Sony Alpha DSRL

[brighteyesphotos]

Ok, I got my new camera. I'm full of questions. Some I can figure out on my own. Others I can get from the manual. But some I want from other users.

Which do you prefer shooting in? RAW? Fine? RAW+JPEG?

White balance? Which is best? Should I match it to the situation I'm shooting (outdoors vs indoors)?

Which ISO do you shoot the most?

Any other tips for shooting digital? I usually do film so digital is kinda a new area for me. I promise to share shots.

 

[mysteryscribe]

I can't answer you questions but I LOVE your signature quote.....

 

[darin3200]

RAW+JPEG is good for quality. You can see the JPEG easily and quickly and the RAW gives you a lot of information to work with.

Match the white balance to the situation. However, if you shoot RAW it doesn't matter because you can change it later.

So the lowest iso you can while still have a decent shutter speed. For example, if you are taking a picture of tree you don't need iso 400 and a shutter of 1/4000th. You'd be better off going iso 1 and 1/1000th.

Tips: Shoot a lot, shoot all the time. But don't take pictures just because you have a camera. Think about what you are taking a picture of and plan stuff out.

And have fun

 

[Peanuts]

I would personally start with RAW + JPEG and switch when you feel comfortable to just RAW. Saves some HD space.

Otherwise, what Darin said.

 

[thebeginning]

I would personally start with RAW + JPEG and switch when you feel comfortable to just RAW. Saves some HD space.

Otherwise, what Darin said.

for me it's the other way around

once i'm comfortable with the paramaters of a given situation i'll shoot .JPG if I dont want to do alot of RAW stuff on something unimportant.

 

[Peanuts]

Actually its funny you mention that. I should probably specify, when it is 'important' I shoot RAW, yet if it was a family reunion with Aunt Sue and Uncle Joy + all 500 of their relatives asking for portraits I shoot JPEG to save me time. Perhaps I am just too much of a hands on person, I can't allow the camera to start adding the contrast and saturation for me. Might just be a silly quirk or something

Edit: As I just realize I essentially said what you said. My apologies, it has been a very long week.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

I shoot RAW alsmost exclusivly incase I screw up on the WB. RAW photos also come out crisper for some reason on my D70.

 

[darin3200]

for me it's the other way around

once i'm comfortable with the paramaters of a given situation i'll shoot .JPG if I dont want to do alot of RAW stuff on something unimportant.

Agreed. It depends on the situation. Lately I've been doing more JPGs for stuff that is unimportant

 

[brighteyesphotos]

I can't answer you questions but I LOVE your signature quote.....

thanks, I found it somewhere and have stuck with it ever since.

 

[brighteyesphotos]

My camera offers, RAW, RAW+JPEG, and Fine. So you would say, Fine for the everyday shots, RAW or RAW+JPEG for the portraits? I suppose I should start looking for bigger memory cards. I have one plus another on the way. According to the manual, shooting in RAW with a 512mb (which is the one I picked up as a backup) I only get 30 pictures. When my 1gb gets here, I'll get 65 in RAW. Looks like I'll be getting me a 4gb. Now, weddings, RAW or fine? Or mixture?

 

[W.Smith]

My camera offers, RAW, RAW+JPEG, and Fine. So you would say, Fine for the everyday shots, RAW or RAW+JPEG for the portraits?

I use (Extra Fine) JPEG for everyday snaps (about 5MB per shot), but RAW+JPEG (Fine) for 'photos' (about 15MB per shot).

'Snaps' don't get much special attention, besides some cropping and batch contrast and sharpening. 'Photos' go manually through the whole PP process for the full treatment.

I suppose I should start looking for bigger memory cards. I have one plus another on the way. According to the manual, shooting in RAW with a 512mb (which is the one I picked up as a backup) I only get 30 pictures. When my 1gb gets here, I'll get 65 in RAW. Looks like I'll be getting me a 4gb. Now, weddings, RAW or fine? Or mixture?

You need only 2 good 1GB cards and a PSD (Portable Storage Device) with integrated cardreader. Then you can empty a full card onto the PSD while you keep shooting with the other card in your camera. Perfect for weddings. They don't wait!
With only 2 1GB cards and a PSD you can shoot 20GB in one day! (If you're fast enough )
Obviously, with that setup you can afford to shoot RAW+JPEG throughout, and choose later.

Click here for a couple PSD's.