Sony Alpha 100 - settings question

[scott_m_sterling]

Hi,

 

I just bought the Sony Alpha 100. It is my first DSLR. I previously had a

Canon 35MM Film camera, that I loved, and decided to move to digital, as i did

not have the time to spend in a darkroom, as opposed to the computer at my

house. Anyway... I've been reading a lot of posts on this site, and trying to

learn as much as I can about going digital. I'm going to be buying Photoshop

Elements, as I think that will be a good start for me and it is a lot less

that the full blown Photoshop. (anyone using it that likes it?)

 

Question:

 

I think the difference between Raw and JPEG is debated and talked about a lot

on this site and others, and I can play with that some, as the camera came

with a RAW converter. I want to know about some of the other settings. Like

S, M, L so other than if I want to shoot JPEG, or Fine, or standard, I have to

select how big the picture is? This part is confusing and I did not see a

good explanation in the manual, or this site? Can someone point me in the

right direction?

 

Also, Is there a simple update, or thing I should do to my standard computer

monitor to make the color as real as possible?

 

THANKS!

 

Scott

[brucecyr]

Good overview of some photoeditors, including Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, which many here have recommended:

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2100543,00.asp

 

PCMag's review of PSE5:

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2014779,00.asp

[rjacksonphoto]

This is a good book for general digital photography nuts and bolts:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Real-World-Digital-Photography-Second/dp/0321223721/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1421604-2162568?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173215950&sr=8-1

[carbon_dragon]

I'm not sure I can think of a reason why you shouldn't use the maximum resolution setting (except for card space, and space on CF cards is pretty cheap these days). I'd use RAW, because with RAW you can more easily fix pictures that aren't "perfect" in the camera. You can increase the dynamic range a little, modify the white balance, and generally make the results better if you have the RAW image (as opposed to JPEG). I'd at least try that and see how it goes.

[niall_church]

Did I not read in a review somewhere that there is a jpeg to raw conversion setting in the sony alpha 100 which does not degrade the image!

So this would mean shooting in jpeg formant and then converting to RAW!

BTW,how many images will a 2GB Extreme 3 card hold in RAW format?

[scott_m_sterling]

Thanks for all your input! A Digital Photography book is probably a good idea... I went to half.com, and found some other books that were a lot less, that will probably be a good start for me.

 

I'm probably going with Photoshop elements. It seems a good start, and should have plenty of punch for me, and if I go nuts on it, maybe I'll get the full Photoshop software down the road, when I can afford it.

 

As for the JPEG to RAW conversion, I'm not sure? I can set the camera to JPEG and RAW? I have a 1GB card now made by toshiba? I guess the Extream 3 cards are better? Faster?

 

Lots to learn!

 

THANKS!

[jcuknz]

If you are going to edit seriously you should also consider Corel's Paint Shop Pro which is complimentary to Photoshop at a reasonable price. Elements has the advantage that it trains you to 'think' the photoshop way, but it is not the only way.

 

All you need to do is shoot at the highest resolution and lowest compression in jpg. Then in due course IF you are dissatisfied start in with RAW ... it largely depends on what you want out of digital.

[dagoimaging]

This might answer your question on Raw vs Jpeg

 

http://www.all-things-photography.com/raw-or-jpeg.html

 

http://www.all-things-photography.com/raw-or-jpeg-when-metering.html