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advice please

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tim hamlett View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tim hamlett Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: advice please
    Posted: 07 Sep 2007 at 11:27am

i've had a new camera today. it's a canon powershot a720 is. i know very little about photography and, although the camera has manual and other functions, i'll probably only use it as a point & shoot job. however, it does have various scene modes that are easy enough to understand. my question is would it be worth using one of them when photoing herps or am i better off just using it on auto. the scene modes include foliage, kids n pets, landscape and portrait among others that i don't think would help (e.g. fireworks and underwater!). 

many thanks for your thoughts

tim

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dave fixx View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dave fixx Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Sep 2007 at 1:13pm

Hi Tim,Im a photographer by trade but still cutting my teeth a bit with herps.In my experiance the auto settings on these cameras are generally best .I still shoot weddings on auto 90% of the time and my work camera and lens came to over 3k.

I would try it on a couple of frogs maybe and see what the modes do,dont want to miss any prime herp. 

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tim hamlett View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tim hamlett Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Sep 2007 at 1:29pm

cheers dave. didn't quite cost me 3k but a lot more than i've ever spent on a camera before. will let you know how i get on.

tim

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tim hamlett View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tim hamlett Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Sep 2007 at 8:32am

thanks for trying not to get too technical. unfortunately the first bit is still lost on me. i reckon i could give the landscape mode a try though as it only requires me to move the dial round a bit.

another question. does it really make much difference adjusting the white balance or will the auto setting pretty much sort that out as well?

cheers

tim

ps while rauk was down i did a bit of surfing round other sites and came across the krag site. i like the new logo



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tim hamlett View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tim hamlett Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Sep 2007 at 10:27am

i managed to find an obliging model in the field opposite the house.

the first four are in macro and the fifth using the zoom then cropping. can't remember what i did differently to get the different colours but i'm sure i'll work it out eventually.

tim

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tim hamlett View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tim hamlett Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Sep 2007 at 12:53pm
Two females and a male?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kateatcrowlas Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2007 at 7:23pm
great photos, I'm dead jealous!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Vicar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2007 at 8:05pm
Tim,

Could I suggest that you have a go at getting lower when taking the picture ? Most herp pics seem to look better (to me) when you are on the same level as the animal. From my pics, toads in particular benefit from this, in fact getting below a toad (when possible) gives great results due to the belly colouration.

Taking nothing away from your pics...they're great ! sharp focus and good depth of field !

Just my tuppence.

Steve
Steve Langham - Chairman    
Surrey Amphibian & Reptile Group
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Alex2 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alex2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2007 at 9:52pm

Hi Tim,

Were those shots really taken in a field?

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tim hamlett View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tim hamlett Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 2007 at 8:21am

thanks for all the help, advice and comments. much appreciated. i'll keep practicing over winter so hopefully, by spring when i'm crawling around on my belly trying to get those eye-level shots, there should be some improvement.

i'm also thinking of getting a telephoto converter for the camera to roughly double the optical zoom. i thought, for the sort of pictures i'll be taking, 6 x optical zoom would be enough but now i'm not so sure. the lizard pictures i took the other day suffered a bit more than i thought they would from cropping and enlarging.

alex, sorry about the confusion. the toad was found in the field but the pictures were taken in the back garden.

tim

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