automata

So I woke up early on Sunday and went out to take some pictures of the car with my new Digital Rebel. They didn't all turn out quite like I would have liked. Here is the best one of the bunch.
For those who care this was shot in RAW format with a 50mm f/1.8 lense at ISO 100 in AP at 1.8, I forget what the shutter speed was.

soopa

kewl! bit blurry... but nice for you first shots!

you know, shutter speed and all that data is embedded in the EXIF of the image. if you post the original... we can look at that.

Photoshop and other image programs strip that data when you use "Save for web" or similar feature

soopa

Beautiful setting too!

Lucky37

Freaking Sweet Ride man, Just my suggestion, but how about the shark fin antenna, a lip spoiler, and tint? I think that would make it look of the chains!!!

automata

Thanks.

This wasn't the sharpest picture I took but it was the best one with that back ground. I don't know if you can tell but I basicaly parked in the middle of the street to take the picture so I only took a couple quick ones. If you look closely you'll see the light is green, fotunately there wasn't much traffic.

I didn't think anyone would care about the settings I used but I thought I would include what I could remember off the top of my head just incase. I used Photoshop CS to save the picture for the web to compress the file.

EDIT: Actually the light isn't green in this one but the other pic I took.

usc

The problem with the 50mm 1.8 lens is that the DOF is way too shallow and since you can't change the zoom, it's not the best for these types of shots (at least the ones you were aiming for). It's a great lens for human/animal portraits. Not so great for cars.

I believe you'd achieve better result with a zoom lens, wide aperture and zoom in to reduce the DOF, while still achieving the background blur. But given that the location you picked was an actual street, you may need an assistant to either help you take photos, or help you move/position the car.

Just my worthless $0.02.

J RIDE 81

Wow nice pic!!!!

BrandNewTL

If you want sharper pics on your DREB:

1. Squeeze shutter slowly. This is important.
2. Stop down lens to maybe 5.6 or so to increase DOF
3. Shoot from a tripod. If you want really crisp go to timer shutter release.
4. If you shoot handheld, up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed. You should be shooting 1/100 min. You can go to 400 without too much graininess.

sparkz

Id agree here. Or you can try stopping down a few steps and increasing your ISO due the light available.

DAVERUBINO

That camera is excellent! That's what I use at work and to take wedding pictures. When you get used to it, you'll love it. Nice shot, just work on squeezing the shutter like a gun trigger, steady it against something or use a tripod. I seldom use a tripod, just get steady. Nice!

wallaceoh

Wow! Sweet ride in a great setting!!! Looking good.

mio

nice pic

jchcmax

Very nice indeed!

OtownTL

I used to shoot with a Digital Rebel but have since stepped up to the new EOS 20D... The car itself is in good focus, and I think with the F-stop he was shooting at, it is purposeful that the background is out of focus, this is how I would have shot this as well. If you are worried about some blur, check into the Canon lenses with the IS(image stabalizer) as a general rule it will allow you to jump down 2 steps in exposure.... generally you can hand shoot about 1/15th of a second without too much zoom with these lenses. The new EF-S lens that is 17-85mm with IS is a GREAT lens, and is built specifically for Digital SLR's.

Great pic

pearl04

I need more.........I'm looking at the SF Challenge's in Gunmetal. Can't wait until the spring.

automata

I considered getting the 20D but because I am still learning, I figured I was better off buying the DReb and using the money I saved toward lenses down the road a bit as I got better. After all, if I upgrade cameras later(30D maybe?) I can keep the lenses I buy for the DReb. I've looked at several IS lenses but I am forcing myself to wait on buying any of those until I get better with my current lenses. I have the kit 18-55mm and the 50mm 1.8 prime.

sparkz

with the money saved over the 20D, you can get some really nice canon "L" glass. 17-40L for all purpose or 70-200 f4L if you need zoom- best bang for the buck.

Canon1D

That's a very nice car..love the rims and the picture is great.
Each person has different styles but for this one I think the Depth of Field is too shallow... I would probably shoot at F5.6 to see more background but that's just me...:p

A lot of ppl have good points on this thread including yours... Yes..300D is a good start and your thinking on lenses is totally correct. I would just save up and buy decent lenses instead of keep upgrading...'cuz lenses stay forever...you ultimately save more if you just go for the best instead of 'upgrading'...for example, upgrade from 75-300mm to 70-200mm f.2.8L...or something...

but I have to tell you 70-200mm f/4L is a great lenses....and at a great price. 'BUT' if you'll be needing that extra stop for indoor shoots, just save enough and buy the 70-200mm f/2.8L...you won't regret it..but that lens is heavy...so you need to do some work-out before hand...LOL...:p

Oh and one more thing...when you shot the pic, did you use a timer to avoid vibration even you had the camera on the tripod?

keep it up!

John

automata

Thanks for the advice. I definitely see some "L" glass in my future but right now they might be waisted on me.

As for using the timer or tripod, I didn't really have time. Or at least I didn't think I had time. I stopped in the middle of this street and snapped a few quick shots. I also didn't check the settings on the camera. I have been mainy shooting in AV mode and had been playing around with the camera the day before experimenting with the depth of field and bokeh and left the camera at 1.8 and ISO 100. Chalk it up to experience.

I am having lots of fun practicing. I took about 300 pics this past weekend at my nephews 2nd B-Day and I've got a wedding videography gig this Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday if you can beleive that. I plan on bringing the Dreb and shooting a little. I hope the wedding photog deosn't mind.

Thanks again! Sorry if I

Lokius

Looks great to me, nice job automata.

dstackle

HA! That's downtown Fullerton. Next to the plaza. I live at City Pointe. I thought it looked very familar, but I had to stare at it a bit.

Zeuser

Put your camera on a Tripod, putthe camera in aperature priority, crank the F-stop to F-11 or F-16, set the timer to about 2 secs.

Then compose your shot, press the shutter button and step back. You'll have a better DOF.

Try several variations to see what you like best. Personally F 1.8 is way to small; you'll get the front bumper in focus but the rear will be blurred if you're taking your car at that angle.

I like to get photos where the main subject is nice and crisp and the background is blurred. But that's just me. I would suggest an F-stop of about F-3.8 for this purpose. And as suggested before, crank it up to 11 or 16 if you want the background to be crisp too.

You may also want to try longer shutter times (time lapse photography). In that type of lighting it comes out really nice if there's movement in the background (other cars, people etc.).

Anyway, play around a bit and get creative. You got digital so don't worry about it. Shoot a lot of shots! It won't cost you anything.

You have an excellent setting in that shot, which I'm very envious of, so exploit it to the max! And your TL's color makes for excellent contrast in that setting. A little more practice and you'll get one hell of a nice shot!