[LobsterSan]

I just traded in my Panasonic DMC-FZ30 for my first DSLR. I picked up a used Canon EOS 20D along with a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. So far, I've been very pleased with the results!

First, a few final shots from my FZ30:











And now, the 20D / Tamron 17-50mm shots:

 

[Towert7]

Lobster, the pictures you took with your new dslr have a very tight DOF for product shots, which is making a lot of the object in front blurred (especially the bottom one).
Just a heads up.

I prefer the pictures that came out of your P&S because the item is more in focus.

 

[Baines93]

I have that problem with my C770. Any tips?

 

[LobsterSan]

Yeah, I noticed the DOF on the Tammy is a lot narrower than what I was used to with the P&S FZ30. It's going to take some adjusting for me to focus properly, and I'm probably going to have to invest some time or money into some softer studio lighting solutions. Thank you for the suggestions -- I'm really just taking my first steps into the world of photography and feel my eye and technical knowledge is pretty undeveloped.

Those shots were mostly taken at full wide out of light considerations. I tried to do some DOF manipulations with zoom/open aperture to draw attention to the AT logo, but it just didn't focus right and I see now that unless it's at very tight/macro focus range it makes the product look pretty bad.

Is there a way to do artistic product shots well? I'd love to see some inspirational examples.

 

[LobsterSan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have that problem with my C770. Any tips?

I know that to get a wider DOF, you can shoot at a wider angle (less/no zoom) and with smaller aperture (f5+). This requires more light, however, which is often a problem with product shots unless you have a proper lighting setup.

 

[scompton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have that problem with my C770. Any tips?

The best thing to do is get a tripod and don't use auto mod. You need a smaller f-stop to get more depth of field. As soon as you lower the f-stop, exposure times can get too long for hand holding, especially for indoor shots.

I don't use a tripod for all of the product pictures I've posted on head-fi, but when you need depth of field, there's not really any other way.

 

[Baines93]

Yeah i have a full metal 8inch tripod modded with extra washers so the legs can open more and get lower and more stable now.

I use that and Program mode. Must be the shutter speeds and aperture i am getting wrong.

 

[scompton]

I'd do Aperture Priority mode if your camera has it. My D100 allows me to adjust the aperture/shutter speed even in program mode by spinning a control wheel. I do that quite a bit since the meter is pretty good, especially with indoor shots.

I've taken 2 photography courses and both required cameras that had full manual mode. From the late 70s to 2005, I only owned cameras that had center weighted meters and manual mode only. IMO, manual mode is the best way to really learn photography. Digital makes it easier because of the instant feedback.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah i have a full metal 8inch tripod modded with extra washers so the legs can open more and get lower and more stable now. I use that and Program mode. Must be the shutter speeds and aperture i am getting wrong.

If you want more to be in focus, you make the lens aperture smaller.
In your camera you'll see a setting something like:
F/8.0
F: 8.0
F8.0

The F stands for F-Stop.

That is how the camera adjusts how much light enters the lens (by the aperture).

Most cameras will try and get the fastest shutter speed to avoid motion blurr, but this requires the lens to open up as wide as it can (ex: F/3.5). This will give a very small amount that is in focus.

If you can use a tripod to avoid motion blur, you can up the F-stop to something like F/8 or F/16 to get much more in focus. This means the lens lets in a very small amount of light, so you can expect to get shutter speeds of about 1/10sec to 6 seconds, meaning a tripod or a good camera support is very important.


And of course you can get even more fancy by adjusting both focusing distance (hyper focal lengths, etc) and aperture, but that's more advanced. And I won't even get into tilt frame cameras, haha!

 

[Baines93]

Thats great. I will fiddle later and post examples.

I dont think i can change focusing distance just type of focus, spot or ESP i think.

Thats really helpfull, thanks all.

Matt

 

[scompton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thats great. I will fiddle later and post examples. I dont think i can change focusing distance just type of focus, spot or ESP i think. Thats really helpfull, thanks all. Matt

Auto focus can be a PITA at times. If depth of field is critical, I usually switch to manual focus. I just had to post pictures of the Starving Student Millet Hybrid that I build and wasn't working. In order for people to help me, everything in the picture had to be in focus. I was taking macro shots of some components as well as shots that covered about 4 inches of components. I switched to manual focus, stopped down to f/22 and did 2-3 second exposures.

Here's an example

 

[Baines93]

I can only auto focus i think

 

[scompton]

Even with my D100, manual focus not easy. My manual focus cameras all had split prisms. All you had to do is line up an edge in the prism and that was the plane of focus. Manual focus on ground glass is a lot harder, especially as my eye sight has deteriorated.

My manual lenses also had great distance and focus scales which made it very easy to do hyperfocal distance.

I could go on and on about what I miss from my old featureless, manual focus, 35mm cameras. I spent 30 years working with them. After 4 years, I still am not used to auto focus. If I could get a digital camera that worked like my old OM-1 or F3, I'd love it.

One thing about using a tripod, even with with an PS camera, is that it slows you down and encourages you to think more. There's a strong temptation with auto focus and digital to just snap a picture, preview it, and if it's not right, just snap another one.

One thing the classes I took taught was to really pay attention to the settings on each shot. We were required to take copious notes on each shot. During critiques, the notes would be referred to and we would be forced to defend our choices of shutter speed, aperture, focus, camera position, etc. I got the the point where I had a portable recorder recording an ongoing monologue of what I was doing while taking a photograph. For keepers, I'd transcribe the tape. I still have notebooks full of information on each picture that I took 20 years ago.

I'm not as serious now, mainly because I'm married and I was driving my wife crazy. Also I did mostly nature and landscapes and allergies have really cut down the time I spend outside.

 

[Baines93]

Wow thats something i hadnt thought of, basically because i am 15 this is my first good stand-alone camera, digital or film. I had many cheap film cameras that came with a book and kiddie stuff... Then a 2mp phone cam, and before that, 1.3mp.

I could never shoot film now as i love being able to preview, however not using a 35mm film camera has also made me a click preview and click again person. If i had used a good 35mm camera at my age now i would do as you do, but im spoiled by my first good camera, and my first stand-alone digital cam.

Not that i dont value it though, i couldnt cope with film, and understand the advantages of digital.

 

[scompton]

I'd never go back to film either. I used to though away 3/4 of the slides I took. The last class I took, I shot around 20 rolls of 36 exposures for a 15 photograph portfolio. More than those 15 were good, but only around 10 of the shots were truly outstanding. I get a much better ratio of good shots with digital. For one thing, I rarely have to bracket, except in very tricky light. (I have been bracketing lately in anticipation of trying HDR).

So while I won't go back to film, I try to do the same process. Some of the process is very hard to duplicate because of the equipment differences that I stated in my previous post. My wife also gets very bored standing around while I take pictures. The temptation is also always there to point, shoot, preview, and reshoot, and I do it more than I'd like.

One way to learn, even if you do the shoot, preview, and reshoot, is to not delete every picture, but go over them later and figure out what is different between the ones you like and don't like. You really need to do that on a computer screen, not the cameras screen.