A new camera, now what?

[Sheryl]

Thanks Big Al.

[RGBont]

Sheryl -

I downloaded your photo to have a look at the exif data.  Did it through Preview on my mac laptop and while I can't interpret the speed as it shows as 0.005 as exposure time but your ISO was set at 100.

I did note this but this is at least my interpretation, others may have another view, so shall see

Nikon Maker Notes

   Flash Exposure Compensation   0
   Flash Setting   NORMAL      
   Focus Mode   AF-A  
   ISO Setting   0
      100
   Quality   NORMAL
   White Balance Mode   AUTO        


I note Focus Mode is at AF-A which is apparently the camera's default.  I googled to find out what is does.  Here are two sites I looked at.  May be a bit of information overload.

First one is a bit more explanatory than the 2nd one....

http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/camera/nikon-digital-slr/focus-modes.shtml

Here's the Nikon's explanation....

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/basics/16/03.htm


Yes, it is a new ball game with a DSLR as noted earlier.  As I said, take baby steps or go slow and try not to do too much all at once.  I think there was a site mentioned earlier which outlined those kind of steps.  The D90 certainly has more bells and whistles than a P&S so it is a learning curve.

Reading through about AF-A by all accounts it should work but then I read that some camera users don't trust is as stated.  I've got mine set at AF-S for most of my situations.  I would suggest you try that at the same location if you can and see if it makes any difference.  Again it is simply playing around.  I believe there is also a sharpening function in one of the menu fuctions but I'm not familiar with the D90 to know what the setting values are.  Again that is something you'll have fool around with at a later date.

Here is a note I took from another website with regards to Camera Sharpening and left out the Sharpening features found on picture processing software.

Camera sharpening

By nature of the process used, digitizing images introduces some softness. Image detail is "averaged" into the pixels, this softens the overall image appearance. To counteract this, most digital cameras apply automatic sharpening during image processing in camera; edges are made more pronounced by increasing the contrast of adjacent pixels.

The intensity of the sharpening can also be adjusted manually using the camera's menu settings in most Nikon digital cameras. In most cases the camera provides extremely good results and no further sharpening is required. Images are most pleasing when they are sharp and crisp, however over-sharpening results have an artificial look that is not pleasing.

Nikon digital cameras perform a complicated image analyses during processing and apply the correct amount of sharpening required so the image is never over sharpened. Images can be sharpened further in an image editor programme such as Nikon View 6 or Nikon Capture if necessary, after they have been downloaded to computer.


Guess enough information overload for you eh!  Take your time...

Ross

[shooters_desire]

Sheryl i'll let you in on a little secret. Set aside 10 to 20.00 each week or even 5.00. Over time you will have enough money to get another lens or more equipment. You may have to take it from the grocery money but i didn't say that did I...

[scoundrel1728]

All three of my zoom lenses shift focus slighly, including infinity focus, when the zoom setting is changed.  These lenses therefore need to be refocused when the zoom setting is changed.  However, two of my three primes have a well-defined infinity focus.  I am not sure about my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 "owl eye" yet.

According to the EXIF data, your image was taken at 1/200 sec @ f/8 @ ISO 100.  Lens was set at 150mm and the maximum (physical) f-number was f/5.1.  A slight bit of camera motion might have blurred your picture, but this would show up as a directionality in the blur, e.g. horizontal edges might be sharp but vertical ones are not.  Specular, point-like highlights would show up not as points but short lines if this has happened.  I see no evidence of motion blur, but there might be some.  Indeed, the image does not look especially unsharp at all, given that there was no attempt to resharpen the image after reducing its size.

And here is the infinity symbol: ∞

You probably have a marking like that on your lens focus scale.

[BigAl]

I should now add the following:
Many photographers will not set the lens at infinity when photographing a landscape because they will include some near objects as a supporting foreground. By focussing short of infinity they get more objects in focus.

It's not just objects 5 feet away that will be in focus when you set the lens at 5 feet. Focus will include objects closer and further than the set distance. That range is known as the Depth Of Field (DOF) and is controlled by the aperture (f-number) of the camera.

Including foreground objects helps the composition. See Pekster's album for some of the best examples of this style.

[Pipeman]

the "T". I do wish they made cameras for lefties though. It would make it a bit simpler for me . Its a bit awkward working everything with the right hand .

We lefties have to be very adaptable, Sheryl!

[Sheryl]

Ross , thanks for the links and taking the time to analyze my photo. Thanks for all the info as well. Yes, I'm a bit overloaded with all the information being thrown at me as well as all the digging I've been doing on my own. I think I need to stop and take a breather and just enjoy the camera in auto for awhile.
David, Ha Ha! I can try to sneak away a bit at a time, but if I get caught I'm not taking the blame all by myself!
Scoundrel, thanks as always for your imput. You always bring a lot of helpful information to the table.
Big Al, I agree about Pekster's photos and have even discussed his landscapes with him. However, when shooting a barn sitting in the middle of an open field , its hard to find something in the foreground to include.
Ron, I agree! Its a right-handed world out there!

