Stan's Digital Camera Recommendations

Stan’s Digital Camera Recommendations

Winter 2015 V1.2 (prices/models subject to change!)

Compact Cameras:

Sony RX100 IV                      $950.00 Fixed zoom lens

Lumix GX-8                            $995.00  Body only

Olympus E-PL7                     $550.00 with 14-42 mm lens

Fuji X100T                             $1,099.00 Fixed lens

Fuji X 1 Pro*                          $799.00 (body only)

Compact DSLR:

Nikon D3300                         $499.00 with 18-55 kit lens

Nikon D5500                         $890.00 with 18-55 kit lens

Canon 760D (AKA T6s)       $949.00 with 18-55 kit lens

Lumix GH-7                            $579.00 w/14-42 lens (mirrorless camera, not a DSLR)

Sony SLT-A77 II                    $850.00 (body only-mirrorless)

Mid sized DSLR:

Nikon D7200                         $110.00

Nikon D610                           $1,500.00

Nikon D750                           $1900.00 for body only, $2,400 with 24-120 lens

Canon 70D                             $1,249.00 with 18-55 mm lens

Canon 7D MkII                      $1,300.00

Fuji X-T1                                $1,000.00                              

Pro bodies (full frame):

Sony A7rII                              $3,200.00  Body only

Nikon D810                           $2790.00   Body only

Canon 5D mk III                    $3,000.00  Body only

Nikon D4S*                            $6,000.00   Body only

Leica M Type 240                 $6,400.00   Body only

*model due to be replaced with improved version early 2016

Stan’s Used Digital Camera Recommendations

Winter 2015 V1.0

(prices subject to change)

Digital cameras used to be a lot like used laptops, every three-five years the technology so jumped ahead there was little point in buying a used model. Just suck it up and buy the latest technology. We’re reaching the upper end of what sensor technology is offering and we now have a better sense of just how many mega pixels we need to make the photos we need to make. With improvements in software we can resample images now and a 12 MP camera usually works for many people, 16-20 MP is more than enough for 75-90% of students. Here are some “last generation”  Prosumer and professional cameras that offer great value used. In all cases it pays to get a shutter count and anything under 50,000 clicks is a pretty safe bet. The smart plan now is to “invest” in legacy lenses and buy the body for your current needs and not think about camera bodies as a long term investment.

Nikon:

D300 (12 MP) APS-C sized sensor, buy at the $350-375 price point

D7100 (24 MP) APS-C sized sensor, buy at the $700-750 price point

D700 (12 MP) Full frame sensor, buy at $900-1,00 price point

D3X (24 MP) full frame sensor, buy at $2,100-2,400 price point

D800E (36 MP) Full frame sensor, buy at the $2,500-2,750.00 price point

Canon:

5D MK II (21 MP) Full Frame sensor, buy at $1,200-1,450.00 price point

7D 18 MP APS-C sized sensor) buy at $650.00 price point

Fuji:

X100S (16 MP) APS-C sized sensor, fixed 23mm lens, buy at $750.00 price point

XPro-1 (16MP) APS-C sized sensor, buy used body for $500-600.00

Sony:

A7R (36 MP) Full Frame sensor, mirrorless, buy used for  $1,200-1,300.

Last Day of Classes!

Group Portrait from Studio Lighting Demo

Assignment #2B Shutter speed & Motion

The camera has the unique ability to freeze motion or to show an entire motion to the point where it is only a blur.  Both of these qualities can be used in a photograph in interpret movement as you would like it to be shown.

A few things to remember are:

1.  A higher shutter speed will be required to freeze motion when the motion is parallel to the film than when motion is toward the camera.

2.  If you are using a slow shutter speed, those less than 1/30 of a second, you should use a camera support.  A tripod is best, however you can brace the camera on a bench, a wall, or place it on the ground.

3.  Panning means to move the camera with the subject in motion.  This will allow you to freeze motion which is faster than your fastest shutter speed.  Panning requires practice, so try this a number of times.

 1. Make a series of exposures that show the effects of freezing motion with a high shutter speed.

 2. A series of exposures to imply motion using slow shutter speeds.

 3. Finally  a series of exposures that  demonstrate the use of panning technique.

 Remember that you must adjust the f stop to match the shutter speed you have selected to get a correct exposure.  You may find that you can not use a low or slow shutter speed in the bright sun, as there is too much light present.  In that case, you must go someplace where there is less light or wait till dusk.  The same is true of high shutter speeds, which often require you to open the lens to get enough light to make a correct exposure, this may not be possible indoors, for example.

