Help Reading EXIF Data

[chrisburke]

One of my ways of learning it to mimic other peoples work, flickr really helps me with this, because i can even search by camera, pick my camera, then find pics I like, and then try to mimic what they have done.. however, I'm not totally sure on what I'm reading when i read the exif data on the pictures... for instance, please check the link and then read questions to follow:

http://flickr.com/photos/thenickparker/2633335260/meta/

This guy is shooting in Manual, his aperture is set at 5.6 ISO 800.. but what is the shutter speed when i read this exif??? is it this Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800) and if so, what does that translate to on my camera... X F5.6 what should the X be???

 

[rasheemo]

a lot of superfluous info. all you need to worry about is:

exposure time/shutter speed = 1/800 of a second here.
aperture/f-stop = 5.6, which is relatively wide for some lenses, the smaller the number, the more light you can let through to the lens and thus, the faster your shutter speed can be to take a proper exposure shot
Focal length = 40mm, that's basically how zoomed he was. 50mm is considered what the eye sees through
ISO speed = 800, the higher the ISO, the faster you can shoot at, but also the more noise in the photo

 

[chrisburke]

a lot of superfluous info. all you need to worry about is:

exposure time/shutter speed = 1/800 of a second here.
aperture/f-stop = 5.6, which is relatively wide for some lenses, the smaller the number, the more light you can let through to the lens and thus, the faster your shutter speed can be to take a proper exposure shot
Focal length = 40mm, that's basically how zoomed he was. 50mm is considered what the eye sees through
ISO speed = 800, the higher the ISO, the faster you can shoot at, but also the more noise in the photo

ok i understand everything except for the shutter speed... 1/800 of a second.. what is that number on my camera.. i know its the first number in X F5.6 when i look at my screen, but the numbers for shutter speed range from bulb to 4000 they are all numbers like 1.3" and 30, 40, 50... is 30 like 30 seconds? or 1/3 of a second?? how does 1/800 translate to the numbers on my camera screen?

 

[manaheim]

A number without the " mark represents a fraction of a second, so...

30 = 1/30th of a second
30" = 30 seconds

"bulb" means the shutter will remain open as long as you have the shutter button (or remote shutter button) pressed.

 

[chrisburke]

A number without the " mark represents a fraction of a second, so...

30 = 1/30th of a second
30" = 30 seconds

"bulb" means the shutter will remain open as long as you have the shutter button (or remote shutter button) pressed.

thank you very much! one more question.. i noticed in bulb more then it tends to be more out of focus... would a tripod fix that, or are there other things to??

 

[manaheim]

thank you very much! one more question.. i noticed in bulb more then it tends to be more out of focus... would a tripod fix that, or are there other things to??

mmm... are you baiting me or are you serious? I'm sorry if you're serious, this just totally feels like a trap.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make the assumption that you don't have a remote shutter release... (Cable or wireless remote so you don't have to directly push the main shutter button on your camera).

If this is so, this would be "bad". You are unavoidably going to shake your camera when taking the picture.

My recommendation would be to also have a tripod, yes. You can get away without one as long as you are clever and creative (as Mav has shown me with some stunning pictures he took of some city by plopping his point and shoot on a railing), but a tripod will make things a lot easier.

I also highly recommend the "nicer" tripods, but they are certainly expensive... and a $75 best buy special is better than nothing.

 

[MarcusM]

thank you very much! one more question.. i noticed in bulb more then it tends to be more out of focus... would a tripod fix that, or are there other things to??

Yes, using bulb handheld will most likely result in out of focus shots. You need a tripod and cable release as manaheim stated. This is because with bulb you are more than likely to have the shutter open for longer periods of time thus resulting in the blur caused by the natural movement of your hands. Also, simply pressing and releasing the shutter on long exposures likely will result in camera shake, which is why you need the cable release (and tripod) for bulb shots.

 

[Joves]

In buld mirror lock will help too with the exposure if you dont have a shutter release.

 

[johan.sie]

ditto, to a VERY strong and sturdy tripod

honestly, I can't even keep 1" exposure without shaking .. let alone bulb but yet, some tripod, remote release or time release would do the trick, never really tried it though, 30 secs was awesome for traffic trails at night etc