The Camera Question Thread

spider

Arachnoprince
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So let me start this off by saying, I am relatively new to photography but after realizing that I can catch an amazing moment in time by pressing a button, I wanted to further pursue my new love for Cameras.
I blame my fathers friend for getting me into the hobby by letting my play with his old, but still great, Canon Powershot S5 IS.

My question is this, I am looking for a good fisheye lens for my new Canon Powershot SX10 IS.

I want one that is I suppose Just under the level of "heavy" fisheye lens, without being obnoxiously distorted?
Also, would a smaller mm wide angle lens give me this affect?

I really hope you camera savvy people out there can help me, without criticizing my lack of knowledge among the camera world.
Though, I hope to learn much by creating this thread, as well as creating a place for other people to ask their own Camera Questions. :)

Here is a photo taken with a Canon Powershot S5 IS (auto ISO setting, No external Flash, Setting: Night Snapshot, zoom: 12x"

 

Venom

Arachnoprince
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That camera does not support add-on lenses, nor does it support "conversion lenses." If you want to be able to interchange lenses, you will need to get yourself a digital SLR camera. Sorry.

That said, I recommend a Canon 40D !
 

DrAce

Arachnodemon
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I have to say that a month ago I bought a Nikon D60. I have not been happier with a camera. It is infinitely easier to use than a 'point and shoot' and just gives better photographs.
I've stopped taking pictures. I started taking decent photos.

Additionally, it can take extra lenses. The thing I like about the Nikon over the Canon (at least from what I've been told) is that the Nikon supports an additional set of manufacturer's lenses (forget the extra brands), while Canon and Sony both require Canon and Sony lenses respectfully. Also, the Nikon was on special with a fancy lens.

I know they're expensive... but they are totally worth it.

Oh - and while I intellectually know what an f-stop and the like are... I really don't understand them.
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
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ok first of....quite using auto iso.....usually 100 to 400 is the range you will shoot in unless its completly dark. id say a good average iso is 350 to 400 for general shooting. also for a good camera to start the dslr entry is either a nikon(yes im biased) D40 nikon D60 or nikon D80 all great cameras. with hese you dont have to buy fisheye lenses though you can but id save the money a just buy a fisheye converter lens.. why?, because fisheye lenses are outrageous on price and are rarly used by most(so just spend the 70 to 100 bucks on a good converter fisheye lens and screw in on your exsisting lens)


dr ace....F stop are your apature. for instance a 5.6 f stop will leave alot less i n focus than say a 22 f stop and itsbackwards too. I.E. at 5.6 your lens your lens diopter is open very big letting alot of light in...to where at F18 yur lens diopter is very small letting less light in. as a rule of thumb for more detail go with ahigher F stop like f16 f 18 and so forth. for that infamous "blurred background look" go with smaller f stops like F5.6 F8 and so forth.
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
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ok these are just smaple shots.(not top notch quality) showing what lower and higher F stops do....the first one was shot at F5.6 wth ashutter speed of 1/200 View attachment 78670

tisone was shot at F22 with ashutter speed of 1/15

View attachment 78671
 
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DrAce

Arachnodemon
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...
dr ace....F stop are your apature. for instance a 5.6 f stop will leave alot less i n focus than say a 22 f stop and itsbackwards too. I.E. at 5.6 your lens your lens diopter is open very big letting alot of light in...to where at F18 yur lens diopter is very small letting less light in. as a rule of thumb for more detail go with ahigher F stop like f16 f 18 and so forth. for that infamous "blurred background look" go with smaller f stops like F5.6 F8 and so forth.
Oh - I know that... that's why I said I intellectually know what they are. I just don't really get it. Like, I can draw the ray diagrams for the lenses and the like... but I just don't really understand all the numbers yet.

But then, in my defense, I've only ever really used a little point-and-shoot camera, and have never really applied myself to learning what the heck it all means anyhow.
 

codykrr

Arachnoking
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see the higher the F stop the more detail in the background. the lower the F stop the more blurry it gets. hope that helps Dr. Ace
 

Venom

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DrAce

Both Nikon and Canon support 3rd party lenses ( such as Tamron, Sigma, Tokina..etc. ) as well as the manufacturer's own line of lenses. The reason I would go with a Canon over the Nikon ( which are also excellent machines ) is the superior resistance to "noise" in the image at high ISO settings. The darker your shooting environment, the higher you must set the ISO ( sensitivity to light ) in order to achieve a good exposure with the same aperture and shutter settings.

