RunAgroundHard
Well-known member
Dylan Winter, Keep Turning Left, was very good. With just a small handheld video camera he created stunning video and stills.
Sailing Photography
- Thread starter Sandy
- Start date
Sandy
Well-known member
He is very good.
I have no interest in video; I hear from YouTubers that they spend more time editing that sailing!
Daydream believer
Well-known member
I hope that thisis not too much of a thread drift but as the subject of photography came up--
I have had a Nikon D3000 for over 20 years & for a grab, point & shoot type like me, it has served me well. But recently the flash has failed. I could buy a new bulb & solder fit it. However, the shutter has sometimes failed to respond & I suspect issues elsewhere in the camera.
So I need a new camera
I cannot get on with phone & Ipad cameras, so discount those.
I am not at all happy with LED screen only cameras, I was issued with one by a company for some surveying projects & found it useless. I want an eye type viewer.
My family all have Nikons & I did borrow their lenses for my round UK trip. That helped with some of the landscape pics.
So my first choice might be Nikon, inspite of my one giving up the ghost.
However, Nikon are going mirrorless.
Mirrorless seem to be replacing SLRs & the price range at £2K is way beyond my budget.
I do like the shape & holding of the SLRs & dislike some of the smaller types like the olympus etc
,
So are there any recommendations for sub £800 cameras with an SLR format (I really want a quick continuous shutter release as well) that are easy to operate for a muppet user? Or at least the best way to buy one as there are few camera shops these days.- Nearest town to me is Chelmsford, Essex
Or is £800 not going to buy a camera these days.
I have had a Nikon D3000 for over 20 years & for a grab, point & shoot type like me, it has served me well. But recently the flash has failed. I could buy a new bulb & solder fit it. However, the shutter has sometimes failed to respond & I suspect issues elsewhere in the camera.
So I need a new camera
I cannot get on with phone & Ipad cameras, so discount those.
I am not at all happy with LED screen only cameras, I was issued with one by a company for some surveying projects & found it useless. I want an eye type viewer.
My family all have Nikons & I did borrow their lenses for my round UK trip. That helped with some of the landscape pics.
So my first choice might be Nikon, inspite of my one giving up the ghost.
However, Nikon are going mirrorless.
Mirrorless seem to be replacing SLRs & the price range at £2K is way beyond my budget.
I do like the shape & holding of the SLRs & dislike some of the smaller types like the olympus etc
,
So are there any recommendations for sub £800 cameras with an SLR format (I really want a quick continuous shutter release as well) that are easy to operate for a muppet user? Or at least the best way to buy one as there are few camera shops these days.- Nearest town to me is Chelmsford, Essex
Or is £800 not going to buy a camera these days.
lustyd
Well-known member
DSLRs are gone at this point but that does mean second hand bargains. Take a look on London camera exchange and filter to Nikon bodies. Get something recent, higher end bodies have more pro features but generally don’t take better pictures than newer mid range bodies as sensor tech has made several jumps which was added at all levels
johnalison
Well-known member
Unless your name is Cartier Bresson. He would shoot economically and had a special genius for picking the critical moment. The old advice to take lots of photos is however good, but a scattergun approach won't necessarily lead to good pictures. Video and motor driven photos can be ideal in certain subjects such as wildlife but I am old-fashioned enough to believe that one should train oneself to be observant and learn to predict what is happening, whether through behaviour, movement or a change in the weather. I occasionally use bursts ad pre burst settings but there is something a bit soulless about the results, however effective.
steve yates
Well-known member
Sandy, use your histogram either in viewfinder or lcd screen to make a choice on exposure. You are shooting raw so have a lot of leeway, if in doubt have the histogram towards the right, dont clump up the shadows as you will get a lot of noise.
Manual is the way to go, its digital so its free to shoot. Experiment with different exposures, see what you like.
Try and shoot at 1000/sec or above if shooting from a boat. The higher the better, push the iso if you have to. A grainy but sharp image is ok, a beautifully exposed and noise free images is only fit for the bin if it has any camera shake.
