Newbie

[Tanya2015]

I have just bought a new Panasonic Lumix TZ60 (I usually only use point and click) and would love to learn how to set it up and use it better. I really am a mega novice but it has custom settings and i want to try them.
I love taking indoor pics at social gatherings and i want bright vivid pics...
The photos i took tonight at home were hit and miss and I was using Intelligent auto setting
I notice if i take a picture of a room in low light it's dark but if i zoom in a bit the picture is much brighter.
I have no idea why.
I wonder if there is somewhere online i can learn.

I took about 20 pics of my sunflower using macro and got 4 amazing ones...
again- i'd like to know why some clicks produce good photos and others dont! lol

any tips? websites for dummies etc

 

[Tanya2015]

Dropbox - post

wondering why the room was dark (flash went off) but when i zoom the objects are brighter

 

[Designer]

It's your flash that is zooming along with your lens. Perfectly normal.

 

[snowbear]

Start with the camera's manual. Get to know what all of the settings do. Then learn about the exposure triangle; many suggest Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

There are a number of free courses & videos on the web. Here's one that I liked and used when I started to get serious about photography.

 

[Tanya2015]

thank you- i may post again though on my journey. My old fuji finepix just took fab photos all the time indoors but was only 5 megal pixls. however this new one is trickier.
I just sent back a sony cybershot for similar reasons (went on holiday and it took lousy pictures) but suspect it was just me getting it wrong.

I love taking photos but get upset when I try and capture a 'moment' and then its all dark or poor colours!
I'm back on holiday saturday so any tips and tricks for what settings to sue indoor evenings would be appreciated!

 

[rudimaes]

It's always tricky to take low light pics, with a small sensor camera.
Certainly if the subject is moving.
On the TZ60, there is a scene mode "Handheld Night Shot". But this only works
with non-moving subjects. (you have to hold the camera still for a few seconds)
Raising the ISO, could help, but you'll have more noise in the photo.
Rudi

 

[Tanya2015]

thank you Rudi- will try that. I think i need to actually experiment a bit...trial and error too!

 

[soufiej]

Very briefly, read your camera's owner's manual - a couple of times. Have the camera with you and take test shots as you go.

Get into the menu and set the camera up as you want it to operate. If you can adjust colors in your Jpeg format, do so. If there are custom colors and shooting mores which you can preset for more control over your camera at the flick of a switch, set them up.

Learn your camera to the point you don't have to constantly look away from the subject to adjust settings. They'll be displayed in your LCD or viewfinder so know how to change them. And know what they will do when you change them.

Place your camera's manufacturer and model number in a search engine along with "tips and tutorials". Grab something to drink and some popcorn and spend a night learning. Take notes.

Purchase and learn decent but not over your skill level post production software for editing and controlling your photos as finished results. If you are shooting mostly in Jpeg format, there are several very good free editors available; Pixlr, Paint.NET and Picasa to name a few. More control and better results are available when you spend a bit of money. Probably a good choice for you might be Adobe's Elements.

Read, listen, look. Do it all again. Then practice, practice, practice.


Once you've settled on a course, stick with that one course. Do not bounce around from this to that.

Most of all, enjoy!

 

[Derrel]

If your camera offers a +/- EC button--meaning an Exposure Compensation control, then you can use it to add "+" compensation for the flash when the automatic setting result appears too dark, or dial in some "minus compensation" to make the flash less bright. Keep in mind, there might actually be two,different EC setting options; one to control the main exposure, as made by the shutter and the lens, and a second exposure compensation control that regulated the flash's output.

As a small flash unit "zooms" to cover a wider physical area, the light is spread out more, and the overall, total power (expressed as GN or Guide Number) available drops quite a bit; when the flash beam is concentrated for telephoto zoom lens lengths, the flash covers a smaller physical area, which effectively creates a higher Guide Number for the flash.

 

[Tanya2015]

thanks so much for these replies- going to print every one of them and follow the advice when I get some free time. I really thought it would be a lot easier to be honest because i thought stepping up from a cheap camera would mean "easier to get good photos"
MY old camera took fab pics (but poor resolution- 5mpix).
I have always loved taking pics since a kid. I had a monthly account with TRUEPRINT (for those of you who are of the 70s era).
I'm looking forward to developing this skill. About time i learnt something new- I'm a teacher and who says you can't teach teachers!?

b.t.w- I use Piccassa a great deal and love it!

Here's a close up I took- i know it's easy but just to say am already having fun!
thanks again!

 

[Tanya2015]

Derrel- your photos are amazing- really beautiful!!