Wannabe Photographer

[WallyWorld]

ARW is raw. I am just starting to use Capture One and I like it so far. Same as with LR, you will be amazed at what you can do with the pictures you took.

ISO-wise...there is a setting where you can set the high and low ISO range for when you select ISO auto...it will keep from raising the ISO too much a the pic getting grainy. I am slowly learning, but there are a lot of great features on this camera.

Once again....thanks for starting the thread.

 

[thomas998]

Thank You for this! I found your opinion very helpful here. I never thought about the vibration when doing mutli shots. And to be honest I've been afraid to up my ISO and i think it's affected some of my shots. I will definitely play with capture one soon. I haven't done as much as I would like with my camera, my excuse is August through October is so busy in our family so I'm looking forward to this winter so I can do more with it.

I do have a question maybe you can answer. (I don't have my camera with me so I can't verify and I keep forgetting to look) I'm pretty sure I was shooting in JPEG & RAW during my Disney vacation but when I put my SD card in the computer and pull up a pic it says ARW. Is it raw? I don't know what ARW could mean.

Yes. ARW is the Sony extension for their RAW photo files. Every manufacturer has their own extension that makes it easy for the photo editing software to know which manufacturers RAW photo it is dealing with. I think Olympus is ORF, Nikon is NEF and so on... Capture One will know when it opens it. I would also recommend you don't bother using Capture One with any jpeg. The jpeg files are pretty much what they are and you have a very limited amount of adjusting you can do with them. If you have time just take one of the photos you've taken in JPEG/RAW and open it in both formats in Capture One and try to make some exposure adjustments. You'll very easily see why people prefer RAW over JPEG when they are going to do anything other than crop and print the file. You JPEG exposure adjustments will be next to pointless.

 

[thomas998]

ARW is raw. I am just starting to use Capture One and I like it so far. Same as with LR, you will be amazed at what you can do with the pictures you took.

ISO-wise...there is a setting where you can set the high and low ISO range for when you select ISO auto...it will keep from raising the ISO too much a the pic getting grainy. I am slowly learning, but there are a lot of great features on this camera.

Once again....thanks for starting the thread.

Be aware that not all cameras have the ability to limit the ISO range when you select auto, I've got one camera that you don't ever leave on auto because if it is low light it will jump the ISO to the point that your photos are total garbage... Sadly this is a case where you will need your manual to find out if the ISO range is an option.

 

[Zipadeelady]

@WallyWorld I've tried Capture One and figured out enough to get started. After my first 50 photos I edited I want to do another day's worth of photos. I can't seem to remove the pictures i've already edited. Can you tell me how? I've saved them into a file.

 

[WallyWorld]

From what I have learned so far....Under File...there is an Export choice. You get to decide where and what format etc. After I export, under file, I start a new catalog or session and import the next batch of photos. Hope it helps....I am still learning also. Seems everyone is high on using sessions vs catalogs but I am still trying to figure out why.

 

[thomas998]

@WallyWorld I've tried Capture One and figured out enough to get started. After my first 50 photos I edited I want to do another day's worth of photos. I can't seem to remove the pictures i've already edited. Can you tell me how? I've saved them into a file.

Go to "file" select "new session..." and it will allow you to create a new session say call it "day 2", it will then begin a new session with no photos at all you'll be able to import photos now and if you decide to go back to the other photos you already did go to that old session with whatever name it was called and it will go back there.

 

[thomas998]

From what I have learned so far....Under File...there is an Export choice. You get to decide where and what format etc. After I export, under file, I start a new catalog or session and import the next batch of photos. Hope it helps....I am still learning also. Seems everyone is high on using sessions vs catalogs but I am still trying to figure out why.

Here is a link to a fairly straight forward explanation of sessions vs catalogs for Capture One.... https://digitaltransitions.com/catalogs-vs-sessions-epic-battle-times/ I used to be in the catalog camp until I realized how to use the sessions... guess that's what happens when you don't bother to read the manuals and just jump right in.

 

[WallyWorld]

thomas998....

Thank you so much.

Zipitidoda....Thanks also

Fractal....you too

Great thread/topic....it has been great to get so much help and learn along with others.....

I appreciate the time taken by all...it has encouraged me....and I've enjoyed it!

 

[Bullseye1967]

Here is the difference a "fast/large aperture lens" can make in low light shots such as dark rides.

These were shot with basically the same type of camera (NEX-3 and NEX-7 which are comparable to the Nikon D7100 and D5500).

shot at f/3.5

shot at f/1.8. The "faster" aperture allowed me to shoot at a faster shutter speed to avoid blur. Crucial for dark ride shots.

The point being - A Nikon D5500 with a kit lens won't give you great dark ride shots (same with the Sony A6000 with kit). You'll need to buy another "fast" lens such as the 35mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.8. The Lumix's built in lens is fast enough for dark rides.

You are so wise @fractal I used to used a Canon Digi Rebel and then a Nikon DX7 and I could never get decent low light shots on the rides. Always got great fireworks pics, but my ride shots were awful. I have switched to mirrorless also, but still consider myself an amateur, so thank you for all the knowledge.

 

[thomas998]

You are so wise @fractal I used to used a Canon Digi Rebel and then a Nikon DX7 and I could never get decent low light shots on the rides. Always got great fireworks pics, but my ride shots were awful. I have switched to mirrorless also, but still consider myself an amateur, so thank you for all the knowledge.

