Camera Selection

[Macky]

Originally Posted by 97mits3kgtSOHC

what is a hood? that outer cover for the lens? what does that do? protect from more glare?

maybe ill get one of those in a little while

my next thing i need to do is to get lightroom

it protects your lens from hitting against a wall, brick, ground, etc as well as flare

[Macky]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Ellis

I'm actually going to go as far as to say that I would NOT recommend the XT if you're planning on shooting any sort of action photography, or targeting things that are in motion, such as the animals you mention. Unfortunately, the rumors of poor autofocus response with the XT are true. A good friend of mine and I went birding recently (which normally doesn't interest me, but I have a sketch I'm working on and needed some reference images), and either his XT would miss the flight shot due to a perceived lack of contrast, or come out slightly under focused, while my XTi shot just fine.

YMMV. However, it's something to consider depending on your given intent.

there is a way around that though. i used my XT before for ducks as yes, it is not as fast in tracking (it is the "base" canon model after all). but what I did prioir to getting a 1D Mk III was to aim at birds/ducks WWII/Koren war style - I pre-aim where I believe the bird's intended trajectory is, set the AF to AI Servo, and fire away laterally from that point parallel to either the left or the right (following the bird's path). the key is to pre-aim and pre-focus on the distance.

granted that was a lot of work, so i chucked that style and got the 1D Mk III

[w.o.w_92TT]

Originally Posted by Red92vr4

It would be possible to make such a thread, but every now and then the tips/ hints would need to be preened and consolidated, so as to weed out useless info and to make the good items more visible. As for night photos, where are you shooting, ie, location, and what gear are you using? This will go a long way in allowing people to help you. Also, what is your experience level?

i've got a nikon d80 with a tamron dx 18-200 mm lens (NOT VR), tripod. I usually have trouble with too much glare and not enough sharpness, and i've tried using a polarizer lens filter (to not much success). my experience with cars is very limited, especially at night, but I used to work in a photo shop so I know some of the basics. I can sometimes get clear pictures after much experimenting but they never seem to kind of pop with vivid detail like many of the pictures i see here. i usually try shots in parking lots with harsh light (often orange-ish).

[Macky]

Originally Posted by w.o.w_92TT

i've got a nikon d80 with a tamron dx 18-200 mm lens (NOT VR), tripod. I usually have trouble with too much glare and not enough sharpness, and i've tried using a polarizer lens filter (to not much success). my experience with cars is very limited, especially at night, but I used to work in a photo shop so I know some of the basics. I can sometimes get clear pictures after much experimenting but they never seem to kind of pop with vivid detail like many of the pictures i see here. i usually try shots in parking lots with harsh light (often orange-ish).

your camera should have a setting to change your white balance. the orange glow can be corrected (iirc) by tungsten WB. if not that, shoot in RAW, and fix it in Photoshop.

here are some night shots that have been color corrected due to those orange lamps:







granted I used remote strobes to light up the car, but the WB was getting fooled by the sodium lamps in the background. i just readjusted my WB on the fly (for those I can correct) and fixed the rest in RAW in PS.

[97mits3kgtSOHC]

Originally Posted by AudibleSilence

I'll give you my copy if you want. Call me tonight after 9:30pm I should be home from work by then Hoods keep out stray light and I also find that they make great shock absorbers on the subway...

haha...ok ill call u later tonight

[AudibleSilence]

If my XTi sells this week I'm picking up an 40d Saturday

[jbavousett]

Must...Have...NIKON!

[jbavousett]

Originally Posted by w.o.w_92TT

i've got a nikon d80 with a tamron dx 18-200 mm lens (NOT VR), tripod. I usually have trouble with too much glare and not enough sharpness, and i've tried using a polarizer lens filter (to not much success). my experience with cars is very limited, especially at night, but I used to work in a photo shop so I know some of the basics. I can sometimes get clear pictures after much experimenting but they never seem to kind of pop with vivid detail like many of the pictures i see here. i usually try shots in parking lots with harsh light (often orange-ish).

Why buy a Nikon and not use Nikon glass? Tamron lenses are complete trash. The reason I started using Nikon bodies was solely for the Nikon Lenses. No one makes glass as well and Nikon does.

[w.o.w_92TT]

Originally Posted by Macky

your camera should have a setting to change your white balance. the orange glow can be corrected (iirc) by tungsten WB. if not that, shoot in RAW, and fix it in Photoshop.

here are some night shots that have been color corrected due to those orange lamps:







granted I used remote strobes to light up the car, but the WB was getting fooled by the sodium lamps in the background. i just readjusted my WB on the fly (for those I can correct) and fixed the rest in RAW in PS.

hey thanks for the help, I'll definitely try that. any tips about achieving good focusing too at night? I usually just go by trial-and-error, manually...but its hard for me to systematically get a sharp picture like these you've posted. do you usually use relatively long exposure/small aperture, and one what ISO setting/exposure comp (ballpark)?

[w.o.w_92TT]

Originally Posted by jbavousett

Why buy a Nikon and not use Nikon glass? Tamron lenses are complete trash. The reason I started using Nikon bodies was solely for the Nikon Lenses. No one makes glass as well and Nikon does.

haha i totally agree. i bought the tamron lens b/c the nikkor 18-200 dx VR lens wasn't available at the time. now it is, and I don't have enough money lol.....but now I'm wondering if for stuff like this it would be better just to get a dedicated nikkor wide angle instead? I originally bought the camera for travel, so i got the 18-200 to avoid having to change lenses on the fly, since nobody i travel with wants to wait for the photographer (although they always want my pictures afterwards.... travel is also the reason I want the VR, as a jack of all trades even though a master of none---it seems like it would be a good travel lens, with more options than a normal 18-200, especially in low light.