I know this is photo focused instead of video, but I'm seriously considering going with the GH4 over the 5d mk III in a few weeks when I make my big camera upgrade decision. I'm primarily a videographer with a very heavy interest in photography (I occasionally get jobs doing photo), and I'm having a hard time finding a reason to not go with the GH4. For ages I thought the 5d was the natural choice, but every test I've seen shows better video results on the GH4 even though it's not full frame. I'd sacrifice lesser quality photos I guess.
Anyway, if anyone has any opinions I'd be glad to hear them.
no new photos right now because i've been flat out at work - and there will be a New Subject very soon - but i found another second-hand steal this morning. everything functions well - shutter, timer - though i haven't tried the light meter yet but it seems like a standard battery. beaut leather case as well. i'm looking forward to putting a roll through!
@munnin always with those crazy values in your B&Ws.
@Beltaine you should post more! Having a tough time coming up with critiques for that one. I don't know if you saw his stuff but there used to be a forumer who posted here that did some incredible macros with flowers. You should check them out. Definitely worth a look for some ideas, I know he uses construction paper behind the flowers sometimes when shooting.
I'll try to post more. I don't get out and shoot as often as I should. I tend to wait for inspiration of an image then go and make it happen. I envy people that do 365 projects. Typically if I go out to shoot with no goal I come home with meh shots.
@munnin always with those crazy values in your B&Ws.
Whatcha mean?
0
Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
edited June 2014
Hi guys. I just got my first ever SLR camera. It's a Canon Rebel T5i/700D. I know nothing about cameras or photography so I don't really know if it's considered a good choice but it got some decent reviews. These are my favourite photos I've taken since getting it a few weeks ago.
I don't really know what I'm doing. Have been experimenting with the different standard settings but haven't ventured much into fully manual yet.
If I were doing product shots I would either shoot the product in an environment where it would normally be used or use a setup to get a non-descript neutral background to make the product the focus of the shot.
Mmk. My kitchen isn't the nicest so I was trying to do a shot somewhere else interesting but I guess the concrete hexagon is too distracting. I guess I shouldn't be lazy and and I should break out my lights next time.
@Baron Dirigible there is a market for these and every store on Etsy that sells them has gotten a cease and desist take down from Nintendo. Even when people just called them "triangle cutting boards" they were stopped after a while.
@Iruka This board took me quite a while to make and I'm not entirely pleased with the overall craftsmanship. If I were to make and sell another one it would be at least $125 or more just because of cost of materials and time required. I'm still not sure I'm up for making another one at this point.
Edit:
Here is an example of my previous boards / shots with some lights I'm guessing you guys prefer this?
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
@CommunistCow right, that makes sense. Do you sell them at all, though? Nerd chic aside they look well-made.
I actually quite like the environment of the first shot -- the tile suits the geometry of the board well, and the stones etc balanced the wood and the steel very nicely. The limes gave it the extra pop of colour which really made the picture, for me. The second shot just looks flat and unappealing -- nothing about it really catches my attention, technically competent though it may be.
New UI aside, what on earth is the deal with all the images in the comments on flickr? I clicked on the background image for the main flickr page, clicked around a bit, wound up [url=at this image and the discussion thread is full of multiple instances of these:
,and even more ridiculously:
Is this flickr's version of the awesome button or something? Why are there so many of them? Why do they look like they were made with blingee?
Those have actually been around since I can remember DJ.
A few from this morning, not sure if I went overboard trying to make the colors match the way they actually looked on the first one - snipped out, definitely not liking it.
Thanks @munnin I couldn't quite get that right, will keep it in mind next time for sure. Also, I really dig the porta potty one - don't know if it was intended but it made me chuckle, like how it pops.
Grinch I like your second and third HDR's, mainly because they don't look overly HDR'ed. I love the second one especially, but are there two water droplets on the left there? Keeps catching my eyes looking at it. The first one has a very Half Life feel too it which is fun
Heh, should've clarified, the first two are HDR, the remainder are just some snaps I liked (I did have that originally in the post but edited it and forgot to mention it again).
ANd yeah, the water droplets really annoy me, it was absolutely chucking it down on the day I took that picture and I had nothing to cover the lens. I tried at one point to remove them using photoshop but my skills are lacking!
Brovid Hasselsmof[Growling historic on the fury road]Registered Userregular
Hope it's okay to ask this here, sorry if it's the wrong thread. I'm in the market for a new laptop as I just broke mine 5 minutes ago. Want something I can use for processing photos in RAW format. I think my old laptop would have struggled as it was pretty slow. What sort of thing do I need to look for so it's not a painful experience? RAM? Processor speed? I'm on a pretty tight budget.
Anyone have any tips/sources for tips on post-processing?
I have a subscription to Adobe CC with Photoshop and Lightroom. I've been doing a lot of manual tweaking in Lightroom (mostly) and just learning how it works and trying to judge for myself what looks best.
But if anyone has any particular wisdom on good texts/faqs/guides/treatises/anything I can read on this aspect of photography I'd be much obliged.
