The camera is not what limits you

Post #423,555 by pwhysall 5/3/18 7:04:21 AM 5/3/18 7:04:21 AM Reply	The camera is not what limits you And I know you don't want to learn PS or LR. That's fine; but you're pushing effort back into the camera, so you need to understand the basics. Take the next step - read the book you bought :) Honestly, if you want a wide lens that will automate most of the processing, your phone will suffice. For ultrawide stuff, phones are already on par with affordable compacts. Cameras can only do so much in auto mode, and you will never, ever shoot this: in auto mode. It's a pano, I had to manually (see the zone thing above) set the exposure to balance the sky and the ground (note that the vegetation is very dark in places), and I pushed the aperture very hard to get basically front-to-back depth of field. OTOH, I shot this on my phone: tl;dr: you've already got a camera that far exceeds your capability and limits as a photographer. But new gear is nice. Final thought: pixel-peeping is the ultimate way to destroy the enjoyment of a photo. Ultimately, if a bit of noise in the shadows is the difference between a good photo and not, then it's not a very good photo to begin with. Look at this marvellous photograph: It's the ultimate triumph of composition over technical correctness. Because photography is 90% composition and 10% everything else.
Post #423,561 by Ashton 5/3/18 4:11:02 PM 5/3/18 4:11:02 PM Reply	Thanks.. for many of your elucidations here and past, esp. with such added al punte images.. (Wish you could have been a fly-on-wall re that Ansel Adams photo shoot; luck of the draw that I vas dere, Charlie.) Seeing the steps in his/their set-up, thence seeing his work after lugging that massive view-camera up odd stairs for a perspective on "the Machine"-- quite different preliminaries -vs- what had been a portrait sitting, but in odd surroundings--earned moi a better comprehension of just Why.. moi lacked the er, "perception chops" to be a real Photographer (even if I might have had the "10%" grokked to a sufficiency, Nikon F2-wise) + the small-angle photometric dances of his Method. A cliche now, but still Truthiness that: Seeing a situation/in the instant needs quite more than "viewing". {{sigh}} Mastery?! ..moi might have a Minory in this art, then only occasionally. PS: noted on a "NK"/Japan news show: that Film Cameras (like vinyl "records" ... Heh) seem to be blossoming--at High prices--in the Land of the Rising Sun. Guess my pristine F2 would have financed moi Seeing that rising sun in situ, had I the foresight to keep also the bitchin ƒ2 105mm portrait lens and other paraphernalia ..or my Black Shadow! in a Nitrogen-filled big sack:-/
Post #423,572 by Another Scott 5/3/18 11:06:24 PM 5/3/18 11:06:24 PM Reply	ALICE? Neato. (From ITER.org.) Cheers, Scott.
Post #423,575 by a6l6e6x 5/3/18 11:32:08 PM 5/3/18 11:32:08 PM Reply	You do know tha Ansel Adams used dodging and burning? So, it wasn't the camera and the taking of the picture, it was the film print process afterwards to get the effect he wanted. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #423,591 by Ashton 5/4/18 7:48:47 PM 5/4/18 7:48:47 PM Reply	Knew dat, but tmi is upon us all :-) ..and I recall some video of him doing such; the obvious thing (which, inferentially he knew and acted upon) was the er, dV/dt effects of How (along with the how-Long?) he had: to pick the right trajectory to insert, remove that sucker! Talk aboucher muscle memory, eh?
Post #423,601 by pwhysall 5/5/18 1:17:24 PM 5/5/18 1:17:24 PM Reply	He had to His cameras and film were basically shit, so a lot of effort had to be expended in the darkroom. "Examples" is an illuminating read.
Post #423,573 by Another Scott 5/3/18 11:16:59 PM 5/5/18 3:14:49 PM Reply	Thanks. I pulled the trigger. From B&H. - Watson NB-10L Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.4V, 1000mAh) x 2 - SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Memory Card - Lowepro Inverse 100 AW Beltpack (Black) (Holds the camera with the EVF installed) - Canon Lens Hood & Filter Adapter Kit for PowerShot G3 X - Canon PowerShot G3 X Digital Camera with EVF-DC1 Electronic Viewfinder (special bundle) - Hoya 67mm HD3 Circular Polarizer Filter ($159.90 - ouch!) $1301.06 all up. It should be here early next week. It may be the weekend afterward before I get to play with it. [ edit: The price includes a hockey-puck Chromecast v2, also too. Not the 4k one. No 4k TVs here yet. ] I'm pretty happy with the choice, so far (even if, say, Canon announces a G3X Mark II next month), but have 30 days to make returns if I change my mind. I looked around for the BlackRapid strap you mentioned, but couldn't find that particular model. I'll see how it goes. So no more camera purchase questions from me for a while!! :-) Cheers, Scott. Edited by Another Scott May 5, 2018, 03:14:49 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #423,590 by scoenye 5/4/18 7:28:13 PM 5/4/18 7:28:13 PM Reply	Have fun!
Post #423,600 by pwhysall 5/5/18 1:16:16 PM 5/5/18 1:16:16 PM Reply	Enjoy it Not sure what problem you think you're solving, but I totally get the new shiny thing :) Remember these things for better pictures: Shoot in manual mode Use spot metering Blue sky +2 Dark foreground -2 Sun behind you (you can't pull off arty into-the-sun shots on a compact, soz) Level water * Composition is 90% *
Post #423,602 by Another Scott 5/5/18 3:13:15 PM 5/5/18 3:13:15 PM Reply	I'll do my best. Much of my thinking was affected by things like this, but I have to say that I didn't see actually it before pulling the trigger. Note that she uses a polarizer. ;-) I'll have to see how fast the ungodly expensive one I bought really is. I have a monopod, but dunno if that would be stable enough if I need really long exposures with the polarizer... We'll see how it does with Jpegs. I have shot some RAW stuff (and know the importance of it for PSing), but I haven't seen the benefit with it in my (extremely limited) workflow yet. Such as it is. Thanks for the exposure cheat sheet. :-) I can't pick where the sun will be on these trips - J's itinerary isn't based on best natural illumination for wherever we're going. :-/ ;-) Cheers, Scott.
Post #423,603 by pwhysall 5/5/18 4:35:36 PM 5/5/18 4:36:29 PM Reply	Monopods aren't any good for long exps They're best used for tracking shots. You see a lot of monopods at motor racing events, frample. ETA: pro tog in "takes incredible pictures" shocker! Edited by pwhysall May 5, 2018, 04:36:29 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #423,612 by a6l6e6x 5/6/18 5:57:41 PM 5/6/18 5:57:41 PM Reply	For what it's worth, Consumer Reports just "check rated" Canon PowerShot G3X. Sony's Cyber-shot RX10 (II and III) and Canon's PowerShot G1 X Mark II as well as G7 X Mark II wee ranked higher. But then, their criteria may not match yours. I just read this in the new CR issue yesterday. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #423,615 by Another Scott 5/6/18 8:31:18 PM 5/6/18 8:31:18 PM Reply	Thanks. Years ago my recollection is they had some camera ranking where an SLR was ranked much lower than some P&S. They seemed to weigh cost much more heavily than capabilities at the time. It was a mystery to me. There are many cameras that are better than the G3X in many areas, but I think I'll be happy with it. We'll know pretty soon! :-) Cheers, Scott.

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