Canon 450D users, please share your experience

[bernstein1234]

ok. Got a good feel now. Thanks all.

You have a 18-55 IS right? If so you can try to reduce the shutter speed gradually, say from 1/100 to 1/10 in steps of 1/20, and see until which shutter speed at your 'acceptable' ISO will the picture not be blur (due to handshake).

 

[calebk]

Heh paiseh, do I have to give you royalties for taking the philosophy? :bsmilie:

Hehe no need lah bro. I'm just glad someone else has the same mindset, and that we put the past disagreements and whatnot behind us.

Ok enough OT.

To magic1980, if you don't know about good handholding technique, you can try googling. There should be plenty of sites, some even with pictorial guides as to how to adopt the most stable handholding position. Train on that and you'll find that you are able to handhold below 1/focal length shutter speeds, even without IS.

 

[sirrus00]

Switching camp from Nikon, i just bought the 450D kit today. Similar dilemma as most!

My feel, compared to the Nikon build (D80/D200), is that it feels like a toy but a competent one.

The 40D, well, a stronger performer in primarily speed but with trade-offs of additional weight and delivering comparable image quality. The psychological good thing with the 40D is that it gives people the impression of an pro-am feel. 450D a beginner/am.

 

[doodah]

The psychological good thing with the 40D is that it gives people the impression of an pro-am feel. 450D a beginner/am.

I wonder if this psychological feeling can be translated into better photos. Hmmm.... :think: Apart from sports or birds in flight shooting when the higher fps is desirable, I am not aware of any other feature that can directly influence photo quality.

 

[Doughnuts]

Actually higher frames rate would be the ultimate upgrade.

 

[IsenGrim]

yes i totally agree that higher frame rate is totally it...i totally felt it when shooting events. when i need a continuous burst to capture every moment eg cutting cake, the rings. faster focusing speed too, but thats notttt so important if you got a good lens/5xxEX

450D is 3FPS right? but mine is below 3... everytime i burst, it takes 2 den pauses den takes the third...(even when i bursted for HDR too) i only shot jpeg. I'm guessing by setting live view option to "on" will slow the camera down but i havent tested...

image quality wise, it totally passed my standards. even iso1600 when printing only 5R and below (maybe coz i never took medium format pictures before)

pro feel or not... depends on the photographer la, if someone holding 1ds but shy to take pictures.... people dun think he pro lor. even a 450 or even 300d/10d/20d if the person behind the cam is pro, aggressive about shots, of course pro la. Most people see the camera as black boxes lor, as long as got black sleek box with "canon" or "nikon" on it = "wah cool" no matter how small.

 

[Tianz16]

Here's the general rule and may not apply to everyone:

For 50 mm lens on 450D (crop factor of 1.6), equivalent focal length is 80 mm (in 35 mm terms). So, recommended slowest shutter speed for hand-holding is 1/80 sec.

With IS, you may get a 3 stop advantage. So, you may be able to handhold at 1/10 sec exposure for a 50 mm lens on the 450D.

Let me repeat: this can vary from one person to another, and may also depend on how much coffee you drink that day. :bsmilie:

One question here: for all the cams with a Crop factor of 1.6, all lens were mutiply by that to provide the equivalent focal lenght in 35MM.

so is it that when i use a 50MM on a 450D what i see will be similar to what i see with a 80MM on a FF camera?

 

[stevenc]

The psychological good thing with the 40D is that it gives people the impression of an pro-am feel. 450D a beginner/am.

What matters is the quality of the photos taken. I know of some pros who choose to carry the 450D (instead of their 5D) for travelling trips, because its lighter and more compact. Its performance is almost on par with the 40D.

 

[doodah]

so is it that when i use a 50MM on a 450D what i see will be similar to what i see with a 80MM on a FF camera?

Yes, that's correct as far as field of view is concerned.

However, the APS-C (crop factor of 1.6) format also provides deeper DOF. For example, mounting an f/2.8 lens on an APS-C camera will provide the same depth of field (for the same scene and focal length) as an f/4.5 (2.8 times 1.6) lens on a FF camera.

 

[IsenGrim]

One question here: for all the cams with a Crop factor of 1.6, all lens were mutiply by that to provide the equivalent focal lenght in 35MM.

so is it that when i use a 50MM on a 450D what i see will be similar to what i see with a 80MM on a FF camera?

true but not quite true.

if u seek a simple ans and think not anymore about it, the ans is: yes you are right. multiply focal length by 1.6
but hey, lens makers are smart, they make their lens specially made for 1.6x camera have equvalent length to popular FF focal lenths. eg 17-50 = around 24-70, 10-22 = around 16-35


if u seek the truth, its much more than that. and its a big mouthful to explain... so.. yea.

 

[IsenGrim]

Yes, that's correct as far as field of view is concerned.

