T4i - is this a better camera than a point and shoot?

[Alimac1]

I have a 600D (T3i I think) and find it great. But the best thing I did for my photography was join a club and let others see and comment on my work, and go to every tutorial session the club would run. My local club only has around 30 members, but there is a wealth of experience and people willing to share their knowledge.

 

[crotonmark]

I have a 600D (T3i I think) and find it great. But the best thing I did for my photography was join a club and let others see and comment on my work, and go to every tutorial session the club would run. My local club only has around 30 members, but there is a wealth of experience and people willing to share their knowledge.

thanks

 

[amolitor]

Not getting colors to "pop" is either an exposure issue, or that you want more than the camera does by default. Look for a Vivid setting, and try that out.

 

[ShaneF]

I shoot with a T4i. If you want more control over your images poping trying shooting raw and doing some post processing.

 

[crotonmark]

I shoot with a T4i. If you want more control over your images poping trying shooting raw and doing some post processing.

Thanks ShaneF - problem is I don't understand the post production software. Even Photoshop Elements is baffling to me

 

[ShaneF]

I shoot with a T4i. If you want more control over your images poping trying shooting raw and doing some post processing.

Thanks ShaneF - problem is I don't understand the post production software. Even Photoshop Elements is baffling to me

what software do you have?

 

[crotonmark]

I shoot with a T4i. If you want more control over your images poping trying shooting raw and doing some post processing.

Thanks ShaneF - problem is I don't understand the post production software. Even Photoshop Elements is baffling to me

what software do you have?

the latest Mac version of Photoshop Elements and iPhoto.

 

[ShaneF]

this is the first video i found but there are many to help you out. this should get you going on how to open and edit a raw file. Youtube is your friend search away.

 

[bentcountershaft]

I remember when I first bought my dslr that I was pretty disappointed. I was expecting greatness that just wasn't there. It was definitely a temporary step backwards in the results department compared to my point and shoot. It didn't last too long, though, maybe two or three months, so keep at it.

 

[_gingerstocking]

I shoot with a T4i and I will say.. if your pictures look dull and bland, it is likely operator error. I have had no issues with mine and it actually brings out colors very well without much post processing.

Also, were you shooting in RAW? Because even the biggest JPEGS on the T4i look like crap. I recently was in Texas for a week and shot strictly in JPEG because I knew I wouldn't want to edit them all. I was pretty disappointed with the quality once I opened them in Lightroom. You need to shoot RAW if you want the best outcome.

 

[cynicaster]

My photos are no better than if I shot with a camera on auto. I shot in manual or aperture priority

So if I’m reading this correctly, your expectation is that switching from auto mode to manual mode or aperture priority mode should, as a rule, generate a better result? I’m not being a smart-ass here, I’m genuinely wondering what you expect to happen.

Regardless of whether you’re in full auto or one of the more “advanced” modes, you’re still using the same optics, the same electronics, and all of the same parameters are being adjusted to yield your result. The only difference is in how many of those parameters are selected by you and how many are selected by the camera automatically.

So, what this means is that there are lots of situations where you should not have an expectation that “advanced” shooting modes will provide better results than auto, because sometimes, believe it or not, the camera is just as capable of getting it right as you are (if not more so).

If, in challenging lighting situations, you’re getting results in manual that are on par with or fall short of what you get in auto, then the problem is operator error, not camera quality. Examples of what I’d consider to be “challenging lighting situations” are: extremely low light, fast moving subjects, high contrast (mixture of very bright and very dark areas in the scene), mixed color temperatures, and strongly back-lit subjects.

 

[Gavjenks]

How did this thread get to 3 pages with no example images?

Post example images, and usefulness of all comments will increase 10x.

 

[crotonmark]

How did this thread get to 3 pages with no example images?

Post example images, and usefulness of all comments will increase 10x.

OK I am going to post a series of pictures I took in Napoleon's Tomb
I was trying to get the colors of the stained glass window as well as the sarcophagus (Now to figure out how to post images)!!

 

[Bulb]

How did this thread get to 3 pages with no example images?

Post example images, and usefulness of all comments will increase 10x.

OK I am going to post a series of pictures I took in Napoleon's Tomb
I was trying to get the colors of the stained glass window as well as the sarcophagus (Now to figure out how to post images)!!

You've run into a high dynamic range scene.

Dynamic range is the difference in brightness between the brightest thing and the darkest thing in your composition. The human eye has no trouble seeing both the bright window and the dark sarcophagus. The camera's sensor doesn't cover such a high dynamic range. As a result, exposing for the window will cause the sarcophagus to become underexposed and exposing for the sarcophagus causes the window to become overexposed.

There are three options here.

1. Expose for the most important part of the image (and deal with the consequences on the other parts)
2. Take a HDR (high dynamic range) picture if your camera has the ability. HDR allows you to automatically let the camera take a few different pictures at different exposures and put them together into one image with far greater dynamic range
3. Recompose your image

 

[wyogirl]

I could be wrong, as I am new myself, but what you want isn't really possible without HDR. The window is bright, and the sarcophagus is dark comparatively. Take a shot metered for the window, a shot metered for the sarcophagus and a shot metered in between the two then combine the three in photoshop or another program that does HDR photos and you will get what you want. Also, you really need to find a class or an online tutorial for using photoshop or lightroom. I think its imperative.

ETA: someone beat me to the punch!