Night time photography can be a bit challenging being on automatic settings on you D-SLR camera but here are some steps to get you on your way to shooting at night.
When the camera is on its automatic setting the pictures taken are disappointing with some photos even end up being quite dark.
This is done by the camera not getting it right with camera shake and aperture setting being to low so we need to change this , we can change the setting on your DSLR camera to manual mode this means you can change your setting manually to get the night time pictures right.
There are two tips that can better your photos and they are the shutter speed and the aperture setting.
To Know how to turn on your camera look for the dials on your camera to manually change the aperture setting and shutter speeds, if you don`t now how check your cameras manual for details.
Now the shutter speed is shown on your LCD as a fraction like 1/60 fraction and aperture setting are symboled with a F8.0 setting and there should be a dial to change them.
The aperture setting should be as low as your setting will go at an average of F2.0-F3.5, this is the hole that blocks the light when to small or opens the hole to get as much light in as possible so our setting should be a low aperture setting.
Now to the shutter speed is the next thing you need to change and this needs to be trailed, the fraction setting means that it`s a fraction of a second like 1/4 is a quarter of a second 1/2 is a half a second then in quotes symbol is .6 or .7 of a second so try a 1 second shutter speed setting to test your night time photos, If the photo is to bright you can lesser the shutter time or more if that is the case.
The second tip that you need to now is camera shake because the shutter speed is so long there is no way you can take the shot hand held, so the camera needs to be placed some were you can keep it still for the shutter speed to carry out.
This can be done by a tripod, sitting it on a wall or flat steady surface, even though your camera is kited with image stablelization this is no good for night time photography so the tripod placed on a wall were your camera can stay still to take the photo.
But when you take the shot the camera shakes, when you press the button so a timed shot will have to be used this can be on your camera as a setting or a cable button to fire the shot.
Also if your camera has stablelization these need to be switched off because your camera is still this can cause the camera to distort the photo as well with camera shake of something that is not there.
So here are your to tips for night time photography make sure your aperture is to it`s lowest and the shutter speed is longer to suck in light in and camera still.
There is some great tips on this ebook that i purchased take a look if you want Click Here
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Saturday, 24 July 2010
Canon Auto Exposure Lock
Hello again and how are you all doing today.
I would love to talk to you today about a little tip i picked up when using your
Canon EOS 450D and its exposure settings when taking photos.
Even though the Canon EOS 450D is a sophisticated camera it is just a camera
and when taking photos it doesn't know any better all it does is change its setting
to its surroundings.
When the camera is in apature priority mode is switch on and consistently changes
it setting when looking at the bright sky, the shutter speed increases but when the
camera moves and is pointing at something in the distance like some tall buildings
the shutter speed decreases to its new settings, some times we want these setting
to change constantly when taking photos.
Lets take this photo and see what it looks like looking on the live view the sky has
overpowered the shot and the buildings are under exposed.
This is the tip that comes into play now as the camera is still in apature priority
mode on and we can give the buildings a boost in the same shot and this is what
you do.
Point the camera at the buildings only with no sky in view look at the shutter
speed it should have decreased some, now press the auto-exposure lock
button this lock in your setting of the buildings.
You can check this is correct in the view finder a star apears next the the shutter
speed that stays the same even when your moving the camera around.
Take the same shot again with the sky and the buildings together now check
your shot the buldings have become more brighter in your improved shots.
That is your Auto Exposure Lock button working to improve your shots.
I would love to talk to you today about a little tip i picked up when using your
Canon EOS 450D and its exposure settings when taking photos.
Even though the Canon EOS 450D is a sophisticated camera it is just a camera
and when taking photos it doesn't know any better all it does is change its setting
to its surroundings.
When the camera is in apature priority mode is switch on and consistently changes
it setting when looking at the bright sky, the shutter speed increases but when the
camera moves and is pointing at something in the distance like some tall buildings
the shutter speed decreases to its new settings, some times we want these setting
to change constantly when taking photos.
Lets take this photo and see what it looks like looking on the live view the sky has
overpowered the shot and the buildings are under exposed.