Kelbyone.com is really good, but there's a subscription fee involved.
Other than that, I mainly subscribe to photography channels on Youtube. Plenty of good info for free.
Here's a few I subscribe to: B&H Photography - If you weed through their reviews they have tons of their in-store classes they've recorded and put up. Phlearn.com - Photoshop focused. Good stuff but some times they leave out a lot of info to sell their premium stuff. Snapfactory Infuzed Media - Doesn't post video very often, but some good stuff in there.
And here's a good Lightroom video to get you started.
Hope it's okay to ask this here, sorry if it's the wrong thread. I'm in the market for a new laptop as I just broke mine 5 minutes ago. Want something I can use for processing photos in RAW format. I think my old laptop would have struggled as it was pretty slow. What sort of thing do I need to look for so it's not a painful experience? RAM? Processor speed? I'm on a pretty tight budget.
I wish I could be more help but I stopped following computer specs a few years ago. My gut instinct is that any reasonably-modern computer will handle RAW files with aplomb. I'm using a 5yo C2D with integrated graphics (since upgraded to 8gb RAM) and it's tolerable at handling RAW files, though Photoshop is noticeably quicker than Lightroom.
I suppose it all depends on what kind of work you'll be doing. For light editing and cataloguing you'll want as much RAM and HDD space (and speed) as you can afford. More dramatic post work would probably benefit from a faster CPU/GPU, though the law of diminishing returns strongly applies here.
The bigger issue, in my mind, would be screen quality. Unless you're using an external monitor and just want a laptop for portability?
RAW files are BIG files, and as such, you'll want to concentrate on these areas when putting together a PC for post-processing.
RAM, CPU, Storage
More RAM gives programs more room to hold those big files open. If you're using Photoshop/Lightroom you'll most likely have them running side-by-side, so the more RAM the better.
Photoshop/Lightroom support multi-core CPU's, Speed helps, but isn't as important as how many cores are available.
Big files take up lots of space, you're going to need a good fast 7200 RPM (or higher) hard drive with plenty of space. Don't forget some sort of backup system.
Other thoughts:
64-bit OS also helps.
Standard GPUs are sufficient. There's no reason to spend money on a gaming GPU as it won't do anything to help photo processing.
Kelbyone.com is really good, but there's a subscription fee involved.
Other than that, I mainly subscribe to photography channels on Youtube. Plenty of good info for free.
Here's a few I subscribe to: B&H Photography - If you weed through their reviews they have tons of their in-store classes they've recorded and put up. Phlearn.com - Photoshop focused. Good stuff but some times they leave out a lot of info to sell their premium stuff. Snapfactory Infuzed Media - Doesn't post video very often, but some good stuff in there.
And here's a good Lightroom video to get you started.
I took one of Aaron Nace's classes a few years back and it was really good but a lot of it was basically "Take multiple photos and merge those together." Then a lot of the course taught you how to blend those multiple images together. So that is useful if you are going for the super surreal composite images but if you are doing basic editing it is less useful.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Yeah, most of the stuff I've learned comes from me working in photoshop and going, "It would be useful if photoshop could do *insert need here*" and then just looking it up via google. Or just messing around with different things. I learned some basic stuff just from years of working in photoshop and lightroom.
I was thinking about putting a basic photo editing tutorial together at some point in the near future, but for now I'd say everyone's recommended all the good sites I could think of already.
@Drez Adobe has a crapload of video tutorials on their site, that are free and pretty good. If you don't mind paying, kelbyone.com has decent set of tutorials as well. Lightroom is pretty easy to master. Photoshop is a whole other ballgame, as its capabilities are only limited by your imagination.
@prospicience thanks. Yeah I saw this outhouse on a peaceful meadow (which I learned later is an asbestos dumping ground) which cracked me up, and decided to take a snap. Also, I really dig your colors and post man.
@Bubby may your empty pockets spur your creative drive, and will to shoot.
Comcast sucks, 3 weeks at my new place without internet. They promised me I'd have it installed twice the first week I was here, messed up both times (or lied) and now can't have anyone here for two weeks ugh.
I only vaguely remember the last time I was without internet... It was a dark time, yet strangely liberating. I got so much stuff done in those days.
Still, Comcast sucks a big one.
Posts
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
Anyway, if anyone has any opinions I'd be glad to hear them.
edit: it's a '65-'73 pentax spotmatic sp
@Beltaine you should post more! Having a tough time coming up with critiques for that one. I don't know if you saw his stuff but there used to be a forumer who posted here that did some incredible macros with flowers. You should check them out. Definitely worth a look for some ideas, I know he uses construction paper behind the flowers sometimes when shooting.
My Portfolio Site
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
Whatcha mean?
I don't really know what I'm doing. Have been experimenting with the different standard settings but haven't ventured much into fully manual yet.
The wide range of values or tones from your lights to darks, you tend to get almost the full gradient.
My Portfolio Site
I need that cutting board. How do I...? Sell me that cutting board.
the tangents the hexagon is making with the edge of the frame is a bit distracting.
