I’m happy to concede some of the shots I printed were just crap… But you tend to get a bit lazy when choosing from 4000 photos (down to about 600 in the order).
Also I’m grumpy.
Also I'm grumpy.
lol…
it’s funny how that final piece pulls it all together hahahaha
I did six months in a photo lab. This is pure crap. Two near identical photos. Both completely different.I miss film.
So you feel that your calibrations and Harvey Norman’s would be similar somehow?
How about photo books? I have about 4000 photos sitting on my hard drive from the last holiday that I never printed, will have to be careful about what I do with them after reading the above story.
Trial and error really.
You can go all out and use labs that are set up using Adobe 98 as a profile or use Harvey Norman etc.
I’ve never used non Nikkor lenses, but the Nikkor DX 17-55mm 2.8 is well worth the $2k or whatever it is now.
Wow Deckham thanks for all that info! I am shooting on a crop sensor (at least I think so hihi) nikon d3300 dx. The night photography thing does interest me (hence me mentioning the 1.8 lens prior), but I have heaps to learn. I need to get out and use the camera a bit more. Really appreciate all the advice 
Yeah I’ve seen that doza, though it’s probably a bit beyond what I’d like to spend right now as a novice
taken in the dark with an old lens bolted to an Oly body.
Wow Deckham thanks for all that info! I am shooting on a crop sensor (at least I think so hihi) nikon d3300 dx. The night photography thing does interest me (hence me mentioning the 1.8 lens prior), but I have heaps to learn. I need to get out and use the camera a bit more. Really appreciate all the advice :)
‘Night photography’ is like all other photography - with less light
Suck eggs time:
Photography is all about capturing light. How it reflects or radiates. How it affects a form’s outline and texture, how it appears bouncing from different surfaces and into your sensor via the lens. There are three ways to affect the amount of light captured by your camera sensor (or film) - A wider aperture, a slower shutter speed, or a more sensitive sensor/film. Each of these three ‘pillars’ has side effects - some of which are desired, and some of which are compromised with.
When you say you ‘want to try night photography’, I’m going to guess and take that to mean you want to photograph urban scapes at night. If that’s not the case, I’ll address it later.
If you are shooting at night, with far less light than during the day, you need to decide which of the above settings will give you the desired result. A wider aperture (mentioned as a lens option by someone above) may or may not be the answer. For me, it would not. If I were being ‘arty’ at night, sure. But if I were shooting landscapes - urban or otherwise, I would need a narrower aperture anyway - because I would not be after a very shallow depth of field - the result of a very wide aperture. How sensitive one can make the sensor by boosting ISO is a limitation also. As you may know - high ISO=more electricity=hotter sensor=more noise. Introducing external lighting in the way of flash may be feasible or not. It may destroy the mood I’m after. So shooting a night urban scape, to me, means using low ISO, f/8 or so…and a tripod. That way I can have my shutter speed as low as I like, and therefore the amount of light needed for the desired exposure. Lacking a tripod (perhaps it is impromptu) I would use something to steady my camera. There are techniques for this.
If I were photographing people at night, it would once again depend on how much DoF (depth of field) I needed. Standing around 2m away from a small group of 5 persons with a full frame, a 35mm and a diffused flash, I would need at least f/4 to get them all in focus. So having f/2.8 or faster would not help me here either.
(side note: lower number=wider aperture. ‘faster’ in lenses has only to do with aperture opening)
So when would you need a very fast lens (f/2.8 or faster - f1.4/f/1) at night?
Given we’re talking about a wide zoom (24-70mm/ 17-50mm) well, individual portraits. Keep in mind that the depth of field at 50mm FL & f1.4 in the above scenario would be about 3cm. You could use it with very high ISO and no tripod for more ‘artsy’ shots. But there are limitations.
((another side note: greater focal length (FL) = less DoF. Greater field of view (fov) = less DoF). So, a longer lens on a full-frame will give less DoF then a shorter lens on a ‘crop sensor’ given the same aperture))
Think carefully what you need a fast lens for before spending a lot of money.
If you want to anyway, buy used and lose less if it doesn’t work out for you
I use fast lenses, but almost never for night scapes.
Great post, Deck.
As always, it comes down to intended use. Personally, for me, i viewed it more as “low light” rather than specific “nightime landscapes”. If BG is thinking of night-time “street photog” , internal location shots, museums, wandering about without a tripod etc then i think bigger Ap’s are useful. Even moderate distance streetscapes are not impossible at 2.8. On her crop sensor nikon, a 35mm at 2.8 and 15 meters from the main subject will give usable dof around 40 meters. You always have 2.8 available if needed and can dial it down.
For pure landscape work, then yeah i totally agree. Tripod, F/8 and the kit lens will probably do the job as well as anything.
Great post, Deck.As always, it comes down to intended use. Personally, for me, i viewed it more as “low light” rather than specific “nightime landscapes”. If BG is thinking of night-time “street photog” , internal location shots, museums, wandering about without a tripod etc then i think bigger Ap’s are useful. Even moderate distance streetscapes are not impossible at 2.8. On her crop sensor nikon, a 35mm at 2.8 and 15 meters from the main subject will give usable dof around 40 meters. You always have 2.8 available if needed and can dial it down.
For pure landscape work, then yeah i totally agree. Tripod, F/8 and the kit lens will probably do the job as well as anything.
Yup
From Sandown exhibition today.
I thought i'd try Harvey Norman photo printing via their fujifilm website.Don’t waste your time or money.
Even though I uploaded using their non compressed option, the prints came out blurry, colour completely wrong, washed out and poor contrast.
These were only the standard 4x6 prints as well. Glad I didn’t both with anything bigger. Quite a few will be going to the bin cause it really is that bad.
What is really sad too is that it’s printed by fujifilm in their warehouse, not where you want to pick them up!
So angry at this.
I finally got an answer from HN / Fuji over this. Apparently they apply an ‘auto correct’ feature on all your photos by default. It’s hidden in a menu. So if you do order online please untick this box!
I was mucking around at my uncle’s place as he has some good objects to photograph. Recently bought the sigma 17-50 2.8 to take on holidays.
think I should’ve played with the metering on this one. I haven’t edited it.
I turned the contrast up a bit here.
How smalls the camera sal to make that toy train look that big?
How smalls the camera sal to make that toy train look that big?
Tiny. Setting up all the damn cotton wool was the tedious bit.
Give my trains back!