If your camera allows it, decouple the focus from the shutter button and assign it to a back button that falls easily to your thumb and allows you to lock focus. Get your focus point first, then compose, then shoot.
Edit hard. 6 cracking shots have far more impact than 40 good shots.
Edit sparingly, use the software to crop, set highlight and shadow, and dodge and burn where wanted. All the same stuff that was done in the darkrooms of the past. Avoid “effects” from post production software in general.
If you want bw images, shoot them in colour and process as bw afterward. Default camera bw settings are slways a bit flat and lifeless.
Most importantly, work at it, if you think you see a promising image, or a good compisition coming up, get the camera out and work it. If it turns out rubbish, just delete it. And try and shoot light, not scenes!
Photography has a lot of “rules”, learn them, once you have them mastered, you can break them at will if it suits your image. Trying to ignore them and do your own thing just adds to the sea of boring crap thats already out there
The best way to learn is post your images and absorb the critiques. Dont pay much attention to folk telling you its great, people are easily pleased, pay attention to what is criticised, snd decide if it has any merit or not.
Oh, and enjoy it.
BurnitBlue
Well-known member
Buy a used Canon 5D mk ll. You get a professional camera for a few hundred pounds. Full frame built like a tank with specs good for today. Video very good, many movies and TV series like House and Ironman shot with a 5D. Good for your health. Carry one around for a day and you will have muscular body to dream of. Or a back like quasiemodo. Cost an arm and a leg when new.
Daydream believer
Well-known member
Review says good for landscape so that is a plus. I was surprised that they are only good for 100-150K operations. I have looked at a couple offered & they are all over 100k shutter openings. There must be some with less than 100K if I cared to look, but it is something that I need to look at, whatever camera I buy, if the info is available.
lustyd
Well-known member
For someone with Nikon lenses and a family who shoot Nikon this is a very odd recommendation.
Even for a Canon shooter the 5d ii is a dinosaur at this stage and lacks many advancements that newer lower end cameras include. It does shoot reasonable video although only 1080p and the camera is limited to 6400iso.
This is extremely outdated advice. Nobody sensible uses manual mode these days.
steve yates
Well-known member
Sandy is shooting seascapes and landscapes from his boat, something I know quite a bit about. If you can’t use your camera in manual, then you don’t really understand your tool, or photography.
I have taken a picture or two in my time, I do know what I am talking about
I have taken a picture or two in my time, I do know what I am talking about
Daydream believer
Well-known member
When I read that I immediately though of RTFM then realised what was meant.
But should one really be able to beat the auto on a decent camera for 95% of shots, unless they are trying to get particular effects?
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lustyd
Well-known member
Same goes for not staying abreast of current techniques. I never said I couldn't use manual, I said sensible people no longer do. Perhaps spend a little time and look into why before coming back.
I never said to use full auto, and you're not trying to beat anything or prove your manliness (well, Steve might be trying...), you're trying to get the shot. Modern cameras have enormous scope for ISO and shutter speed, have adjustment for how bright/dark you'd like the shot as compared to "ideal" metered light. They also have instant output of how the image will look, so you can adjust easily on the fly. It's usual now to use aperture priority and then either set the ISO or the shutter, and let the camera sort out the last part of the triangle for you.When I read that I immediately though of RTFM then realised what was meant.
But should one really be able to beat the auto on a decent camera for 95% of shots, unless they are trying to get particular effects?
I remember not long ago using an app to calculate shutter timings when using heavy ND filters for long exposures. Now the camera can show the output instantly so not only do I know the exposure is right but I can see the results and tweak them before taking the photo.
With modern cameras and lenses it's pretty unusual to manual focus as well. None of this is stuff that humans do better or faster than computers these days. That's not to say that using manual settings should never be done, but it's like a lot of stuff in yachting - people do it for the fun of doing it, not because it's necessary or better.
steve yates
Well-known member
Sigh, at the end of the day photography is about composition, light and subject. A camera is a box that lets in light, it is a tool a photographer uses to capture or create an image. Forget all the camera wankery, exposure comes down to playing off three things; aperture, shutter speed and iso, and its always a compromise, ( like boats).
