Photographers - what equipment do you use?

[nate42nd]

I looked around a little for a thread on photography. It seems to me computers and photography go hand in hand. I would like to know what you use and how long you've been into photography. I have a Canon T1i Digital / 500D. (digital DSLR) and also a Canon 780 IS. I have been into photography for about 30 years. I am in my mid 30s and got my 1st film camera when I was very young.

Also, I noticed my import settings on Pro 64 bit OEM Windows 7 were set to name the pictures starting at 001 every time I imported. It created it's own folder I had many, many, 001-120 duplicates. It was set like this by default. If you are having this problem...here is how to fix it. Just change the import settings....if you know a different way to get to the import settings besides plugging your camera into the USB port....let me know.



Anyway, are you serious hobbyist or just like to mess around?

Here's a night shot I took this morning at 3:30 AM of the valley where I live. I had to expose it for 13 seconds. It didn't turn out very good but next time I know the changes I need to make.....It's a lot of fun.

 

[johnwillyums]

Hi Nate. I'm into photography, primarily as a hobby although I do the occasional wedding with a friend.
I use a Canon 40D DSLR with a Canon 18-75 IS zoom lens, a Sigma 10-20 wide zoom, a Sigma 105 Macro and a Sigma 200-300 APO zoom.
In terms of the computer I always shoot RAW and use Adobe Lightroom to process/edit the images followed by PS Elements 7.
I also use Google's free Picasa software which I think is an excellent product and ideal if the images do not require much post capture treatment.
It's been a hobby for thirty years and I used to have my own darkroom etc.

The best thing about having photography as a hobby, I think, is that, whether you have a camera with you or not, you always see things in terms of image and composition.
It makes you look for beauty or statement wherever you look and changes the way you view of the world around you.
Great hobby

 

[nate42nd]

Hi Nate. I'm into photography, primarily as a hobby although I do the occasional wedding with a friend.
I use a Canon 40D DSLR with a Canon 18-75 IS zoom lens, a Sigma 10-20 wide zoom, a Sigma 105 Macro and a Sigma 200-300 APO zoom.
In terms of the computer I always shoot RAW and use Adobe Lightroom to process/edit the images followed by PS Elements 7.
I also use Google's free Picasa software which I think is an excellent product and ideal if the images do not require much post capture treatment.
It's been a hobby for thirty years and I used to have my own darkroom etc.

The best thing about having photography as a hobby, I think, is that, whether you have a camera with you or not, you always see things in terms of image and composition.
It makes you look for beauty or statement wherever you look and changes the way you view of the world around you.
Great hobby

Very nice johnwillyums. I am sitting here right now trying to decide what lens to get (for about $500 or less)

I too have been shooting RAW with my G9 for the last 3 years. I too use Picasa, it's very handy. I have always used Canon's bundled software to edit the RAW images. The latest DPP (Digital photo Pro) is pretty good, but Adobe would be nice.

That 40D is a nice camera.

I had 35mm film cameras back in the day. It's a lot of fun. I have been neglecting my duties here at the forum because I have been busy shooting and precessing pictures.

You're right about it changing the way you look at the world. It's a great thing.

 

[Barman58]

Hi Nate,

I have had cameras around for many years but at the moment am using a fuji Bridge camera, s5700 UK

you may want to check out the downloader I use, which can build the filename fron exif and IPTC metadata. teh options for freeware are amazing

http://www.nabocorp.com/cam2pc/freeware.php

 

[nate42nd]

Hi Nate,

I have had cameras around for many years but at the moment am using a fuji Bridge camera, s5700 UK

you may want to check out the downloader I use, which can build the filename fron exif and IPTC metadata. teh options for freeware are amazing

cam2pc - Image Viewer and fully featured Digital Imaging software to Download, Organize, Modify and Share your photos

Hey Barman, that looks very cool. I will check it out. That might be useful.

Thanks

 

[beauparc]

I'm an enthusiastic amateur who never seems to have the time to take the hobby seriously enough.

I always used Nikon 35mm back in the days of film. Now I use Fuji - I've got 3 of them. An F31fd - a Z35 and a S9500 DSLR. I've just ordered the new S200EXR which should arrive this coming week and will replace the aging S9500.

I would love to have the time, patience and skill to master the dark art of Photoshop manipulation of images. I can just about use Paint Shop Pro - badly

My main problem is getting the printer output to match the screen image. The print always comes out much darker. Ah well, one day......

