Didn't do RAW long enough with the Panasonic to notice, but with the Canon it has been a real hard lesson to learn - your photos just out of the camera will tend to look flat and somewhat soft. That's because the camera's internal processor is no longer trying to punch up the photo in terms of color or sharpening. Instead it's giving you exactly what came back from the sensor, and trusting YOU will know what to do with it. I suspect that is why the format is so favored by the pros - you're that much closer to a film negative.
Still, that means your workflow has to include time fixing every image. In fact, what appears to be an off shot may actually be a really good one if you put some time into it. You can't fix motion blur or stuff that's badly out of focus, but everything else...
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Two Weeks In, Here are my Current Thoughts on P&S versus DSLR
OK, I have now been out shooting for two weeks with the XSi (and my daughter with her camera), and here are my thoughts on the matter so far.
First off, if you use a P&S camera and are happy with the photos, you should NOT switch to a DSLR. When I'm taking the same picture with the Panasonic FZ28 or the Canon XSi, and the lighting is decent, the only real difference I can see in image quality is a very little bit less noise, and the fact that the XSi has somewhat more detail by being a 12MP versus the FZ28's 10MP. The noise is almost a non factor once you start shooting with RAW on the Panasonic - although you then lose out on the intelligentAuto function which is one of the Panasonic's strong points.
Second, if you just want to take a photo and have the camera do most of the work you should NOT switch to a DSLR. The XSi in full auto mode does not let you shoot RAW either (which makes NO sense to me). So if I have to compare full auto between the two cameras, the Panasonic wins hands down in generally doing a better job of exposure and handling backlighting and other situations. IOW, if you mainly shoot auto, a DSLR will be a BIG disappointment!
Third, if switching things mid-way through a shoot is going to bother you, you should NOT switch to a DSLR. I finally got my 55-250 lens to complement my kit 18-55 lens this week. The one shoot I was out where I had both lenses reminded me of the frustration I had several years ago with my one Kodak that had several add-ons to handle tele and macro shots. Carrying the extra stuff around is a pain. Switching stuff in and out for a shoot is a pain. Having to convince yourself it's worth the pain to switch for a particular shot is a pain. And the lens that I'm looking at as a possible solution costs as much as buying another camera (Tamron 18-270 AF at around $600).
So, why would anyone in their RIGHT MIND switch to a DSLR? Well, there are a few reasons.
First of the reasons TO switch - low light with a good DSLR is no big deal. Shooting at ISO 800 with the XSi shows virtually no noise whatsoever. On the Panasonic, that kind of situation means a trade-off between detail and noise reduction that is uncomfortable at best.
Second, you DO have more control with the DSLR. Yes, the Panasonic does have options to let you take more manual control of the camera. But not as many options as the DSLR, and usually those options are more limited. If you understand that being creative means more chances to screw up as well as more chances to do well, the DSLR will give you both.
Third, your investment is somewhat transferable. Even if I end up getting the Tamron, it's not like I can't upgrade later. As long as I stay with the EF-S series of Canon's (i.e. the APS-C sensor series), I can continue to upgrade the body and not have to replace the lens. So the cost of the lens is somewhat spread out over the number of cameras I might use over the next few years. If I'm just buying bodies, then the cost is more similar to the yearly upgrade I've been doing of the P&S cameras, and I do get some benefits from it.
SO, what is the overall conclusion for someone deciding whether to get another good P&S versus moving to a DSLR? Basically look at what you are doing with your photos. If you are generally pleased with the quality of photo you're already getting, or if you're on a tight budget, or if you are not going to want to invest a lot of time to see only an incremental (initial) increase in picture quality, then by all means get another P&S. In retrospect I'm almost convinced that for the short term I would have been happier just getting the Panasonic FZ35.
However, if you are looking to start selling your photos (or to do so more frequently), or you want more creative input into your photos, or you do a LOT of low light shooting, then a DSLR is a worthwhile investment.
I am glad to have made the switch if for no other reason than I'm convinced that for most folks, this is probably NOT a good idea. It's a lot easier to be confident saying that having tried both and being hands-on with both.
That said, I am unlikely to go back to the Panasonic now that I've made my investment in the DSLR. Not only because of the money sunk so far, but also because having spent this much time learning, I can see where some further investment of time may let me do things I actually couldn't do with a P&S. Maybe when I get to that point, I'll have some more thoughts on the matter.
Either way, I'll keep y'all up to date!
First off, if you use a P&S camera and are happy with the photos, you should NOT switch to a DSLR. When I'm taking the same picture with the Panasonic FZ28 or the Canon XSi, and the lighting is decent, the only real difference I can see in image quality is a very little bit less noise, and the fact that the XSi has somewhat more detail by being a 12MP versus the FZ28's 10MP. The noise is almost a non factor once you start shooting with RAW on the Panasonic - although you then lose out on the intelligentAuto function which is one of the Panasonic's strong points.
