i m planing to buy a point and shoot digital camera, there are two options in nikon, i like both the cams but i am confused in one matter.   the details are as follows.  nikon cool pix l820 - max shutter speed 1/1500 and minimum shutter speed of 4 sec  nikon cool pix l820 - max shutter speed 1/4000 and minimum shutter speed of 1 sec  so if i purchase the first one(which is in my budget) what will be the effect of shutter speed on the photos.  please reply as soon as possible
121731
If I use a shutter speed below 1/30 on my Nikon P100, I get extremely dark images which are completely unusable. If I use the flash, it comes out fairly bright but just not natural.  My camera supports shutter speeds as fast as 1/2000 and as slow as 8 seconds. How do I use them correctly? What should I take into account before shooting, what else do I have to configure or use?
110484
Recently I bought my first DSLR camera. It is a beginner's one, a Sony Alpha A230 kit. To tell the truth, my shots are no more crisp than those I used to take with my old point and shoot Nikon Coolpix.   Is it possible to take really sharp photos without buying an expensive lens? What would be your advice for that? (I'm really trying to go beyond automatic mode, though with little success so far).
82994
I am looking at trying to buy a long range lens for shooting animals and nature. I'm kinda new to photography and am not sure which brand or size I should be looking for. What features are important and what will I get from different price points? I also would like to get a macro lens for really close shots — is that possible with the same lens?  I have a nikon d3000.
31054
I recently received a Nikon D3100 as a gift. My main interest is capturing images of parts of my body for dental imagery, personal 'snaphots' (yes I know a bit unusual with an actual camera), human faces etc..   I have always been very displeased with passport photos as I could never see my facial expression when taken in a studio but this time I have an opportunity to choose what image i take. I have read that this camera can be 'live' controlled from a PC. This might be necessary to see the image i'm capturing.  What I'm mainly concerned about is the basic features that I would need to know to create an appropriate passport photo in terms of focus, lighting and quality.  NOTE: This question is regarding the basic aspects needed to take an appropriate close up photo of the face. The other thread (which is not mine anyway) purely discusses connecting the camera to a laptop display. Also that question was asked 4 years ago and I have just received my camera.
103857
I still like to shoot with film (I use a Nikon F3) but I like the immediate feedback of digital.  I'm thinking of buying a used DSLR to help me get the framing and lighting right when I shoot static subjects.  Then I'd take the final shot with my F3. But would the metering be transferable?  If the shot looks perfect at 1/125 with f/2 on a DSLR, will the same settings work on a film camera?
91602
The second half of  says      Notice that I only shot full-stop ISO which is important with Canon DSLRs because the gain to obtain the 1/3 stops in between is applied in software by the processor which amplifies noise more than the on-sensor gain which is used to get the full stops.   Is that true? I spent some time looking online, and opinions really differ on it. Some people claim that it doesn't matter because increasing ISO is just increasing the electrical gain on the sensor, and it is a linear curve. Other people are convinced it does matter.  I am not really looking for opinion or "home brew" test. The best answer will be one that is based off of a reputable study.  If full frame vs. cropped sensor matters, please make sure to point that out.
47408
I need a P&amp;S camera for my family. They would probably use it for family functions,trips etc. I want a camera with flash for taking good night photos with a decent quality. They are not technically inclined and I dont want much manual features apart from the normal modes (potrait,sports,landscapes). Decent picture quality for normal conditions is the criteria I am looking for. If the camera looks little big, it is an added advantage.  I have looked at few models like Fujifilm Fine Pix F800 EXR, the Panasonic Lumix DMC series and a Nikon P510. But I am confused with all the options and the different reviews on different sites. My thinking is that for a point and shoot camera, it is better to consider brands other than Nikon and Canon since they may provide better value for money.   Can someone recommend some good resources for analysis and what kinds of cameras I should consider - a bridge camera, a basic point and shoot, or some other type?
