Wife got me a my first real (to me) camera

[VPR-KLR]

Been wanting to get a "real" camera for a long time, so my wife purchased an entry-level Nikon D3100 35mm DSLR from costco for father's day. It comes with 2 lenses (18-55mm and a 55-200mm VR). I will most likely take a ton of action shots of my son swimming in his meets and landscape(nature). Already decided the 55-200mm is not big enough.



Suggestions from more knowledgeable (basically more than turning it on) photo buffs would be appreciated on how to get good action shots (full sun or indoors) and separately good landscape shots. I have already been dreaming for an upgrade to the D800 and have lens envy seeing some of the massive lenses out there. I'll be taking a photog class as soon as I have time. However, in the mean time your suggestions would be very welcome to a newbie.

Oh and feel free to post ANY action or landscape photos, telling how you got the shot.

[CraigS]

I wouldn't worry about a longer lens for a while. While 14.2 mp isn't huge, it's pretty good and you will be able to crop to make up for focal length. We have Canons in our family but Your nikon probably has many of the same features. One thing to look for is the types of autofocus available. Try to find one in the menu that allows the camera to keep refocusing as the subject moves while you hold the button down halfway. That way you have a better chance of being in focus at the instant you take the picture. Also, you may have selections for different types of pictures,ie:action,portrait,landscape. Choose the action or sports mode and this usually sets the camera up to use the fastest possible shutter speed in your given light situation. There may also be a mode where the camera keeps takin gpics as long as you hold down the button. banging off 3-4 shots helps get one that you like. Good luck, you will love photography w/ your camera.

[Steven K]

Congratulations. I have been messing around with SLRs for many years and currently have a Canon 40d and an XTi, with a 17-70 and a 28-200mm lens. I use the 17-70 99% of the time.
I would caution you to really get to know the camera and lenses you have before buying anything. Everything looks great in a catalog or online, but like any hobby, I have purchased stuff that I thought I would use based on my heart and not my head and in most cases it has been a significant waste of money. Experience with your set-up will make you a better shopper.
As far as upgrading the camera, if you really learn how to use your camera, there isn't really much noticable difference in the photos to most people. there are some better features, and maybe more pixels, but unless you do very large enlargements or massive cropping (then enlarge what's left) you won't see much difference. I normally use my XTI because it is smaller and lighter than the 40d. There are some features on the 40d that I love, but sometime it is not worth the size and weight. Many get caught up in the "better camera, better pictures" game, and the difference, if any, is so slight, but it does create a great market for used cameras and I got my 40d for about 40% of what it cost new and it only had 3000 actuations. Also, if you cannot take a good picture with the camera you have a better camera will not help. If you real understand how to take a good picture the equipment is secondary as long as it is decent.
Enjoy the camera, if you are like me you will enjoy your new hobby.

[ClemsonS197]

I have the previous version of that, the Nikon D60 combo pack, also from Costco. Watch the DVD. It's very informative and will help you get used to settings.

My 55-200 lens served me well for years. Last fall, in the Tetons, I finally ran out of zoom, and I've bought a 300mm for my trip to Alaska this fall. Those two lenses in the combo pack will serve you very well until you really need more lens.

It's a great starter camera. Two of my favorites I took, and I'm just an idiot playing with a Costco Camera.

[Cobra Cory]

Well I'd get a couple of tri pods. A clamp on one for travel and a 3 leg for zoom use, instead of going for new lenses right off. A good back pack or bag, and don't get one with NIKON all over it as someone will most likely see that and know what is inside. Get a plain bag, extra battery, quick charger for the car etc.
You'll most likely keep the 55-200 on it unless your going to take close ups or portraits. the worse thing is not having the right lens on the camera when you need it, not have a fresh battery,.....or dropping the camera and having the lens snap off like what happened to me a few years ago. Now I am pretty careful to wrap the strap around my wrist or arm so it does not smack the pavement.....
Good luck with the camera. You could get the DVD instructional video for that camera I think. And you can join photocamel.com for good tips and learning the camera.