Uh, angle looks fine, think the board should be further into the tile though.
If I were doing product shots I would either shoot the product in an environment where it would normally be used or use a setup to get a non-descript neutral background to make the product the focus of the shot.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
@Baron Dirigible there is a market for these and every store on Etsy that sells them has gotten a cease and desist take down from Nintendo. Even when people just called them "triangle cutting boards" they were stopped after a while.
@Iruka This board took me quite a while to make and I'm not entirely pleased with the overall craftsmanship. If I were to make and sell another one it would be at least $125 or more just because of cost of materials and time required. I'm still not sure I'm up for making another one at this point.
Edit:
Here is an example of my previous boards / shots with some lights I'm guessing you guys prefer this?
I actually quite like the environment of the first shot -- the tile suits the geometry of the board well, and the stones etc balanced the wood and the steel very nicely. The limes gave it the extra pop of colour which really made the picture, for me. The second shot just looks flat and unappealing -- nothing about it really catches my attention, technically competent though it may be.
what have you done
what have you done
Is this flickr's version of the awesome button or something? Why are there so many of them? Why do they look like they were made with blingee?
A few from this morning, not sure if I went overboard trying to make the colors match the way they actually looked on the first one - snipped out, definitely not liking it.
My Portfolio Site
I really need to work on straightening my horizons.
The beach at Praia Da Rocha in the Algarve on a particularly cloudy day
and
Barrow-In-Furness Abbey in the lake district (my home town).
I mostly just take holiday snaps or climbing photos but any critique to make them better is welcome. Here are some recent snaps of random days:
Wife at the fort in Lisburn.
A climber, aged about 12, putting my bouldering to shame, and being spotted by a bunch of friendly Australians.
Some pretty flowers.
A big building, probably in Lagos in the Algarve.
A whale making a big splash.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Grinch I like your second and third HDR's, mainly because they don't look overly HDR'ed. I love the second one especially, but are there two water droplets on the left there? Keeps catching my eyes looking at it. The first one has a very Half Life feel too it which is fun
Few more of this (probably ongoing) series:
My Portfolio Site
ANd yeah, the water droplets really annoy me, it was absolutely chucking it down on the day I took that picture and I had nothing to cover the lens. I tried at one point to remove them using photoshop but my skills are lacking!
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I have a subscription to Adobe CC with Photoshop and Lightroom. I've been doing a lot of manual tweaking in Lightroom (mostly) and just learning how it works and trying to judge for myself what looks best.
But if anyone has any particular wisdom on good texts/faqs/guides/treatises/anything I can read on this aspect of photography I'd be much obliged.
Other than that, I mainly subscribe to photography channels on Youtube. Plenty of good info for free.
Here's a few I subscribe to:
B&H Photography - If you weed through their reviews they have tons of their in-store classes they've recorded and put up.
Phlearn.com - Photoshop focused. Good stuff but some times they leave out a lot of info to sell their premium stuff.
Snapfactory
Infuzed Media - Doesn't post video very often, but some good stuff in there.
And here's a good Lightroom video to get you started.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
I suppose it all depends on what kind of work you'll be doing. For light editing and cataloguing you'll want as much RAM and HDD space (and speed) as you can afford. More dramatic post work would probably benefit from a faster CPU/GPU, though the law of diminishing returns strongly applies here.
The bigger issue, in my mind, would be screen quality. Unless you're using an external monitor and just want a laptop for portability?
RAM, CPU, Storage
More RAM gives programs more room to hold those big files open. If you're using Photoshop/Lightroom you'll most likely have them running side-by-side, so the more RAM the better.
Photoshop/Lightroom support multi-core CPU's, Speed helps, but isn't as important as how many cores are available.
Big files take up lots of space, you're going to need a good fast 7200 RPM (or higher) hard drive with plenty of space. Don't forget some sort of backup system.
Other thoughts:
64-bit OS also helps.
Standard GPUs are sufficient. There's no reason to spend money on a gaming GPU as it won't do anything to help photo processing.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
I took one of Aaron Nace's classes a few years back and it was really good but a lot of it was basically "Take multiple photos and merge those together." Then a lot of the course taught you how to blend those multiple images together. So that is useful if you are going for the super surreal composite images but if you are doing basic editing it is less useful.
I was thinking about putting a basic photo editing tutorial together at some point in the near future, but for now I'd say everyone's recommended all the good sites I could think of already.
My Portfolio Site
@prospicience thanks. Yeah I saw this outhouse on a peaceful meadow (which I learned later is an asbestos dumping ground) which cracked me up, and decided to take a snap. Also, I really dig your colors and post man.
@Bubby may your empty pockets spur your creative drive, and will to shoot.
Most interesting photo in the world:
Lawrence sir.
Thanks munnin.
Comcast sucks, 3 weeks at my new place without internet. They promised me I'd have it installed twice the first week I was here, messed up both times (or lied) and now can't have anyone here for two weeks ugh.
My Portfolio Site
Still, Comcast sucks a big one.
In other news, I tried shooting a human.
(edit)
and other stuff: