Cameras

[DerBiermeister]

Is anyone here a camera expert? I am interested in how easy it is to take RAW photos vs. standard point-and-shoot jpeg photos?

[TJC44]

As in, with actual film?
I think even the high quality cameras, like SLR's, etc. have all gone digital.
When even your smartphone has 5Megapixel cameras (or more), and all of the effects software available, can film even compete with that?
Or am I off in left field somewhere?

[DerBiermeister]

No, talking about digital. In the last few days I have read up and learned a lot.

Basically it is this .... jpeg is a compressed file and the colors, lighting, focus, etc., essentially cannot be altered. RAW is totally uncompressed and with external software, such as photoshop, you can go in and change just about anything you want. The expertise comes in being able to manipulate the sw. The cheaper digital cameras only shoot in jpeg. As you go up in quality, you can do both.

[Inor]

No, talking about digital. In the last few days I have read up and learned a lot.

Basically it is this .... jpeg is a compressed file and the colors, lighting, focus, etc., essentially cannot be altered. RAW is totally uncompressed and with external software, such as photoshop, you can go in and change just about anything you want. The expertise comes in being able to manipulate the sw. The cheaper digital cameras only shoot in jpeg. As you go up in quality, you can do both.

You can manipulate JPEG images with Photoshop, Gimp or any other software. The problem with it is that you lose detail in the image due to the JPEG compression. That is why a lot of lower end cameras (think cell phone cameras, etc.) will make the JPEG image extremely large so the compression does not bleed out the details.

[DerBiermeister]

You can manipulate JPEG images with Photoshop, Gimp or any other software. The problem with it is that you lose detail in the image due to the JPEG compression. That is why a lot of lower end cameras (think cell phone cameras, etc.) will make the JPEG image extremely large so the compression does not bleed out the details.

Trust me -- I was not speaking as an expert! :cookie:

[Inor]

Trust me -- I was not speaking as an expert! :cookie:

I am not an expert either. I just have some experience fiddling with images. :biglaugh:

[DerBiermeister]

I am zeroing in on a camera. As you know from this discussion, I am not happy with the pictures I take on my 10 year old Sony DSC H-9 Cybershot. I know that DSLR cameras will do a better job. I don't need or want professional stuff, but I do have a discerning eye, so I figure an entry level DSLR will suit me fine for the rest of my life.

The one I am probably going to go for is the Nikon D5300. It is one step up from their entry level DSLR (the D3300). The D3300 would be fine for me, but it doesn't have WiFi or GPS. We live in an extremely fast changing technical world. I would hate to spend a lot of money on a camera that didn't have Wifi or GPS and find out a few years down the road that I really want that capability. For instance, with the Wifi, not only can you directly connect to the phone for sending pics to family and friends, but it also gives you a neat remote control for operating the camera. Important for things like using a tripod and not wanting to mess with a countdown timer.

This camera also fits the bill for RAW images -- IF I ever wander into using photoshop, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Digital-18-55mm-3-5-5-6G-Focus-S/dp/B00I1CPA0O/ref=sr_1_4?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1455547530&sr=1-4&keywords=nikon+d5300

Unlike more advanced cameras, I figure all the features of this camera won't be too overwhelming for me to learn how to use effectively.

So -- for you camera buffs, do you think this is a good compromise for me?

[S.....P......]

Not realy but I give you what I have. We did some research a while back. Did a lot of face to face in camera shops too. We went with the Nikon for Mrs SP. It does everything she needs, wants to do, and wants to learn to do. The general feeling from the shops was the cannons were maby a tick better but Nikon beat them hands down in the user friendly category. She took a beginner and advanced corse at a camera shop and still does not use the camera to its full potential. She has the d3200 2 years old now. The one thing she does swear by is sending it in once a year for a professional cleaning/inspection/tuneup.

I should add that a good portion of her first class was on selecting the proper lenses and memory card for what and how you are shooting.

[DerBiermeister]

I should add that a good portion of her first class was on selecting the proper lenses and memory card for what and how you are shooting.



I pulled the trigger on the Nikon D5300 and got the camera this past Monday. Been having a lot of fun with all the gadgets on it. This camera has tremendous capability in all areas of photography. My goal is to sort out which functions I intend to master and which I will forget about. But I know that even if I spend some time every day with it, it is going to take me many months to become proficient with it.

I am not sure why the memory card selection is important although I do see a lot of chatter about it. My camera came with a 64gb SD card. But it also came with a small plastic box that holds like 6 memory cards. I have no idea how many pictures 64gigs will hold -- but it has to be a lot. Even when I went to Alaska and took a couple of thousand pics with my old camera, I never took more than maybe 100 a day. And I would frequently download them to my laptop, and zero out the camera. So I am having a hard time understanding why I would need more than one memory card?

