Learn Photography Master Thread

[Dywert]

Does anyone know of someone who can fix camara's in Lakewood NJ ( I dropped my sony a5000 and it is giving me a "can't recognize lens" error).  Thank You!!

[springles]

Sorry, but this is really, really bad advice.

Composition is useless if the picture looks like crud. Settings are useless if the composition makes no sense.

The answer is - shockingly - to learn both at once. If Ush was smart enough to become a dentist I trust he could walk and chew gum at the same time. Learn the basic settings as well as the basic composition ideas. Exposure triangle, exposure compensation, metering modes; rule of thirds, stay away from the center, move around and explore the scene before you begin shooting. That's 90% of what any budding photographer needs to know and can be learned and understood in a couple of hours and some experimentation.

Locking yourself into "rules" and "this before that" will get you nowhere.

In regards to the initial question: don't go around changing all the settings in your camera until you know what they mean, especially not someone else's personal "laundry list" of settings. Keep things on the default and with a little bit of experimentation you'll learn how to set your camera so that it works right for you.

interesting.
Ive read Peterson's understanding composition and have been reading up on the exposure triangle. I think I have the basics down and while I will need to solidify the knowledge Ive learned in the last couple of weeks I went out to experiment and I struggled with using the information I have to get the right settings on my a6000. I got decent pictures, but missed some great ones due to poor exposure (dark setting, using a slow shutter speed, maybe should have adjusted aperture or ISO instead to get in more light without a slight blur in the sky?). Have been playing around with aperture priority, shutter speed and some manual on the camera but there are many settings and learning the camera seems to be a very important part of the process.

[Something Fishy]

Does anyone know of someone who can fix camara's in Lakewood NJ ( I dropped my sony a5000 and it is giving me a "can't recognize lens" error).  Thank You!!

Before you pay to repair it try taking the lens on and off a few times and cleaning the contacts (both on the camera and lens) with a q-tip dipped in some alcohol. Worth a try, I've seen come cameras come back to life after doing that.

You may also want to consider sending it in to Sony, there's a chance they'll fix it for free.

[Work-for-ur-muny]

I'm putting together a group to buy a http://kelbyone.com/ subscription. Training on photography, Lightroom, Photoshop, and all kinds of related subjects. My cost is $139/yr. The more people we get, the cheaper it'll be for everyone. Multiple people could be logged in and watch videos at once; I've done it last year already.

Anyone want to join?

BUMP

Starting this group this year again!!!

Details and joining here. 

[ari9]

Hoping someone can help me with this -
A few years ago my wife read through this thread and then ordered the sony a5000 (with kit and 55-210 lenses) to take pictures of our kids at home and on trips - and it's been great.
Recently she has been learning and practicing and has even been asked by friends/neighbors to take pictures of their families. Now she feel limited by the a5000 and those lenses, most specifically by the low light capability, inability to get wide apertures, lack of viewfinder and hot shoe.
Where do we go from here?
Do I buy into the e mount system and start with a portrait lens? Sell whatever I can and switch systems? My wife says she would like to upgrade to full frame one day (far down the road  ).

[Work-for-ur-muny]

Hoping someone can help me with this -
A few years ago my wife read through this thread and then ordered the sony a5000 (with kit and 55-210 lenses) to take pictures of our kids at home and on trips - and it's been great.
Recently she has been learning and practicing and has even been asked by friends/neighbors to take pictures of their families. Now she feel limited by the a5000 and those lenses, most specifically by the low light capability, inability to get wide apertures, lack of viewfinder and hot shoe.
Where do we go from here?
Do I buy into the e mount system and start with a portrait lens? Sell whatever I can and switch systems? My wife says she would like to upgrade to full frame one day (far down the road  ).

If the upgrade to the full-frame is inevitable then why waste the money the entire way till you get there. If she sees a potential for parnassa and/or hobby, then it's an investment decision. In the meantime you can buy equipment that will bring up the quality of the pictures being taken with the a5000 that will also be compatible with a full-frame (perhaps soft box etc.).

[ari9]

If the upgrade to the full-frame is inevitable then why waste the money the entire way till you get there. If she sees a potential for parnassa and/or hobby, then it's an investment decision. In the meantime you can buy equipment that will bring up the quality of the pictures being taken with the a5000 that will also be compatible with a full-frame (perhaps soft box etc.).

precisely my dilemma.
with an eye to full frame, is mirrorless the way to go? or better to switch to dslr system?
lens would be the preferred next purchase

[Work-for-ur-muny]

precisely my dilemma.
with an eye to full frame, is mirrorless the way to go? or better to switch to dslr system?
lens would be the preferred next purchase

Key words: If full-frame is inevitable.

[Work-for-ur-muny]

BUMP

Starting this group this year again!!!

Details and joining here. 

FINAL CALL!!!

I'll wrap this up in about an hour.

[Work-for-ur-muny]

FINAL CALL!!!

I'll wrap this up in about an hour.

Closed. I will PM participants with details as soon as I have them.

[Something Fishy]

Short, sweet, and useful.

[Something Fishy]

Great article.

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/on-location/featured-stories/a-new-perspective-on-the-parks/

[YG]

There is also the new XQD card, which so far is used only by the Nikon D4 camera.

SF
For SD cards, I have always stuck to Sandisk. Now I'm in the market for an XQD card for recording 4K video on a d500, it seems that the only two brands on the market are Lexar and Sony, would you recommend one over the other in terms of quality/reliability?

[Something Fishy]

SF
For SD cards, I have always stuck to Sandisk. Now I'm in the market for an XQD card for recording 4K video on a d500, it seems that the only two brands on the market are Lexar and Sony, would you recommend one over the other in terms of quality/reliability?

Both are fine, but if they're the same price I'd go with Lexar.

[YG]

Both are fine, but if they're the same price I'd go with Lexar.

Thank you for the input!!!
Appreciate it!

[YG]

Both are fine, but if they're the same price I'd go with Lexar.

Going back to look at the specs, the d500 records 4K at 144 mbps which is 18 MBPS. Is there any real-world reason not to just use good SDXC cards like SanDisk Extreme Pro that claims to have min write speed of 30 MBPS which is well above the 18 MBPS necessary?
Will the XQD function better than the SDXC, or will they essentially do the same job?

[pixi]

I bought the Sony alpha a5000 and gave up my Canon g15, the quality of the pictures was much better on the Canon g15  is it because I just  don't know how to set it right or I have to buy a more expensive lense in order to get good shots?

[sky121]

I bought the Sony alpha a5000 and gave up my Canon g15, the quality of the pictures was much better on the Canon g15  is it because I just  don't know how to set it right or I have to buy a more expensive lense in order to get good shots?

What do you feel was better on the G 15?

[pixi]

What do you feel was better on the G 15?

I can't pinpoint in a specific feature all I can say is when I print out the pictures the Canon g15 pictures are much sharper and better colors.

[Live N Learn]

FREE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS The First Saturday of the Month @ BestBuy.