             Thanks guys for all your help,
                     Sheryl

[Harry7mc]

Hi Sheryl,
Attached a couple of older shots from the fisheye.Have not got any new shots yet.
 Have been alittle under the weather so I am doing what Karen has told me to do Taking things easy for a day or so.

[RockArea]

...
Big Al, I agree about Pekster's photos and have even discussed his landscapes with him. However, when shooting a barn sitting in the middle of an open field , its hard to find something in the foreground to include.
...

I think you'll find that Peks carries a large boulder in the back of his car, but he's a big strong fellow. You can buy inflatable rocks from photographic stores now.

I'm joking of course, but you'll gradually get your eye in looking for the elements of foreground interest. They can take all sorts of form and frequently you need to get down low to include them, which often gives a good point of view anyway.

David

[scoundrel1728]

I think you'll find that Peks carries a large boulder in the back of his car, but he's a big strong fellow. You can buy inflatable rocks from photographic stores now.

I'm joking of course, but you'll gradually get your eye in looking for the elements of foreground interest. They can take all sorts of form and frequently you need to get down low to include them, which often gives a good point of view anyway.

Inflatable rocks may be a joke, but crews staging plays sometimes use papier maché ones.  I suspect that such a stage prop would look fake when used as foreground in a landscape though.

[RockArea]

I think you'll find that Peks carries a large boulder in the back of his car, but he's a big strong fellow. You can buy inflatable rocks from photographic stores now.

I'm joking of course, but you'll gradually get your eye in looking for the elements of foreground interest. They can take all sorts of form and frequently you need to get down low to include them, which often gives a good point of view anyway.

Inflatable rocks may be a joke, but crews staging plays sometimes use papier maché ones.  I suspect that such a stage prop would look fake when used as foreground in a landscape though.

Yes, but so do many of Pekster's

[Sheryl]

Harry, sorry you're feeling under the weather. Hope you feel better soon. Karen has given you good advise. Rest. Thanks for sharing those photos. I really like that effect. Its definitely going on my wish list.  Take care.

David, ha ha! I've actually thought about carrying around some boulders in the car so I'd always have something to stick in the foreground. Where DOES Pekster find all those wonderful boulders?!

Most of the barn shots are taken from the road. There is only a ditch runnning along between me and the field. There are no rocks or shrubs . There's just nothing there to help make those photos more interesting. If I had photo shop maybe I could make the skies more interesting. That's on my wish list as well. It seems to be growing by the day.

          Sheryl 

[Hatter]

If I had photo shop maybe I could make the skies more interesting. That's on my wish list as well.

Why not get the GIMP?  http://www.gimp.org
It does what Photoshop does... for free. 

[Sheryl]

Hatter, I've got Gimp but it won't do what I want it to do. I've looked up tutorials but it seems to be missing certain functions the tutorials ask for. I'm wondering if there are more than one Gimp and the tutorials I've downloaded don't match. That's why I'd like to try something else.
   

                  Sheryl

[Hatter]

I'm surprised, Sheryl.  What do you want it to do do that it won't?

[Sheryl]

I have tried to make more dramatic skies with it. But there were 2 or 3 steps that were not in the Gimp that the tutorial called for. So I couldn't complete the task. I have forgotten what else I tried . Some time has passed. It was very frustrating. So after many attempts I finally gave up and now just use it to clone with. I'd have to look it all up to give you any more detail than that. I even sent a message to whoever posts the tutorial and told them about the problem but they did not respond.

                 Sheryl

[Hatter]

I suspect they're there - just in a different place, or there'll be a different way of doing the same thing. 
GIMP is actually a very powerful program if you take the time to learn it.

The only thing I can think of that isn't there is adjustment layers, but you can get the same effect by duplicating the normal layer and applying the adjustment to that.

[Sheryl]

The tutorial seemed very simple. I copied it down and then went to Gimp and tried to follow the directions step by step. First of all, I couldn't duplicate the background layer. There was no such setting. I could duplicate the photo. Then there was no blending mode. And I could not do the overlay step. It wasn't that I didn't understand the tutorial, it was that I couldn't find these settings. I can't remember any more than that without going back in there and going through the steps again.

            Sheryl

[Hatter]

To duplicate the background (or any other) layer - just right click on the layer in the layers palette on the right of the screen as shown here:


That will give you a menu - which includes "duplicate layer".

The layer mode is selected from the drop-down menu where it says 'normal" - it includes 'Overlay".

 

[Sheryl]

My screen looks nothing like your screen. I have Gimp 2. Does that make a difference? Mine does not say normal anywhere either.