PHOTOGRAPHY QUESTIONS?

[furyphoto]

I notice from reading a lot of posts here that most members on this board are Heli guys who like to take photos. I am the polar opposite, I am and Architectural Photographer who wants to get into RC Helis to have a fun way to add photography services for my clients.

I know that there are some here who make a living or at least some $$ with their AP, that's great, I can't wait to join you!

For the rest, I am a professional architectural photographer with 15 years experience, so I though I would offer up my humble knowledge if any of you have "Photography" Questions. You know like exposure, or composition, or (god forbid) what film to use!, etc., etc.

SO, FIRE AWAY!

If I can help I will!

Besides, I am going to be asking a LOT of Heli questions sooner or later, so I thought it only fair to contribute!
Regards,

Andrew.

[enigma]

What's the best lightweight digital camera for this type of use?

[MarkWebber]

what film to use!, etc., etc.

Film...whats that? :wink:

[enigma]

I believe it's like tape without the sticky stuff :mrgreen:

[furyphoto]

Camera -

Personally, I would stick to a big name for the best image quality, the price might be a little higher, but if you are serious about your images it will be worth it.

I am looking at these ones, I havent decided yet

Nikon S7c - Slim, and sexy, and 7.1 MP

http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=2&productNr=25552

Canon S80 - A little heavier, but still not bad and 8 MP

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=12074

Also, the Canon SD630 is a great camera

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=12956

If you plan to sell your shots at all, you will want at least a 5 MP, but more is better when it comes to sharpness of prints or images. Divide the highest number of pixels by 300 to give you and idea of what size of print you can make and have it look really sharp.

For example: 2400 x 3000 pixels / 300 = 10 x 8 inch print

you might want to consider something that has continous shooting, so you can turn the trigger on, and take 10 or 12 shots, while you manouver the heli to make sure you get THE shot.

One of the biggest differences between a pro photograper and an amature is that the pro doesn't let you see his bad shots! :glasses:


Does that help, or are you looking for something smaller?

-Andrew

[furyphoto]

OH Yeah, I think film is that oily stuff on top of the bath water after you have been flying your Nitro all day!
:wink:

-A

[furyphoto]

I Almost forgot, and this is a BIG DEAL in camera selection!

If you buy a camera with Vibration Reduction, make sure it has real VR, and not Digital VR!

Real VR has little motors, or electro magnets that physically move the lens to counteract the movement of the camera. The Digital, or Virtual VR just turns up the ISO rating so you get a faster shutter speed to avoid blur. Higher ISO means more grain in the photo, and reduces photo quality!

I will have to double check my camera selections now to make sure I havent made a liar of myself!


-A

[MLaBoyteaux]

Excellent website Andrew :)

I've been using a Rebel XT with the 17~85 EFIS lens. I want to get something a little wider and I'm considering a 14 or 15mm fixed lens. Do you have any recommendations on a lens in this category? I want a little more angle, but not "fisheye"!

Wes Browning (Loopback) put me onto a place where I can rent lenses to try out, so I may give it a try and see what I like best.

[furyphoto]

I own the Sigma 15-30mm for my nikons,

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=231673&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

The Brand new Sigma 10-20mm is getting excellent reviews!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=381612&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Sigma is now making some quality wide angle lenses, some reviews rated the 15-30, better than the closest comnparible nikon lens, and they are priced pretty well too!

-A

[furyphoto]

Cant figure out which camera to buy?

Try this comparison chart from one of my favourite websites, dpreview.com

Just choose your options, and they will find the right camera for you!

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp

It really is quite an awesome little service!

-A

[wwellman]

Nice web site you have Andrew.

BTW, sometime I use film. I don't have a full frame digital..yet... The 35mm camera is used when I want a larger view. If I want to go really large I use my 8mm fish eye :shock:

Are you proficient with CS2? If you are, be ready for a bunch of questions!

Walter

www.RPVaerialphoto.com

[furyphoto]

Yeah, pretty proficient with CS2, I guess I have opened a can of worms!

Just remember I have to do actual work as well, so go easy on me!

-A

[WillJames]

furyphoto


Thanks for joining and offering your expert help!! Thank you very much and welcome!!

[Menno]

Do you have any recommendations on a lens in this category?


Photozone has some nice charts on (D)SLR lenses. All the Canon tests are made with a Rebel XT.
www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html

I recently bought the Sigma 10-20 but I have only used it on my mast till now (and like it :cool: ).

Menno

[bluemooone]

Wow , http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=2&productNr=25552 is an awsome little camera! should fit my trex 450 i think, what u all think? will it?

[Tonystott]

Looks good except that A/V output seems to only be available through a docking station. Weightwise no problems.