58079
I've been considering getting an L-series zoom lens, and the two that I am looking at are the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS, and the 24-70mm f/2.8L.  Aside from the extra reach of the 24-105, the main difference is obviously the f/2.8 aperture versus the active Image Stabilisation.  Canon state that the IS on this lens "permits the use of shutter speeds up to three stops slower than normal". It's the "up to" in this statement that got me thinking about how image stabilisation is rated.  There is a general rule of thumb that your shots should be good (with a steady hand) at shutter speeds of up to 1/focal length, so clearly the focal length is a factor of image stability. Now, I can't imagine that Canon would publish anything but the best numbers for their spec sheets, so this leads me to assume that the "three stops" of IS they quote are at a focal length of 24mm. So my next question is, what does this mean at the 105mm end? I've done a few calculations, and I invite you to check my workings.  3 stops is a linear factor of 8 (2^3). I think this equates to a linear IS factor of 1.83 @105mm (8*24/105). Or, 0.87 stops. Less than 1 stop!  Using the same calculation but for a focal length of 70mm, the IS of the 24-105mm comes out at 1.46 stops.  Do I have my calculations correct?  PS: I know that the increased aperture of the f/2.8 will give greater background blur, better capture of moving subjects, blah, blah... so please don't feel that you have to lecture me on that. All I'm asking about is IS.
73756
I'm looking into starting a small at home portrait photography business mostly as a hobby for now, and I'm wondering if the camera I have now (Nikon D3000) is good enough for portrait photography.  I've heard from a few friends who do portraits, weddings, etc. that most of the "photo magic" is really just handled in Photoshop, and how the camera is actually used, and the camera is not the only thing to think about.   Is there a flash or some other add-on I should purchase that will help the camera? I just have the onboard one now. I've signed up for a few classes at our local college, however they won't start for a month, so I want to get a head start on what I should look for in equipment.  Is this camera simply sub-par for this sort of work? Is there a better entry level camera I should look into?
25675
For the exposure control function DSLRs there are specific shutter speeds available. For example there are 1/4, 1/100, 1/500. Why, even in high end DSLRs, is there no option to use a custom shutter speed (such as 1/19)?   If the camera can do 1/4000, why can't it do 1/33?  Similarly, why are the aperture choices limited?  Why is it a technical challenge to add extra shutter speeds or aperture settings?
95951
When using Nikon D7000 with an off-camera SB600 (which cannot be used as commander) in TTL mode, the built-in flash must be opened to make it work (to serve as a commander), even if this built-in flash is set to off.  This built-in flash does not trigger when taking a photo, but does preflash. Why?  Searching for an explanation, I found that this is required to measure something. But what?   A shutter speed in aperture mode? In this case, the speed will be completely wrong, since during preflash, the scene will be lighter than when taking photo, since in this last case, the built-in flash will not trigger. Built-in flash intensity? But why do we need it, since the built-in flash will not be used while taking photo? Remote flash? Again, the measure will be wrong, for the same reason as in the first point.   What I'm missing?
51316
I have a range of cameras from a (frankly awful) kiddie camera to a hybrid (Olympus Pen) and I want to take some pictures to test their (comparative) limitations.  So I want to take the same photos with each camera, load them on to my computer, and be able to say: "This is clearly better than that" or "There's not a lot to choose between them" (so it's a rough comparison).  Also, in the absolute: "Never use the kiddie camera for photographs that ..." (to be honest, I suspect that that one could end after the fifth word).  Thus my question: What sort of photographs should I be taking for this experiment, and what sort of feature will each photograph test?  To add a sniff of motivation, I bought the kiddie camera for (surprisingly enough) one of my kids to get a bit of practice with taking photographs.  But it is absolutely awful and seems to only take reasonable pictures with lots of light and the subject an exact distance from the lens.  I recently picked up a (very) cheap compact with the intention of swapping it for the kiddie camera (with suitable admonitions that this one can't be dropped) but I'd like to test it myself before handing it over as replacing a rubbish camera with a rubbish camera won't get me those highly coveted Daddy Points.  So in this particular test, I want to compare those two with (maybe) the Olympus providing some sort of "gold" standard (I'm aware that by the standards of this site, the standard provided by the Olympus won't be quite gold, but then iron pyrites is underrated in my opinion).  But I'm also interested in the wider question of taking test shots myself to compare cameras to learn more about what each one is capable of (or rather, to learn what each one is capable of when I'm taking the photos - which is why I'm not interested in online comparisons of the cameras).