However, the APS-C (crop factor of 1.6) format also provides deeper DOF. For example, mounting an f/2.8 lens on an APS-C camera will provide the same depth of field (for the same scene and focal length) as an f/4.5 (2.8 times 1.6) lens on a FF camera.

wah i didn't know that~ something new to me hahhaa.

i tot the depth of field (perception distortion) and depth of focus(bokeh) will be shorter and shallower respectively with a FF camera because u are actually using a LONGER piece of lens rather than a short piece then have the picture cropped 0.6xxx times.

didn't know u can get more bokeh by using FF coz of the aperture...

 

[Tianz16]

wah i didn't know that~ something new to me hahhaa.

i tot the depth of field (perception distortion) and depth of focus(bokeh) will be shorter and shallower respectively with a FF camera because u are actually using a LONGER piece of lens rather than a short piece then have the picture cropped 0.6xxx times.

didn't know u can get more bokeh by using FF coz of the aperture...

Any website that is currently available to reference and read to for this?

 

[doodah]

didn't know u can get more bokeh by using FF coz of the aperture...

That's why portrait shooters should just go for FF cameras.

 

[calebk]

Actually higher frames rate would be the ultimate upgrade.

yes i totally agree that higher frame rate is totally it...i totally felt it when shooting events. when i need a continuous burst to capture every moment eg cutting cake, the rings. faster focusing speed too, but thats notttt so important if you got a good lens/5xxEX
...

Err...what about those wedding photographers who used to shoot film, and even wedding photographers who shoot digital now? I don't think they rely on burst rate to capture 'the' moment.

Something must be said about the capabilities of the photographer as far as timing is concerned. I might once again remind everyone that a faster frame rate does not equate to better photos. I shoot soccer and both indoor and outdoor events, and I've never relied on bursting to capture the moment. Instead, focus on the ability to read the situation and how things are going to develop. Of course, I'm not saying bursting is wrong, just that using it cripples your instinct for timing your shot to capture the right moment.

wah i didn't know that~ something new to me hahhaa.

i tot the depth of field (perception distortion) and depth of focus(bokeh) will be shorter and shallower respectively with a FF camera because u are actually using a LONGER piece of lens rather than a short piece then have the picture cropped 0.6xxx times.

didn't know u can get more bokeh by using FF coz of the aperture...

Go do a search on Google about DOF in relation to different formats. With the same lens, and the camera at the same place (different framing, essentially), you will get shallower DoF with a larger format. The same goes as you step up from 135 format to medium or large format.

 

[hammie]

Switching camp from Nikon, i just bought the 450D kit today. Similar dilemma as most!

My feel, compared to the Nikon build (D80/D200), is that it feels like a toy but a competent one.

The 40D, well, a stronger performer in primarily speed but with trade-offs of additional weight and delivering comparable image quality. The psychological good thing with the 40D is that it gives people the impression of an pro-am feel. 450D a beginner/am.

Slap a battery grip on the 450D. It look like something else....

 

[IsenGrim]

Any website that is currently available to reference and read to for this?

hmm i cant remember le. i took a course in school and read extensively before i bought my camera... that was like 1/2 a year ago?

but this webby has a extensive tutorial for those starting out: http://www.danheller.com/techfaq.html

for the perspective control: when u use a wide angle (WA) or short lens, the stuff far away will be very small, looking like its further away. when u use a longer telephoto lens, your background will appear bigger and thus looks like its nearer. hmm in tv drama sometimes they make an effect that the size of the person in focus doesn't change, but the background changes distance? it looks very surreal. its done by either zooming out and moving closer, vice versa using this change of perspective thingy.

for bokeh, it depends on a number of stuff. eg size of aperture, focal length, and distance of subject from camera vs distant from subject to background. the bigger the aperture = more bokeh. longer the focal length = more bokeh, greater background distance is to camera distance = more bokeh.

when u understand all these, the FF part comes easily. take your time. the world is not gonna end tml. =D

 

[IsenGrim]

Err...what about those wedding photographers who used to shoot film, and even wedding photographers who shoot digital now? I don't think they rely on burst rate to capture 'the' moment.

Something must be said about the capabilities of the photographer as far as timing is concerned. I might once again remind everyone that a faster frame rate does not equate to better photos. I shoot soccer and both indoor and outdoor events, and I've never relied on bursting to capture the moment. Instead, focus on the ability to read the situation and how things are going to develop. Of course, I'm not saying bursting is wrong, just that using it cripples your instinct for timing your shot to capture the right moment.



Go do a search on Google about DOF in relation to different formats. With the same lens, and the camera at the same place (different framing, essentially), you will get shallower DoF with a larger format. The same goes as you step up from 135 format to medium or large format.

hmm i dont want 1 moment, i need to frame rate to capture the entire process to make into montage... thats why i need burst.

 

[calebk]

hmm i dont want 1 moment, i need to frame rate to capture the entire process to make into montage... thats why i need burst.

Ah okay, I see.

 

[christopherchen]

After much much consideration, I got myself a 40D + Tamron 17-50 f2.8 instead. Fits much better in my hands despite its weight.

 

[hammie]

After much much consideration, I got myself a 40D + Tamron 17-50 f2.8 instead. Fits much better in my hands despite its weight.

Good luck on your 40D