Camera Sony DSLR-A100
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 18 mm (kit lens)
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off

the vignette is not PP-ed, its natural from the sun.

This post has been edited by lwliam: Feb 25 2011, 01:41 AM

empty-ball, dont do panning right after you entered the world of dslr/dslt. Learn ISO, SS and aperture first. dont use manual, use A or S mode. Example using A mode, see what SS they auto help you use. And learn from there. Dont jump to panning. If you can't get what ISO, SS, Aperture does to yr exposure, you can NEVER do panning.

nice place for the sun..

Ya, ok, i get wat you mean....^^
thx a lot...

well done, william..my sifu..

sometimes theory and practical is big differences...even if you know alot about theory, does not mean u can shoot well....same to if you langsung dono theory, through practices u may excel those who pro theory....can understand well all the basics and able to apply to the photo as well as able to make a nice framing angle is a different thing..

as the saying goes: learn from experience...experience will teach u more..try try try..never give up..

Don't skip the basics. If you skip the basics you will find it hard to understand the more advanced techniques. Once you understand the basics that understanding will help you quickly master the advanced techniques.

What is the basics in photography? It's how to get correct exposure on your pictures.

Wokeh! Time to get into explanation mode again...

For all the beginners out there. I know you are excited in getting brand spanking new DSLR/DSLT but you need to get one thing right first : how to get correct exposure on your pic before you leave 'AUTO' or P mode. Jumping straight to M mode is bound to be really frustrating if you don't understand the basics.

Exposure on your pic depends on 3 settings on your cam. In fact it's the same in EVERY cam. Just that some cameras don't let you fiddle with some of the settings.

The 3 settings are : Aperture, shutter speed and ISO.


What is Aperture?

It's the opening in your lens that control how much light can go through. You can control aperture by making the opening larger or smaller. It's denoted by the f number on your cam. E.g. f 2.8 / f5.6 /f8 etc.

Now one thing you need to understand is the bigger the f number value, the smaller the opening. Meaning at f11 your aperture opening is smaller compared to f4. So if you want to let more light through you need to set your f number to a smaller value. Confusing? Yes, it is.

To avoid confusion it's better to refer to aperture using 'bright' or 'dark' rather than large or small. Thus f 2.8 is a bright aperture and f8 is a dark aperture.


What is shutter speed?

It's the duration of time that the camera exposes the sensor to light. The longer the duration, the more light can reach the sensor.


What is ISO?

It's the sensitivity level of your sensor towards light. The more sensitive it is, the easier it is to capture the image.


How the 3 works together to determine your exposure:

First thing is aperture value. Depending on your lens, the range of aperture you can use is limited. E.g. your kit lens only allows the brightest aperture at f 3.5 thus let's use this as an example.

You set your aperture to f 3.5

Next your shutter speed. How long do you want to expose the sensor to light? 1/10th of a second or 1/100th of a second? Let's take 1/100th of a second as your second setting.

Lastly your ISO. Let's say you set it to ISO 200.

So you take a shot a f 3.5, shutter speed 1/100th of a second at ISO 200.

If the picture comes out dark. What do you do?



First let's explore aperture. It's at f 3.5 and your lens cannot allow any other brighter setting so you're stuck with that.



Next shutter speed. At 1/100th of a second the picture is dark. To make it brighter, what do you need to do? Extend the duration the sensor is exposed to light, right? So adjust your shutter speed to 1/60th of a second.

You take another shot at f 3.5, shutter speed 1/60th of a second at ISO 200.

The picture now is brighter but still not bright enough. So you adjust the shutter speed to 1/30th of a second and take another shot.

At f 3.5, 1/30th of a second, ISO 200 the shot is bright and just right but you see that people that are walking in your pic appears blurred due to movement. This is because your shutter speed is too slow to freeze movement. If you want to freeze the movement then you need a faster shutter speed. So up it goes back to 1/60th of a second.

But at 1/60th of a second the picture is not bright enough. What else can you do?



Let's check out ISO.

From 200 you increase it to 400 and take another shot.

At f 3.5, 1/60th of a second, ISO 400 the picture comes out just right because your sensor is now more sensitive to light.


And that's how aperture, shutter speed and ISO work together to get you your exposure level. Understand the relationship between the 3 settings will get you a long way towards getting the picture you want.

wah shootkk can put the write-up in the blog edy..
fundamental for super newbie..

thx for the explanation, much appreciated...^^

I hav read other ppl blog about this oso....trying to ply wif those three setting lo...

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Added on February 25, 2011, 10:40 amok, understand, i will nvr give up and try...nw i everyday ply wif cam, my eyes is so painful nw...lol

This post has been edited by empty-ball: Feb 25 2011, 10:40 AM

empty-ball, why not post up some difficult shots that you think u need to know more here. we'll break it down for u on what you need to pay more attention at...

can i ? ltr ppl laught and bashing at me...

if you're afraid of ppl laughing at you, how are you going to learn?

if you post a picture at least we can guide you...you can choose either we guide you or you need a TT poisoning session...make your choice...

Camera Sony DSLR-A700
Exposure 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 135 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Exposure Bias +0.7 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

This post has been edited by lwliam: Feb 25 2011, 11:10 AM

not afraid ppl laugh...jz ltr say this kind of stupic pic oso can take....lol

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Added on February 25, 2011, 11:13 amok , i will try post it whn i hav prbm....
and will post pic that i think is hte best in my everytime my shooting...

thx a lot in advance 1st...

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Added on February 25, 2011, 11:14 amnice pic, my aperture oni can smaller until f4.5 nia....sad....

This post has been edited by empty-ball: Feb 25 2011, 11:14 AM

when shooting, know what you want to shoot, is the captured moment able to tell the story? you dont go taking a snapshot of a fire hydrant or a lens cap and post it up asking "C&C please". that, is kind of stupic.

sure la....^^ jus try my best...

taking a fire hydrant for example,

if you post this and ask for C&C



what we can say is just, "haha, cute hydrant". or at least some will say, "nice, u painted that?"

but if you post this



there's still something to be said about bokeh, depth of field, white balance, soft lighting, perspective, etc...

and then there's this...



NOW, you're telling a story...

ok, jz w8 for my shooting....haha

Hey everybody,
I'm new to photography and planning to get a DSLR.
But the problem is I do not know which to get.
Currently there are a few in my mind:
(1) Sony Alpha a550
(2) Sony Alpha a580
(3) Sony Alpha 33

And actually I'm quite tempted by the Sony Alpha a550 since I saw the 1st page price list it cost around RM2.2k... But I do not know where to get such price.

jasonhoics, go for the A580...