A few general Canon Rebel questions?

Question

Here's a few questions I have for my 400D camera

1) On my Digital Rebel some of my shots in M mode are still way way bright. I try setting the ISO? by the spin dial all the way but it stops at 4000. How can I get nice shots of people/objects in direct sunlight?

2) With my Digital Rebel I have the Canon 75-300MM. I get maybe 5 in 100 shots that are CRYSTAL CLEAR for one reason or another (people subjects). I used to do all AF but now I'm trying to do all MF with the M feature for light and it hasn't improved any. I have noticed only my very close shots from people about 10-15 feet away will come in PERFECT. When I use say 200mm-300mm the shots are still nice but not as nice. Is there something I'm doing wrong or is this expected?

3) Lens filters.. I don't have much money and some ARE much more expensive than others. Are there differences? I want to REALLY highlight blue skies above all else.

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

If your images are way too bright, you need to turn the ISO down because that makes the camera less sensitive to light. It sounds like you're actually spinning the shutter speed dial, not the ISO dial. Next, you need to adjust your aperture so that it's a bigger number (i.e. if it's on f/8, set it to f/11 or f/16) which will make a smaller lens opening.

Maybe your eyes aren't so good when you're manually focusing--it might look sharp close up because it's easier to see, and it might look sharp further away, but it's not really. You might also have some vibration or camera shake, because it's more important to hold the camera steady at 300mm than at 75mm.

Lens filters: to darken blue skies, go for a circular polarizer filter. Don't go too cheap, but a moderately priced one should suffice.

Answer 2

I have a Canon Rebel XT and I hope I can ad some help to what the other's have told you.

Regarding the 1th question I agree with the firsth answer, you are setting the speed, not the ISO.

Let us go step by step.
1- The screen and the viewer has a scale. As you "half click" you will see an arow at the botom of it. You have to set the camara's setting to get that arrow in the center.
You can do that by setting the shutter speed, the ISO and/or the diafragma (refer to your manual).

Some times it is not easy to achieve a perfectly sharp picture, but a trick is to have the diafragma as closed as posible f/32 or close. That will do best for closer pictures, now again you must set the ISO and/or the speed acordingly.

Set it round about an ISO 100, a speed of 125 and an f/16 for a noon sunny beach day (check the scale).

2- You might be interested in knowing that at the right side of the viewer there is a small disc so you can adjust the camara to your own eyesight. (half click the shooter 1th 'till you see the green digits).

3- On the other hand you have 7 focusing points (the ones that go red and sound pip pip) it might focus on one or some ponts and leave tho others out. You can choose which one you want to use (refer to manual) and "play" with the settings.

The basics of photography are
a) Sensibility of the film (ISO or ASA).
b) Speed of the shutter.
c) Aperture of the diafragma.
Reflex camaras are notso dificult but they can take some time to master and as a teacher once told me, "you might take 100 pictures but you will only get about 10 good ones" jejeje.

Best regards.
Moses.
Caracas.

Answer 3

First, find a comfortable seat, sit back, and read and study your Owner's Manual. Then read and study it again. Learn all the settings on your camera and how to use them.

Since you express an interest in using Manual settings you really need to learn how to use them. Correct exposure is the result of the interaction between the available light, ISO, f-stop and shutter speed. You therefore have 3 variables you can control on your camera. Changing one will affect the other 2 so, IMO, its always best to only change one at a time.

Lets look at a hypothetical example in bright sunlight and using ISO 200. We'll let the camera's meter direct us to set shutter speed as we change f-stops.

At f2 1/1000 sec.
At f2.8 1/500 sec.
At f4 1/250 sec.
At f5.6 1/125 sec.
At f8 1/60 sec.
At f11 1/30 sec.
At f16 1/15 sec.

All 7 of the above exposures are IDENTICAL. The only difference we'll notice in our images are improved image quality between f5.6 and f11 (because within that range is where a lens is optimized for image quality) and an increase in Depth of Field (DOF) since a smaller f-stop allows more of the scene to appear in focus. This is more apparent with wide-angle lenses.

As we use smaller and smaller f-stops (remember its an inverse scale - the larger the number the smaller the opening in the diaphragm) we admit less and less light. As less light is admitted by the lens our shutter speed gets longer and longer to correctly expose our film or sensor. At f2.8 we admit half as much light as at f2; at f4 we admit half as much light as at f2.8 and so on.

Now if we change our ISO to 100, our shutter speed at f2 will be 1/500 since it requires twice as much exposure to light at a lower sensitivty. By the time we get to f16 our shutter speed will be 1/8 sec.

If we change to ISO 400 our shutter speeds will double since ISO 400 is more sensitive to light. At f2 it will be 1/2000 sec., af f16 1/30 sec.

If you were in Aperture Preferred Mode (you select an f-stop, the camera selects a shutter speed) the results would be the same in our example. In Shutter Preferred Mode (you set the shutter speed, the camera sets the f-stop) the results would be the same. (I admit to shooting almost exclusively in Aperture Preferred because I like a lot of DOF).

The decrease in image quality you describe is likely due to camera movement. Its difficult to hold a 300mm lens rock-steady and, at slower shutter speeds the problem is worsened. An old Rule of Thumb stated: "Your slowest shutter speed should be the reciprocal of the lens length." So with a 300mm lens you'd want a shutter speed of 1/250 minimum. Image Stabilization will obviously allow slower shutter speeds - if your camera (or lens) has it. When using a long lens its always better to use a tripod.

As to choosing and using filters, I recommend HOYA, TIFFEN, B+W since you'll find those brands in my camera bag. I have a 34 year old TIFFEN circular polarizer which is still performing perfectly. I also strongly urge you to buy a HAZE/UV filter and a Skylight filter. One of them should always be on your lens unless you're using your polarizer.

The HAZE/UV filter removes atmospheric haze seen in scenics. The Skylight filter removes the bluish cast seen in distant shaded mountains or snow and in photos taken in open shade. Most importantly, either of them protects the front element of your lens. One scratch or acidic smudge or fingerprint and your expensive lens becomes an expensive paperweight. Replace a $15 filter or a $500 lens. You choose.

I must disagee with Dr. Moses' comment about using f32. At that small of an f-stop you'll either need either a very high ISO or a very slow shutter speed. Image quality will also decrease since, as stated earlier, optimum lens performance (center to edge sharpness and center to edge light fall-off) comes in somewhere between f5.6 and f11.

You can perform a simple, if unscientific, test of your lenses if you want. Find a wall in bright sunlight and tape a piece of newspaper to it. Mount your camera on a tripod and carefully focus on the print - you should be able to read it. Make sure the camera is parallell to the subject and level. Now make an exposure (use ISO 100) at each f-stop on your lens. Write the f-stop on a Post_It and include it in the image. Print the images and examine them with a magnifying glass. Note the center sharpness and the edge sharpness; note the brightness at the center and at the edges. The f-stop that gives the best results for both is the f-stop you should use as often as possible. For one lens it may be f8; for another f11.

Answer 4

The XTi is a a ways extra advantageous digital camera to the S5.... the S5 is constrained to the lens on board, you additionally are constrained on your record form to jpg, and tiff... the XTi you may shoot uncooked it rather is plenty extra advantageous to jpg. the XTi you may replace lenses, upgrading your ideas and high quality of lens. The ISO i believe is comparable in the S5.. it rather is neither right here nor there... the sensor in the XTi is a extra appropriate sensor.. comparing the two cameras, is like comparing apples and oranges. the shop clerk, i'm assuming, grow to be in Walmart or appropriate purchase and knows no longer something approximately pictures.