Having to get another camera! Which?
Discussion
Mr Will said:
How compact do you need? There are some very good deals on the Sony a5000 at the moment.
Is the A5000 a better camera? It's list price is around £50 cheaper than the RX100....There is this camera
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-camcorders/d...
Doesn't necessarily have to be compact but it is more preferable.
The panasonic has a bigger sensor and a wider ISO sensitivity range, but everything else seems inferior?
Edited by E65Ross on Wednesday 20th May 20:56
If looking at DSLR cameras instead....what about this?
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-camcorders/d...
Or
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-camcorders/d...
Would I notice much difference in pic quality? Thanks
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-camcorders/d...
Or
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/cameras-camcorders/d...
Would I notice much difference in pic quality? Thanks
E65Ross said:
Mr Will said:
How compact do you need? There are some very good deals on the Sony a5000 at the moment.
Is the A5000 a better camera? It's list price is around £50 cheaper than the RX100....The biggest advantage though is the room to grow. You can buy a zoom lens if you want to shoot some motorsport, a macro lens to do close-ups, a fast prime for low light or shallow depth of field and so on. If you've no interest in doing that then the RX100 is probably the better choice.
Moving up the the DSLRs is another step in the same direction. Obviously the bulk increases significantly but so does the range of lenses and accessories available. A Nikon D3X00 plus the 35mm 1.8 makes a lovely started kit, but it'll never fit in your pocket! Quality is roughly equal to the A5000 but the handling, autofocus, etc will be better.
Bridge cameras are best avoided. They are (mostly) cheap compacts in a bulky body with a low-quality zoom lens on the front.
Which to go for? well it depends on intended use:
- For a camera to carry everywhere, or as a supplement to a larger DSLR the RX100 is great.
- For when you are actually shooting a DSLR is hard to beat. The downside is when you aren't shooting; it's a lot to carry around on the off-chance you'll use it.
- Compact system cameras like the a5000 split this gap - they offer the quality of the DSLR in a smaller package. The downsides are that they aren't quite as small as the compact or quite as versatile as the DSLR. IMHO they make a good compromise for a lot of people.
Well.... I ended up getting a DSLR! I got a Nikon D3300 with the double lens kit (18-55mm and 55-200mm).
I may, in the future, invest in another compact but for now of I'm out and about I'll use the phone, but if I know I'll be taking photos then I'll use the DSLR.
Just been having a play around with it, going to take time getting used to it! First impressions are that it takes a very sharp image. The rx100 was a great camera but clearly this is another level.... But then it costs more and is about 10x the size, so it should!
I may, in the future, invest in another compact but for now of I'm out and about I'll use the phone, but if I know I'll be taking photos then I'll use the DSLR.
Just been having a play around with it, going to take time getting used to it! First impressions are that it takes a very sharp image. The rx100 was a great camera but clearly this is another level.... But then it costs more and is about 10x the size, so it should!
V8Wagon said:
Good shout. Reckon you'll get some stunning images out of that!
Had a little play around in the back garden, the lighting was dreary (dull, overcast skies) but I must say the clarity of the images is really good. I just need to get a nice sunny day, a nice location and a few hours to really practice and get used to all the settings!One of the most handy settings I enjoyed on the RX100 was the ability to "lock"the exposure, and then focus on another area (which may be darker, for example)....this gave some great images very easily and have found out how to do that on the D3300.
I also liked the sunset mode on the RX100 but there doesn't appear to be a separate mode for that....though if you go into "guide" mode > advanced there is an "enhance reds in sunsets" sort of mode so I'm hoping that's similar. Was 100% overcast this evening which didn't help!
I'm sure I'll start a thread asking for help soon enough
Cheers
E65Ross said:
One of the most handy settings I enjoyed on the RX100 was the ability to "lock"the exposure, and then focus on another area (which may be darker, for example)....this gave some great images very easily and have found out how to do that on the D3300.
Look for the Exposure Lock button. I don't know what it looks like on a Nikon (on a Canon it's a * if I remember correctly)E65Ross said:
I also liked the sunset mode on the RX100 but there doesn't appear to be a separate mode for that....though if you go into "guide" mode > advanced there is an "enhance reds in sunsets" sort of mode so I'm hoping that's similar. Was 100% overcast this evening which didn't help!
The best bet is to ignore the 'creative' modes and simply set up the correct exposures using the Aperture or Shutter priority modes (or delve into full manual). Capture in RAW, then apply the enhancements afterwards in your image processing suite of choice.That way you are starting with the data as captured, rather than data as amended by Nikon's 'creative' processing and can edit it as you see fit, perhaps to something completely different from what you had originally thought/intended.
LC2 said:
E65Ross said:
One of the most handy settings I enjoyed on the RX100 was the ability to "lock"the exposure, and then focus on another area (which may be darker, for example)....this gave some great images very easily and have found out how to do that on the D3300.
Look for the Exposure Lock button. I don't know what it looks like on a Nikon (on a Canon it's a * if I remember correctly)E65Ross said:
I also liked the sunset mode on the RX100 but there doesn't appear to be a separate mode for that....though if you go into "guide" mode > advanced there is an "enhance reds in sunsets" sort of mode so I'm hoping that's similar. Was 100% overcast this evening which didn't help!
The best bet is to ignore the 'creative' modes and simply set up the correct exposures using the Aperture or Shutter priority modes (or delve into full manual). Capture in RAW, then apply the enhancements afterwards in your image processing suite of choice.That way you are starting with the data as captured, rather than data as amended by Nikon's 'creative' processing and can edit it as you see fit, perhaps to something completely different from what you had originally thought/intended.
