickr, copy the bbcode and post it directly on here.
 
Nostromo said:
They look fine to me (but I'm no landscape photographer, plants and flowers is my thing).

Ps, there is a tutorial somewhere about how to share from flickr (maybe in the tutorials forum).
Click to expand...

Thanks for looking :) I know - I have seen this previously and i cannot for the life of me find it now!!! :rolleyes:
 
snerkler said:
As for posting on here, click the arrow at the bottom right of your pic on Flickr, copy the bbcode and post it directly on here.
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Thanks so much for this!!!

snerkler said:
I'm very impressed, are you sure you're a complete beginner? ;) I don't have a lot to comment on tbh. You generally have a good eye for composition, the only thing I would say is that on some there's a bit too much foreground with little interest. What gives you the wow factor a lot of the time is light. Light is key to photography, and especially landscape photography. Learn how light changes throughout the day and throughout the year. I rarely take landscape pics this time of year as I prefer light in spring and Autumn.
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Thanks very much for your comments - definitely a beginner ;) interesting about the foreground, I will definitely work on that and I am also realising that summer is not the best for light - the ones in the snow were taken in March and are much nicer I think than the more recent (less snowy :D) ones....
 
When photographing flowers, i find the best composition is to keep the flower away from the center of the frame and get in close.
 
Nostromo said:
When photographing flowers, i find the best composition is to keep the flower away from the center of the frame and get in close.
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Ok great - definitely for next time, I was trying to experiment with depth of field but it was harder than it looked !
 
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