Photography and its many distractions
Well, after a long and arduous battle with exams, I’ve finally finished my third year. I don’t really want to comment on the exams – not that they went particularly badly, it’s just I’d rather wait until I get the results. So, instead, I will comment on the various things that I’ve been doing inbetween.
The first, and by far most exciting was my 21st birthday. This has been quite amazing, and my utter thanks to everyone that got me gifts or just said happy birthday – it’s something I’ll remember for quite some time. My main present was the brilliant Canon Digital Rebel XT, otherwise known as the EOS 350D.
Some explanation may be required. My dad in his early years was a professional photographer for Land Rover. He moved onto do video work, and similarly I share his passion for video and photography in general. I bought myself a happy–snapper Sony camera at the beginning of the first year, but up until this point was somewhat underwhelmed, since I wanted more control with how exactly I wanted the image to be taken.
So, I now have a Digital SLR camera, which is quite frankly an amazing piece of technology. For those that are interested in getting a DSLR camera, I really have to suggest the 350D. I found it a breeze to get into, and it’s extremely easy to use and get to grips with. The build, whilst a little plastic for my liking, is very solid. I highly suggest you get the lens kit – you get a 18–55mm EF–S lens which provides pretty good quality despite the plastic exterior. It’s not brilliant, but for a budding amateur like myself, it’s a good start.
Unfortunately the 18–55mm really doesn’t have enough reach for my liking. I went out earlier in the week with Mark to take some snaps of the nature reserve on campus, and while we were there I spotted a number of shots that really needed a telephoto lens. This is where things start to get tricky, because when you’re on a limited budget like me, lenses aren’t generally an option.
However, I decided it was worth investing in. I spent the majority of the day researching various lenses, reading the EOS FAQ (which is an excellent introductory FAQ for beginners) and eventually came to the conclusion that Canon didn’t make any decent enough lenses for the prices they offered. I really, really wanted the 75–300mm USM IS lens, but at £360 it was just far too much to pay. In the end, I decided to get the Sigma 70–300mm APO Macro DG. According to all of the reviews I’ve read, it’s a decent lens for a bargain price (£165) so eventually I decided to take the plunge. That should turn up on Tuesday.
So, for the time being, I won’t be buying anything else for the camera. I should have everything I need for the time being, although I would absolutely love a Canon L–series lens. However, that’s way off in the future as far as I’m concerned. Anyway, with all of this photography lark, I’d really like to get the website up and running so that I can host my images nicely. So there’s that to work on tomorrow, and then we’ll see what happens.
That’s far too much for tonight, I feel, so I’ll sign off for now. Toodle pip.
11/11/2006 11:59 pm
That’s what you think. Photography is a hideous addiction :–)
I have a 70–300 lens, but I hardly use it now; the 120 is plenty. Unless long lenses are also fast they’re very hard to use for the kind of photography that I do, at least. And fast, long lenses are very expensive. I hire them when I need them for something specific. The thing I most want to buy is a 12–24 or similar; I’ve really missed the field of view that an 18mm lens gives with film.
But yes, 55mm isn’t really sufficient for most photography.
Use flickr ? If you want a bit more control, gallery is great.
Don’t worry about the series of the lens, or the letters, or the manufacturer or whatever. Worry about what images it will allow you to create that you otherwise can’t. Photography should be entirely image–driven, not technology–driven (I wrote a little about this a while back)
Seriously. Go and take photos, rather than becoming a “measurebator”, spending your time on internet forums discussing gear.
12/12/2006 12:26 am
I completely agree with what you’ve said in your blog entry. There’s absolutely no point in buying the lenses and the bits to go with the camera if, ultimately, they’re not going to be used. I fully intend on getting my hands as dirty as possible – not literally, hopefully – as soon as my 2gb memory stick appears in the post. (I have a very small 64mb CF card which can hold about 15 photos. It’s a little frustrating to have so little space sometimes.)
To be honest, it’s all a little overwhelming at the moment. I’m still getting used to the camera, and am trying to use manual exposure as much as possible so that I learn what to do, and what not to do. Hopefully this should be something that will come with time :–)
Perhaps it was a little over–zealous of me to say that I would like an L–series lens, but hey, it’s the truth. I’m sure that it’s completely unnecessary for me at the moment, and my eye probably couldn’t tell the different anyway. However, this entire thing has somewhat of an addictive nature about it and I can’t help but admire the craftsmanship that goes into the production of them.
12/2/2006 2:51 pm
clues:
aperture priority mode is the most generally useful. Try and keep above around f/8 if you can. Rule–of–thumb: shutter speed needs to be higher than the reciprocal of the lens length (1/100th for a 100mm lens). [on dslrs, it might need to be even faster, try 1.5x lens length]
)
Learn to support the camera properly, with your body, a bag, a tree, a wall, whatever. The more stable your shooting platform is, the sharper your images will be.
White–balance is king
learn to use spot metering
It’s all about the final image. Look critically at images (yours’ and others’), and see which ones really work for you. If they don’t, why not? Once you work out what the image should look like, it’s easier to make it in the first place.
Move. You get a different effect if you walk up to a subject and use a wide–angle to if you just zoom in to it. The interplay of focal length, aperture and shutter speed is the key to image control with an slr.
Read. There are some very good books around, both to develop the skill in using a camera, and to develop your art (I reviewed a few of my favourites – yes, yet another link to my own blog
10/5/2010 5:57 am
the best Telephoto lens that i have used on an SLR is the Canon EF 70-200 F/2.8 lens. Best image quality ever.:”‘