[S.....P......]

The SD cards have somthing to do with the speed and different details you are trying to capture in the image. She has 1 for macro, black and white, video, high speed burst, extremely slow shutter time and lastly a standard all around card. I am sure I left somthing out.

[DerBiermeister]

The direct cards have somthing to do with the speed and different details you are trying to capture in the image. She has 1 for macro, black and white, video, high speed burst, extremely slow shutter time and lastly a standard all around card. I am sure I left somthing out.

Really?
Ok, I am going to have to look into it.

Thanks

[Inor]

I pulled the trigger on the Nikon D5300 and got the camera this past Monday. Been having a lot of fun with all the gadgets on it. This camera has tremendous capability in all areas of photography. My goal is to sort out which functions I intend to master and which I will forget about. But I know that even if I spend some time every day with it, it is going to take me many months to become proficient with it.

I am not sure why the memory card selection is important although I do see a lot of chatter about it. My camera came with a 64gb SD card. But it also came with a small plastic box that holds like 6 memory cards. I have no idea how many pictures 64gigs will hold -- but it has to be a lot. Even when I went to Alaska and took a couple of thousand pics with my old camera, I never took more than maybe 100 a day. And I would frequently download them to my laptop, and zero out the camera. So I am having a hard time understanding why I would need more than one memory card?

Mrs Inor uses the SD cards for keeping her images because they are a whole lot cheaper than hard drive space. Mrs Inor's camera is older so I do not recall the max size SD it can handle but it is quite a bit smaller than 64GB. I have been buying 32GB SD cards to play with my Raspberry Pi and they are about $10 each (on sale).

Depending on the size of the image 64GB card will hold a LOT of images. Photos taken with my crappy cell phone are about 3MB each. So a 64GB card would hold roughly 20,000 of them.

[S.....P......]

I wish I could help more. I was in best buy and the guy there is the 1 that explained some of it to us when we were looking at cameras. The class she took gave a lot more info on the cards but Mrs SP said I didn't need it explained any better and to just trust her.

God bless that woman for knowing SP so well.

[DerBiermeister]

I wish I could help more. I was in best buy and the guy there is the 1 that explained some of it to us when we were looking at cameras. The class she took gave a lot more info on the cards but Mrs SP said I didn't need it explained any better and to just trust her.

God bless that woman for knowing SP so well.

Don't worry -- I asked about it over on a photo forum and got MORE than a full explanation. Too technical for me. Here's and example

"Look in your camera manual and you will find the recommended card specs to use in your camera. Lower spec cards will impede performance, especially if burst shooting or shooting video. Higher spec cards won't necessarily hurt performance and could, in some circumstances, improve it. If in doubt, simply follow the manufacturer's recommendations. They built the camera. They know what it needs to work best. Buy a good quality card, such as Sandisk, (there are others) and you will be OK. BTW, higher speed cards can improve your download time to your computer but won't make much difference to your camera."

"Technology, capacity, bandwidth, format, interface standards just for a start."

"It is usually beneficial to use the fastest card that your camera can handle, but that is for speed of shooting, particularly bursts of action shots....a slower card will work, but a little slower for long bursts of shots."

"Also, cards don't store zeros and ones, they store different electrical states that record the binary information. Zeros and ones are simply one anthropomorphic version of representing binary states."


anthropomorphic -- now THERE is a word for ya. I had to look it up.

Full Definition of anthropomorphic

1
: described or thought of as having a human form or human attributes <anthropomorphic deities>

2
: ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman things <anthropomorphic supernaturalism>

[S.....P......]

There you go. Like Mrs SP said just trust her cuz old SP ain't gonna get it even if you dumb it down.

Glad you got the real skinny on it. Congrats on the purchase. We enjoy all the pics that Mrs SP has been able to get with hers.

[OSFG]

Is anyone here a camera expert? I am interested in how easy it is to take RAW photos vs. standard point-and-shoot jpeg photos?

RAW images while still digital, capture the images in a format that allows much more editing of the images. The file size is quite large compared to JPEG and unless you are a semi professional photographer you usually won't need to capture in RAW format. There are a great number of editing programs that allow you to correct/adjust JPEG images.

[DerBiermeister]

RAW images while still digital, capture the images in a format that allows much more editing of the images. The file size is quite large compared to JPEG and unless you are a semi professional photographer you usually won't need to capture in RAW format. There are a great number of editing programs that allow you to correct/adjust JPEG images.

Thanks OSFG
Your answer is one of the best I have seen since I originally posed question (two weeks ago) because it is brief and to the point without delving into too much technical stuff.
About 10 days ago, I purchased a camera (probably my last) that will allow me to mess around with RAW (in addition to regular jpeg) if the day ever comes that I want to do that.