Learning how to expose properly: the basics

Bill knows Pentax, I don't, but I would say -- make sure you get a fast prime. It will open your eyes to sharpness and DOF and bokeh in a way that a zoom (especially and auto focus kit zoom) can't.
 
Couldn't agree with wt21 more - a fast prime, the faster the better. Remember the smaller the number the faster the lens and the better it is in low light and will offer you that greater depth of field.

Like w21, I don't have experience with Pentax either but Bill clearly does.(y)

Congrats Martin - who knew you'd end up with two new cameras!!:D
 
If Martin is "on a budget" the plastic AF 50mm f1.8 or the MF 50mm f1.7 A are the ones to go for

I am not an expert on Pentax - I have just had a K100D, which I really liked - very good, (small) size for a DSLR and good user controls, plus the ability to use old MF glass

Martin - a tripod is useful with a good ball head - but money again - the heavier the better if you are into budget money - there are three or four very good brands - I have a Gitzo (metal) G320 with an Arca swiss ball head - you will have to do your research as they can be expensive
It is often said that the biggest improvement us "non pros" can make in image sharpness is the use a tripod, when possible

Hope I'm helping, (and not the reverse)

Keep the tips coming
 
Back to square 1 - just received the following..

Hi again,

I've refunded your payment because I made a bit of a mess. I was earlier talking with another buyer and I thought he was not going to buy the camera and now he had made the payment we had almost agreed on earlier. Because I promised the camera to him first I feel I have to honor the deal with him (even though it means a bit less money for me).

My sincerest apologies and sorry about all this.
-Oula

Oh well, still gonna go for the pentax, as the cheap manual lenses appeal, but Im gutted, thought I had a bargain there..
Slopes off back to ebay and countless forums looking for a deal..
 
OK, I was out to meet a friend who was late, so I had 5 mins to take a couple of photo's.
There was a footbridge over the road, so I tried to do a couple of shots to get the light trails.
editpreviewkq.jpg

f/8 4secs ISO100
Not perfect by any means, bit out of focus, but it is my first ever 'light trail' photo, so for me, it is special :)

The bridge wasn't that good as it would start bouncing everytime someone walked on it! Look at the camera shake!

editpreview1o.jpg

I was trying to play around with different shutter speeds, and I know you will all sigh, but I completely forgot about ISO :redface:

Even allowing for the street lighting, what setting do I need to get rid of the yellowish tint to the first photo?
 
Hi

I'm no expert - but you really need a tripod for shots like that - no movement plus a long shutter speed and (normally) a high f value

shoot them in RAW then process in LR or similar to get the "colours" that you want

which camera/lens did you use - I've never been a fan of those star "things"

not sure what the second one is about

PS - there is a thread on the "sister site"

http://www.mu-43.com/f42/night-photography-7181/



Cheers
 
The yellow cast is white balance, not ISO. Those are likely gas lamps, and will present tricky wb. This is where raw helps. Raw has more picture data, which allows more latitude in adjusting wb post production. You can try incandescent setting, but even that's likely to be off.

Also, are you convinced the scene had no yellow cast to begin with?
 
There was a bit of a glow, as there was street lighting but not as bad as that. I didn't use a tripod as I was resting the camera on the railings, and it was shot on my trusty s95..
I do have the RAW images, whenever Im in a manual mode, I shoot RAW + JPEG, just in case Im lucky and get a good shot maybe this can be my first go at post processing..
The second picture was to show the camera shake from people walking on the bridge while the shutter was open!

With regards to BillN's comments, because of the movement from people walking on the bridge, I could only get 8 secs max for the shutter, with typically 4 secs giving the most chance of no shake, unfortuantly, the camera will only go upto f/8 so I was a bit stuck there..

Will have a play with the WB settings in lightroom and see what happens.


Don't worry, Im still looking for that Pentax 2nd hand, and then I will have more options, they seem to have gone up in price, as a 100D, or ist*D series are all going for over 200 at the moment..

Thx all
 
Yay

Im now the proud owner of a K20d + kit lens- arrives next week hopefully

£185 :D - cant believe how lucky I was ;)

Bill - this is all your fault!

Congrats! Good starter DSLR. I was just thinking this morning about how you were making out with this all.
 
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