Camera & Photography Talk

[Shorty]

Mirage and I have been talking cameras and photography all day, and he has inadvertently convinced me to purchase a filter kit for my camera! Unfortunately, I don't think it will arrive for my trip in a couple of days, but I am excited all the same. I go through lulls and spurts with my camera; mostly, I have it tucked away so no harm will come to it, and then I forget about it! I also have tons of photos I've been meaning to pull off of it, so I've been avoiding it and neglecting it for those reasons as well.

We have plenty of folks here ranging from experts to novices when it comes to cameras and photography. Doesn't matter if it's an SLR, a DSLR, a point-and-shoot or your phone - do you like dabbling in photography? Is it something you would like to pursue more?

[Pike]

I did black and white darkroom photography in uni and I think it was pretty much my favorite class. I spent hours in the darkroom, even when it wasn't on actual school projects. I did my own stuff.

These days I think cameras and ESPECIALLY film-based cameras are becoming obsoleted (in before people show up and get mad at me because I'm pretty sad about it) and will eventually be phased out completely in favor of smart phones except for art/hobbiest applications and the like. RIP 53184

[Shorty]

They are becoming obsolete. I like them for the novelty and the creativity a darkroom provides, but mostly, digital is easier to work with as a creative outlet, which is why I prefer it!

I was always bad at the darkroom. I'd leave my prints in for too long or too little, and didn't often get them to come out properly.

[Endless]

I've taken some pictures these past years (https://www.flickr.com/photos/airelle-info/).

I have one DSLR, an Olympus E-5 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_E-5) and since November a mirorless ILC, an Olympus E-M1 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_E-M1). Since I had started with an E-520 and then E-5, all my lenses are 4/3 lenses. I have some filters too, most for my 12-60: a ND6 filter (perfect for water streams (https://www.flickr.com/photos/airelle-info/6050286161/in/set-72157627449822216)), a UV filter (the default always-on) and a circular polarizer filter.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I've always wanted to do dark room stuff, but I didn't get the chance in college. I couldn't afford to do a photography class, and they took care to make sure no one not in one of those classes got in the dark room. I did get to sneak into the photo lab a few times to use their editing software.

I just dabble in it for fun, really. I've helped photograph a wedding, and it was way too stressful for my tastes. I have a Nikon D90 with only a couple of lenses. I want to get more, but it is all so expensive.

Sometime in the next couple of years I want to go on a cross country photo adventure to just go take cool pictures at different places.

[blackmage_nuke]

Normally I like an actual camera but my phone now has 2 backcameras and I can take 3d pictures now so goodbye to accidentally having my finger over the lense

[Shiny]

I like still and moving photography so I purchased a Canon DSLR that does both pretty well. Admittedly, I haven't used it much since my California trip in September, but I will definitely be using it on France trip soon.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

I like photography of places I wouldn't otherwise see. Abandoned asylums, shut down factories & amusement parks, long forgotten towns. Stuff like that.

Taking a picture of a tree and then putting a sepia tint on it doesn't really do anything for me, though.

[Shorty]

I got my camera kit (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMUZ678/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)! Oh my god, this thing makes an entire world of difference. In just playing with the macro lenses, I am so much happier with my camera.

I've always felt like my camera is a pretty okay starter kit, but it doesn't compare to Canon or any of the other popular expensive brands. Additionally, it doesn't have any components to actually attach real lenses, so I've always felt like it's kindof a second-best (or even lower than that) piece of equipment. My new lenses make me feel like I am working with an $800 camera. They make everything absolutely beautiful.

I took a few minutes pulling everything out of their boxes and reading directions and figuring out what does what, and then I went into my backyard to take test a couple of shots - just some pinecones and stuff. I'm so happy with this kit. I'm sure it'll be a pain in the ass to spend time screwing the lenses on and off, but I'm so happy with it that I don't even care.

I really ought to appreciate my camera and take more pictures. Or, at the very least, empty the ones I've already taken off my camera card.

I need a new bag for all my stuff! None of it will fit in my current bag!

[Calliope]

Haha, "a new bag". I think I have four camera bags, and various bits and pieces for my nine cameras, it's so chaotic currently that most of everything is in my desk where I can pretend it is organized. I should use that stuff more, but it's overwhelming, especially the older stuff.

[Endless]

on France trip soon.

Ooo, tell me more :D

[Shorty]

I was dweebing out over my new lenses and decided to go test them in my backyard again. These flowers are like the size of a pinhead and I didn't even notice this smurfing bug on the stem until I was looking on the screen afterward, that's how tiny everything in this test is. (it's a super troutty and non-crisp image but I love my lenses even more)

[Shlup]

I do like to take photos, but my subject is pretty much always the same.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/ShlupQuack/_MG_95552.jpg

[Shiny]

on France trip soon.