This is the tip that comes into play now as the camera is still in apature priority
mode on and we can give the buildings a boost in the same shot and this is what
you do.
Point the camera at the buildings only with no sky in view look at the shutter
speed it should have decreased some, now press the auto-exposure lock
button this lock in your setting of the buildings.
You can check this is correct in the view finder a star apears next the the shutter
speed that stays the same even when your moving the camera around.
Take the same shot again with the sky and the buildings together now check
your shot the buldings have become more brighter in your improved shots.
That is your Auto Exposure Lock button working to improve your shots.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Canon EOS 450D battery
Hello i would like to say a little bit about the battery for the Canon EOS 450D
12.2 MP Digital Camera even when there is not a lot to say about a battery in
a review, well here goes as far as batteries go.
Canon have developed this battery to be 50% more powerful than the battery
for the EOS 400D and gives more shooting time in its lithium ion
power pack, the battery is a Canon LP-E5 battery pack and you can recharge
the battery with its own charger that comes with the camera when you buy the kit.
Now the camera run at 7.4 volts with an output of 1080mah capacity,also the
battery has no memory effect this means you can charge the battery when you
want, you don't have to discharge all its power before recharging plus Eco friendly.
now the battery has been designed to fit Canon`s other D-SLR range and they
are the 500D and the 1000d model so if you have upgraded to the 500d from
the 450D the battery will fit.
Now the tech side has been covered they are some imitation batteries out there
for the 450D like the powerstorm LP-E5 and many other makes.
These are a little cheaper in price to acquire but by some reviews of these
batteries there are a lot to be desired.
Here i would like to show you some reviews from amazon customers about
the canon and lower priced models.
vipre77 says:Bought a genuine Canon LP-E5 as a backup to the original that
came with my Rebel XSI that I bought last year. Had it for 3 months and it
worked fine. Only charged it maybe 3 times in the time that I had it.
One day, for no apparent reason, it gave up the ghost and wouldn't take a
charge at all. I bought this battery from a reputable local Canon authorized
retailer right before they went out of business. Three months had passed since I
bought the battery. The retailer that sold me the battery was out of business.
I was past their return period, so even if they were still in business, I'd still
have been hosed anyway, so I called Canon USA directly to see about
getting it returned under warranty.
Turns out that Canon USA offers NO WARRANTY OF ANY SORT
on their batteries. I paid nearly $70 for a battery that I only used a couple
of times and then died permanently. It was nearly enough to make me sell
off all of my Canon gear (2 digital SLR's with a collection of
lenses, 1 point-and-shoot, a flatbed scanner and a multi-function printer)
and jump ship to another camera manufacturer. Caveat Emptor!
Do yourself a favor and buy a superior aftermarket battery from another
manufacturer that actually gives you a warranty with their products.
ronni j.engel says:Battery mysteriously quite working after less than
3 months. Would put in charger, light would illuminate red, then after
a few hours (normal charging time) would go green, I would remove
charger from outlet, remove battery, put in camera and nothing--no
power at all. I put in back in charger, and light went red---same thing
several times!
c.o`connor says: The battery is an OEM Canon battery. I bought this
as a spare battery for our honeymoon to Greece this year. The writing
on the battery is different from the one that came with my camera and is
different from the picture as advertised, but other than that it is identical.
I haven't recharged it yet but it came almost fully charged and I have taken
about 300 pictures on it and it is only halfway down now. It came with
the contact cover and easily fits in to the battery compartment, unlike
some of the aftermarket batteries which can stick. Well worth the price.
As you can see some people are saying about the price of the
Canon LP-E5 battery but are willing to pay the price for quality with
Canon and most just wanted backup batteries for there camera.
12.2 MP Digital Camera even when there is not a lot to say about a battery in
a review, well here goes as far as batteries go.
Canon have developed this battery to be 50% more powerful than the battery
for the EOS 400D and gives more shooting time in its lithium ion
power pack, the battery is a Canon LP-E5 battery pack and you can recharge
the battery with its own charger that comes with the camera when you buy the kit.
