New Olympus SLR

[fred]

For all of us who really want to improve our photography skills you may be interested in this thread.

Well I lashed out and bought a Olympus E-420 SLR
Also a Macro Lens and a new Tripod

I sought the advice of our Photography Expert " Anton " filled him in on my new purchase and he has given me some of his much appreciated advice with taking photos with the Manual Settings to improve the photo quality

as I do if you really want to ask advice from an expert please feel free to PM Anton he is a wonderful teacher easy to understand and willing to walk you through with step by step advice

I still need to do some work with the back ground but here are a few shots for you all to see.

Yes I still have my Cannon Powershot 6 meg I am just taking my skills to the next level.

thanks Anton

[patticake]

Awesome! I'm still trying to figure out my digital SLR! I've had it for a year and a half, and only use about a fourth of it's capabilities. I wish I had someone to talk me through the owners manual! The pictures you can take with them are so cool, though! Fred, those shots are great! I'm looking forward to seeing great works from you!

[fred]

silly me I should have said my new SLR is digital also 10 meg

thanks Patti

the owners manual for this one is about half an inch thick

I am getting there lol

[trinigirl]

You guys are so lucky to have nice cameras! I want a nice one too, I have been a little scared away by the cost. I will have to see how tempted I am by this thread.

[jensan]

I have a canon XT I'm still learning to use and right now I'm shopping for a zoom lens

[Sharyn]

Beautiful pics Fred. Remember when you first started posting pics? Anton is a good teacher and obviously you have been a good student. You've come a long way baby!

When my eyes and I were younger, I loved working with my SLR and playing with the depth of field; makes such interesting backgrounds. Your pics are beautiful and worthy of competition.

[Anton]

You DON'T need an SLR to get good photos Trinigirl, most of the images on my Web site of my orchids have been taken on an Olympus FE120 digital point and shoot.

You just have to know how to use your camera to it's capabilities, and mainly over-ride the Auto and use it manually where YOU tell the camera WHAT YOU want to do.

Eg changing the exposure to suit the results you want in an image, manually setting the flash to come on in bright light to fill in shadows (fill in flash is the term) and knowing how to use the macro / tele facilities on the camera. EASY.

[syndywindy]

I wasn't aware you can manually change a digital point and shoot. Is that true for most digital cameras?

[Anton]

Yep. For most of the mid priced ones these days.

They don't make it easy for you, and you only find out about it buried deep in their War and Piece sized manuals which could just be written in about 10 pages.

[jay]

Fred, congrats on your new toy! That is awesome. I can't wait to see some great shots.

To add to what Anton was saying, if you have a Cannon point and shoot you can add a lot to your camera. The following link shows how to add a bunch of goodies and control that does not come with the camera.

CHDK Wiki

[hulaorchid]

I would love a SLR Digitial!! It's on my

Great shots Fred! Hope for more soon!!

I so miss photography!

[patticake]

I knew my old SLR so well. (35mm). The digital is so great, but so many more "bells and whistles". I'm still trying to figure out the manual aperture. It would be better for depth of field in close-ups. I think I may have figured it out...this is with USING the book! The digital part is nice, since there's no wasting of film!
You can teach an old dog new tricks, it just takes a while!

[fred]

thanks for the link Jay
my Canon Power Shot A540 6 meg is a good Camera
I can set that up Manually as well
with the Olympus its 10 meg.
when I was alot younger I had another Olympus SLR a 2N I gave that to one of my nephews back then I have always wanted another SLR

Sharyn
I can remember my first photos as well
good student ( I don't know ) but I listen to the advice and if I was not sure I asked again Anton knows his stuff

[flowerchild]

Originally Posted by jensan

I have a canon XT I'm still learning to use and right now I'm shopping for a zoom lens

I have inherited one of these from my husband who just purchased a Canon 5d with a great big zoom lens( the thing weighs 5lbs by itself, he also purchased a great macro lens, all the better for him to take pictures of my two favorite things, my 2 boys and of course my orchids)!!! Thank goodness the Rebel xt has an idiot proof setting on it!!!

[fred]

hehehe so has the Olympus Cindy
I love that setting lol

[flowerchild]

Originally Posted by fred

hehehe so has the Olympus Cindy
I love that setting lol

Fred you are such a tool!!!!! But we love you anyway!!!!! Cindy aka flowerchild

[NancyG]

Beautiful shots Fred.

I have to go back to the maual of my canon powershot to refresh the manual settings. Thanks for the reminder Anton.

[1buzz]

Well after getting the forum’s suggestions I decided against buying a new DSLR Olympus camera and Macro lens for $538. Instead I came across a pretty good DSLR Camera on E-Bay for $500 with no sales tax & no shipping costs. I got a Canon EOS Digital Rebel with two separate lenses thrown in. The first lens is the one that went with the camera Canon EF-S 18-55 MM F3.5-5.6 but the sale also included a Macro lens , Canon EF-S 60 MM F 2.8 Macro. It's the second lens that should help me improve my focus and quality of my close ups of my Orchids. The camera also has a good RAW + JPEG format. Thanks again for your alls suggestions and lets hope it stays together. I must say that tansyflower gave me the idea of looking for a second hand DSLR camera on E-Bay. Maybe some day I can get what the experts say is the best Canon lens for close ups , Canon EF-S 100 MM F2.8 Macro which is a major step up. I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestion about the camera and/or the lenses.

[fred]

I have not had time as yet to post some pics
the ones here were taken with the Macro 1;3.5
also the second the third is the same but with camera different settings

I am far from a pro when it comes to taking pics I was about an inch away from the pics of the Sarc using a Tripod with the self timer set as well

[syndywindy]

Great pictures, Fred. This seriously makes me want to improve my photography skills!

[kid a]

so pretty!

[Ron]

Hi Fred, wonderful clear Photos.
Must love the camera.
Over the years we have had a lot of diferent profession photographers give talk at our orchid soc.
One such pro who does works for leading pro magizines gave me this tip, a tip I have often used to great success, is the background.
I bought some matt thick dark green and a black cotton materal and had them sown back to back and had a sleve put into the top so as to put a small rod into it so it hangs easy.
Rolls up into a small bundle. Try to keep it about 18 inches to 2 feet behind the orchid, amazing how it improves the shot.
Now if I had the room in the orchid house to hang it I would use it more often. plus good eyesight to aim and shoot the camera.
Macro, O how I would love to have that on my camera.
Best of luck and keep up the great photos
Cheerio
Ron

[fred]

thanks guys
the only reason I posted the pics was because the pics show you just how close one can get to the bloom secondly the importance of a tripod

thirdly if I can take pics like this quality and there is room for improvement anyone can

plus I listen to my teacher Anton

he really knows his stuff without his help I would not heave the knowledge that I have now.

Ron I also agree about the back drop
I took these pics last night and I still had my sea legs on I was too tired to set up the back drop.

what I do recommend is in the Manual settings on any camera try different settings
I took those last night as I have said with no flash I just played with the settings with the kitchen light on

[Tarad]

Very nice pics Fred! I am still trying to tame my Canon Powershot. Tara

[solay]

Congrats. on the new camera Fred. Nice pics. too.

I don't know a thing about photography and Anton had offered to teach but it seems I really don't like the technical stuff. I'll just be content at what little I know for now.

[chrisb19]

Nice camera. I have a Olympus 410 and 510 and I have had great luck with them.
Orchids aren't going to run away when you photograph them so set the camera to A (for aperture) and set it as high as you can. This will give you a greater depth of field. Your first photo has a narrow depth of field, meaning that things in front of and behind the object that you focus on will be blurry. Sometimes this can be used artistically, but if you want to show off an orchid, depth of field is important.
The smaller your aperture though means that you will have to decrease your shutter speed. Consider getting a tripod for speeds lower than 1/60 of a second.
Very cool orchids by the way!

[Leathal]

I've had a Nikon D200 for about 2 years now. Was thinking of updating. You can do a couple cool things with in the camera itself, like multiple pics and an overlay. With the multiple pics, you can take up to 10 pictures and the camera combines them all for you, making a new one. The overlay is two pictures combined, like an in focus and out of focus. It's a real nice affect. If you want to see what kind of pics these make go to my web site Looking for Fine Art prints for you decor?

There are lots of floral pics.

[tangers40]

i've been using a Canon Rebel XTi (12MP) for about a year now. i'm sloooooowly learning how to use it correctly, but when i have time to compose a shot well, it works absolutely great. my main problem seems to be lighting. i tend to take my orchid pics at night, so i'm learning how to use the kitchen light (fluorescent) to do what i want it to. it's a constant learning process. your pics look great, fred, and you're well on your way to being a GREAT photographer!

[benetay]

Wow Fred, congrats on your new purchase! Recently i also upgraded my Canon body to a 5D mk2.

Great shots there.

Cheers!