mark_beaumont

<p>My first contribution to Nikon Wednesday, hope you like it. Taken out the back whilst walking the dogs, just over an hour ago.</p><div></div>

<p>If you don't find any one to help personally, may I suggest you get stuck in and have a go, and then if things don't turn out as you plan post questions on here. Most of the time you can get some useful answers.<br>

I've just moved from 5x4 film cameras to digital and it's been steep learning curve for me, but this forums been a big help. If you need film advice, just ask.<br>

best of luck</p>

<p>Thanks for the input folks, much appreciated. I presume you can't do HDR on moving subjects?</p>

<p>I'm just starting to learn about HDR. It interests me because (if done subtlety) it seems to get nearer to the tonal range of film.<br>

Is there any benefit to bracketing two or three shots, at time of shooting, as opposed to just shooting 1 picture in RAW and producing two or three images at different exposures, and combining those?</p>

<p>Jared, I did add extra Ram to 2.5 GB, but I think I could get 3GB total. I'm running leopard, and yes, PS and Lightroom are my most used software. My HD is 55% full.<br>

I'll try all your helpful suggestions and let you know how i get on. Thanks</p>

<p>Yep! starting to see the beachball more often these days!</p>

<p>Andrew, Starting to sound like a PC :-) <br>

It's not noisy just noisier than it was, you can hear things whirring away that I never used to. Sounds like the fan is running more often. Can dust be a problem for the fans, I was wondering if I gave it a blast of Kenair?</p>

<p>I've noticed recently my 3 year old imac is making more noise than it used to and seems to be running just a little slow at times.<br>

I mentioned this to a friend who said I should leave it on and not put it to sleep at night, as this allows the system to run updates.<br>

Anybody else heard of this?</p>

<p>I'm no PS expert, but I think it's more to do with "lens/aperture/subject distance (DOF)"</p>

<p>What is this slider actually doing? can the effect be replicated in PS? It seems to really add something, just giving an image the edge, but equally it works quite well when going in the other direction to soften the image, just curious as to what is actually going on.</p>

<p>Sorry, badly phrased question! I want to put 2 or 3 pictures as 2 or 3 separate pictures but so they appear on screen all together, i.e side by side, not joined. Is that any clearer?</p>

<p>Hi All, this is not technically a business question, but I thought you guys would probably know the answer.<br>

I want to give someone a disc with a folder of photos on, but I'd like them to see it in a slide show format. Is there a way of doing that, other than them having to open it up a create a show themselves?<br>

Thanks</p>

<p>Hi, I'm sure this is really easy and it's just something I'm missing, but I'd like to put two or three photos side by side so they appear as one picture. I'm using Lightroom 2.0 and CS3<br /> Any pointers please<br /> Thanks</p>

<p>Hi Chris<br>

I can highly recommend a Toyo AII as a good quality but reasonably priced folding 5X4 field camera. I think they might be still available as new, but you'd have to check. If you do go down that route remember it makes a massive difference choosing the best quality glass to go out front. If you've got the money I can highly recommend these also Schnieder Super Angulon lenses, expensive but nice!</p>

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<p >This is an update to my previous post about using Fill Flash at a carnival situation. Despite 30 years of playing with photography I'm a complete novice when it comes to flash. I've been listening to every ones advice and spent hours looking at various web sites about flash photography, so now, maybe unsurprisingly, I'm more confused than ever about this technique. I'm also more concerned than ever about this shoot (despite it being a freebie for a friend) is going to turn into an unmitigated disaster!</p>

<p >I think a lot of the advice I've been reading suggests it's aimed at a Photographer who has plenty of time to set up the shot. I'm shooting a carnival as it proceeds through the town, so going against every bone in my body, I'm going to have to be quick thinking!</p>

<p >The weather forecast is for bright sunshine (yes even in the UK), so I'm going to stick the D300 on manual (because that’s how I prefer to shoot), put the SB800 onto TTL mode and put in minus 1 2/3 so it just fills the shadows a little bit, and reduces overall contrast. Am I right in thinking that other than usual exposure problems with dark and light objects, everything should be fine? ish?</p>

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<p>I used to have it on my Film F5, and it rarely left it, it's a really sweet lens. I now use it on my D300 but it's a bit too long for what I want, I'm saving for the 17-55mm. I'm not sure it has a sweet spot, it seems sharp all the way through, that's why I loved it so much. Terry is right when he says it's a bit heavy, maybe play with it first to see how slow you can shoot at. </p>

<p>Hi Sue, I can only really speak about my experience of landscape photography, but in my opinion for landscapes just forget about auto anything. It's there if you need for a quick shot, and that's it. Learn to use the camera on manual and make full use of the histogram to check your exposures. Digital cant cope with highlights as well as Film does, so you need to compromise a little and decide what balance between sky and ground you're happy with. Take a reading with the camera pointed at the ground then take a reading of the scene you want in the final picture, somewhere between the two will be what you're happy with. Personally I'm never happy with that compromise so I rarely shoot without a ND graduated filter on the lens to balance out the two. There are other methods you can use in Photoshop to do a similar effect, but I'm afraid I don't know enough about that.<br>

Good Luck</p>

<p>Bob, If you get a 50mm to fill the gap, It's worth paying more to get the 1.4, it's a sweet lens.</p>

<p>You also need to think about weight, and if you need to walk far with your kit. What may feel like a light tripod in the shop will soon become very heavy after a bit of walking.<br>

I always thought carbon tripods were a bit expensive, but they're very light and strap it to your bag and you forget it's there. For what it's worth, I use a Gitzo GT3451, I don't know what head would best suit bird photography, But I use a three way for my landscapes.</p>

<p>William, I'm so glad it's not just me! Fortunately my wife's so confused about cameras she doesn't know what I have and haven't got, sneaking another one through the door is easy.<br>

I used to have an RZ PROII, and it's truly a sweet camera, but I'm fairly sure you can't put RB lenses on it, I may be wrong, but you're gonna have to do some Googling on it</p>

<p>John,<br>

I liken it to fishing, it's not catching the fish that counts, it's the quiet "sit and wait and watch" that makes it for me. If I get a good picture, that's just a bonus.</p>

<p>I'm thinking of finally getting a site set up, and think theirs suits me best. <br>

Wondered if anyone has any experience of them?</p>

<p>Max,<br>

LOL. I stand by what i said, though I may have been trying to spark a little fire. No one's taken the bait though!</p>

<p>Andrew, I think it would be fair to say, most (but not all) pro photographers will be using a Mac. says it all really!</p>

<p>Tom, I don't know what country you're in, but a decent condition lens generally sells for around £850- £950 on UK Ebay.<br>

I know because I was thinking of doing the same thing, in the end I decided to stick with my 24-70mm and save up for the 17-55mm.</p>