Beginner Mode Dial - Priority

Marc... good luck with it all, I hope you get a lot of enjoyment :D

And one more thing...

I've read several anti auto ISO posts and I just don't understand the hatred. I find it a very useful feature and when I use a camera or a mode without it I miss it.

I don't use it every time and for every shot, but it's useful.
 
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Yardbent said:
@HoppyUK said ...''maybe a tripod (not yet unless you know you need one)...''

your life background touched me - I've recently lost a best friend/sis-in-law. My brother was grateful for my photographs of her.

I've been advertising a very good set of Manfrotto tripod legs on here - but no takers...haha
should you decided a tripod is needed, please PM me - I'll post it to you FOC

You'll need a 'head' - somebody can explain which will be better for your situation
-- a pan-head (probably) or a ball-head (I'm finding it OK for landscapes but it's slow to adjust)
.


FWIW - i usually use AV mode, with AUTO ISO (shock, horror) set to 200 with max = 1600 and min shutter speed 1/250 (shakey hands at 75..:(
the Auto ISO Auto then rises if the scene warrents higher than my chosen f-stop at 1/250
if it reaches 1600 ISO - it then decreases the shutter speed

give it a try - OK it's not your original choice but you would control the DoF and a set speed for the moving (?) children
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John - I'm so sorry to hear you lost a special friend recently, for what it's worth my sincerest wishes to all your family. It's bloody tough this life stuff, we take it for granted, and when it's cruelly snatched away we are left with a gaping hole that can't be filled. Having something like a few special pictures really does make a difference. I didn't post about my dreams before because if I'm honest I thought it would either cause a debate I wasn't willing to have, or people wouldn't believe I'd want to do it. I'm glad your brother finds a little comfort in his pictures - it's a small thing but so important.

The tripod - that's is so kind of you, thank you, I'd love to accept your offer of it's still open. I don't know much about tripods so I'd appreciate any advice on a head for it, I'm sure blutak and gaffs tape would suffice!

I am trying different settings, I appreciate everyone's advice. Let's be honest, the important thing here is see pictures. As I was explaining to @PaulButler earlier today my worry is some day I'd be faced with a. Problem I couldn't fix because Iid take a shortcut to learning. If that's not the case and I will always know what to do and just be able to take good pictures (my limited ability aside at this point!) then of course I want to take the easy route. I've spent my life trying to make the most of every situation, I've spent years fighting for the rights of my kids (and others kids), so if I can get an easy life I will take it!!

I'll send you a PM with my address - thank you again :)
 
woof woof said:
Marc... good luck with it all, I hope you get a lot of enjoyment :D

And one more thing...

I've read several anti auto ISO posts and I just don't understand the hatred. I find it a very useful festure and when I use a camera or a mode without it I miss it.

I don't use it every time and for every shot, but it's useful.
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Thanks Alan - much appreciated. I am enjoying myself, and I have a huge amount of drive and determination for this. My life can be really dull, once I pack the younger two off to school in the mornings I'm meant to be doing housework! I really need an excuse not to do housework - and this is it!

Regarding ISO - as long as I understand what it's doing and why I don't mind setting it or leaving it to the camera, I just need to understand it really. Not having to worry about the shutter speed has given me one less item to juggle, so looking after the aperture and ISO isn't too much of a nightmare.

I was impressed how quickly Paul could take a scene and choose a setting, and know if he changed a setting 3 stops one way he immediately knew what he had to do to compensate for it. I guess it comes with tons of practice, I just need to keep doing it. Any cheats or tips always appreciated though!
 
I'm a full time carer myself, sometimes for weeks at a time it doesn't feel like I get a second to myself, just getting out for half an hour by myself with a camera is nice. I admire what you're doing for others and bringing them a little joy and a memory to keep.

Good luck with it.
 
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woof woof said:
I'm a full time carer myself, sometimes for weeks at a time it doesn't feel like I get a second to myself, just getting out for half an hour by myself with a camera is nice. I admire what you're doing for others and bringing them a little joy and s memory to keep.

Good luck with it.
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It's easy to go a bit stir crazy isn't it! Do you get any help or support? I think the emotional side is harder to handle than the physical sometimes, and the repetition stuff can get draining. For what it's worth I really did start and run a charity supporting carers, and I used to deliver training courses to carers to help them with every part of their lives, if ever you fancy a chat or need help with anything please feel free to message me, I'll give you my email, mobile and Skype details and we can have a chat - if I can help I'd be very happy to. Sometimes it's just good to offload and have a bit of a moan isn't it.