 

[nate42nd]

I'm an enthusiastic amateur who never seems to have the time to take the hobby seriously enough.

I always used Nikon 35mm back in the days of film. Now I use Fuji - I've got 3 of them. An F31fd - a Z35 and a S9500 DSLR. I've just ordered the new S200EXR which should arrive this coming week and will replace the aging S9500.

I would love to have the time, patience and skill to master the dark art of Photoshop manipulation of images. I can just about use Paint Shop Pro - badly

My main problem is getting the printer output to match the screen image. The print always comes out much darker. Ah well, one day......

It can get complicated. Try shooting in RAW id you cameras allow it. It gives you a lot of freedom to essentially change shot settings after you shoot....on your computer. I'm surprised more computers enthusiasts are not digital photographers. I know there are many, but serious hobbyists. Time is a limited resource. That's true.

As far as your image on the monitor matching the printed image. That's probably a monitor setting issue. You could fix it.

 

[Zepher]

Canon 40D with a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8

this is one of the first shots I took with the Tamron lens, this is straight out of the camera, just resized.

 

[johnwillyums]

Hi Photographers

I thought there'd be a few of us. More will come along I bet.
That downloader looks interesting Nigel. However, I'm very happy with Lightroom which downloads and catalogues pictures, allows you to organise them in folders, rename them etc. and then you can edit RAW files in a non destructive way so you always have the original.
I just looked and it's a £160 which is more than I thought but still a lot less than 8 or 9 hundred for Photoshop.
I got really lucky. About 6 years ago I bought a RAW converter online. It was a free version and then go pro for 20+ pounds and it was so good I did. Adobe bought it and turned it into Lightroom. I got Lightroom 2 for free plus continuing upgrades

I sympathise beauparc. I was "gifted" PS CS2 and even did a short course on how to use it. I found some of it very useful but the guy teaching us the course kept showing us tricks like putting different heads on animals bodies or making people's expression change.
I suppose he was trying to demonstrate what photoshop could do but I'm mainly landscape and abstract in my interests and didn't find it that useful. Also bloody hard. Working with layers was mind boggling.
I can now see the virtue in some of those tricks. The friend who I do weddings with is very skilled in Photoshop. When you take group shots there's always someone with one eye shut or pulling a funny face etc and it's always the best shot in every other way.
He can transpose a smiling face onto the grimacer and you can't see the join

I've tried the Gimp but that is just as complex. Paint.net is a good freebie.
However for most of the kind of pics I take all I need is a little contrast boost or colour temperature alteration. I can do that in Picasa.
The problem with printer output not matching what you see on your screen is something you can fix as Nate says but if it's only slight just make allowances for it.
Here's a landscape from last year that I was pleased with. Hmmn. Forget that it's 46MB
and I don't have time to convert it from a tif. right now so here's something else. This is a pretty straight shot but I did spend time removinf floating bugs etc from the surface of the water to make the illusion work

 

[nate42nd]

I love the pictures guys!

You guys bring up photo editing software...I have to agree with most of you. These "good" programs are hard to use. If someone shows me how to use it, then I remember. YouTube is a great resource. If you can find the right person, they will show you how to use certain programs. I have learned tons from YouTube. I have Sony Vegas for video editing. Talk about complicated. I like shooting video too. Todays cameras have great HD video modes. Try those out too.

 

[Barman58]

Hello John,

I use lightroom myself, and it handles most of the normal tweaks to images without having to even open an editor

I find that cam2pc allows me to set the filename and folder automatically - I rename the camera generated name to one in the form of Full Date and Time - 2010-03-29.11-45-30.jpg and the folder structure follows similar lines Month - Date - Day. Cam2PC allows me to do all this in one click

I then use geosetter ( GeoSetter ) to manually add geotag and other metadata ( i have predefined templates for most of it ), once all this is done I import into lightroom for day to day management and tweaks

It's a bit long winded but it works for me

 

[Lens Pirate]

Here is my current equipment list all Canon:

[5DII+grip][7D+Grip][XSI+grip] Primes: EF 85 F1.2L, EF 135 F2L, EF 200 F2.8L, EF 300 F4L IS, EF 50 F1.4, Ext EF 1.4 MK11 Flash: 530EX, 430EX- Zooms: Tok 11-16 F2.8, EF 24-70 F2.8L, EF 24-105 F4L IS, EF 70-200 F2.8L IS, EF 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS

My systrem specs are already listed and I use the CS4 master suite and and Lightroom.