Ooo, tell me more :D

In time. I will post and take as many pictures as I can.

[Endless]

on France trip soon.

Ooo, tell me more :D

In time. I will post and take as many pictures as I can.

When and where are you visiting us? It would be cool to stalk meet another EoFFer :D

[Mirage]

As you might have gathered from Shorty's first post, I kinda like photography too. I have a Samsung NX20, which is a mirrorless system camera or whatever you want to call them. I'm satisfied with it, for the most part. The only things that bother me about it are not related to the hardware itself, but that said hardware might be worthless if I choose to upgrade to a "real" DSLR later, so I usually think twice about buying more lenses and such for it.

I like it because of its compact size, with the prime lens i usually use for it, it's really light and stress-free to bring around anywhere I want to go, while it still takes really good pictures. I recently bought some macro extention tubes for it and they are probably somewhere in between china and norway right now. I might also get an IR filter, cause those are totally cool, right Shorty?

In the mean time, here's one of the very first pictures I took with my NX20. Enjoy :p. (https://www.dropbox.com/s/woyxsuafa8d7gbh/2012-12-29%2023.59.17.jpg)

Sadly, that was before I had started using RAW on my camera, so I can't really change the white balance and such on that image. It is drenched in blue-ish flash light, as it was taken in the middle of the night and at really close range. That black thing at the bottom is the shadow of my lens.

Here's my first ever attempt to make a HDR, all made from a single RAW shot. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1132077/babby%27s%20first%20hdr.jpg. There is a bit of noise in it. I blame this on having to use a somewhat short shutter speed (and therefore higher iso) because I had to take it quickly because it was raining and I didn't want to get the camera too wet. If I had had my tripod with me and the weather had been better, I probably would have had a bit better source material as well, like three individual pictures shots instead of extracting three exposures out of one raw. It is my hometown, btw, for those who were wondering.

[Shiny]

on France trip soon.

Ooo, tell me more :D

In time. I will post and take as many pictures as I can.

When and where are you visiting us? It would be cool to stalk meet another EoFFer :D

Cannes and possibly Paris if time permits.

[Dark_Valentine]

I love photography! I have a Nikon P90, Nikon D80, and of course my phone. I've used SLR, DSLR, and point and shoot and I like them all the same. The only difference I've found in them is the quality of the photos taken. I would each camera for something different things, so it really depended on the type of photo I wanted to take and the environment in which I was taking them.

[Endless]

on France trip soon.

Ooo, tell me more :D

In time. I will post and take as many pictures as I can.

When and where are you visiting us? It would be cool to stalk meet another EoFFer :D

Cannes and possibly Paris if time permits.

Let me know if you do get to Paris, we can have a drink in the best geek bar :D

[Vyk]

I do the promotional photo shoots for my my photo lab at work. On a whim one day I wanted a nice camera, a few years ago, and did a lot of research, weighed a lot of options, and got a Canon Rebel 300D used, in great condition, from a photographer who'd just upgraded. It was one of Canon's first DSLRs, and on the lower end of the spectrum. The alternative was a more professional camera called a 10D. At the time they were $900 and $2400 I believe. But later I found a firmware hack that gave the 300D the capabilities of the 10D. So I ended up getting it all-in-one. For about $200

I never got beyond the basic lens, and only barely dabbled into the real functions. Though the quality difference between this and a point-and-shoot or cell phone picture was obvious. Even on the default auto settings, things just have a bit more professional flare to them. It was a worthy purchase, and I have replacement batteries, a carry bag, and a tri-pod. So I'm all set for photographic adventures. Even got a couple of books. But I still barely do more than dabble. I'd love to get farther into it. Though of taking a course in photography they offer around here

For the last photo shoot, I even bought a professional muslin backdrop. I guess I'm probably out of the consumer range, and more into the prosumer. But I'm probably one of the least knowledgeable prosumer amateurs out there lol

[Mirage]

I'll just post a few pictures in here instead of making a separate thread for my pictures, considering I am just starting out and don't really have a lot to show yet. When I say a few i mean like one, btw.

Took this a bit ago, if the Nidaros cathedral in the city I live in. I've done a few things in lightroom, but nothing extreme.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1132077/images/samsung/nidaros%20cathedral%20sunset%201.jpg

[Alive-Cat]

It's weird, photography is something I've always loved and always been into but I have never really taken a single proper photo (something with an actual camera not a phone or cheapy digital thing) but I'm thinking when my funds is good again, I'm gonna spend a fair bit on a decent camera and see if I can take any interesting stuff.