Question on composition

[ray_rg]

<p>Hi,<br>

I have been reading books on digital photography to learn new things and understand better usage of digital camera. I have Canon A540 and took one picture of my baby with a combination of f/2.8 aperture, 1/8 shutter speed and iso was set at 400. This picture was taken indoor in the cfl daylight light in the night with no flash. I got a nice picture, but when reading the books it says with wide aperture shutter speed should be high.<br>

But with the above combination I got a nice picture and I really liked it. Was wondering if this is right combination or not?</p>

<p>Need a suggestion, should I buy a beginner DSLR like Nikon D60 (Nikon D40 is not option because it has 6mega pixels and does not have live view LCD) or DSLR-like Panasonic FZ28 or Canon SX10IS?<br>

I am using P&S since last 10 years, but started learning different features of the camera since last 6-8 months. As I mentioned earlier I am using Canon A540, looking for a better optical zoom, with high mega pixels as a requirement and I do shoot video (5-10 mins of video) occasionally.<br>

Help appreciated.</p>

<p>Ray.</p>

[salimelakoui]

<p>?? <br>

On a given situation at constant ISO, if u increase the aperture, u will have to increase the shutter speed too in order to have the same amount of light on the CCD.</p>

<p>Salim Elakoui<br>

<a href="http://www.nway.org">Nway.org</a></p>

[marcinpalka]

<p>Ray,</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"I got a nice picture, but when reading the books it says with wide aperture shutter speed should be high"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>If you got good picture that means aperture and shutter speed was chosen good. The sentence above is only a half true. There should me mentioned that if you change aperture (more wide) IN THE SAME LIGHTING CONDITIONS then you should adjust shutter speed to a higher number.<br>

Look for articles describing f-stops.<br>

Regards,</p>

<p>Marcin</p>

[timzeipekis]

<blockquote>

<p>But with the above combination I got a nice picture and I really liked it. Was wondering if this is right combination or not?</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>The fact that you really liked the picture you got should answer your question. IMO :) Yes, there are guidlines to help improve the technical aspects of picture taking, but ultimately the goal should be that the outcome suites you personally.</p>

[ray_rg]

<p>Robert : I think I should have mentioned combination (aperture, shutter speed and iso) instead of composition.</p>

<p>Marcin : This is the widest aperture I have on Canon A540 is f2.8.<br>

I was just confused with what I have read "Typically, a fast shutter speed will require a larger aperture to ensure sufficient light exposure, and a slow shutter speed will require a smaller aperture to avoid excessive exposure."</p>

[lookitsanthony87]

<p>the combination you have doesnt sound off, it all depends on how much light you have. if you didnt have a lot of light in the room, just one small bulp, then that sounds correct, if the room was filled with bright light and you had a wide open aperture (f2.8) and a really slow shutter (1/8sec) then the pic will turn out white. it looks like you have a strong desire to get into digital photography in which case purchasing a DSLR will no doubt push your desire. just dont let megapixels fool you, the D40 is an amazing camera, along with the D60, they both have their strong points and shouldnt be deminished strictly because of mega-count. i mean the first DSLR had between 1 and 2 megapixels and it was professional grade!</p>

[aldrich]

<p>Ray,</p>

<p>The book "Understanding Exposure" by Peterson will be a great help to you. I've had my copy for about three years and it taught me a great deal about lighting and beginning aspects of photography.</p>

<p>Now, about your DSLR question. As a Nikon user, I am warning you that if you expect Live View in the D60, you will be disappointed. The D90 is the "lowest" level DSLR by Nikon that features Live View.</p>

<p>"...with high resolution as a requirement..."<br />Here we go again...at the risk of opening the old resolution can of worms, I will tell you that 6MP is nothing to dismiss. We have stunning 11x14's from a D40, and excellent 16x20's. Are you planning on printing larger than that regularly? Many fellow Nikon users still regularly use D50's and D70's...both 6MP DSLR's. The difference between 6MP and 10MP isn't nearly as big as you think, and I'm not going to give details as to why...you can research that formula yourself if you choose to.</p>

<p>DSLR-like cameras are simply cameras that look like DSLR's and have some of the menu options. However, to put it as simply as possible, the size of the actual sensor that records the image is just as puny as that of a point and shoot. Your images will be noisier, and it will be very difficult for you to have a shallow depth of field (A blurry background in a tight head shot). Honestly, you'll get better results from a long-discontinued (6MP) D50 than the newest, hottest DSLR-like point-and-shoot (and I mean that with the utmost respect to the excellent D50, but the fact is that it has been discontinued for a while now).</p>

<p>So what you need to ask yourself is how important Live View is to you (I missed it slightly when I bought my DSLR, but now I don't miss it at all), and whether or not you're going to play the mind game with megapixels. Either way, I think you're going to want a true DSLR, and for a beginner, I will suggest the D40 and D60.</p>

<p>Further details on why megapixels no longer matter and sensor size can be found with a forum search on the site if you want to learn more about them.</p>

<p>Good luck to you, and I look forward to seeing your work!</p>

<p>--Ryan</p>

[marcinpalka]

<p>Assume you want to take 2 shots one after another. On first you have chosen f2.8 and e.g. 1/4s.<br>

Now, if you'd like to take another photo with same exposure and f3.5 then you have to set shutter speed for 1/2s.<br>

The same works when you have shutter speed pre-defined: Doubling shutter speed will require to open aperture for one stop.<br>

If your camera has modes Av/Tv or aperture priority/shutter priority try to play with it. Look how one setting is changing the other one.</p>

<p>regards,<br>

Marcin</p>

[aldrich]

<p>Ray,</p>

<p>I forgot to mention that at this time, I believe the Nikon D90 is the only DSLR that features video capture...if you are not interested in the D90, you may want to keep your current point and shoot for video purposes.</p>

<p>--Ryan</p>

[kari v]

<p>Canon 5D mkII has video. A bit expensive toy though.<br>

D90 is very fine camera but the video mode is limited. No autofocus, "only" 5min per take and no proper aperture control. Lack of AF is not such a problem if you plan your shoots but replacing casual "press the button" point&shoot video with this won't be fun.</p>

<p>Forget megapixels, they tell very little of the image quality and even 6Mp is plenty for most people. Or do you want to regularly print large? I mean something like 16x20. You can make very nice 8x10 from 2,5Mp or so when the image is properly exposed and sharp.</p>

[ray_rg]

<p>Thank you everyone for the response. Awesome group here at photo.net :)<br>

Ryan: Yes, I am reading the book "Understanding Exposure" by Peterson. It's really nice and thanks for the option of DSLR and use existing P&S for video.<br>

I will read more about difference between 6mp and 10mp for printing options.</p>