My good lady is an emergency nurse so she works really hard for a living, but she also gets to go out a lot more than I do, even if it's to get angry with time wasters with a cut finger or sore throat in A&E! Sometimes I just need to go for a drive or a walk for an hour when I can. We moved down here for the peace and quiet and we are very fortunate where we live - when my photography skills improve I'll put up a few pics of my garden and the views beyond but at the moment you'd all laugh at my rubbish photography! I can drive and not pass another car for several miles as long as it's not tourist season. My little girls school is 8 miles away down country lanes, so that's a nice drive in the mornings. Even so I still feel a bit jittery sometimes.

Places like this are really nice, I get to talk to people with something in common and have a laugh too hopefully. I'm also not in the best of health, I work hard to keep fit but I can have days where I'm in a lot of pain and struggling to get around as I have Fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis - not fun at any age but I'm 42, it could have held off a few more years! My 13 yo lad is very special to me, we have a special connection, I understand him when nobody else does even though he's never spoken or communicated in any way. But he's hard work, I have to feed him and he eats a little often, all day I'm making toast after toast after toast - his diet is honestly just toast, 2 ish loaves of bread per day for 13 years nearly, twice a week a bowl of weetabix if he fancies it, and a couple of times a day milky bar buttons. I have to help him with it and he drinks from a sippy cup, I also have to take care of all his other needs - which means a lot of manual handling and moving.

So yeah, I adore him, but it's easy to go a bit insane and sometimes I'm embarrassed to admit I wish there was more to life. If I can make this stuff happen I can enjoy myself, help others and give my kids a better future with some security.

Sorry, it's a photography forum I know and I'm waffling on. I just want people to know I'm genuine, and this is important to me. I'm really grateful for all the tips and advice and support - please keep it coming.

And if I eventually work out how to use a camera I'm going to ask you all to help me design the studio I plan to convert from a derelict barn - that's going to mean a lot of questions!
 
NDevon said:
......The tripod - that's is so kind of you, thank you, I'd love to accept your offer of it's still open. I don't know much about tripods so I'd appreciate any advice on a head for it, ........... thank you again :)
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I would suggest a pan head like the one advertised --- perhaps @PaulButler could suggest one - having seen your set-up

or talk to RedSnapper tripods about your requirements
http://www.redsnapperuk.com/

I'll courier the tripod within the next few days....john
 
NDevon said:
Thanks for the tips Hoppy. I've been talking about speedlites, some of the budget ones look just fine, I'll go for one of those at some point soon.

I do want a prime lens, read soooooo many different bits of advice on the ideal focal length for portraits, but everyone has a preference - which is fine. Just makes it harder to choose! I do want to make sure any lenses I buy are full frame, I know they will not give me the same focal length as they will on a full frame, but I don't want to buy twice. Certainly the 50mm is on my list, and on my crop sensor it will still be good for portraits I reckon.
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The thing with prime lenses is they run much lower f/numbers, typically down f/1.4 or so (because they don't zoom, which frees up the optical designer to exploit other advantages). Take the 50/1.8 STM, that allows allows 10x more light through, compared to your kit zoom that will be f/5.6 at 50mm setting. So you could shoot at say 1/160sec shutter speed instead of 1/15sec. And depth-of-field, at a typical portrait shooting distance, will be about one-quarter, making the background much more blurred.

On the full-frame thing, that's a whole other debate but if that's where you want to go, you should do it sooner rather than later. You may well buy full-frame compatible lenses for your current camera, and a lot of people do that thinking it's a win-win, but it's not. You'll be missing out on the benefits of EF-S lenses while paying extra for something you can't use. Then when you do go full-frame, they will behave very differently and you'll probably want to change. So the win-win is actually a lose-lose.

On portrait focal length, yes, it varies a lot depending on whether it's a tight head shot or a wider environmental portrait etc. But you don't want to be too close (not less than say 3ft) as that induces unattractive perspective distortion and can be intimidating for the subject. So I like to be around 6-8ft usually, and then the focal length selects itself according to the framing I'm after. Just try it with your 18-135mm lens and note the focal length setting that suits you best (y) It will probably be around 50-80mm for a head & shoulders, or quite a bit longer for a more candid approach.
 
Thanks Hoppy. I'd love to go and buy a full frame next week, but I'm getting married in May, and if I spent a lot of money on a new camera before the wedding I'll be divorced before I get her down the aisle! After thou is a different matter, I'll probably order one during the reception... :D

I don't plan on buying too much between now and then as there's also that Christmas thingy looming fast, that's never cheap with my three, I do want a flash at some point though - I think that's important and I believe I'm right in saying they are pretty much universal across the camera range, so as long as I don't switch brands it will work on the camera - is that correct?

