A few new shots with d200

shaggydoo541 · #1 07/11/2007, 02:48 PM

Well the more I play around with this camera and the 105mm lens the more I love it. Now I've just got to get some decent softare but who in the world can afford cs3? I can't for now so I just started playing around with iPhoto. Let me know what you think.

BigMojo · #2 07/11/2007, 03:15 PM

CS3 isn't that bad on the upgrade

Nice shots...I'm still trying to find the happy medium with my 105 on my d200...

I'm pretty happy with my most recent shots though (I'm still new at tank shots, and the hobby in general)

shaggydoo541 · #3 07/11/2007, 04:34 PM

Yeah but this will be an initial purchase.... ouch. But I really like your shots. That brain is awesome looking.

It does take a lot of practice though. Isn't that 105mm lens nice though?

BigMojo · #4 07/12/2007, 08:45 AM

Oooh....yeah... the $600 buy in is steep. Think of it as a new high-end lens

The 105 is a sweet lens, a little picky at times, but when it's happy, it's tack sharp. After all it is Nikon Glass.

juniormc8704 · #5 07/12/2007, 01:31 PM

check out photoshop elements 5.0, 80 bucks, and with a quick Download it will support RAW, which is .NEF for nikon, and its really all you need. Fantastic for WB, exposure, contrast, shadows. Makes great pics that much better.

VoidRaven · #6 07/12/2007, 10:07 PM

The buy-in may be steep but the rewards are worth it. I'm using CS3 on my iMac and it is an AMAZING piece of photo editing software.

But I was also able to get it at the upgrade cost since I already had PS7. PS Elements is a very good program too if you really don't need all the detailed tools and such. CS3 is a really powerful tool that can also be a little overwhelming for some...and that's where Elements really excels.

shaggydoo541 · #7 07/13/2007, 12:32 AM

Maybe I will start with elements and then get cs3 (or cs4 by the time I can afford it). I just got a macpro with a quad processor so it can pretty much handle anything I want to throw at it. Only my experience is holding it back.

shaggydoo541 · #8 07/20/2007, 11:56 PM

Ok well I just got elements 4.0. Except the stupid dang program won't run on my macpro. Apparently my computer is too advanced. But I fooled around for a while and got it running at half mast (elements that is). It won't multithread and won't recognize that my camera is hooked up and therefore won't pull any pics off my camera, but by using iPhoto to get the images off my camera and then elements to do a little editing; this is what I came up with. I really enjoy the ability to tweak in raw. Much more flexible this way. I'll keep trying new things.... any suggestions?

shaggydoo541 · #9 07/23/2007, 09:17 PM

Anyone have any comments on this second batch? Better/worse than the first ones?

Scythanith · #10 07/24/2007, 09:16 AM

Nice Depth of field work. Looks like you got that color editing software working! The fish are quite striking!

Good work!

costeroma · #11 07/24/2007, 01:19 PM

great coloring did u do alot of photoshoping?

shaggydoo541 · #12 07/25/2007, 12:21 AM

I did use photoshop elements. But with then knowledge i have of that software I might as well have used iPhoto again. I really didn't do anything besides the initial adjustments of white balance and other small things it has you do right from the start with raw images. I tried playing around with the other features of this program and I had no idea what I was doing. So I guess I'll learn that another day.

TikiDan · #13 07/25/2007, 01:02 AM

You don't need CS3 pick up a copy of CS or at most CS2. The updates in CS3 are not necessary for a non pro-photographer.

Gilprado · #14 07/25/2007, 01:20 AM

great pictures, I'd love the hawk fish

I downloaded the adobe light room, very easy to work whit RAW files, i have de CS2 but i don't undertand it very well, what i like of the ligth room is that no make any changes on the original RAW file

shaggydoo541 · #15 07/25/2007, 04:38 PM

Maybe I'll just get cs2... always a thought and its more affordable for sure. Thanks for the comments!

wliang · #16 07/25/2007, 04:48 PM

Very nice shots....now i want to get a d200

shaggydoo541 · #17 07/26/2007, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wliang
Very nice shots....now i want to get a d200

You can't go wrong with the d200. I really like the camera and the few lenses I have picked up for it are also great. I've been very pleased with my choice to go Nikon.

clippo · #18 07/26/2007, 03:25 PM

not to take anything away from the images but there are some problems evident that suggest a greater understanding of control is required. Even having the best camera and lens combination does not guarantee good results, indeed a very basic compact camera could achieve similar.

