The penny has dropped . . . ?

[poledark]

Agreed Steve...and at the end of the day it is the pic that counts. If I really was that fussy then I could go out and buy a top of range Nikon at about £6000, add on a few more thousand £'sss worth of lenses and end up with an image that can be enlarged umpteen times defore any pixilation showed.

 

I would of course end up swapping lenses and settings and probably miss the shot I really wanted but hey, so what, the one I end up with will be a good clear/sharp image that can stand a lot of enlarging.

 

Or I could stick with my 10x zoom and set to auto, frame the shot...clik...got it :) all smiles when viewed on PC pr TV and if good enough sent off to Photobox for a super print. This would (and do) come back at 8x6 as good as ANY other camera I even get GOOD images using (shock horror) a percentage of digital zoom as well.

 

As I have already commented;about 10 years ago I bought one of the first digi cameras to come on the market. I went for the 10x optical zoom simply to give me the all round versatility, and nothing I have seen or read has changed my mind that a good compact with a good quality 10/12/15x zoom is the way to go, unless you want/need to specialise.

 

I suspect that the reason Nikon stopped making the 8800 was because they wanted to push sales of their lenses I wonder how long before other makers make the same mistake. I bet Canon are laughing all the way to the bank with their sales of their "compacts"

 

Like Sharkbyte, I am wary of commenting on pics posted for the comps, not for the interpretation of the subject, but for the images themselves, I did once comment on some of Judys pics but she was "man enough" to take those comments as valid critisism and not personal.

 

Except in the case of the type of shot that has to be accepted because it was "now or never" then over/under exposed, out of focus and badly framed shots should be open to comment. I would be quite happy to be told where I was going wrong, I have posted "poor" pics myself......canoodling doves for example....so intent on the subject that I forgot to check the camera settings and they all ended up out of focus. I thought they were worth keeping because of the subject, not the quality of the pics...........and who knows I will probably make a similar mistake again :)

 

 

 

 

 

Den

Edited August 28, 2007 by poledark

[Sharkbyte]

Following on from Poledark's reference to having previously commented on one of Nurse Judy's pics, I'll dip a toe in.

 

I remembered this shot as soon as NJ's name was mentioned, it was entered in the Nature's Palette comp and was only a 'knats' away from being a finalist.

 

However, I reckon the winning image was in there.

 

 

Given a touch of fill in flash with maybe the selected area being more of a central focus point (up closer with a wider angle), I'd have voted for it for sure.

 

PS. Nurses always carry a packet of tissues or some lint free bandage, so there was no excuse for not wiping that rain drop from the lens.

 

 

Hopefully this provides an example of the constructive criticism I was referring to on the previous page. I've got some absolute shitters from an impromptu opportunity the other night, I'll get them posted, feel free to wade in.

[Westie]

I'm all for constructive criticism - if people can tell me different techniques to try, composition tips, anything to make shots better and more memorable, I'll gladly take them on board and absorb them all. I don't think that any comments would be posted unless they were trying to encourage/motivate. As with everything, though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

 

The comps do make me think about composition of a picture much more and it's starting to show in my 'snapshots' - I tend to think about the rule of thirds a wee bit more. I don't always have time to, but with the software available and careful use of cropping/resizing, you can still turn a snapshot into something a bit more special. For the comps though, I don't tend to crop anything - if it doesn't look right, it just stays on my 'puter for my personal enjoyment.

 

As for the DSLR/Compact debate, we have both. Sharon has a Cybershot - I tend to use this if we're heading out and I just want to travel light (or if I fear for the safety of the camera itself (sand/grit/rain - don't tell her that). I love my DSLR to bits. It's really hooked me back into photography again in a big way, but there are times when changing lenses can be a hassle. Other than that, I get the most satisfaction from my DSLR, because of the freedom it gives me to experiment with settings, quickly and easily at the touch of a button or two, rather than trawling through well hidden menus on the compact.

 

Given the results we see in the comps on this forum, all cameras clearly deliver.

 

Sharpness in a picture is becoming quite a big thing for me - I've been mucking around with mirror up mode and using a tripod to avoid any shake. It's time consuming and I now feel like I need a remote shutter release cable, but it's only if I pixel peep that I can make out any noticeable difference between that and a good handheld shot, although with HH, the shutter speed does have to go up a few notches to eliminate my shakey hands. I've also noticed that using the option to fire a succession of shots quickly helps - something I cannot do with my compact. One of them is usually alright. One thing that does drive me mad with the cybershot is the dreadful shutter lag - it feels like an age between pressing the shutter release and the camera doing anything. I'm sure more modern compacts have improved on this, though.

 

Wow. So OT, you wouldn't believe. Daydreamer on the keyboard again...

[nursejudy]

"Maybe, it's time to explore the flip-side of the photography forum and offer constructive criticism, not just on gear but maybe the photos posted. No nastiness, just honest appraisal with constructive advice?"

 

I was going to say that I have often posted pictures and asked for comments.... all opinions gratefully received.

 

I'm flattered you have used my cornflowers .... it was pouring with rain and just could not resist..

For the comp pictures apart from perhaps a bit of cropping I dont do any thing else to them!.

 

Not sure I understand this 1005 crop ,i use picassa ..but will have ago with a flower pic, i would really like to see if the 10 mega pixies things make a difference... cheers

[nursejudy]

not sure if i have done this right..in picassa i zoomed to a 100% then used crop tool then exported file saving it at maximum at 800 pixels

 

 

 

how do i find out the megapixels?

just wondering if i had different settings as the rose looks much better..... please feel free to comment..

Edited August 28, 2007 by nursejudy