Its a really simple concept.
I have been a professional photographer for over 25 years, I really do know what I am talking about.
Its a really simple concept.
I have been a professional photographer for over 25 years, I really do know what I am talking about.
lustyd
Well-known member
I’m quite sure you did, yes.
At the end of the day if you enjoy twiddling with knobs that’s fine. It’s unnecessary these days and not the way it’s taught any more, but if you enjoy it fair enough.
At the end of the day if you enjoy twiddling with knobs that’s fine. It’s unnecessary these days and not the way it’s taught any more, but if you enjoy it fair enough.
Frank Holden
Well-known member
I bought a second Nikon about 4 years ago ( my D90 lives on the boat, this one lives at home).
Found a reputable dealer selling a 'refurb' D5300 body only on Ebay for about $AU450/ £220 . Was mint with no box and only 18(!!!) shutter ops. Seem to be plenty 5300s out there with low shutter count.
TiggerToo
Well-known member
johnalison
Well-known member
Very true about uninformed judgement. People often fail to discriminate between a picture of a beautiful scene and a beautiful picture of a scene. I have considerable respect for professional photographers, if not always for their typing abilities.Photography has a lot of “rules”, learn them, once you have them mastered, you can break them at will if it suits your image. Trying to ignore them and do your own thing just adds to the sea of boring crap thats already out there
The best way to learn is post your images and absorb the critiques. Dont pay much attention to folk telling you its great, people are easily pleased, pay attention to what is criticised, snd decide if it has any merit or not.
Oh, and enjoy it.
I used to belong to a camera club and our competition judges varied from the obviously blind to the considerate and helpful. A sound bit of advice I remember from one excellent judge was that a landscape photo is only as good as the amount of effort taken to get there. I once took a perfectly acceptable picture of Toledo taken from where out coach stopped. The photo is OK, but says nothing to me.Going back to what I said before, before my broadband packed up, Developing skills to select the right time to press the shutter is likely to be more beneficial than just learning to take stills out of a video. I am no master of this, but I have my moments of success. I was photographing some river terns in India and took only a dozen or so shots of them round us with my compact Lumix as single shots. They will never make publication and are not perfect, but a good half dozen are viewable, including these two which comprise most of the frames taken.
lustyd
Well-known member
Various fallings out, mainly as he was a few years too early to monetise on YouTube. Pretty sure he made a new user name here, would be nice to see him create again the quality was up there with the best channels today and he had a knack for research and storytelling alongside knowing how to hold a camcorder. He’s probably happier without the hassle though and that’s fair enough
lustyd
Well-known member
100% this. Knowing how to frame and when to take a shot is the key to great pictures, the rest is pretty easy to learn but the art of making a picture is very hard to get if you don’t have the right eye. Unfortunately I don’t have that skill and envy those that do. I’ve taken some great shots over the years, sometimes almost on purpose!
claymore
Well-known member
I've always been rubbish with a camera. I am a gifted and talented wordsmith as many of you will testify but cameras are not my forte.
I once did a photoshop course and after 2 days I had managed to draw a moustache onto the image we had been given to experiment with.
I think my downfall or at least my lack of success with the camera is that I don't really have much in the way of artistic vision - its the same with drawing for me.
I do a fair bit of hill walking and take some fabulous shots only to find that 10 yards further on there is a much better view waiting.
Enough - stick to scribbling notes!
I once did a photoshop course and after 2 days I had managed to draw a moustache onto the image we had been given to experiment with.
I think my downfall or at least my lack of success with the camera is that I don't really have much in the way of artistic vision - its the same with drawing for me.
I do a fair bit of hill walking and take some fabulous shots only to find that 10 yards further on there is a much better view waiting.
Enough - stick to scribbling notes!