Specific problems include: motion blur, grain, shallow DOF, oversaturated colours, poor white balance... the images don't look to have been compressed properly either (you should be able to reduce their file size by a lot to reduce space used on the board and loading times while retaining acceptable image quality).

Don't mean to sound harsh but meaningless congratulation isn't particularly useful.

With that camera body and lens combination you should be able to get some very impressive results.

shaggydoo541 · #19 07/26/2007, 04:36 PM

So what do you recommend? I am always open to specific suggestions as I am just starting out with this camera and know I have a lot to learn.

Engine 7 · #20 07/26/2007, 04:41 PM

The second batch seemed better to me then the first. I like them all though

shaggydoo541 · #21 07/26/2007, 07:00 PM

Thanks. I like the second batch bettter to so hopefully that means I'm making some improvements. The second batch was shot in raw which I immediately liked better and I did use photoshop so I had a couple more options than when I used iPhoto on the first batch.

clippo · #22 07/27/2007, 02:58 AM

the second batch exhibit similar problems - the best thing you can do IMO is learn about exposure and how it is controlled by shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings (assuming you don't already). This knowledge is crucial. Post processing is something that could be learned later.

Having a 120gal, I assume you glass must be pretty thick... an immediate improvement could be gained by only shooting with your lens perpendicular to the glass. This helps reduce image distortion and chromatic aberrations.

shaggydoo541 · #23 07/27/2007, 10:07 AM

Well all these shots were shot perpendicular to the glass or as clost to perpendicular as I could get. I shot iso 100 on the coral shots. I opened the fstop up as far as it would go to get the best dof possible and let the camera pick the shutter speed. I also set it on my tripod while I tried to scare the fish away due to the long shutter speeds many shots were ruined by fish swimming past or me causing vibrations on the floor and blurring the image (or just bumping the tripod whoops).

For the fish pics I raised the iso a bit to around 400 on most and then picked a 1/125 shutter (I believe) so I could shoot by hand then let the camera pick the fstop.

Other than that I don't know what else I can do besides practice some more and continue to refine my after image editing and then of course practice... did I mention I probably need a lot of practice?

Snowsurfer · #24 07/27/2007, 06:05 PM

I can see what Clippo is trying to tell you. I also have a D200 and when you say your nikon lens is tack sharp you have not shown it in these pics. The only pictures thats in focus is the trac. The rest are blurred. Im using a sigma 105mm

If i get a chance ill try and post some of my pics up soon, only had my D200 a week before that i had a D70.

Your doing the right thing using a tripod, try using the timer or remote so take pics as this helps with camera shake. Also try to avoid raising the ISO unless you really have too.

Sometimes if your not 100% sure what your doing its better to go for a lower spec camera thats a bit easier to use. The D200 is pretty much a fully manual camera. My D70 taught me a lot.

shaggydoo541 · #25 07/27/2007, 09:20 PM

Well I know what I'm doing (partly) as far as settings go but it does take some practice. Each set of pics I take definitely continues to look better but since it is my first digital SLR I know I've got a long way to go. I know the last clown pic is horrible but it was such a nice 'pose' I decided to put it up anyways. I also did use the timer on all my shots (except fish ones) because otherwise its so blurry you have no idea what I am taking a picture of.

I was going to get the d80 but really wanted the 18-200 lens which was on like a 6 month waiting list, but it did come packaged with the d200... so I went above my skill level on this purchase by a lot. I do feel I got pretty good images with the pink zoas, the angel, and I also like the blue blasto. The rest all definintely show room for a ton of improvement.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, any more? I really do appreciate any and all feedback (even if you think I stink, cause I can't learn without criticism). Any other d200 users out there that have some suggestions they just couldn't take tank pics without? Or other suggestions overall? I have found it is MUCH harder to tank tank pictures than in other settings. I went outside and took pictures of flowers, etc and it was so much easier with natural sunlight (especially on an overcast day).