[Someday I Suppose]

I agree with Cory, a good tri-pod or two will help for sure with the nature stuff. Especially if you like water shots, the waterfall Clemson posted is probably a good 2-3 second exposure if not longer.

For action stuff, if your parallel to the subject, panning with the subject is key. It is also easier from a focus standpoint because the focal plane isn't really changing. With car stuff, I love to go to a little slower shutter speed and then try to get motion blur in the background with the car sharp. If the subject is moving towards you then autofocus will help, but also if possible go to a larger depth of field. The trade off there is depth of field vs. shutter speed.

Of nature you can play a lot with depth of field. There are some really cool shots of flowers, etc. taken with shallow depth of field, 1.8 or 2.3 aperture at close distance where the rest of the image is soft focus.

Most of all though just shoot alot. With digital film is REALLY cheap lol, so blast away and see what results you are getting.

-Scott

[tfalk]

I have the 18-105mm on my D300 and find that it's pretty much the only lens
I use... I also have the 70-300 and it spends most of the time in the bag except
for rare use on vacations. The most use it got was a cruise to Alaska since there
were a lot of long distance shots from the boat.

I bought that same D3100 package for my daughter and she loves it... it takes
amazing pictures as well, I think the auto mode is better than the auto on my D300.

[NiceGuyEddie]

i took these photos with almost the same Nikon! it does amazing things for just the average person, you will be happy!

[bhoov128]

My ex is a professional photographer, and she's taught me a ton about how to take good pictures. It involves a lot more than just the settings on the camera. The great thing about digital cameras is that you can practice all you want without having to buy film as you would have just ten or fifteen years ago.

Learn which modes mean what. There are always a couple of basic modes on these cameras: one for automatic program (which usually has portrait, landscape, sports, etc. sub-modes), where the shutter speed and aperture are automatically selected for you based on sensor readings. Tv will mean shutter-priority. You'll pick the shutter speed, and the sensor readings will determine your aperture. Av will mean aperture priority, where you'll pick your aperture and the camera's sensors will determine the shutter speed. Manual mode will give you the flexibility to choose both the shutter speed and the aperture width, which can result in some spectacular photos because you're in control. In addition to these, you can set the camera to either autofocus, or manual focus.

So, a crash course: You'll have a setting for ISO. ISO means the same thing it did for film. It's the 'speed' at which the image sensor inside your camera will record an image. A lower ISO number will mean slower image recording, but less noise in the image. Higher ISOs, vice-versa. For normal, every day photography, 200 - 800 ISO should do you just fine. Next, shutter speed (which you probably know). A longer shutter speed lets light in for a longer period of time, and a faster shutter speed the opposite. Pretty simple! Next, the aperture. The aperture is the size of the hole which lets light in. Bigger hole, more light. The weird thing about aperture is that the higher the aperture number (such as 22) means a smaller hole. Aperture affects your depth of field, which is your range of focus. A smaller aperture (bigger number!) can give you a shot where everything is in focus, such as the picture of the barn Clemson posted. With a longer focal length (zoom) and a smaller aperture, you can achieve effects where the foreground and background are very unfocused and only your subject is clear, called "bokeh".

I'd like to tell you that you should set your camera to this or that to get your photo but it depends on what you really want to see. Can you use a longer shutter speed, or a different aperture, than the camera's sensors suggest for lighting conditions? Absolutely. You'll have to override with manual mode. The key is to experiment and practice. With autofocus on, your camera probably has a double-set shutter button, push it halfway down and the autofocus engages and sets itself, and a full press takes the picture. Spend a lot of time half-pushing your shutter button to learn how the autofocus is going to behave.

For your son's swim meets, there will most likely be a lot of light inside the aquatic center. Here's how I would approach getting some good shots: first, pick your location to set up that gives you the angle you want. Next, aim your camera at the lane he'll be swimming in, maybe halfway or three-quarters of the lane length away from him. Take a photo or two, or more, to make sure that the amount of light is correct i.e. you don't have a washed out white picture or a underexposed very dark picture, and that the focus is good. Then let him come to you. Snap photos like a demon the whole time he's passing through the frame. You'll probably get a few that turn out great!