121935
On the weekend I attended a wedding and took my camera along.  I was not the official photographer -- just a guest.    My camera is a Canon 5D Mark III, and I was using an EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens.  At the evening reception, which was a dark room with disco lights etc, I was going round taking lots of photographs of all the party people and in order that I didn't have to worry about my camera settings, I shot in Aperture Priority mode, with auto-ISO, and f/number of mostly around f/2 - f/4.  I used AI Servo mode so that it would track people dancing etc.  Of course, I also shot in RAW.  It is a testament to the 5D Mark III that it was able to find focus in such challenging conditions!!  However in my stupidity, I didn't change the maximum auto-ISO setting, and most of the shots were taken at a whopping ISO 25,600 -- the camera seeming to prefer to increase the ISO rather than slow the shutter speed to get an exposure.  The shutter speed in most shots is probably faster than it really needed to be - around 1/125-1/250th...  For a 50mm lens I probably only really needed 1/80th-1/125th to freeze the action?  This has resulted in some incredibly noisy and grainy shots, lacking in the detail I'm used to.  Note that I don't think it's a focus issue - the focus is fine, and the shots aren't blurry either.  Just noisy.  I imported all the photos into Lightroom 4, and have been playing with the Noise Reduction and Sharpening sliders, but in order to really get the noise levels to a normal or acceptable level, I've had to push that NR slider all the way up to 80 (choke!!).  Normally I'd only apply at most about 40, even in a low-light photo!  This much NR has meant that the detail in peoples faces is overly softened, and skin tones are looking almost plasticky.    So my question is, what would you say is the best way to "recover" these photos and balance noise reduction against sharpening, or to reduce the noise in another way?  I do also have Photoshop Elements 11 at my disposal, though I'm not the best with it.  However, if there is another way in which I could use that to achieve the same thing, I'd also appreciate some pointers.
19515
I basically decided on a whim (from reading this site, talking to some friends, and always admiring great photos) that I want to get into photography.  Are there disadvantages to starting out with a prosumer camera like the Nikon D7000? I know stuff will be more expensive, but will there also be greater frustration or complexity?  (I am the kind of person who tries to find reasons to justify the extra cost even when I know deep down that it's not necessary...)
3259
I have a AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8. When I have the aperture setting on the lens to 22 I can take photos. But when I change the dial to anything other than 22(lowest f/stop) then I get a flashing fEE message and r09 where the number of exposure left is.  I don't have the manual for this lens but am just wondering if anyone knows what the issue is here.  My camera is a Nikon D70S.
81082
I have never had a proper camera and I have never taken pictures seriously but now I'm starting to feel interested in photography. I would like to start to learn the basics of this art. I don't have that much money to spend and moreover I'm kind of a nostalgic, therefore I was thinking about buying a used film cameras.   I know that maybe a digital one would be better to start, since I could take thousands of pictures without worrying about the film running out, but on the other hand with a film camera I would be forced to think a lot before shooting.  I still don't know what kind of pictures I want to take. I just would like a solid camera, not too big, so I can bring it with me during a trip.    Can I find anything good for less than 50€? I don't know if it matters, but I live in Italy.
61621
What would be a reason for one to pick the compact (whatever it'd be P&amp;S or something more advanced) over mirrorless compact system camera  ?  Right now market is quite confusing — we have huge market of tiny-sensor compacts, we have mirrorless that use sensors in a size of these from P&amp;S cameras (Nikon 1 being notable example), we have compacts with sensors bigger than most popular mirrorless system (Canon G1X vs m4/3), we have lot of APS-C sensor mirrorless which are matched by some of the compacts (Fuji X100 being most notable example, but even Leica has its X2),  and to make it even more confusing — Sony released RX1 with full frame sensor, beating crap out of every mirrorless on a market.  So what are your arguments to pick compact over a mirrorless?  Why are they better, what's the reason behind logic of companies like Fujifilm which at the same time offers P&amp;S and X-mount mirrorless using same sensor size?