I need help please

chris82 · Oct 9, 2006

I recently got a canon EOS 350 D,I should be shooting better pictures right?Wrong!!I havent got a clue what to do!My pictures are worse now than they were when I was shooting with a compact.

I dont know which aperture to use and my camera does not display the aperture as f 8.0.It displys it as just numbers starting with 4.5 up to 9.0 after that it goes 10,11,13,14,16,18,20,22,25,29.But thats only in Av mode.When I ghange to say Tv or manual mode the camera does not change the same numbers,but rather the numbers on the far left of the screen.could someone please help me.

Alex_B · Oct 9, 2006

well, in Av you set the aperture, and the camera determines the exposure time needed.

In Tv you set the exposure time (that other number) and the camera calculates the aperture needed.

Only in Manual mode you can control both. But don't ask me how to set manual on an 350 D
.

With my camera, I usually use Av for architecture and landscape, to control the depth of field. Tv I only use when I need a specific exposure time (e.g. to get motion blur (long exposure), or to freeze some fast motion (short exposure)).

Peanuts · Oct 9, 2006

When you change to Tv you are going to be changing the shutter speed. So that will range robably anywhere between 1/4000 (or 1/8000 can't rememeber) and bulb. In Av, you should 'see' a 8 as you scroll.
If you have an hour or two with nothing to do, grab your camera, the manual, and a potted plant or some other still object in a well lit area and start experimenting

It is difficult to understand at first but once you get it, it is lots of fun.

Manual on the 350D involves a few funky finger manuevers at first. To change the shutter speed, it is the scroll button (near the shutter button) and the aperture is a little trickier.You have to hold down the AV button (the far upper right of the 'screen' on the back) while scrolling. Hopefully that helps some.

LaFoto · Oct 9, 2006

When you are in the AV mode, you determine the aperture. The camera then decides on how long it will need to expose to get the photo right.
When you are in TV mode, you determine the exposure time. The camera then decides on how far open the shutter needs to be to get the photo right.
When you are in the "Automatic" mode (green square), the camera decides all by itself which aperture and which exposure time is "right" for the photo.
When you are in the "P" mode, the camera still more or less decides all by itself which aperture and which exposure time is "right", but you have a little more influence on things, like you can switch on the "flower" icon, which means you are in the "macro" mode - this will give you a wide aperture and closer range so you will effectively blur out the background.
You can determine that the camera should overexpose or underexpose by up to 2 stops in the "P"-mode, too. You can put the camera on different pre-determined settings that determine the intensity of the colours/contrasts/sharpness, or you can thus set it to in-camera b+w or sepia (very strong sepia colour!). And you can manually change the white balance.

If you want to use the "M"-mode (all manual), you have to set the aperture in AV first. THEN you switch to M and can adapt the shutter speed for each and every shot. When the photo will definitely be underexposed you see a red -2 in the upper right corner. When it will underexpose by two stops, you see a white -2 ... and this goes up step by step up to the red +2, which means: with these settings the pic will be overexposed.

Does this help for a start?
Try to get used with the camera via P... and work your way to M by and by... is my suggestion. You will be happy with your pics, you avoid frustration and you learn by and by.

chris82 · Oct 9, 2006

Thanks for the feedback everyone,Im fiding it hard understanding all this technical information but ill get there in the end.

doenoe · Oct 9, 2006

I never really used the P mode. I didnt really know what i was doing when i started with my 350D, but i started with the M mode and just started shooting. Just shoot and try different apertures, ISO and shutterspeeds and see whats different. You will soon learn how it all effects the pic. So my advice is just shoot M and shoot alot............and with alot i mean a ALOT.

Rob · Oct 10, 2006

chris82 said:
I recently got a canon EOS 350 D,I should be shooting better pictures right?Wrong!!I havent got a clue what to do!My pictures are worse now than they were when I was shooting with a compact. I dont know which aperture to use and my camera does not display the aperture as f 8.0.It displys it as just numbers starting with 4.5 up to 9.0 after that it goes 10,11,13,14,16,18,20,22,25,29.But thats only in Av mode.When I ghange to say Tv or manual mode the camera does not change the same numbers,but rather the numbers on the far left of the screen.could someone please help me.

It's good that you aren't shooting better... you know why??? Because you don't have control any more and the settings aren't right.

Firstly, shutter speed affects the sharpness of your picture - many compacts will go for the fastest possible shutter speed at the expense of aperture to give the crispest possible image.

Secondly, aperture is now so controllable, you can achieve a very narrow depth of field. This may be so narrow that the shot appears out of focus!!

Thirdly, a correct exposure value is a combination of shutter, aperture and sensitivity (ISO) and it remains constant for any given thing in a scene.

The frustration of being unable to snap is the beginning - the next stage is where you awaken to the capabilities of control and their affect on the end image.

When in doubt, think about end result - narrow depth of field, or everything sharp. Is it possible to achieve a speed of 1/length? (where length is the length of your lens) If not, use a tripod.

You'll get there, either by science or by the more normal route of screwing up and bodging.

Rob

chris82 · Oct 11, 2006

Excellent,cheers rob.I was starting to lose faith.Thanks for all feedback everyone!

abraxas · Oct 11, 2006

I like Doenoe's approach, it's more or less the one I've taken.

I like landscapes- inanimate objects.

I set ISO to lowest number (200 or 100)

I set my camera on 'M.'

Dial up a small aperture (the larger the number the smaller the aperture), say 22 (this gives me the depth of field I want through out the shot,... I hope)

Adjust the shutter speed to center the ev meter between the '+ and -.' Shoot the picture.

Repeat process 1 bzillion times, in 1 zillion locations.

Next, to reduce camera shake from me pressing buttons and turning dials, etcetera, I'll be learning to use the timer.