Another method for action shots which I really like is panning. You'll set your focus, aim the camera at a subject as it passes by you, and take a photo while moving the camera. If you get it right, the subject will be clear and in focus while the fore- and backgrounds are motion blurred. It's a great effect. I attached a few pictures of some panning shots I took at this year's Sebring 12 hour race, one in the day in which I used a longer shutter speed and smaller aperture than the camera would have suggested, and a few nighttime action shots. The one of the Audi shows what happens when you don't quite get the panning right (but it's still one of my favorite photos) and the one of the green Porsche shows decent panning results.

Good luck! Practice a lot, maybe go sit somewhere near a road and take pictures of people driving past you so that when the time comes to record some memories of a sporting event you'll be so familiar with the camera that it's second nature and your photos turn out spectacular.

Ben

[Frank Messina]

Remember that your 55 to 200 lens is really like a 320MM lens on a full frame 35MM format camera. That's really getting out there. I know a tripod has been suggested but think about a monopod instead to steady your long shots. For walkabout shots they're less cumbersome than a tri pod and very easy to tote.

X2 on what others have said about lenses. We just got back from 2 weeks in Europe and I took 95% of my shots with my 18 - 55 kit lens. I could have left my 55 - 250 tele zoom home and lightened my load considerably. FWIW I've been thinking of getting a 28 - 135 for general purpose walkabout use. An obvious afterthought following our vacation.
Frank

[VPR-KLR]

Thanks guys!
So many good suggestions and great example pics.
Craig it has everything you said. Ben, your tutorial is just what I was hoping for. We just got back from NYC and I chose not to take the SLR for convenience sake. However, I'm playing bachelor this week and have just enough time to watch the dvd and play with settings before my boy and I head to cub scout camp Thurs. He has another swim meet tonight and I'll see if I can take some decent shots.

Definitely holding off on any additional lenses and following your advice on a mono pod and tripod. I found one that doubles as a walking pole. Good alert to not get a camera bag with the name plastered all over it.

Any advice on software for stitching photos together for panoramics?
Do any of you use filters? If so, what can you tell me about them?

MORE PICS!
MORE PICS!

These are some still photos I took with a disposable and an instamatic. I'm hoping I can do better with a decent camera.

[Someday I Suppose]

Here are some action pics, panning for motion blur.

The first two were shot probably at about 200MM, manual focus with a shutter around 1/125. Probably around F8 aperture









These were a few years ago at SAAC 33

[VPR-KLR]

THIS...is the clarity of swim meet photo I would love to take.
Now if I could just make my 10 yr old have the same explosive power.

What kind of shutter speed would this take? Is this possible with my camera?

[bhoov128]

I use a polarizing filter and a UV filter most of the time. The UV filter stays on. The polarizer cuts down a sizable percentage of light, so it will be useless in low light situations, where it's inappropriate to use anyways. The UV filter is good to keep on at all times because in addition to blocking uv light that the image sensor "sees" and humans cannot, it will collect the dust and dirt and possibly scratches that your lens would otherwise.

For panoramic stitching, HDR effects and more, she (my ex) uses Photoshop CS5. It's pricey, as in "very" but since she sells her service it's a needed business expense, plus she got it with a (valid) student discount for a greatly reduced price. I'm sure there are much more cost-effective tools to get the job done.

A couple of samples of of her work, pictures she took for her own pleasure attached. She likes 'aperture big' photos.

[VPR-KLR]

What about a sun shade on the end of the lens that I see so often?

[Frank Messina]

Originally Posted by VPR-KLR

What about a sun shade on the end of the lens that I see so often?

They're only necessary under certain conditions IMHO. The rest of the time they add length to the lens and just get in the way. My favorite was a collapsable one I had on my old zoom lens.

