my new canon rebel xs! - Orchid Board

myshka · #1 10-01-2009, 11:27 PM

today has been the busiest day and i've only had about 2 hours to fool around with my new canon rebel xs. i'm completely new to photography and it's a bit overwhelming. there is so much to learn!

i took a handful of pictures around my room. the lighting is terrible and i have no idea how to utilize all the tools available.

but i shall learn!

1) Oncidium sweet sugar
2) Angraecum longiscott
3) Angraecum longiscott
4) Angraecum longiscott's roots
5) sugar
6) baxter
7) baxter

OrchidSue · #2 10-02-2009, 01:21 AM

It looks like you are off to a great start

. I love the dogs

. I am still learning with my Rebel XSI and I've had it for awhile. I really love doing macro, but the photos, while improving, are still not as good as I would like.

Susan

slipperfreak · #3 10-06-2009, 03:42 PM

This is the same camera I have! I'm an amateur photographer too but one tip I can give you, is to play around with the ISO settings on your camera. ISO measures the sensitivity of the camera's image sensor to light. The Rebel XS can be set between 100 and 1600 ISO. The higher the number, the more sensitive the sensor is to light.

For example, if you set the camera to 100 ISO the image will be darker than at 800 ISO. Unless you are in a well-lit area outside, you generally want an ISO of 400 to 1600, or you will get a slow shutter speed and a dark, blurry image. I usually end up using 800 inside unless it is very well-lit, like near a window or lots of fluorescent lights. The trade-off is that higher ISO leads to noise in photographs - you have to find a happy medium.

Anyway, play around with it and see how it affects your photos! By the way, the ISO setting is only really relevant when you are not using flash.

Connie Star · #4 10-06-2009, 09:20 PM

Hi Folks,
I'm new to orchids but have been doing macro photography for almost 40 years.
Couple of things- I wouldn't set the ISO higher than 400, preferably 200. The image degrades at the higher isos.
You may be able to use the built in flash on your camera. It can create harsh shadows, but if you either use a black background, or set up so that there is some distance between your subject and the background, it's not too bad.
Nice job by the way.

Swamper · #5 10-18-2009, 10:56 AM

Nice pics, have you taken any new ones with your new camera?

mnoor · #6 10-19-2009, 06:06 AM

Hi,

You have good photos there and being new to your camera, the results are encouraging.

May I also suggest you try using natural light without flash. Flash with give you harsh shadows and will wash out the details of the flowers. The use of a reflector will improve the photos especially if you're capturing photos using back lighting.

Just my 2 cents worth.

tim abbott · #7 12-05-2009, 06:41 PM

Hi myshka,

I have a rebel eos xt, they are nice cameras. I am an ametuer as well. I using natural light when possible works best. Having the light behind you whenever that is an issue is preferable. There several software programs to available to tweek you images(crop, straighten, red eye, add lighting & highlights etc.) I use Picasa. If you haven't done so already, you may want to check them out. I bought my wife a canon a470 power shot & it is a cool camera, takes better photos at night and takes videos & you can get an underwater housing for it for about $60.

Tim Abbott