Official Canon 550D User Thread Part III

[Odyssey-Boy]

went to fullerton area to take photos on my 550d, i realise that i am having a very big problem doing night shot. I cant get a clear picture out of my focus item... and plus the heavy spot light shining at the item it doesnt look nice....

I try to use AWB, use the 3200k light but still doesnt make a different. I use natural mode, standard mode also not happy with it.... damn it.. Currently using AV mode to shot. :embrass: :thumbsd:

anyone any give me advice on how to take a ok/good shot for night? and if i want to have the black and white black ground what mode should i play with?

I think i must go for some photography course to improve on it.

you shooting raw or jpg ??

Cos if you have white balance issues, just shoot raw, then post process and chose the correct white balance..

I would say the TV mode and AV mode are vice versa.. However I use manual mode at night playing 1/50, f1.8, ISO1600..

 

[rebelriot]

you shooting raw or jpg ??

Cos if you have white balance issues, just shoot raw, then post process and chose the correct white balance..

I would say the TV mode and AV mode are vice versa.. However I use manual mode at night playing 1/50, f1.8, ISO1600..

hmmm so am i right to also say that if photography skills not good, best to use raw? since can adjust in post production ?

 

[Sn0wMaN]

i cant diff raw or jpg... where can i know my pic is raw or jpg

I try manual mode alot alot alot alot time (lost count liao) i still dont get it right. 99.9% after photo taken (whether day or night) my object will be dark.

I try my fren nikon it is easier to handle for manual mode... :cry:

 

[Sn0wMaN]

rebelriot - i cant remember what promo.. erm.. u go ebay find u should able to some of them. If not buy from the sale thread our inhouse suppiler do include postal too. Go check out the sale website.

 

[nathaniel]

posting some pictures from my 550D (Lens = 18-55mm/f3.5-5.6 II):

ISO100, f/7.1, 8 sec. (focal length = 25mm), image has been cropped.

ISO100, f/7.1, 3.2 sec. (focal length = 25mm).

ISO100, f/7.1, 3.2 sec. (focal length = 25mm).

 

[BryanLowCH]

I tried 1 Night Shot near the Merlion.

Manual Setting:
30''
F22
ISO100

 

[Odyssey-Boy]

hmmm so am i right to also say that if photography skills not good, best to use raw? since can adjust in post production ?

yes.

without any cost, u can use the software that came along with your camera.

Else you can use Lightroom. i got the lightroom 2.7, very very easy to adjust..

 

[Odyssey-Boy]

i cant diff raw or jpg... where can i know my pic is raw or jpg

I try manual mode alot alot alot alot time (lost count liao) i still dont get it right. 99.9% after photo taken (whether day or night) my object will be dark.

I try my fren nikon it is easier to handle for manual mode... :cry:

I wouldn't suggest to use manual mode all the time unless you are using flash where by you need something like this

1/250, f/8 and ISO 100 for flash..

Else you the Program mode with you are unsure of what mode to use..

or TV and AV mode vice versa..

 

[Odyssey-Boy]

for manual mode it's isn't that hard to master..

just shoot more often and monitor the settings.. soon you will get used to the rule of third,

ISO, Aperture and Shutter.

Do read more of this if you are unsure, google is your best friend.

 

[litlefiter]

went to fullerton area to take photos on my 550d, i realise that i am having a very big problem doing night shot. I cant get a clear picture out of my focus item... and plus the heavy spot light shining at the item it doesnt look nice....

I try to use AWB, use the 3200k light but still doesnt make a different. I use natural mode, standard mode also not happy with it.... damn it.. Currently using AV mode to shot. :embrass: :thumbsd:

anyone any give me advice on how to take a ok/good shot for night? and if i want to have the black and white black ground what mode should i play with?

I think i must go for some photography course to improve on it.

photography courses are not a must to taking good pictures, there is always the internet where we can learn new things from.

Usually in difficult lighting conditions such as the one you are shooting in, i would shoot in RAW. This way i would not have to fiddle with the various shooting modes or white balance as i can always correct them easily later. By 3200k light, did you mean the ISO? the ISO does not affect how a light shining onto another object looks. If there is harsh lighting pointing at an object that is reflective object, the only way to counter that is to either move away the light or block it (if possible) or just shoot from another angle.

There is no one fixed way for shooting in the night. some will advise to use tripod, some will advice to use big lights, some will advise to use fast prime. it is up to you to decide based on your shooting style. i feel that a mixture of good flash techniques + a good fast lens and good steady techniques of holding the camera so that you wont have a blur photo would help.

Maybe you could share this picture by uploading so that we can advise you, or else it is very hard to help you from a description of a picture.

 

[macquekers]

went to fullerton area to take photos on my 550d, i realise that i am having a very big problem doing night shot. I cant get a clear picture out of my focus item... and plus the heavy spot light shining at the item it doesnt look nice....

I try to use AWB, use the 3200k light but still doesnt make a different. I use natural mode, standard mode also not happy with it.... damn it.. Currently using AV mode to shot. :embrass: :thumbsd:

anyone any give me advice on how to take a ok/good shot for night? and if i want to have the black and white black ground what mode should i play with?

