I just picked up a Canon Rebel xt. I've been playing around with the millions of different settings, and have come to realize that this camera is much more capable than I am ;) . I haven't had the opportunity to shoot motion yet, but we are goin riding Sunday, so I'll give it a go then. I was hoping someone could give me some pointers. Thanks for your time. Here's a few shots I took today. I can't seem to figure out how to number them?
New camera, C&C please.
- Thread starter _JOE_
- Start date
The question that comes to my mind looking at the first two pics is "what is this a picture of?". Trying to focus in on something specific like you did in the third shot will tend to make for more interesting pictures that tell a better story.
Big sweeping shots like the first one can certainly work, but having something specific that draws the eye or points out something specific usually works better even in a wide open shot like that.
Big sweeping shots like the first one can certainly work, but having something specific that draws the eye or points out something specific usually works better even in a wide open shot like that.
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- Thread starter
- #5
I have the lens that came with it, an efs 18-55mm and an ef 75-300mm 1:4-5.6. I'm not sure what all that means, other than the zoom. I see what you mean about the focal piont of the first two. Thanks for the comments, I'll work on getting some more focused shots.
_JOE_ said:
Joe - Learning and really understanding what the F stop (1:4-5.6) of the lens (aperture) means and controls in terms of the the final image will make a big difference in your pictures.
Canon has a great learning resource on their site that will fill in a lot of the blanks : http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/c...PageAct&key=Learning_Station&fcategoryid=2533
Good luck and make sure you share your pics :cool:
One thing that really helped for action shots on my xt is to use only the center focus point.
If you try to let the camera decide it usually picks the wrong focus point and it takes longer to focus.
When you buy canon lenses make sure you buy lenses with the USM designation. This means the lens has and ultrasonic focus drive so you get faster autofocus.
Most of all, have fun!
If you try to let the camera decide it usually picks the wrong focus point and it takes longer to focus.
When you buy canon lenses make sure you buy lenses with the USM designation. This means the lens has and ultrasonic focus drive so you get faster autofocus.
Most of all, have fun!
- Thread starter
- #10
So I spent a good majority of my evening reading up on Canon's site. There is a ton of great info. I played around in the house to see the effect each adjustment has. I do have some questions though. Are aperature and f-stop the same thing? I can select a wide range of aperature in the camera itself, but the lens is labeled as very narrow. The camera goes from 4 to 32, the lense says 4 to 5.6. Is it ok to use a higher setting in the camera? It seems to shoot ok as long as you don't get carried away cranking it up. Also, has anyone tried the IS lenses? Are they worth looking into, or should I work with what i have? I only have issues with blur when shooting low shutter speeds, or high zoom. Thanks again for your help! I'll to get some worthy pics sometime this weekend.
_JOE_ said:
Short answer yes.
_JOE_ said:
The F4-5.6 is the largest aperature of the lens throughout the zoom range. If this is the kit lens we are talking about the it's f4 at 18mm and at 55mm it will be 5.6 for the largest aperature available to shoot. So even if you had the camera set to AV mode and f4 when you zoom the lens to 55mm it would shoot at f5.6. As far as using a higher setting ie: f22 this is called "stopping down" the lens and it is fine as long as you understand what that is going to do to your exposure and depth of field.
_JOE_ said:
I do not own any IS lenses and don't plan to pay extra for any for shooting sports anytime soon. Most sports shooters I know tend to shut the IS off or at least one plane of it for shooting sports. That being said I do own L series (Pro Level) glass just not the IS versions. That 75-300 you have, is it a USM (Ultrasonic Motor) version? If so that will be a good starting point.
Any lens will work for action shots as long as the operator knows how to use it to it's best advantage. USM is a focusing motor in the lens itself so they focus much faster than the lenses that are not USM. Make sure you select AI-Servo as your focusing method and limit your focus point to the center point only and have some fun.
_JOE_ said:
The kit lens is a POS (18-55mm)... That's pretty much the same lens that came with my 20D. Nice paper weight. If you ever decided to use your camera for anything indoors, it's useless. Unless everything is perfectly still.
I had that 75-300mm lens you list there too. I was very unhappy with it. Even in bright daylight it was very soft. I fought with that lens from day one to get a nice sharp shot like what you see Chili & others on here post. I just never could get it, I was seriously thinking it had to be me. After all, I spent quite a bit of cash on this camera.
I traded both of those in, along with a fairly nice sized stack of dead presidents, on a Tamron f2.8 17-55. What a difference. Still not the best glass money could but, but far superior to the pile of garbage I had in my bag previously.
I honestly have no idea what separates an amateur picture from a professional. But I think most people could pick out the pro pics from the amateurs, given a set of pictures.
But I will say pictures #1 and #3 look like something my mom would have taken while were riding around our backyard.
#2 looks / feels more like something a professional photographer has taken.
But I will say pictures #1 and #3 look like something my mom would have taken while were riding around our backyard.
#2 looks / feels more like something a professional photographer has taken.
- Thread starter
- #19
I agree. The focal piont is much better in #2. I still have a lot of practicing to do. I think the zoom is too far out on the others. These are the few pics that turned out decent, as it was very dusty after I crashed and decided to take some shots :) . Hopefully I'll get some opportunities to shoot some more moto this season. I'll see if I can find a few more that turned out ok.
TheGDog
Member
- Sep 17, 2007
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With my Canon... EOS Rebel XTi I just select the Sports auto settings.... click the lense to AF (Auto-Focus)... pick a stationery object near where the rider will pass-by the intended shooting point.... half-press the shutter release to get an auto-focus... then click off auto-focus and make some slight manual adjustments as needed... then wait for the prey.. er.. I mean victim... um um.. I mean subject! to ride past the jump or berm or whatever.
Much faster and easier method for taking the shots and the pics are amazing!
Such as "Girls on Trampolines"
And this guy getting insane height...
And my younger bro doing a flip...
Sigh... Ya just gotta love girls on trampolines! ;)
Much faster and easier method for taking the shots and the pics are amazing!
Such as "Girls on Trampolines"
And this guy getting insane height...
And my younger bro doing a flip...
Sigh... Ya just gotta love girls on trampolines! ;)
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