Assignment #2A Depth of Field & Focus

Depth of Field and Focus 

As you have learned in your lecture, depth of field is the area, from the near point to the far point, which will be in focus in your photograph.  This can be used in many ways to make your photograph have more impact, to isolate the subject from a distracting background or to give a photograph more apparent depth.  Just to review:

1.  Depth of field is directly related to the f stop which you use.  A small f stop like f 16 will give greater depth of field (more in focus), and a smaller f stop (like f 2.8) will make the depth of field shallower.

2.  When you want fairly accurate indications of depth of field, you should use the depth of field scale on you lens.

3.  Focusing on a subject close to the camera will give less depth of field than focusing on a subject farther away.

 Assignment:

1.  Make at least 2 photographs which show shallow depth of field.  Remember to use a wide f stop (like f 2.8).

2.  Make at least 2 photographs to show great depth of field.  Use a smaller

f stop (like f 16)

3.  Use the remaining images to show subjects in background out of focus,

objects in foreground out of focus, and other variations of use of limited and expanded focus.

 Don’t forget, as you change the f stop, you must compensate the exposure by also changing the shutter speed.  In some cases, it will be too bright to use a open apeture like f 2.8, or too dark to use f 16.

by J.H. Lartigue

Assignment #1-Exposure variation

In this assignment you will shoot a series of exposures and iso settings on your digital camera as follows:

1.  Set Colorspace to Adobe RGB
2.  Set Quality to RAW & jpg-large
3.  Set Mode to manual
4.  Now set ISO to the base exposure (100 or 200)


-Shoot same subject at each iso at normal exposure, the one over and one under exposure
then:
-Shoot one subject at iso setting 100; 400; 800; 1600 and if you have it 3200

This then is what you'll end up with, shoot a total of 4 scenes. In shooting the assignment, think about how color is important to the design and subject. Consider color AS subject.

This assignment is pass/fail, bring in one set of jpg images on a jump drive for in class review. Select best image for shoot and post on class blog.

Sunny 16 rule Explained

This has been around for as long as I can remember, but if you need this, the meter and electronics in your digital camera are probably bad and I am not sure it'll do you any good, none the less here it is:

In photography, the sunny 16 rule (also known as the sunny f/16 rule) is a method of estimating correct daylight exposures without a light meter. (For lunar photography there is a similar rule known as the looney 11 rule.) Apart from the obvious advantage of independence from a light meter, the sunny 16 rule can also aid in achieving correct exposure of difficult subjects. As the rule is based on incident light, rather than reflected light as with most camera light meters, very bright or very dark subjects are compensated for. The rule serves as a mnemonic for the camera settings obtained on a sunny day using the exposure value (EV) system.

The basic rule is, "On a sunny day set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to the [reciprocal of the] ISO film speed [or ISO setting] for a subject in direct sunlight."^[1] For example:

• On a sunny day and with ISO 100 film / setting in the camera, one sets the aperture to f/16 and the shutter speed to 1/100 or 1/125 second (on some cameras 1/125 second is the available setting nearest to 1/100 second).
• On a sunny day with ISO 200 film / setting and aperture at f/16, set shutter speed to 1/200 or 1/250.
• On a sunny day with ISO 400 film / setting and aperture at f/16, set shutter speed to 1/400 or 1/500.

As with other light readings, shutter speed can be changed as long as the f-number is altered to compensate, e.g. 1/250 second at f/11 gives equivalent exposure to 1/125 second at f/16. More in general, the adjustment is done such that for each step in aperture increase (i.e., decreasing the f-number), the exposure time has to be halved (or equivalently, the shutter speed doubled), and vice versa. This follows the more general rule derived from the mathematical relationship between aperture and exposure time—within reasonable ranges, exposure is proportional to the square of the aperture ratio and proportional to exposure time; thus, to maintain a constant level of exposure, a change in aperture by a factor c requires a change in exposure time by a factor 1/c² and vice versa. Steps in the aperture always correspond to a factor close to the square root of 2, thus the above rule.

An elaborated form of the sunny 16 rule is to set shutter speed nearest to the reciprocal of the ISO film speed / setting and f-number according to this table:^[2][3]

Aperture	Lighting conditions	Shadow detail
f/22	Snow/sand	Dark with sharp edges
f/16	Sunny	Distinct
f/11	Slight overcast	Soft around edges
f/8	Overcast	Barely visible
f/5.6	Heavy overcast	No shadows
f/4	Open shade/sunset	No shadows
Add one stop	Backlighting	n/a