Now the camera run at 7.4 volts with an output of 1080mah capacity,also the
battery has no memory effect this means you can charge the battery when you
want, you don't have to discharge all its power before recharging plus Eco friendly.
now the battery has been designed to fit Canon`s other D-SLR range and they
are the 500D and the 1000d model so if you have upgraded to the 500d from
the 450D the battery will fit.
Now the tech side has been covered they are some imitation batteries out there
for the 450D like the powerstorm LP-E5 and many other makes.
These are a little cheaper in price to acquire but by some reviews of these
batteries there are a lot to be desired.
Here i would like to show you some reviews from amazon customers about
the canon and lower priced models.
vipre77 says:Bought a genuine Canon LP-E5 as a backup to the original that
came with my Rebel XSI that I bought last year. Had it for 3 months and it
worked fine. Only charged it maybe 3 times in the time that I had it.
One day, for no apparent reason, it gave up the ghost and wouldn't take a
charge at all. I bought this battery from a reputable local Canon authorized
retailer right before they went out of business. Three months had passed since I
bought the battery. The retailer that sold me the battery was out of business.
I was past their return period, so even if they were still in business, I'd still
have been hosed anyway, so I called Canon USA directly to see about
getting it returned under warranty.
Turns out that Canon USA offers NO WARRANTY OF ANY SORT
on their batteries. I paid nearly $70 for a battery that I only used a couple
of times and then died permanently. It was nearly enough to make me sell
off all of my Canon gear (2 digital SLR's with a collection of
lenses, 1 point-and-shoot, a flatbed scanner and a multi-function printer)
and jump ship to another camera manufacturer. Caveat Emptor!
Do yourself a favor and buy a superior aftermarket battery from another
manufacturer that actually gives you a warranty with their products.
ronni j.engel says:Battery mysteriously quite working after less than
3 months. Would put in charger, light would illuminate red, then after
a few hours (normal charging time) would go green, I would remove
charger from outlet, remove battery, put in camera and nothing--no
power at all. I put in back in charger, and light went red---same thing
several times!
c.o`connor says: The battery is an OEM Canon battery. I bought this
as a spare battery for our honeymoon to Greece this year. The writing
on the battery is different from the one that came with my camera and is
different from the picture as advertised, but other than that it is identical.
I haven't recharged it yet but it came almost fully charged and I have taken
about 300 pictures on it and it is only halfway down now. It came with
the contact cover and easily fits in to the battery compartment, unlike
some of the aftermarket batteries which can stick. Well worth the price.
As you can see some people are saying about the price of the
Canon LP-E5 battery but are willing to pay the price for quality with
Canon and most just wanted backup batteries for there camera.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
canon EOS 450D Live View
Hello again we are going to take a in depth look at the live view
mode function on the Canon EOS 450D.
This function enables the back LCD screen on the camera to
give you sharp definition images of what the CMOS image sensor
is viewing in real time.
The CMOS image sensor is what the camera uses to take photos
and the sensor is the cameras digital eye to the world.
Now live view is the way we can take our photos in a slower
and controlled situations like tripod work, the LCD screen live view
mode is great for capturing images that are a bit tricky to perfect like
as were you need to change some settings on your camera with
metering,auto focus and the magnification.
Live View can be intreated with all your camera options on the
LCD screen in your tab menu were if you wanted to do some
magnification of an image live view is shown and a grid appears.
The live view image and settings can be adjusted there for to
improve the photo.
So live view is a great way to improve photos in controlled situations
and its also great for awkward angle shots like ground level and
macro shots this means you can look at the LCD screen instead of
looking through the viewfinder.
The live view displays a smooth 30fps video feed on the 3" screen
that is 50% more brighter than the 400d model.
The live view mode can also work in studio environments and
remote live view gives you the option of a live video feed to your pc
when using the supplied EOS utility software.
mode function on the Canon EOS 450D.
This function enables the back LCD screen on the camera to
give you sharp definition images of what the CMOS image sensor
is viewing in real time.
The CMOS image sensor is what the camera uses to take photos
and the sensor is the cameras digital eye to the world.
Now live view is the way we can take our photos in a slower
and controlled situations like tripod work, the LCD screen live view
mode is great for capturing images that are a bit tricky to perfect like
as were you need to change some settings on your camera with
metering,auto focus and the magnification.