I did fancy getting a 50mm, I realise on my camera it would be more like an 80mm, but as an 80mm is on my list for the future I didn't think that would be a bad thing. I know it would look different when I do switch cameras, but from what I've read I I'll still be able to use it on my current camera and it's still a nice lens. I'm not going to buy any EF-S lenses as that does seem like a waste of money, I know I can sell them in the future, I guess if I found a bargain secondhand that would be OK. Again, it depends how much I want to risk having my balls chopped off by my other half!

Does anyone have any tips on tripod heads? It's not something I've really researched, I guess I assumed they came with the tripod and as long as you got something half decent all would be fine. Are they universal - will all heads fit all tripods, will all cameras fit all heads? Ideally I'd like to know the sort of thing to look for - what it should be called, brands, specifications - so I can keep an eye on eBay and pick up something cheap.
 
Here's a link to a description of different heads, with photos (I wrote it). I tried to copy and paste, but the photos didn't get transferred, so I made a pdf instead.
 
NDevon said:
Thanks Hoppy. I'd love to go and buy a full frame next week, but I'm getting married in May, and if I spent a lot of money on a new camera before the wedding I'll be divorced before I get her down the aisle! After thou is a different matter, I'll probably order one during the reception... :D

I don't plan on buying too much between now and then as there's also that Christmas thingy looming fast, that's never cheap with my three, I do want a flash at some point though - I think that's important and I believe I'm right in saying they are pretty much universal across the camera range, so as long as I don't switch brands it will work on the camera - is that correct?
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Yes, a Canon-compatible flash will work on any Canon camera.

I did fancy getting a 50mm, I realise on my camera it would be more like an 80mm, but as an 80mm is on my list for the future I didn't think that would be a bad thing. I know it would look different when I do switch cameras, but from what I've read I I'll still be able to use it on my current camera and it's still a nice lens. I'm not going to buy any EF-S lenses as that does seem like a waste of money, I know I can sell them in the future, I guess if I found a bargain secondhand that would be OK. Again, it depends how much I want to risk having my balls chopped off by my other half!
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Think carefully about full-frame. I'm not sure why you feel there's a need to move that way already, but if you do, my advice is to start planning for it now. If in reality it's some time away, then I'd get the right lenses for your current camera, buying used from the For Sale section here - it's a great resource for both buying and selling. Then when the time comes, sell whichever lenses don't suit and you'll have lost very little cash, if any. Then buy the right lenses for full-frame.

Does anyone have any tips on tripod heads? It's not something I've really researched, I guess I assumed they came with the tripod and as long as you got something half decent all would be fine. Are they universal - will all heads fit all tripods, will all cameras fit all heads? Ideally I'd like to know the sort of thing to look for - what it should be called, brands, specifications - so I can keep an eye on eBay and pick up something cheap.
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You have a decent tripod coming your way I think. Manfrotto is a very good brand and while it's not exactly the latest model, these things don't date much and it looks in very good order (y) The head is very important - it's the main user-interface and some people spend more on the head than the legs (me, for instance :D). And yes, they're a universal fit, attaching with a simple 3/8in screw. Suggest you get to a dealer and try a few options. Ball heads are the most popular as they're smaller, lighter, very versatile and fast to use - good all-rounders. Good quality ball heads are excellent, but small, cheap ones can be a bit of a droopy nightmare. Three-way heads offer fine control in individual planes, better for precise studio work and landscapers tend to like them. The camera quick-release method is important too. A dovetail system known as 'Arca-Swiss' is the generally favoured option and is pretty much universal now, though Manfrotto's RC2 system is also popular and is the best of the rest.
 
NDevon said:
I'm going to work in Av mode and concentrate on getting to a position where it all comes naturally for me, at the moment I have to pause and think everytime I want to take a shot.
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Nothing wrong w/ Av mode. It's the mode I use the most. But you'll probably need to study the image exif to see what the camera changed between images. It looks like the 1300 has pretty easy access to ISO, so I would suggest leaving it on manual. That way it's easier to keep an eye on the SS changes while shooting. And then you can change the aperture or ISO to control it as you want.

NDevon said:
Interesting what you said about studio work Phil. I talked at length with Paul about some of the stuff I wasn't sure about - in a constant light would ISO pretty much be set and forgotten for example.
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In a constant light situation (i.e. studio) *everything* can be "set and forget"... that's why I said that "sometimes" full manual is the easiest mode to use.

Personally, my choice for a general purpose head would be a decent ballhead... preferably something Arca Swiss compatible (the quick release clamp) as it is more universal/the most common.
 
Everything Richard and Steve said...

My tripod is in the 3 figure region and whilst I wouldn't recommend anything less sturdy, I use it about twice a year. So it's cost me about a fiver per use so far.

Think about your other lighting needs before buying a flashgun, as Mike suggested a Godox speedlight, whilst not being the most popular, might mean you being able to buy into s single trigger system.
 
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