No lie, it does struggle in that department. Auto focus is not good, and the shutter speed is so slow compared to other cameras. I have gotten some in-flight photos but it is super challenging. It excels at getting in close on static targets, and the zoom is freaking insane. Good for moon photography as well.
I did use one of those briefly when I had to have a 70-200 repaired. It was noticeably slower focusing but it got the job done and is considerably lighter. That could fill the hole my phone can't, so it's something to consider. But I'm still intrigued by the p950 because it zooms to 2000mm, and if its not too slow then it seems like a good option. It seems the d500 with the 70-300 is about a half pound heavier than the p950, so that's a wash.
That's kind of what I assumed. Most of what I'm shooting is landscape, but It would be nice to get the bear, elk, deer or mountain goat I come across.
that 70-200 must be amazing cause the 70-300 af-p is easily the fastest lens I got (granted f-mount). for whatever reason Nikon made like 4 versions of this guy, this is the decent one: https://www.nikonusa.com/p/af-p-nik...OM-sHpVVg9iXIMxBlHnYPLmawBNvM4SHbpVwZaN2JkYgP
Ya, it might not have been that model, it was a 70-300, (I think 4.5-5.6, but maybe 4.5-6.3). I borrowed from a guy that just left it in his bag and never used it. I shoot sports. It took good photos, but it was just a little bit slower switching between subjects in high traffic situations.
learn how to shoot in manual learn how aperture, iso, and shutter speed work cameras and lenses will never mean much if you are in auto
Just a question - you are like the 4th person to say that in this thread. Do you look at my pictures and say, hey this dumbass is using auto, or do you just assume (correctly) that most of these photos are in auto because I'm a newbie? I have figured out some stuff with shutter speed, but most of the other stuff is point and shoot, then try to make it look pretty in post. Spoiler
I only said that because you said "Like my stuff is way to nice for my knowledge level, which is basically 0." so I just assumed that meant you didnt know manual
I always feel bad offering critiques bc I dont know someone's skill level and also what they want to know. That's why I typically start with telling someone to learn manual. That way you can at least have that skill set. Then the next step is shooting raw and learning how to edit. Then that level offers up a new level of critiques.
The best way to learn is mess around with your equipment and figure out what settings give you the results you like the best. Ultimately you are figuring out how to control light. But here are the ultra basic starting points. Aperture is adjusting for the depth of field. If you want a photo that has a sharp subject with the background out of focus use a low aperture like 2.8. If you want the subject and the background in focus, go with a high aperture. The lower the aperture the more light you let into the lens and thus the brighter your picture will be. ISO also controls how much light you let in. Low ISO lets in less light, high ISO lets in more light. At the same time the higher the ISO the more grainy the photo will be. I'm guessing on the D3200 you don't want to go over 3200 ISO, maybe 2000 or it will be noticeably grainy. I've used D7200 and D7000 in the past and with those I wouldn't go over 6400 ISO, and even then 6400 was not ideal. If you are shooting outside during the day you should be able to keep it low enough that it isn't and issue. Shutter speed will again affect how much light you let in and thus how bright the photo is. Faster shutter is less light, slower shutter is more light. If you want to try to capture a bird in flight you'll want a turn up the shutter speed so the wings aren't blurry, but then you might have to turn up the ISO to let in more light. That means you have to find the balance between wing blur and grain that works for you. The only time you will really care about shutter speed is if you are shooting something moving fast. If you are shooting a tree, mountain or people at a birthday party you won't be able to tell the difference between 1/100 and 1/1000. But on your waterfall photo the shutter speed is down to 1/5 and that gives a neat effect on the moving water. with that you have to make sure you don't move your hands while shooting because that shutter speed is slow enough to be impacted by movement and the whole photo will be blurry. Or use a tripod, but then you are carrying something else.
if it's a family/couples session, my ass is just editing one and hitting sync in lightroom but for my personal stuff I just have a workflow that i've nailed down over the years. I'm just so lazy now that I barely even import the photos anymore.
In the past couple of months I’ve shot two proms, a leadout, travel and varsity baseball, and a wedding in addition to my own stuff that I did because I wanted to. I even got an offer from a college basketball coach to shoot for them this season (I am not, because I can’t get paid and “I’m tired, boss.”)
Naw man, it’s more about what you intend/want out of the picture. Take that 1st waterfall pic, did you want the water to look like the 2nd pic? Then slow your shutter speed (creates blur). on the 2nd pic if you want everything to look in focus, the make the aperture small (f16 or 20). another common issue is in auto where it jacks up your iso to keep aperture and SS it wants. You end up with grainy photos to post process. Shooting in Aperture or Shutter Priority or manual lets you keep iso low which you almost always want. lower the iso, the more detail is being captured. You should also be able to set a max iso in your camera to help with auto. those levoy videos are great for learning this
It started out as just family. It ends up “oh my coworker (that she doesn’t even like) wondered if you could meet them at some random cotton field on the 28th.” I got into photography to do still life, flat lays, and product photography. I started far enough back that I wanted to have a photo in Blade magazine. I got close a few times but never got published in widespread print. Ever since the kid came along, I’ve photoed almost exclusively people. People move, have blemishes, and don’t cooperate. Taking a picture of a knife on a toolbox versus twin toddlers slap boxing each other at a family shoot. I know what I’d rather do.
Oh another one that helped me. General rule without something to steady you (tripod, straps, whatever), shutter speed should be 1/focal length. Prevents hand movement during the capture Ex. 50mm should keep faster than 1/50s, 200mm is 1/200s. just remember your aps-c means 1.5x what’s on the lens
Pancho People are dropping some really good technical gems here and this is not meant as a “well actually”, but I would say don’t forget about everything that happens outside the lens/camera/lightroom. Specifically, using light and proper framing to minimize the chances of getting it wrong even if you’re not in Manual mode. “Light Science & Magic” is easy to find for cheap or free and it’s a great start. I read that book, understood the basics of the aperture/iso/shutter triangle and then made myself find 500-1000 shots per month. Granted I was younger and had less going on. I did that for about six months using Manual, Aperture priority etc to see if I could get one keeper from each session. People extol the virtues of film, and it’s great, but the supreme advantage to digital is it’s free to get it wrong. But learning from the mistakes and getting it right has an unlimited upside. I will say your work is already good. The shots you shared had even light, good color grading, framing was good etc. Just get the most out of your equipment and time if you’re already financially invested and interested.
Not to add more stuff but shoot RAW without or as little compression as possible. Don’t have to post process stuff now but in the future if you get into you’ll be able to edit so much more than jpeg
This was my dilemma with the d500 being too damn heavy... that was my 1st "really nice" camera body & loved it. Until I took it to Yosemite - lugged it around with the 24-70 2.8... I vowed to never do that again & started rolling everything over to the Z line. Initially the z7ii, but have shot the z8 for a little over a year. So far as point & shoot - I love the Sony RX100VII, but it isn't going get you out to wildlife... best value pocket camera out there, I think The p950 is priced pretty close to 1/2 used glass that will get you out far enough to get wildlife. I'd invest in more glass for the z8 personally (or grab a z5ii/z6ii/z6iii), over a p+s that's heavy AF & vastly inferior across the board.
I've been a professional sports photographer as a side job for years. Football season especially gets crazy with my schedule, working my regular job during the week and traveling to games on the weekends.
Images from the 2009 Tour of Missouri... Spoiler David Zabriskie - he won the Sedalia Individual Time Trial and then finished first in the Tour of Missouri. I was positioned to see the cyclists going out and then coming back. Zabriskie was visably the fastest both out and back... George Hincapie Jens Voigt. Jens later set the hour record in 2014:
Those were all with infrared film. Take 3 photos with different filters, usually IR - Red - Green And composite them together. Gives you these weird 'ghosts' when things move between greens It's the same theory as Technicolor
North Shore, Minnesota waterfalls: Spoiler Temperance River Falls Pigeon River Falls Gooseberry Falls Cross River Falls Cascade River Falls
I haven't done a knife photo in over a year so I've got a lot of mental rust to remove if I'm going to get back into it. Spoiler
From the Hangar Museum located at Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport, West of Atchison, KS. This is Muriel:
Beautiful stuff in here. I just play with my phone taking pics these days, I very briefly dabbled with 35mm and medium format a long time ago. Had several polaroids (bellows land cameras.) with lens conversions, the names escape me. Fred Flintstone stuff compared to today lol. I'll post up some of my favorites from the last 10 or so years tomorrow.
Put these in the Indy thread but these are from the Birmingham GP. (Trying sort loading pics without huge file size)
Some random stuff from this past year. Always happy when I can get good shots of the moon. The P950 has a moon mode, but it doesn't work for lunar eclipses. When it's too dark I have to free-hand composite images; means like 1/30 pics come out clear. Lunar eclipse from March. Was so hard to get a photo. L.A during the fires. L.A (not during the fires) Roadrunner eating a lizard. I always liked this photo I got of some of my friends when we were camping on BLM land.