01-12-2008, 04:22 PM

Hey all,
Just got a Canon 400D and ive been out and about taking pics all day. Tell me what you think?









Thanks,
Lewwy.

01-12-2008, 05:15 PM

Well they look pretty good to me.

I don't know a massive amount about cameras - something I'd like to get into to be honest - a digital SLR would find a good caring home with me

Was the lens used a 'standard' one that comes with the camera at purchase?

01-12-2008, 05:23 PM

It was indeed a Standard lens.. However I wish I had a different one, Really good zoom would have been absolutely great as I was at a Zoo today and sometimes the animals wouldnt come as close as you would have liked them to..

Especially the White Tiger

01-12-2008, 05:28 PM

Great!

01-12-2008, 05:30 PM

Thanks man
Had a lot of fun with the Camera today, I got a few more good ones ill post up in a sec if your interested .

Edit :





Thanks for looking

01-12-2008, 06:11 PM

why cant i see the pictures?

01-12-2008, 06:24 PM

stunning color for a canon ( hahah sorry ) the middle one creeps me out lol

got a decent dof and brokeh on the very top one! quite a zoom for a kit lense what is it?

01-12-2008, 06:28 PM

If that's with a 17-55 kit lens, you must be able to get really close to the animals at your zoo!!

01-12-2008, 06:51 PM

18 - 55mm Foz.

Recently picked up the Camera for £409 with a £50 cashback offer.. So far ive actually only used Auto modes like a newbie.. Done a few manual focus shits.. But I really need to learn about all the priority settings on the dial.. If anyone has information on the letters around a Canon dial id be happy to read.

Fleurya,
I was pretty close to the animals, the Baby Monkey, Tiger and Orangutang were all behind glass, but the camera seems to have ignored it which is nice.. The Kitten with the blue eyes is my girlfriends pet, and the elephant was photographes during feeding time

01-12-2008, 07:10 PM

i can not stress enough understanding exposures as a good read, it helped me no end, get it out of auto and spend a day at the zoo, changing lights, moving animls different enclosures makes so much difference! take 2 memory cards shoot jpeg what dont work, dont work, dont go to get perfect shots go to get practice in, i did 600 shots ( plus raw i shoudlnt have cause it took long to edit) and i learnt so much about w.b and how slow i could get the shutter speed down and hold still!

01-12-2008, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by fozthedevil

i can not stress enough understanding exposures as a good read, it helped me no end, get it out of auto and spend a day at the zoo, changing lights, moving animls different enclosures makes so much difference! take 2 memory cards shoot jpeg what dont work, dont work, dont go to get perfect shots go to get practice in, i did 600 shots ( plus raw i shoudlnt have cause it took long to edit) and i learnt so much about w.b and how slow i could get the shutter speed down and hold still!

Indeed.. Trust me, I got some really bad shots aswell Loads of underexposed ones where I tried to do it manually

Need to know what buttons do what on the camera before I do that..

01-12-2008, 11:50 PM

Originally Posted by Lewwy

Indeed.. Trust me, I got some really bad shots aswell Loads of underexposed ones where I tried to do it manually

Need to know what buttons do what on the camera before I do that..

The camera should show a lightmeter through the viewfinder, or if it has an LCD display, it'll probably show it there.

If you're shooting fully manual, you'll need to work both aperture and shutter speed. Generally, I'd try to keep the shutter speed above 1/60. And slower than that and there's an increased chance of camera shake. Shooting outdoors though, there's a pretty low chance of shooting at that speed anyway.

Also, Canon DSLR's are fantastic with high ISO settings, so if you're indoors, switch to a higher ISO. This'll allow you to shoot without using the flash, which tends to flatten the image (as the Orangutan shows)

As for the settings on the dial, I couldn't explain all as I don't have that camera, and only have a Nikon D40x, but I guess most are similar or very self explanatory.

I mostly shoot on 'P' setting. Exposure is auto, but flash will only come on if you set it to. You can also control ISO. I forget what it stands for now - Programmed, or something like that. Someone please correct me if that's incorrect.

'A' setting - Aperture priority. Here, you can set the aperture, and the shutter speed will adjust itself accordingly for the exposure. Good for a variety of purposes - macro shots for example - you can control depth of field through aperture, so this will allow you to easily change it if need be. It could also be great for landscapes, as you could set the aperture to F11 or above to ensure everything is in focus.

'S' setting - Shutter speed priority. Pretty much the same as 'A', but with shutter speed. Ideal for action shots as you can maintain a fast shutter speed to capture the action, without having to worry about aperture as well.

'M' - obviously manual mode. You'll need to use the in-camera lightmeter here to expose your shots properly

All the other dials are pretty easy to work out. Generally they include; sports, macro, portrait, landscape, night etc. I generally avoid using them, as I don't really get the same level of control. Some may allow you to change some settings, others won't.

Also, since you have a DSLR, make sure you get used to shooting RAW. You'll reveal entirely new levels of editing possibilities and image quality and control. File sizes can me much larger, but if you want a quality shot, this is THE setting to use. It can also help correct minor over/under exposure issues, as well as editing white balance, sharpness etc. after you've taken the shot.

Hope that's of some help.

As for the shots, they're looking pretty good. Some nice closeups. Don't feel you need to limit your shots to just that if you want details. The location and body language of the subject can be just as important as what their face is telling us.

Keep those pics coming!

01-12-2008, 11:58 PM

Great pictures!!

01-13-2008, 01:59 AM

The 400D has several auto picture modes, like portrait and landscape, but the big one's you'll probably end up using are M(Manual), TV(Shutter Priority - Everything is auto but shutter speed), and AV(Aperture Value - Everything is auto but the aperture)

Also, once you start learning about exposure and how the camera settings work, then you'll be able to use this little bit of info. Generally, the lowest acepted shutter speed that can capture an image that won't be affected by camera shake is going to be equal to the focal length you're shooting at. Some one mentioned keeping it at higher than 60, but if you're using the kit lens (18-55) and have it "zoomed out" all the way, the focal length will by 18mm. You'll want to used a shutter speed faster than 1/18 of a second. If you're using a zoom lens that zooms to 200mm and you have it zoomed out all the way, you'll want to use a shutter speed faster than 1/200 of a second.

There's factors that can affect those numbers, like whether or not the lens has IS (Image Stabilization), so it's just a general rule.

01-13-2008, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by Village Idiot

The 400D has several auto picture modes, like portrait and landscape, but the big one's you'll probably end up using are M(Manual), TV(Shutter Priority - Everything is auto but shutter speed), and AV(Aperture Value - Everything is auto but the aperture)

Also, once you start learning about exposure and how the camera settings work, then you'll be able to use this little bit of info. Generally, the lowest acepted shutter speed that can capture an image that won't be affected by camera shake is going to be equal to the focal length you're shooting at. Some one mentioned keeping it at higher than 60, but if you're using the kit lens (18-55) and have it "zoomed out" all the way, the focal length will by 18mm. You'll want to used a shutter speed faster than 1/18 of a second. If you're using a zoom lens that zooms to 200mm and you have it zoomed out all the way, you'll want to use a shutter speed faster than 1/200 of a second.

There's factors that can affect those numbers, like whether or not the lens has IS (Image Stabilization), so it's just a general rule.

aha, interesting. I was taught that anything slower than 1/60, you're more likely to get camera shake when shooting hand-held.

Nice little bit of info there!