Let me put it this way: Shooting outdoors in broad daylight, you might take a photo with ISO 100 at f11 aperture and 1/400 shutter, and have it come out properly. In a dark situation, those settings will produce an absolutely black image---nothing there at all, just black---because not enough light gets to the sensor. In order to get a good picture at ISO 100, you will have to lower your settings down toward f5.6 and 1/40 shutter...meaning you will have poor depth of field ( only a small portion of the picture's depth front-to-back will be in focus ) and some blur due to handshake. OR, you can simply raise the sensitivity of the sensor to, say, 400 - 800, and keep all your first settings intact, with good focus.

It's a trade-off on how you handle light. Lower F-stop numbers let in more light, as do slower shutter settings. If you want to shoot indoors, and especially to do close-up shots of bugs ( which are often in dark corners, both indoors and out ), you will need to be able to use low-light settings that can still keep your image sharp and focused, non-blurry. BUT, raising the ISO setting of the sensor introduces image corruption called "noise," a fine grainy splotching all over the image. Some sensors produce this in veerry very slight amounts, but some much more intensely. Canon is known for having the cleanest, sharpest images at high ISO settings of any manufacturer of Digital SLR cameras. They have an edge over Nikon in this department ( Nikon is quite good, but Canon is the benchmark currently ). Hence, they are the best choice for those consistently shooting in low-light situations...i.e....shooting bugs, especially indoors.
 

Craig

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I do not think it gets down to 5:1 without a teleconverter etc. does it? I already have a Sigma 50mm 1:1 macro lens that works pretty well. I have VR on a couple of my other lenses and I never use it.
 

spider

Arachnoprince
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That camera does not support add-on lenses, nor does it support "conversion lenses." If you want to be able to interchange lenses, you will need to get yourself a digital SLR camera. Sorry.

That said, I recommend a Canon 40D !


I am sorry?...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tcak/3581401239/

http://cgi.ebay.com/FISH-EYE-FISHEYE-0-36X-LENS-KIT-F-Canon-SX10-IS-SX10IS_W0QQitemZ180364683267QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDigital_Camera_Accessories?hash=item29fe92a803&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

I am just going to invest in these lenses.
 

Draiman

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The nikon 65mm macro vr lens is perfect for you then.
There is no Nikon macro lens which gets anywhere near the 5:1 magnification ratio of the Canon 65mm MPE.

And when was there a Nikkor 65mm lens with vibration reduction?

I am sorry?...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tcak/3581401239/

http://cgi.ebay.com/FISH-EYE-FISHEYE-0-36X-LENS-KIT-F-Canon-SX10-IS-SX10IS_W0QQitemZ180364683267QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDigital_Camera_Accessories?hash=item29fe92a803&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

I am just going to invest in these lenses.
Umm...that's a filter, not a lens.

I do not think it gets down to 5:1 without a teleconverter etc. does it? I already have a Sigma 50mm 1:1 macro lens that works pretty well. I have VR on a couple of my other lenses and I never use it.
How much working distance do you get with a 50mm macro lens at 1:1?

With the Nikon 60mm macro lens at 1:1, the furthest the lens can get from the subject is a mere 5 centimetres. I'm curious as to how you manage to not scare your subject away with a lens with an even shorter focal length.
 
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DrAce

Arachnodemon
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Well, I bought a Nikon D60 - and I'm as happy as a pig in muck.
 

Craig

Arachnoknight
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How much working distance do you get with a 50mm macro lens at 1:1?

With the Nikon 60mm macro lens at 1:1, the furthest the lens can get from the subject is a mere 5 centimetres. I'm curious as to how you manage to not scare your subject away with a lens with an even shorter focal length.
Really not very much. I think around 5cm or less. I am really good at approaching animals so it is not an issue. I am most likely going to get a 105mm lens in the near future.

For example I took this






A couple of weeks ago. Sadly it was a really windy day and the plant was moving so the image is not as sharp as it could be.



This one I took last Friday. I actually shot this hand held so I lost some detail.

I also have a Raynox DCR 250. It works pretty good with a macro lens. I have not been able to try it outside in nature yet. I did play with it in the Chicago botanical gardens this winter and it worked well.
 
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