On the subject of filters, you can argue a UV filter both ways. Dust can be wiped off easy enough with a hanky or a lens pen. The rest of it is debatable. A polarizing filter can be a real handy tool however for richening up shots in bright or partial sunlight. Don't forget to take it off though when you're finished. It can really screw up shots taken in heavy overcast or indoors.
Frank

[bhoov128]

A sunshade is useful for mainly eliminating lens flare, which can actually be a cool effect.

VPR-KLR, I attached a cool way to do some research on photos - I searched images.google.com for "swimmer shutter speed", clicked on a picture that looked similar to the swimmer you posted prior, and then expanded the "More Image Info" selection on the right-hand side. If a photographer leaves the EXIF data embedded in his/her photo and Google indexes it, well, it reads that EXIF information and presents it there for you to see!

This particular image was taken at 70mm focal length, 1/400 shutter speed, aperture of 2.8, and a ISO speed of 3200. This got the photographer the depth of field he was looking for (notice the water from the swimmer kicking is out of focus) using a shutter speed fast enough to capture the subject without motion blur. Pretty cool!

Ben

[Carography]

Originally Posted by bhoov128

A sunshade is useful for mainly eliminating lens flare, which can actually be a cool effect.

VPR-KLR, I attached a cool way to do some research on photos - I searched images.google.com for "swimmer shutter speed", clicked on a picture that looked similar to the swimmer you posted prior, and then expanded the "More Image Info" selection on the right-hand side. If a photographer leaves the EXIF data embedded in his/her photo and Google indexes it, well, it reads that EXIF information and presents it there for you to see!

This particular image was taken at 70mm focal length, 1/400 shutter speed, aperture of 2.8, and a ISO speed of 3200. This got the photographer the depth of field he was looking for (notice the water from the swimmer kicking is out of focus) using a shutter speed fast enough to capture the subject without motion blur. Pretty cool!

Ben

Viewing exif data is a great tip. However, the exif data on this image is totally erroneous.
Noway that exposure is correct for 3200iso.

Looks like direct sun light.

At 3200 ISO the correct exposure would be 1/3000 of sec. @ f/16.
At 1/400th of a sec @ f2.8 the iso would have been 12.5 iso
I dont mean to be a total geek about this. But I think it is important to mention that your long lens (200mm) should be long enough for pool side shots. But indoors it may not be fast enough for stop action photos.

You will want to be at 1/800th of a sec. or faster to stop water like we are seeing in the swim photos posted here. Should be possible outdoors, but indoors it will be a challenge with a 5.6 lens.

HTH

[VPR-KLR]

Thanks guys.
I'm off to the swim meet, armed and dangerous with minimal knowledge and questionable skills.
It'll be great!!!

[Doug Meldrum]

I bought the D60 from Costco and it has been a great camera. You will love it. Here is one of my pics at the swim meet. I sure wish I knew how to use it to its fullest capacity. That was a great write up Ben. I would really like to take some photography classes.

[Someday I Suppose]

Just to tag onto Ben's primer, there is three components to exposure, they are film speed, shutter speed, and aperture. They all work in conjunction with one another and the difference up or down of any one is expressed in a change of 1 stop.

So film speed 400 to 800 is 1 stop differnce in speed, shutter of 1/125th to 1/250 is one stop, and aperture, F2.8 to f4 and from F4 to F5.6 is one stop.

So if your shooting at 1/250 at F5.6 at ISO 400 and its dark, you can go to 1/125th of a second and leave the shutter open longer. You can go to F 2.8 and let the light in quicker, or you could go to ISO 800.

Not only do they impact exposure, but also have some impact on the image, faster shutter speeds will give that stop motion look. So the swim meet photo I don't see any motion blur, its probably a pretty high shutter speed, maybe 250th or 500th of a second. In the waterfall photos, the long shutter speed allows that soft water blur effect.

On Aperture, the smaller the opening (its like wire and shot gun gauge, smaller number is a bigger opening.) like F22 will give you more depth of field, but will let in less light. A bigger opening gives less depth of field and can give you that soft focus on the edge of a photo. There is always a trade off, but once you get what those two do and how the effect the image, playing with them can be a lot of fun.