One other thing to consider if you are after dark ride photos is that the depth of field changes based on the size of the sensor you are using. I have an Olympus point and shot with a f1.8 and when I use the lens equivalent of a 50mm it gives me a lot more deeper depth of field than if I use a 50mm f1.8 lens on a full frame camera. Point being that when you are doing dark rides a very fast lens on a big sensor camera will give you very little room for error in focusing and you will be getting the blurry background on more of the picture than if you were to use a 50mm equivalent f1.8 on a 1 inch sensor camera. So bear that in mind when are planning your shots. I have probably gotten shots that are as good on dark rides using the Olympus as I have using a mirrorless with a very fast lens for that reason alone. So if you want to get sucked into the dark ride chase another option is to get a smaller sensor camera with a fast lens (need to get one that shoots raw though as it will help you tweak the photos to a much better final product).

 

[WallyWorld]

Never realized the full frame difference. Curious, is there an advantage to using manual focus vs. auto focus? Autofocus seems to "hunt" a while....

I just bout a cheap 35mm 1.7 lens for my A6000 (about $90) that is manual focus. I have been quite surprised at how easy it is to use...especially with the focus assist.

Do you get better results with manual or autofocus?

TIA

 

[Jahona]

Never realized the full frame difference. Curious, is there an advantage to using manual focus vs. auto focus? Autofocus seems to "hunt" a while....

I just bout a cheap 35mm 1.7 lens for my A6000 (about $90) that is manual focus. I have been quite surprised at how easy it is to use...especially with the focus assist.

Do you get better results with manual or autofocus?

TIA

The advantage of a full frame sensor over a crop sensor is typically better low light performance in regards to noise. A 24 megapixel full frame sensor will have the same resolution as a 24 megapixel APC sized sensor but will have more light hitting larger pixels on the sensor. Typically this allows for better dynamic range and lower image noise at higher ISO. Also full frame sensors typically produce better depth of field images, but that can also be dependent on your lens and aperture.



Honestly there's a lot of factors that go into auto focus. Some systems are better then others and available light is a definite factor. If I'm out shooting for fun or run and gunning I'll usually use AF-S/C (Single or Continuous) and select single point Auto Focus. This gives me control on what exactly I'm going to focus on, while still responding faster than manually focusing. If I'm in the studio or shooting a staged scene I'll typically shoot manual and use the live view assist to check. I'll also have a computer tethered to the camera where I can enlarge the image to check focus on a larger screen a second or so after I take the photo.

 

[WallyWorld]

Thanks Jahona....slowly I'm wrapping my mind around all this....

 

[Jahona]

So this video is somewhat geared for video but a lot of what they talk about crosses over for still photography. the first section handles composition and the second is a great visual look at what lens focal lengths do when framing subjects for shots.

 

[Elfinko]

Well heck, since everyone else is showing off their photos;

Here's some examples of shots I took with the 50mm 1.8 OSS in dark rides. I believe the "OSS" really does help in low light conditions handheld.

Hola, been lurking reading this thread for a few days. I bought myself a refurbished A6000 on Friday. Quick question. Some of these indoor shots are phenomenal even with very high ISO values. Are these re-touched to remove the graininess or are these the originals? I've been fussing with ISO and trying to keep it in the 100-200 range when taking my shots indoors, but judging by the quality here, I'm wondering if it's even worth worrying over.

 

[fractal]

Hola, been lurking reading this thread for a few days. I bought myself a refurbished A6000 on Friday. Quick question. Some of these indoor shots are phenomenal even with very high ISO values. Are these re-touched to remove the graininess or are these the originals? I've been fussing with ISO and trying to keep it in the 100-200 range when taking my shots indoors, but judging by the quality here, I'm wondering if it's even worth worrying over.

I typically shoot in RAW and apply noise reduction to reduce the graininess but I believe some of these were shot Jpeg which automatically applies noise reduction. If you are shooting indoors, you can still get a good image at ISO 1600 - even 3200 with the A6000. I would be worrying more about the shutter speed, especially if you are moving or shooting moving objects (or both). If the shutter speed is too slow then you'll get blurry shoots. For the A6000 in a dark ride I would go at the very minimum 2X the focal length. So a 50mm lens I would go 1/100 of a second; a 35mm lens go 1/70 of a second. Also work on how you hold the camera - close to the body, elbows tucked in - push the shutter after you exhale, etc.

 

[Jahona]

I've been fussing with ISO and trying to keep it in the 100-200 range when taking my shots indoors, but judging by the quality here, I'm wondering if it's even worth worrying over.

6+ years ago ISO noise would probably be more of an issue than it is today. Most of the more recent digital cameras can hold their own between 1600-3200, as fractal mentioned. Aiming for ISO 100-200 for interior is unrealistic without a tripod or a brightly light scene. Disney dark rides are... well dark. You're going to need to capture as much light as you can while being on a bumpy ride vehicle. On my last trip there were shots I was honestly pushing my D610 up past 3200 in order to have a fast enough shutter speed to capture images in the dark. Thank goodness for image stabilization. Having a few stops of extra help really made a difference at times.

While I wasn't necessarily using the fastest lens when I took this late evening at EPCOT I was able to brace and hand hold it. I used Google Nik to reduce the noise but didn't want to go overboard and loose detail as well.


EPCOT at Dusk by SSPC, on Flickr