Live View can be intreated with all your camera options on the
LCD screen in your tab menu were if you wanted to do some
magnification of an image live view is shown and a grid appears.
The live view image and settings can be adjusted there for to
improve the photo.
So live view is a great way to improve photos in controlled situations
and its also great for awkward angle shots like ground level and
macro shots this means you can look at the LCD screen instead of
looking through the viewfinder.
The live view displays a smooth 30fps video feed on the 3" screen
that is 50% more brighter than the 400d model.
The live view mode can also work in studio environments and
remote live view gives you the option of a live video feed to your pc
when using the supplied EOS utility software.
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Canon EOS 450D Integrated Cleaning System
The Canon EOS 450D has a EOS integrated cleaning system this is implemented every time you start up
your camera to remove dust.
A self-cleaning sensor unit creates a short burst of hi frequency vibrations to shake dust particles off the infared
filter, this lasts for one second but is disabled when taking pictures after start up.
There are two other ways the EOS 450D reduces dust collection and the makers Canon have managed to
reduce the dust generation with redesigned body cap that prevents dust collection through wear of the cap
itself.
The last way is to repel dust from the low pass filter covering the front of the cmos sensor this is done by anti static technology to repel dust particles.
The last product to repel dust Canon have developed a internal dust delete system this maps out were visible dust that landed on the sensor and developed a software called digital photo professional software can
delete from the image the dust particles when processed by the software.
your camera to remove dust.
A self-cleaning sensor unit creates a short burst of hi frequency vibrations to shake dust particles off the infared
filter, this lasts for one second but is disabled when taking pictures after start up.
There are two other ways the EOS 450D reduces dust collection and the makers Canon have managed to
reduce the dust generation with redesigned body cap that prevents dust collection through wear of the cap
itself.
The last way is to repel dust from the low pass filter covering the front of the cmos sensor this is done by anti static technology to repel dust particles.
The last product to repel dust Canon have developed a internal dust delete system this maps out were visible dust that landed on the sensor and developed a software called digital photo professional software can
delete from the image the dust particles when processed by the software.
Monday, 21 June 2010
Canon EOS 450D Automatic Lighting Optimizer
The Canon EOS 450D digital camera has some great added features to the camera and its software.
Today we are going to talk about it`s Auto Lighting Optimizer feature, this is a great feature that analizes dark areas of the image and brightens them up.
There are four conditions that the auto lighting optimizer can improve and affect the brightness of the image and these conditions are.
1. AE Underexposed
2. Insufficient flash light output
3. Backlit subject
4. Low Contrast
1. AE underexposed is a condition that when taking a photo of landscape, when white subject is in front of a white back ground the photo becomes under exposed due to metering setting and characteristics the under exposure is improved with the auto lighting optimizer.
The picture is then brightened and the contrast is adjusted to make the picture brighter.
2. Insufficient flash light output is when the light from the flash unit has not reached the subject and the subject remains dark from the insufficient light.
The optimizer brightens and adjusts the contrast of the image to improve the photo.
3. backlit subject- this is a condition where the background of the image is to bright, so darkening the subject in the front of the picture the auto lighting optimizer sees and analizes the picture this then brightens the subject image at the front to improve the photo and lightens up the dark areas.
4. Low Contrast is a condition that is made even by a cloudy day that the sun cant break through the clouds and this makes low contrast the optimizer brightens the image by lightening the contrast up and inproving the image.
Now that we see some conditions that the auto lighting optimizer can improve the images on the Canon EOS 450D Digital Camera.
Lets look at the setting of this feature on the camera itself.
This option can be found in the menu on the your led screen at the back of the camera.
Press menu then scroll through the tabs until you see the auto lighting optimizer option scroll down to that option and press set this gives the option to adjust or enable the function by scrolling through its options then press set to select to auto lighting optimizer.
After you have set your options you can test the optimizer capabilities, also there is more ways to improving the quality of your photos before you set your optimizer up and i will be writing more tips and tricks about the Canon EOS 450D 12.2 MP Digital camera.