In Sports photography usually you are using very high shutter settings with low aperture numbers, so like 1/500th at F2.8. The first swim shot you posted was probably with a 300 - 400 MM lens at 1/500th of a second and F2.8. Those massive professional lenses have a big piece of glass up front to allow those telephoto lenses to get in a ton of light, and are very pricey because of it.

On your lens, you will probably notice that at full zoom you no longer have F2.8 as an option. On 90% of zoom lenses as you soom out the optics don't allow as much light and so you have to use a little slower shutter speed, or a higher film speed. If there is enough light in the arena or you are close enough to the action you might be able to get a shot like that, and for sure the camera will let you do some great things. Doug's shot from the side is an example, and he was probably able to get closer to the subject then someone mid pool swiming at you by shooting from the side.

One other quick rule of thumb for hand holding the camera is to use a shutter speed that is the inverse of the lens you are using. So if your shooting at 50MM use a shutter speed at least as fast as 1/60th of a second. If your at 250MM use a shutter speed around 1/250th of a second. It will help greatly reduce blur from camera shake.

Oh and have fun!!! :-)

-Scott

[nsh9]

Originally Posted by Someday I Suppose

F2.8 to 5.6 is one stop.

-Scott

Sorry, small nit it 's F2.8 to F4 is one stop, other wise very good explanation of some basic camera rules. Another good tip is if you don't want your photos to look like everyone else don't take your photos where everyone else is. Squat down, Get higher, get in close! don't just stand there.

The trick with the shot of guy swimming is that it was later afternoon or in the mid morning with the sun at about 45 degree angle, outdoors (natural sunlight with a custom white balance) with the camera maybe a three feet higher than the water, long lens with a very shallow depth of field (my guess would be a 300mm with a f2.8 not a cheap lens!) medium fast shutter speed (1/500 to 1/1000) and a low asa of around 100 to keep the shutter speed in check.

Noah

(Scott missed your analysis of the swim shot it is interesting to see we had about the same thought of how it was done.)

[Snakebit31]

Originally Posted by Someday I Suppose

So film speed 400 to 800 is 1 stop differnce in speed, shutter of 1/125th to 1/250 is one stop, and aperture, F2.8 to 5.6 is one stop.

On most Nikons, that's actually 2 stops. 2.8-4-5.6.

My biggest suggestion would be shoot all you can, remember what you did, and learn how to use the camera manually.

Rob

[Someday I Suppose]

D'oh! Fixed it!

Noah, get closer is my favorite one, just because you have a zoom doesn't mean just stand there and press the button.

Squat is also a big one for me especially with kids, I see people all the time just pointing the camera down instead of getting down to their level.


And yes on the swim, you went into more details, its a great shot, but I am guessing like you said a very nice lens being used. :-) As a side note, at least here in NYC we have two big camera stores that will rent just about any lens you want for a day, weekend, week, etc. I am really tempted to rent one of the big boys for the Spec race at the Glenn in September.

-Scott

[Snakebit31]

Scott,

Wasn't trying to bust your chops, haha.

I shoot a lot of hockey for the local AHL team. I shoot at 3200 ISO, usually 1/500-1/1000 sec shutter speed, wide open. The aperture changes with the focal length. On my 18-200mm lens, this worked out to f-5.6 on this shot.




Rob

[nsh9]

Originally Posted by Someday I Suppose

As a side note, at least here in NYC we have two big camera stores that will rent just about any lens you want for a day, weekend, week, etc. I am really tempted to rent one of the big boys for the Spec race at the Glenn in September.

-Scott

That is cool, haven't seen that in the DC area. In college (RIT) I was spoiled by the "cage". They had tons of lenses most camera systems from Hasselblads, Leicas, Nikon, Canon, Sinars 8x10s to 6x17 panoramas cameras and a lot of lighting systems that you could check out for a day. I was great having access to a $20,000 lens to be able to get that perfect shot. I really miss having the right tool for the job instead of re-purposing or jury rigging something else.

Noah