Data for You Photo Folks

[David]

Very interesting site:

 

http://dxomark.com/index.php

 

I learned about them from this article on ISO, from which I learned a ton. Namely that you may get LESS noise shooting at 200 vs. 100 ISO:

 

http://t.co/bJb1juZ

[beemerman2k]

Thanks David. I recently acquired a Nikon D7000 to replace my terribly aging D70s. The D7K is absolute ISO freedom! I can now take low light pictures with ease that I wouldn't even attempt with my D70s. Combine this capability with Lightroom 3's noise reduction technology and I am in hog heaven.

 

Nonetheless, I am less than satisfied with my work. Composition issues aside, they lack "snap", "pizazz", and the kind of vibrant, high contrast look I see in other people's works (like yours!). I have a hunch that this has to do with my metering technique and whether I should use exposure compensation or alternative ways of reading the light (center weighted/spot/etc). For the record, I only record images in raw and rely on post processing now, which is the complete opposite of what I used to do. Guess who led me down this path? :smirk:

 

There's more to learn even beyond this, too. For instance, for a given scene, there's usually a range of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed settings that can be used to get perfectly acceptable results (instances where DOF is a non issue because of subject distance or the fact that the background is simply a wall). However, some combinations are going to be more effective than others, so I need to learn when to rely on changing the ISO versus opening up aperture versus slowing down the shutter (usually not an option unless I use a tripod as I have no VR type lenses).

 

All that is to say that this is good information. The better I know my camera's strengths and weaknesses (and lens, too, of course), the better equipped I am to optimize it's settings for best results

[David]

For the problem you've described, I'd start by putting a good quality circular polarizing filter on your lenses. I keep one on every one of mine. It's adds the snap and extra contrast you're looking for. Stick with B & W or Hoya brands.

[chrisd]

Good information. Thanks.