Today we are going to talk about it`s Auto Lighting Optimizer feature, this is a great feature that analizes dark areas of the image and brightens them up.
There are four conditions that the auto lighting optimizer can improve and affect the brightness of the image and these conditions are.
1. AE Underexposed
2. Insufficient flash light output
3. Backlit subject
4. Low Contrast
1. AE underexposed is a condition that when taking a photo of landscape, when white subject is in front of a white back ground the photo becomes under exposed due to metering setting and characteristics the under exposure is improved with the auto lighting optimizer.
The picture is then brightened and the contrast is adjusted to make the picture brighter.
2. Insufficient flash light output is when the light from the flash unit has not reached the subject and the subject remains dark from the insufficient light.
The optimizer brightens and adjusts the contrast of the image to improve the photo.
3. backlit subject- this is a condition where the background of the image is to bright, so darkening the subject in the front of the picture the auto lighting optimizer sees and analizes the picture this then brightens the subject image at the front to improve the photo and lightens up the dark areas.
4. Low Contrast is a condition that is made even by a cloudy day that the sun cant break through the clouds and this makes low contrast the optimizer brightens the image by lightening the contrast up and inproving the image.
Now that we see some conditions that the auto lighting optimizer can improve the images on the Canon EOS 450D Digital Camera.
Lets look at the setting of this feature on the camera itself.
This option can be found in the menu on the your led screen at the back of the camera.
Press menu then scroll through the tabs until you see the auto lighting optimizer option scroll down to that option and press set this gives the option to adjust or enable the function by scrolling through its options then press set to select to auto lighting optimizer.
After you have set your options you can test the optimizer capabilities, also there is more ways to improving the quality of your photos before you set your optimizer up and i will be writing more tips and tricks about the Canon EOS 450D 12.2 MP Digital camera.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Canon EOS 450D Flash Unit
Canon EOS 450D 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera uses a onboard flash system that pops up with a push of a button this article is going to take a look at what flash units offer to photography before we look at the compatible flash units for the canon EOS 450D.
The usage of a flash in many digital cameras is found by the process of metering.
Metering is a steer to identify how much light is open externally for photos to be considered that are of superior quality.
So how does metering work,metering is a system that detects what level light and analyzing the brightness and contrast of the light.
There are many ways that digital cameras notice light and these are center weighted metering , spot metering and matrix metering also manual metering.
Center weighted metering- pays more attention to the center of the image and determines if flash is needed.
Spot metering- Measures a small amount of area in the center of the image.
Matrix metering- This multi patterned system holds the white highlights below over-exposure.
Manual metering- Manual metering by using light meters that give readings of light.
Now we have become familar there many types of metering and they all do the same business that tells us if we need a flash with our photos or not.
With many lower end cameras with built in flash the camera takes a metering test before making a picture also warning you if you want the flash and the picture is taken then problems will happen like red eye and flash fall out.
Red eye is because of the eye glow red when the flash and the human eyes axes are very close with each other so the light flash is too great for the photo to look of magnificent quality so the flash is best for photos in a variety of ways but over power the photo in other ways.
Flash fall out is a conflict caused by subjects being to remote from the flash exposure that the light won’t always reach the subject and the photo is of not great quality.
With more modern quality digital cameras like the canon EOS 450D and other products of the same quality in technology use metering in the same way but in a more sophisticated way and the drawback of red eye and flash fall out are reduced dramatically.
So if these difficulties are getting you down maybe an upgrade to a more sophisticated camera like a d SLR camera is for you.
D-SLR cameras range to about 500 to 2000 pounds and these cameras have great added features to the software that help you fight or rectify these difficulties manually or automatically and this will allow the conditions of how the flash unit is utilized to take photos.
In the more extreme situations adding flash umbrella and massive flash units but these are a big expense but they assist along with the more professional photographers were the light bounces off the umbrella then to get to the subject so the light is even more soft and not harsh such as some flash units cause when portraits are taken in professional studios and fashion photos are taken for magazines.
