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Please advise on a good camera to do upclose shots.


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On the EOS Rebel T6, Aperture Priority Mode is covered in the manual under "Changing the Depth of Field" in the section labeled "Advanced Shooting". It explains how to put the camera in aperture priority mode, "Av", and then how to change the aperture size. If you do not have you manual, you can download it here:

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300022698/01/eos-rebelt6-1300d-im-en.pdf

 

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1 minute ago, habu2 said:

RTFM lol

Yep, :whistle:

 

Never hurts. Actually, not everyone does well with manuals as a way of learning. I do. I'm of the generation that likes a good old fashioned paper printed manual. The EOS manuals are nice as they are small and can be put in a jacket pocket or a camera case and can be referred to as necessary as one learns how to use the camera. Of course, they don't always explain some of the basic principles, but they do pretty well. A lot of the stuff just covered above is actually in the manual under "Shooting Tips".

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The manual for my Canon 5D is 676 pages long and I admit I haven't read the entire manual. However, I've been shooting Canon DSLRs for over 15 years so I'm already pretty familiar with what all the buttons, switches, dials and menu selections do. I carry an iPad in my bag when in the field, on which I've downloaded pdf copies of the manual(s) for quick reference if needed.  Having said that, the topics discussed here (depth of field, aperture settings, focusing distances) aren't camera-specific, they are basic photography principles.  I don't understand why people buy a fully functional DSLR and never take it off the green Automatic setting. :bandhead2:

 

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Edited by habu2
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Back in my "film" days this was my macro setup - A Canon F-1 body with a "speed finder" viewfinder, 50mm f/3.5 macro lens, bellows attachment, and a cable release.  I still have all this stuff in storage but found this pic on the net

 

canon-f-1-model-from-1976-with-bellows-f

Edited by habu2
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I had just about the same set-up back in the mid 70's with a Minolta SRT 101 I believe. I forget who made the bellows, but I ordered it one day from an outfit in LA and got it the next day in Syracuse NY! I might still have it around some where. It also came with a pistol grip.

 

Bob

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5 hours ago, habu2 said:

The manual for my Canon 5D is 676 pages long and I admit I haven't read the entire manual. However, I've been shooting Canon DSLRs for over 15 years so I'm already pretty familiar with what all the buttons, switches, dials and menu selections do. I carry an iPad in my bag when in the field, on which I've downloaded pdf copies of the manual(s) for quick reference if needed.  Having said that, the topics discussed here (depth of field, aperture settings, focusing distances) aren't camera-specific, they are basic photography principles.  I don't understand why people buy a fully functional DSLR and never take it off the green Automatic setting. :bandhead2:

 

.

 

Maybe they just want a name brand, $700-$7000 point and shoot :)

Edited by Bob Beary
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5 hours ago, habu2 said:

The manual for my Canon 5D is 676 pages long and I admit I haven't read the entire manual. However, I've been shooting Canon DSLRs for over 15 years so I'm already pretty familiar with what all the buttons, switches, dials and menu selections do. I carry an iPad in my bag when in the field, on which I've downloaded pdf copies of the manual(s) for quick reference if needed.  Having said that, the topics discussed here (depth of field, aperture settings, focusing distances) aren't camera-specific, they are basic photography principles.  I don't understand why people buy a fully functional DSLR and never take it off the green Automatic setting. :bandhead2:

 

.

 

Maybe they just want a $700-$7000 name brand point and shoot !:rolleyes:

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8 hours ago, habu2 said:

....  I don't understand why people buy a fully functional DSLR and never take it off the green Automatic setting. :bandhead2:.

{In sympathetic tone} - The initial learning curve for SLRs is pretty steep.  There are so many physics principles and technical non-intuitive jargon.

 

{In grumpy old man tone} - Shooting digital today makes it so easy to learn.   You can change a setting, take the picture, and instantaneously review how it came out.   I learned on a Konica SLR (when they still made cameras) that only had auto metering for F-stop.   Everything else (focus, shutter speed, film advance) was done manually and I knew how to develop my own film!  Even then, you still had to buy film, developing chemicals, print photo paper, print chemicals, and that's after you got access to a darkroom or bought your own equipment.   That was uphill, both ways, without a helmet or eye protection!