Here is my ModelMayhem profile NSFW:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/JamesSnaps

 

[beauparc]

Johnwillyums

I envy you for having a friend who shows you how PS works. I find that it's all very well watching tutorials, but there comes a point in most where the instructor does something and I think "Why did you do that?" and of course you can't ask so the whole thing falls down.

I just wish I had the time to be able to sit down and really learn to use Paint Shop Pro. I was given it as a present a few months ago. I certainly would not have bought it. Probably a good investment for someone who can use all it's features but for me - since I only use about 5% of it's power I guess I should pay about 5% of it's price

 

[johnwillyums]

As Nigel said earlier Lightroom is usually enough for me and I don't use that to the extent it could be used.
I want to take pictures not to try and grasp software that people do long courses at college to learn how to use.
That's my opinion anyway. When I had PS2 I barely used a fraction of what it could do. Largely because I didn't know how but also I try to take them as I would like them to be anyway.
Most of my stuff doesn't take much post processing, hopefully just a few tweaks to contrast or shadow levels to give it some oomph.
That's not to say I am a master of exposure but that most of my shots are outside in good light on a heavy tripod and I bracket a lot. So I've no excuses.
I honestly think I could make do with Picasa if I had to, if only to spot dust on the sensor.

More adventurously I have been planning some night shots of our local hero, Wallace Hartley, the band leader on the Titanic (I know). There is a bust of him (lit from either side by sodium lights) by the war memorial. I think these will be immensely long exposures and I could enter frame quickly, remain stationary for ten seconds then exit frame swiftly. Hopefully I would be an ambiguous figure in this tableaux of Wallace, me and the sodium light, like a ghost. This is a new direction for me.
Problem is it's on the main road with loads of crazed drunks reeling from pub to pub so I keep putting it off for fear of unwanted attention.

I could ramble on here. I'll tell you about my "shedheads" project another time,'night, john

 

[mvnsnd]

Nikon shooter here! I have a D300 and a couple of lenses and a flash. Purely an amateur. I do have a Canon G9 as the small camera though. I also use
Lightroom and shoot in raw as it gives the most flexibility.

 

[Lomai]

Nikon D40.
Nikon Software Suite (primarily Nikon Transfer and ViewNX )

CaptureNX - Installed but never used.
Photoshop and other imaging software are foreign language to me

 

[nate42nd]

Here is my current equipment list all Canon:

[5DII+grip][7D+Grip][XSI+grip] Primes: EF 85 F1.2L, EF 135 F2L, EF 200 F2.8L, EF 300 F4L IS, EF 50 F1.4, Ext EF 1.4 MK11 Flash: 530EX, 430EX- Zooms: Tok 11-16 F2.8, EF 24-70 F2.8L, EF 24-105 F4L IS, EF 70-200 F2.8L IS, EF 100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS]

WOW! That's quite the collection! I would like to have some of those lenses.

 

[johnwillyums]

Hi Lomai

Try Picasa. It's a free download Google product and is very easy to use. It catalogues all your pictures by date taken, you can do some basic editing but it is extremely simple.
For example: you take a shot, it's a bit dark and you've managed to include your car bumper in the corner of the shot, also there's a dark spot on the image because there's a bit of dust on your sensor.
In Picasa you can lighten it slightly, crop it so you loose the car bumper and make the composition better and finally use the magic eraser to get rid of the spot.
You can then print it from Picasa, make a slide show or even send a small version direct from Picasa by email to a friend.
It really is good for a freebie in fact I think it's better and easier to use than some of the paid for editing software.
Also, it doesn't alter your original image. That remains in My Pictures, if you want to keep your Picasa edited version you export it back to My Pictures in its own folder.
You really can't go wrong. I've saved loads of shots simply by cropping them or straightening the horizon.

Anyway, those are my thoughts (I don't work for Google)
I notice you're from Fiji. I have a friend/colleague from Fiji who is also a keen photographer and he has taken some wonderful shots out there. It looks lovely. I'm sat here in Britain, it's Easter and it's snowing!

Best wishes, John

 

[johnwillyums]

Hey James Lens Pirate.

Not only do you have an enviable set of equipment as Nate mentioned but I just had a look at your portfolio and you have some lovely shots there.
There's some beautiful use of light in some of the shots and you have some great compositions.
Very well done, thanks for sharing, John

 

[Lens Pirate]

THANKS!