[bluemooone]

great , Thanks

[iflynething]

You have an amazing site Andrew. Incredible pictures.

I though I would post and bring this back to the top. I'm an up and coming photographer I guess you would say.

I only have only had my Nikon L4 for 5 months and taken almost 10,000 pictures.

I'm working on moving up to a more advanced camera. Looking at the Sony H2. If I'm going to pay for that then I might as well save some more and get the Nikon D50 which I really like.

Any comments on good advanced camera.

Thanks Alot

~Michael~

[Tonystott]

Andrew, is there some specific point (in focal length) where a wide-angle lens becomes a fish-eye? I am looking at a converter which brings the focal length down to 21mm. The camera has optical zoom, so there is some adjustability of the width of view.

thanks in advance

[furyphoto]

Tony,

It really depends on which camera you are using. The point at which you start to lose image at the corners with a wide lens depends on the size of your sensor.

Assuming you are talking about the equivelent focal length to a 21mm lens on a 35mm camera. 21 is pretty wide and would likely suit most of your purposes.

If you are adding a screw-on or clip-on wide lens adapter to a point and shoot camera, be very careful which one you buy. These lenses (especially the cheaper ones) tend to distort the image quite a bit, or lose sharpness around the corners of the photo. If you are going to buy one of these, shell out for one that is a little more expensive, and if at all possible, take you camera into the store and try them out to find the best one before you lay your $$$ down. I would try a few out, go home and look at the images at 100% on the computer, and decide which is the best one to buy.
Hope this helps, if you have any more questions, let me know.

-Andrew

[Tonystott]

Thanks Andrew, we shall see how it turns out

[iflynething]

When would I want to use shutter priority over aperature. Obviously shutter when you are needing that shot (sports, etc...)

But I haven't come to fully understand aperature and when it would be best to use that

Thanks

~Michael~

[sparkydog]

Any recommendations on photo and/or video editing software?

[furyphoto]

IFLY -

Wow, I could go on forever about aperture and shutter speeds! If you are talking about AP, shutter priority is probably the best option, (unless you know exactly what your exposure should be and use Manual settings) choosing a constant shutter and allowing the camera to choose the aperture will allow you to combat vibration or shake or movement of your aircraft by setting a fast shutter speed (I would probably shoot at at least 1/500 of a second for AP)

Having said that, your aperture controls your "depth of Field" (the amount of stuff front to back that is in focus in your photo) the smaller the aperture, the more stuff is in focus, the wider the aperture, the less stuff is in focus. you can find tons of information on this by doing an internet search for "depth of field".
Remember, that the smaller aperture number is the larger opening (it's an inverse square if you want to get all math-y about it!)

SO...
Small aperture numbers (f-stops) are larger openings. f2.8 is wide, and there will be very little depth of field (stuff in focus in front and behind the subject) higher numbers are smaller openings. f16 is really small opening, and there will be lots of depth field (stuff in focus in front and behind the subject)

Basically you would use aperture priority to pre determine how much is in focus, you could also use it to force the highest possible shutter speed by setting a wide aperture (small f-stop number) and letting the camera pick the fastest shutter speed to match. If you did this though you would be forcing a small depth of field, and might get crutial photo elements out of focus.

Coufused enough yet?

Mastering aperture and shutter speed is the hardest part of photography to learn, I certainly can't explaing it all on a forum page! There are tons of awesome web resources on Photography, so search, and study and it will slowly get clearer for you (more depth of field :wink: )

I have some old teaching resources somewhere, I will try to look them up for you.

-A


Sparky -

Well, Photoshop hands down, but not everyone can afford it, or get their hands on a "more affordable" version.

For basic sorting and some simple retouching try "Picasa" from Google (just do a search) It's a free program, and it is awesome for the price. I am a professional photographer with all kinds of software, and I even use it for certain things.

Can't help you with video, I am a stills guy. Maybe when I finally get my swift in the air, that might change! I have done a significant amount of basic editing with windows movie maker. No super special effects, but pretty easy to use, and you can output anything from web quility to DVD.

-A

OH YEAH,

EVERYONE should check out Pro-Show Gold by Photodex
http://www.photodex.com/products/proshowgold/
I have been using this program since it's first version, and it is awesome for putting together slideshow presentations for clients, or portfolios! you can even add video clips to the shows. free to try, $70 (CHEAP in my opinion) to buy the full version

-A

[Nitrospazzz]

Another photoshop like program you might want to look at is GIMP http://www.gimp.org/ Its free and has most of the features.

FuryPhoto, how do you feel about the A-DEP setting on the canon line of cameras. I have tried it a few times and am not sure if I like it