 

{In encouraging, school appropriate D-Rob voice}  - You can read up on all the physics principles and get bogged down in the minutiae of optics. =OR= you can turn the mode wheel and play around taking as many images as you like.  It's all just electrons without the limits of 36 exposures per 35mm roll of film.  The camera even records what settings the camera was in for pictures that you like.   Have fun taking pictures.   Keep pictures you like, learn how you got them, and delete all the images you don't like.   Now is the best time to learn photography.   Pick one photo session to play with just the shutter speed in manual mode.   Pick another session to focus on objects near and far.   Play with the aperture settings and notice how it affects depth-of-field.   Play with the ISO setting to show how sensitive sensors are now in low-light.   People learning today don't need to be handicapped by 36 exposures of print film that you took to a photo-lab to develop and prints to be made just to see how changing one setting affects the image.  Learning SLRs now is the easiest and most forgiving that it's ever been.  It's a good time to learn what all those little things on the mode wheel do, it doesn't cost you anything except the time to learn.   Learn what features your camera has and you will be rewarded with images that you didn't know you could create.

 

Two pieces of advice I've learned from old-school photographers.   1) "There is no such thing as cheap good glass."  Invest in good quality lenses and they will last longer than any camera body.  2) Memory is cheap.   Shoot as many shots with as many settings as you want.  Delete the images you don't like and learn from the images you do like after the photo session.   During the photo session, keep shooting because the perfect light, perfect subject, and/or perfect event won't be there in front your camera forever.

Edited by John B
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Hi Dai Phan, I'll second what many have said here with a few tips that really helped my model photos/pictures and that didn't require new lenses or upgraded cameras:

 

  1. LIGHTING: Make sure you have very good lighting, which means outdoors in the shade preferably. I've found direct sunlight isn't ideal but often gives me better macro type photos (i.e. better clarity and crispness I suppose you could say) than indoor photos where my lighting isn't sufficient. If you do photograph indoors make sure you have very good lighting, and my preference is for light bulbs that don't throw out too much 'yellow' in the light;
  2. TRIPOD: Get a tripod to take your model pictures with, it can make a big difference when you're trying to get in nice and close to get that amazing shot of your finished build without your hands shaking the camera around everywhere;
  3. BACKGROUND 'NOISE': aim to have a uniform background, not the clutter of a model desk or some such thing. The camera will have an easier time focusing on your model rather than all the 'stuff' in the background which will make the job a lot simpler;

When I started doing the above three things my pictures got noticeably better and didn't require any additional knowledge about camera settings or buying new gear (outside of a tripod). Of course you can go to all the trouble of learning all this more advanced stuff and there's a heap of excellent information in this thread already, but I'd recommend starting out by nailing the three points above first.

 

Good luck, and good question! 👍

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15 hours ago, John B said:

I learned on a Konica SLR (when they still made cameras) that only had auto metering for F-stop.   Everything else (focus, shutter speed, film advance) was done manually and I knew how to develop my own film!  Even then, you still had to buy film, developing chemicals, print photo paper, print chemicals, and that's after you got access to a darkroom or bought your own equipment.   That was uphill, both ways, without a helmet or eye protection!

 

My old lady was heavy into photography many, many years ago. She's got ton's of old film cameras and developing equipment (yea, did all her own). None of it has been touched in years. Don't even know if there is any market for the stuff. Fortunately, she bought an EOS digital Rebel Xti a few years back. Relatively easy to learn DSLR that works pretty much like the old EOS Rebel (film) that I had years ago. So, one of these days I will pull it out try to take some pics with it. Try to pick up where I left off trying to learn about all the aperture priority stuff. Oh and you are SO right about digital making it so much easier. When I was using film I was severely limited by how much film I could afford to burn through and get developed. When I first started, more than half (read 90%) the photos were garbage. I wasted a lot of film and money.

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Hi all

This is what I have now. The lens I used is EFS 18-55 mm, Macro .25m/0.8 feet on camera now. Zoom lens( not used) EF 75-300mm, 1.5m/4.9 feet, 1:4-5.6, 0.42 x Fisheye Lens 46mm with macro. I put the latest on and took this photo. Do I have what it takes for close up photos? I hate the blurriness in some areas. The new lens I just got is on the left. Dai 

 

B7rGRps.jpg

 

T4EoveN.jpg

Edited by dai phan
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26 minutes ago, dai phan said:

 I put the latest on and took this photo. Do I have what it takes for close up photos? I hate the blurriness in some areas.