With the Canon EOS 450D 12.2mp Digital SLR Camera the light unit is fitted to the camera on a flip release system and the camera its self uses metering with three options evaluative metering, partial metering and spot metering evaluative metering looks at the whole picture, partial metering looks at the center area and spot metering looks at the very center of the lense area.
These can be adjusted when you are in creative mode on the camera but not so in standard mode this means the camera takes over and does all the work for you in standard mode and in creative mode you can take over the controls and this were this article is about looking at the flash units that fit the canon EOS 450D the flash that is fitted to the EOS 450D is a standard flash with a flash range of 15 feet any photos taken that are over that distance the camera would struggle to cope and extra flash units would have to be introduced.
Canon EOS 450D is equip with a flash hotshoe that there speedlite range fits to camera.
There canon speedlite 220ex is the standard flash it doesn't have an adjustable head and only has a shooting distance of 15.7 meters then there is the canon 430ex speedlite with a range of 24.3 meters and the canon 580EX speedlite has a range of 30 meters with its powerful flash, Flash fallout should not be a problem the 430EX and the 580EX are wireless and synch with the cameras settings for optimum flash photography.
The usage of a flash in many digital cameras is found by the process of metering.
Metering is a steer to identify how much light is open externally for photos to be considered that are of superior quality.
So how does metering work,metering is a system that detects what level light and analyzing the brightness and contrast of the light.
There are many ways that digital cameras notice light and these are center weighted metering , spot metering and matrix metering also manual metering.
Center weighted metering- pays more attention to the center of the image and determines if flash is needed.
Spot metering- Measures a small amount of area in the center of the image.
Matrix metering- This multi patterned system holds the white highlights below over-exposure.
Manual metering- Manual metering by using light meters that give readings of light.
Now we have become familar there many types of metering and they all do the same business that tells us if we need a flash with our photos or not.
With many lower end cameras with built in flash the camera takes a metering test before making a picture also warning you if you want the flash and the picture is taken then problems will happen like red eye and flash fall out.
Red eye is because of the eye glow red when the flash and the human eyes axes are very close with each other so the light flash is too great for the photo to look of magnificent quality so the flash is best for photos in a variety of ways but over power the photo in other ways.
Flash fall out is a conflict caused by subjects being to remote from the flash exposure that the light won’t always reach the subject and the photo is of not great quality.
With more modern quality digital cameras like the canon EOS 450D and other products of the same quality in technology use metering in the same way but in a more sophisticated way and the drawback of red eye and flash fall out are reduced dramatically.
So if these difficulties are getting you down maybe an upgrade to a more sophisticated camera like a d SLR camera is for you.
D-SLR cameras range to about 500 to 2000 pounds and these cameras have great added features to the software that help you fight or rectify these difficulties manually or automatically and this will allow the conditions of how the flash unit is utilized to take photos.
In the more extreme situations adding flash umbrella and massive flash units but these are a big expense but they assist along with the more professional photographers were the light bounces off the umbrella then to get to the subject so the light is even more soft and not harsh such as some flash units cause when portraits are taken in professional studios and fashion photos are taken for magazines.
With the Canon EOS 450D 12.2mp Digital SLR Camera the light unit is fitted to the camera on a flip release system and the camera its self uses metering with three options evaluative metering, partial metering and spot metering evaluative metering looks at the whole picture, partial metering looks at the center area and spot metering looks at the very center of the lense area.
These can be adjusted when you are in creative mode on the camera but not so in standard mode this means the camera takes over and does all the work for you in standard mode and in creative mode you can take over the controls and this were this article is about looking at the flash units that fit the canon EOS 450D the flash that is fitted to the EOS 450D is a standard flash with a flash range of 15 feet any photos taken that are over that distance the camera would struggle to cope and extra flash units would have to be introduced.
Canon EOS 450D is equip with a flash hotshoe that there speedlite range fits to camera.
There canon speedlite 220ex is the standard flash it doesn't have an adjustable head and only has a shooting distance of 15.7 meters then there is the canon 430ex speedlite with a range of 24.3 meters and the canon 580EX speedlite has a range of 30 meters with its powerful flash, Flash fallout should not be a problem the 430EX and the 580EX are wireless and synch with the cameras settings for optimum flash photography.
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