I think i must go for some photography course to improve on it.

do u have a tripod? if not, very hard to take good shots at night coz u need long exposure time

 

[litlefiter]

i cant diff raw or jpg... where can i know my pic is raw or jpg

I try manual mode alot alot alot alot time (lost count liao) i still dont get it right. 99.9% after photo taken (whether day or night) my object will be dark.

I try my fren nikon it is easier to handle for manual mode... :cry:

To select between RAW and jpeg, go to 'quality' in the menu and select. for raw images, the extension is .cr2 and for jpeg images, the extension is .jpg.

Practice makes perfect =D

maybe the nikon is easier to handle cos their are 2 scroll wheels while the 550d only has 1 that's why must upgrade next time :bsmilie::bsmilie:

 

[Odyssey-Boy]

To select between RAW and jpeg, go to 'quality' in the menu and select. for raw images, the extension is .cr2 and for jpeg images, the extension is .jpg.

Practice makes perfect =D

maybe the nikon is easier to handle cos their are 2 scroll wheels while the 550d only has 1 that's why must upgrade next time :bsmilie::bsmilie:

50D and 7D you mean ?

 

[litlefiter]

50D and 7D you mean ?

i meant that the higher end versions of Canon DSLRs have 2 scroll wheels, making it easier to control aperture and shutter speed in manual mode. Such DSLRs include Canon 7D/50D/5D/1D. Some Nikon DSLRs have 2 scroll wheels too, such as D90/D300s/D700/D3s.

That's why one might think that they are easier to use manual mode.

 

[Odyssey-Boy]

i meant that the higher end versions of Canon DSLRs have 2 scroll wheels, making it easier to control aperture and shutter speed in manual mode. Such DSLRs include Canon 7D/50D/5D/1D. Some Nikon DSLRs have 2 scroll wheels too, such as D90/D300s/D700/D3s.

That's why one might think that they are easier to use manual mode.

oh.. yes yes.. agree with you.. i do like a dslr with 2 scrolls.. with the lcd screen at the top.. better to chose the rule of third

 

[Jonathan Ang]

I find it really easy to handle the 550D with one scroller...just need a thumb to hold down for aperture.

@ rebel:
No, the point of shooting Raw is not so you can rescue your photos if you do it wrongly, though no doubt you could. Firstly you ought to shoot it right in cam. Raw allows you to do more adjustments. Prerequisite basically means you ought to know what you have in mind! No doubt you can 'rescue' your photos though - one thing is WB, that is crucial. The other is exposure - Raw is okay about -2 , + 1 stops.

@ snowman
u gotta master metering techniques when you use manual, and getting the right exposure is not always a one shot thing. You can use the historgram to help guide you if it's over or underexposed. Yups

 

[litlefiter]

oh.. yes yes.. agree with you.. i do like a dslr with 2 scrolls.. with the lcd screen at the top.. better to chose the rule of third

:thumbsup::thumbsup: the top LCD screen really helps. Er, i dont understand what's the relation between rule of 3rd and 2 scroll wheels? :dunno:

 

[Odyssey-Boy]

:thumbsup::thumbsup: the top LCD screen really helps. Er, i dont understand what's the relation between rule of 3rd and 2 scroll wheels? :dunno:

erm.. u no dont have to remove your eye from the vf ? as in easier to see the current shutter/aperture/iso..

 

[Jonathan Ang]

oh.. yes yes.. agree with you.. i do like a dslr with 2 scrolls.. with the lcd screen at the top.. better to chose the rule of third

Haha, better don't get confused - the rule of thirds refers to the compositional tool we use to frame our shots although I get what you said.

Here's a very very important tip to help you all learn your scrolling faster:

ASSUMING you got your exposure right and your scrolls set to 1/3 stops...

you just need to remember that for every click you lower your shutter speed (meaning, slow it down), you need to open up your aperture by 1 click. For ISO, every step you adjust you need to compensate by 3 clicks either from aperture or shutter speed, because each step of ISO you tweak is 1 stop (eg, 100 to 200 ISO is 1 stop, 200 to 400 ISO is 1 stop).

EG:

Assuming you've got the correct exposure, lets say F11, 1/250, ISO 200.

You wanna reduce ISO to 100 (-1 stop).

What you need to do is in any combination of these: click your shutter speed 3 times to the left and you will get 1/125. Or,

shutter speed 2 times left, aperture 1 times left.

Or if you want to decrease depth of field... F11 to to F5.6:
If you try that now, you'll realise you need 6 clicks left (2 stops overexposed now).
So what you need to do to compensate by either 6 clicks shutter right, or

ISO 200 to ISO 100 (3 clicks equivalent), and 3 clicks of shutter right.

In essence, this forces you to count remember the number of clicks, but this will increase your shooting speed exponentially as it did mine. Abit hard to understand at first but try to digest this and you're good to go for manual.

 

[pinsoon]

Hi all, just got myself a canon 550d kit 2 today. was trying it out at night and i found the focus to be quite soft. so a bit disappointed with my buy.. anyone has this experience before ? is this to be expected? i compared the IQ to my compact and it seems the pictures taken with 550d seems softer and less sharp..

what are the ways to rectify this problem ? please advise?

=(..