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  #1  
Old 01-02-2007, 07:11 PM
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Default Put it in laymans terms

I am no way a pro at photography and don't even have a super swish camera. I would love to have of those new 400D but I have numerous other things to pay off/for first. A have at the moment a Panasonic DMC-FZ5. It has a 12x optical zoom which is handy but tends to blur a bit when at full range.

It has a dial on the top that has varoius settings:
P = Program AE
A = Aperture Priority (Range F8.0 - F2.8)
S = Shutter Priority (Range: 1/2000 - 8)
M = Maual Exposure

Then the other stuff like different pre done settings ie Sport, Fog, Party etc etc. Please put it in plain god damn english how I use these to get the most out of what I have in regards to:

- Taking pics of cars ie Motorvation
- Fast moving things ie rally or pdiddy crew at Dutton etc.
- Quality shots in low light
- What else you may wanna tell me.

What do the numbers next to A and S mean and what should the be set on for the best results in the above situations??

Dan
(Photographically incompetant)
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Old 01-02-2007, 07:34 PM
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I have the same camera and still trying to learn more about it.

Have you got the manual? If not I can photo copy you some of the stuff out of it.

I have not done particularly much with it. The loveheart on the dial is basically fully automatic. IMHO the resolution is to high. Not that it really matters with current memory cards.

I am looking forward to the responses.

Brendon
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Old 01-02-2007, 07:42 PM
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Dan,

I might know of a well used cheap 300D coming up for grabs if you are interested? It will be pretty cheap, but I doubt it will come with a lens.

About your A and S question, I will let Hien or another guru to answer it better but from my POV
A is aperture = the amount of light allowed into the lens
S is shutter = how quick it takes the photo 1/2000 is FAST like drag racing/rally car photos 8 = slowish I think it means 8 seconds? or 8ms meaning it will hold the shutter open that long, I think with 8 you would need a tripod or a steady surface because the shutter will be open for ages, This is good for flashless photography of static objects. You also get some cool effects, sit it on a table and take a photo on that setting of a low lighted object in a room with your aperture wide open, you will get a pretty cool photo
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Old 01-02-2007, 08:32 PM
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I think the same Qs keep getting asked but turned around a slight bit....

A = Aperture. Larger aperture lets more light in, which means u can shoot at a faster shutter speed (to let the same amount of light in). Ie: instead of shooting at f/3.5, u can open the aperture up to f/2.8 which allows u to shoot faster. shooting faster means u can shoot moving objects with less blur. another feature of aperture is that larger apertures have a shallow depth of field. this means that the background will blur, which is a good thing for most photos, so u can focus on what's being focussed. vice versa.

S = Shutter. Basically the same principle. A and S work together. if u increase A u need to decrease S for same exposure. For handheld slow moving subjects u need to shoot faster than 1/15 to not get blur. for sports and medium moving subjects, it's around 1/300 or faster seconds. To freeze fast moving objects that are moving very rapidly u will need 1/500 or quicker (tennis racquet swinging thru the air). a rally car sits around 1/400 for a perfect freeze, and 1/100 with panning so u can have the wheels still in motion. so this mode is all about freezing objects to stop blur. sometimes ur camera wont let u shoot athe shutter speed u WANT, as there are limitations on available light or the lens aperture can't support it (ie u want to shoot 1/4000 which would mean a very big corresponding aperture - which wont work for shitty lenses).

if u want quality shots in low light, open the aperture big as possible, and if the corresponding shutter is still slower than 1/15 seconds, then u need to get a tripod or raise the ISO.

The following is shot at shutter priority at 1/320 of a second to freeze the person but show motion in the tennis racquet (desirable). the corresponding aperture which the I did not control, was f/5.6. that means there was room to shoot faster speeds IF I needed it, since my lens can go f/2.8. ISO was 280 as it was cloudy and light was at a premium when the sun was behind it.



shooting faster here at 1/640 " allows total freezing of both the person and tennis racquet. the camera set the equivalent aperture to f/4.5, which again shows theres room for a bit faster shutter speed at that ISO.



last example faster still @ 1/800" and aperture maxed out at f/2.8. The camera maxes shutter speed at 1/8000 but since aperture is already maxed, i cant shoot any faster (unless i raise the ISO).


Last edited by methd; 01-02-2007 at 08:41 PM.
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Old 01-02-2007, 08:46 PM
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dan - in layman terms. put it on aperture priority and turn the dial so it's maxed out. choose the highest ISO you can so that it isnt noisy (each camera has different noise levels but as a rule of thumb anything over 400 on a Point and Shoot camera is shit and over 800 on a DSLR is risky).

if you've done that, and it's still blurry whilst trying to hold it as steady as u can, then get a better camera and/or lens.

and one other thing, the more tele u use on your zoom, the faster u need to shoot to stop blur.

Last edited by methd; 01-02-2007 at 08:56 PM.
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Old 01-02-2007, 09:31 PM
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Cheers mate, its clear as mud now lol. With aperture, what does the F#.# mean exactly?
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Old 01-02-2007, 09:37 PM
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aperture is a setting. it tells how big the lens to open up to let in more light.

larger apertures will obviously let more light in so the image is brighter (OR u can shoot faster).

smaller apertures will let less light in, so u cant shoot as fast

this makes it desirable to buy a lens with large apertures so u can shoot faster for less blur

aperture is designated by the ratio f/x

a larger value of x means a smaller aperture as it's a ratio

a smaller value of x means it's a bigger aperture.

ie: f/2.8 >> f/5.6 (f/2.8 is bigger, and can shoot faster moving objects)
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Old 01-02-2007, 09:43 PM
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the F-stop number is (opening diameter).(focal distance). so f2 would mean the diameter of the opening is half the focal distance of the lens.
it's a square so f4 means a quarter of the light is passing than would pass in f2 etc.
the word aperture literally by definition, means opening or gap to control the amount of light entering a lens.
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Last edited by REXXX; 01-02-2007 at 09:46 PM.
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