Forgive my ignorance, but why shoot in RAW? I don't have any editing software at present.... I mainly use Linux and I have the gimp.... That's about it! I do use Windows 8 occasionally. Not sure I can justify the cost of photoshop just yet, as much as I'd like.
One thing I'm struggling to understand is when an aperture adjustment would be more, or less, preferable to an adjustment in the shutter speed for still shots. I understand that a slower shutter speed may be preferable if you want to show flowing water, and to compensate for more light coming in you may want a smaller aperture. But for still settings you could have a small aperture but longer shutter and I can't see how that give a different photo to a large aperture but short shutter speed..... Could anyone explain the 2 scenarios for me?
Many thanks chaps!
I think the best reason for you owning a dslr will be in learning more. A good proportion of what you're learning is what your rx100 knew but now you can and have to do it yourself (no bad thing). The other advantage is flexibility in lens although I don't think any you currently own are faster than the one on the Sony. Keep enjoying what you're doing, that's what's important.
Raw.. It's essentially the highest quality file of what your camera took and if you need to edit, raw will give you the most flexibility.
Raw.. It's essentially the highest quality file of what your camera took and if you need to edit, raw will give you the most flexibility.
E65Ross said:
Forgive my ignorance, but why shoot in RAW? I don't have any editing software at present.... I mainly use Linux and I have the gimp.... That's about it! I do use Windows 8 occasionally. Not sure I can justify the cost of photoshop just yet, as much as I'd like.
The main reason is flexibility. I was contrasting RAW vs your previous comment about looking for specific creative modes, i.e. making sure you have as much raw information as possible so that if you decide that the creative adjustments made in camera are not for you, you can go back and re-edit. You can also use the standard jpg too.Just be aware that the jpg throws information away which you cannot recover. On a canon, the jpg is almost always exposed to the right when compared to the raw file, so highlights can be lost (I don't know what exposure comp the std Nikon jpg has).
The software that comes with your camera will include the Nikon raw converter.
A quick Google search shows that The Gimp has plugins for raw too.
Of course, it's horses for courses. If shooting sport/action where I want the buffer cleared as quickly as possible / highest fps, then I'm going to shot jpg and deal with what I get.
If I'm shooting something where I can set up the shot and have plenty of time, so don't need the fps / buffer, then I'm likely to shoot jpg+raw. If the jpg is fine, then happy days, if not I have the raw to play with.
E65Ross said:
One thing I'm struggling to understand is when an aperture adjustment would be more, or less, preferable to an adjustment in the shutter speed for still shots. I understand that a slower shutter speed may be preferable if you want to show flowing water, and to compensate for more light coming in you may want a smaller aperture. But for still settings you could have a small aperture but longer shutter and I can't see how that give a different photo to a large aperture but short shutter speed..... Could anyone explain the 2 scenarios for me?
I see you've started answering this for yourself. 
It means you're learning to use your dslr.As general starting points:
- Sport where you want to freeze motion - High shutter speed and hence larger aperture which will reduce the DoF make the subject stand out.
Use the Shutter priority mode to control your shutter speed.
- Sport where you're panning - Slower shutter speed as you're using the pan to blur the background. But bear in mind panning is not as easy as it looks, and don't forget the rule of thumb of minimum shutter speed being 1/focal length.
Use the Shutter priority mode to control your shutter speed.
- Portraiture - You'll generally want a shallow DoF, so often the largest your lens will go. This will also often result is a faster shutter speed, but...
Use Aperture priority to control the aperture.
- Landscape / Scenic shots - not something I tend to do, but you're going to want to keep most of the picture in focus, so you're going to want to control the aperture, probably keeping it at around f8 and can allow your shutter speed to drop (assuming you're using a tripod).
Try to keep the ISO setting as low as possible, but don't be scared to raise it in the event that you can't get the shutter speed that you need. It's better to get a sharp but noisy shot, than one that is blurred. You can remove noise (to a greater or lesser extent) in Post Processing (make sure you took it in RAW though
)These are just starting points to consider. Whilst you can read books / watch You Tube videos (we all do), there is no substitute for getting out there with you gear, taking shots and seeing what works for you.
Have fun out there...
Edited by LC2 on Monday 25th May 11:17
What a fantastic summary for various scenarious! Thanks chap!!
If I'm taking a shot of something moving (eg a bird) does anyone know whether the camera will automatically focus on the subject if I have it in 3d tracking mode but keep the shutter held down (for multiple shots) whilst moving the camera to follow the subject (such as when it flies from left to right across my field of vision)
Thanks! And sorry for so many questions....you've all been so helpful
If I'm taking a shot of something moving (eg a bird) does anyone know whether the camera will automatically focus on the subject if I have it in 3d tracking mode but keep the shutter held down (for multiple shots) whilst moving the camera to follow the subject (such as when it flies from left to right across my field of vision)
Thanks! And sorry for so many questions....you've all been so helpful
You'll want the continuous servo mode which allows the camera to maintain focus as the subject moves.
You'll also want to restrict the focus area to a small group (as opposed to all focus points) or a single point *IF* you can keep the single point on the subject (which for a bird you probably won't be able to).
I don't know your camera, but if there is an option to reduce the chance of it changing focus target (say if a branch that is closer gets in the way), then you are likely to want that on too.
You'll also want to restrict the focus area to a small group (as opposed to all focus points) or a single point *IF* you can keep the single point on the subject (which for a bird you probably won't be able to).
I don't know your camera, but if there is an option to reduce the chance of it changing focus target (say if a branch that is closer gets in the way), then you are likely to want that on too.
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