 

What were your camera settings for this picture?  Mode dial selection? Shutter speed? Aperture? ISO?

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8 minutes ago, habu2 said:

 

What were your camera settings for this picture?  Mode dial selection? Shutter speed? Aperture? ISO?

AV mode, aperture f8, ISO 400. And I stand as far as I could using the zoom feature. The shutter is not as instant as in the close up mode advised on the manual. Dai 

Edited by dai phan
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Try again with smaller apertures, try f/11 then f/16 then f/22 and compare your results.  Hopefully you are using a tripod or other support device.

 

Also, don't zoom in, don't try to fill the viewfinder with the model.  After you take the picture you can crop out all the surrounding non-essential space on your computer, leaving your final image looking like you zoomed in.

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30 minutes ago, habu2 said:

Try again with smaller apertures, try f/11 then f/16 then f/22 and compare your results.  Hopefully you are using a tripod or other support device.

 

Also, don't zoom in, don't try to fill the viewfinder with the model.  After you take the picture you can crop out all the surrounding non-essential space on your computer, leaving your final image looking like you zoomed in.

I use tripod but come out fuzzy. I have to take at least 20 to get one good photo. I was advised to stay far on this forum. The one I just bought. Any good? Dai 

Edited by dai phan
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37 minutes ago, habu2 said:

Also, don't zoom in, don't try to fill the viewfinder with the model.  After you take the picture you can crop out all the surrounding non-essential space on your computer, leaving your final image looking like you zoomed in.

 

Why is that? I always zoom in to fill the viewfinder. My old Nikon D70s is only 6 megapixels, and I need all there is.

 

Rob

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17 minutes ago, dai phan said:

I use tripod but come out fuzzy. I have to take at least 20 to get one good photo. I was advised to stay far on this forum. The one I just bought. Any good? Dai 

 

Did you use the self timer? That is essential.

 

If yes, then maybe the tripod is too light (actually: not stiff enough). I would test that by putting a sandbag on the camera. That helped me a lot when I was using a tripod that wasn't good enough. It's pretty inconvenient though 🙂

 

Rob

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2 minutes ago, Rob de Bie said:

 

Did you use the self timer? That is essential.

 

If yes, then maybe the tripod is too light (actually: not stiff enough). I would test that by putting a sandbag on the camera. That helped me a lot when I was using a tripod that wasn't good enough. It's pretty inconvenient though 🙂

 

Rob

Sand bag? The ones that make bomb shell bunker? That is 200 lbs bro. Dai 

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19 minutes ago, dai phan said:

Sand bag? The ones that make bomb shell bunker? That is 200 lbs bro. Dai 

 

Of course I mean a small sandbag, 1 kg or so. But: do you want to act smart while I'm trying to help you? Then this is my last contribution in this thread, 'bro'.


Rob

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15 minutes ago, Rob de Bie said:

 

Of course I mean a small sandbag, 1 kg or so. But: do you want to act smart while I'm trying to help you? Then this is my last contribution in this thread, 'bro'.


Rob

My apologies. I knew what you mean. I have a very sturdy tripod. Again my apologies.  Dai 

Edited by dai phan
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1 hour ago, Rob de Bie said:

Why is that? I always zoom in to fill the viewfinder. My old Nikon D70s is only 6 megapixels, and I need all there is.

 

His Canon T6 has an 18 MP sensor, the pic he posted above was 5184 x 3456 pixels. For posting pics on this (or any) forum I would say anything over 1280 pixels wide is overkill.

 

By backing up so that the subject is filling less than a third of the frame without zooming in, the depth of field will increase significantly, due to both the increased subject to lens distance and the shorter focal length.  Cropping (not resizing) the original image down to 1280 wide in post will yield a better picture, and one more appropriate for display on a forum.  Think of it as a cropped cropped sensor (APS-C squared)  🙂

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1 hour ago, dai phan said:

I use tripod but come out fuzzy. I have to take at least 20 to get one good photo. I was advised to stay far on this forum. The one I just bought. Any good? Dai 

 

Your auto-focus may be struggling in lower light and smaller apertures.  Try switching to manual focus.

 

Also try switching OFF image stabilization (IS) on your lens when the camera is mounted on a tripod.  I think the combination of IS + tripod may cause issues with auto-focus.  I have read that suggestion in several Canon lens manuals. 

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