Second, if you just want to take a photo and have the camera do most of the work you should NOT switch to a DSLR. The XSi in full auto mode does not let you shoot RAW either (which makes NO sense to me). So if I have to compare full auto between the two cameras, the Panasonic wins hands down in generally doing a better job of exposure and handling backlighting and other situations. IOW, if you mainly shoot auto, a DSLR will be a BIG disappointment!
Third, if switching things mid-way through a shoot is going to bother you, you should NOT switch to a DSLR. I finally got my 55-250 lens to complement my kit 18-55 lens this week. The one shoot I was out where I had both lenses reminded me of the frustration I had several years ago with my one Kodak that had several add-ons to handle tele and macro shots. Carrying the extra stuff around is a pain. Switching stuff in and out for a shoot is a pain. Having to convince yourself it's worth the pain to switch for a particular shot is a pain. And the lens that I'm looking at as a possible solution costs as much as buying another camera (Tamron 18-270 AF at around $600).
So, why would anyone in their RIGHT MIND switch to a DSLR? Well, there are a few reasons.
First of the reasons TO switch - low light with a good DSLR is no big deal. Shooting at ISO 800 with the XSi shows virtually no noise whatsoever. On the Panasonic, that kind of situation means a trade-off between detail and noise reduction that is uncomfortable at best.
Second, you DO have more control with the DSLR. Yes, the Panasonic does have options to let you take more manual control of the camera. But not as many options as the DSLR, and usually those options are more limited. If you understand that being creative means more chances to screw up as well as more chances to do well, the DSLR will give you both.
Third, your investment is somewhat transferable. Even if I end up getting the Tamron, it's not like I can't upgrade later. As long as I stay with the EF-S series of Canon's (i.e. the APS-C sensor series), I can continue to upgrade the body and not have to replace the lens. So the cost of the lens is somewhat spread out over the number of cameras I might use over the next few years. If I'm just buying bodies, then the cost is more similar to the yearly upgrade I've been doing of the P&S cameras, and I do get some benefits from it.
SO, what is the overall conclusion for someone deciding whether to get another good P&S versus moving to a DSLR? Basically look at what you are doing with your photos. If you are generally pleased with the quality of photo you're already getting, or if you're on a tight budget, or if you are not going to want to invest a lot of time to see only an incremental (initial) increase in picture quality, then by all means get another P&S. In retrospect I'm almost convinced that for the short term I would have been happier just getting the Panasonic FZ35.
However, if you are looking to start selling your photos (or to do so more frequently), or you want more creative input into your photos, or you do a LOT of low light shooting, then a DSLR is a worthwhile investment.
I am glad to have made the switch if for no other reason than I'm convinced that for most folks, this is probably NOT a good idea. It's a lot easier to be confident saying that having tried both and being hands-on with both.
That said, I am unlikely to go back to the Panasonic now that I've made my investment in the DSLR. Not only because of the money sunk so far, but also because having spent this much time learning, I can see where some further investment of time may let me do things I actually couldn't do with a P&S. Maybe when I get to that point, I'll have some more thoughts on the matter.
Either way, I'll keep y'all up to date!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Day One with the XSi
To the left is an example of something that I figured a DSLR would let me do. This is a picture of our Christmas tree in the living room. The only lighting are the little white lights you see in the tree. Camera was set to A-DEV (to make sure the depth of field would cover the different ornaments), ISO 800, Exposure +2, and then the picture was taken using a 2 second self time to eliminate shaking. This picture has NOT been retouched except to crop it.
While I suspect I might have gotten a decent picture with the FZ28, I would have had a difficult time getting both this much detail and this little noise. Not a picture I would take often, but this may be the proof that there is some use to spending a bit more on a "low end" DSLR. With the kit lens the Canon XSi is about $570. A new FZ35 is around $400. This picture may help you decide which way to go...
Of course this is just day one. The real test will come when I'm hiking in a couple days. How much will I miss the 18x zoom versus how good are the pictures I get with this camera. We'll see :-)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Gizmodo has a decent explanation of the current state of cameras
As the title mentions, Gizmodo has put out a nice article on the current state of cameras. While it's a little broad brush in some places, it gets most of the key concepts across. Most folks reading this blog know most of this, but it's a great article to point your friends or relatives to who may need to know this stuff so they know what to buy for you :-)
One point about the article that bears mention, currently almost ALL DSLR cameras use CMOS sensors - only the Nikon D3000 still uses a CCD sensor. In fact that little issue is one of the big reasons I went with the Canon offer rather than Nikon. To a certain extent the D3000 is a point and shoot that just happens to have an interchangeable lens. Not really something worth the effort IMNSHO.
Oh well, tomorrow should be the day the new equipment arrives, and the experiment can begin in earnest.
One point about the article that bears mention, currently almost ALL DSLR cameras use CMOS sensors - only the Nikon D3000 still uses a CCD sensor. In fact that little issue is one of the big reasons I went with the Canon offer rather than Nikon. To a certain extent the D3000 is a point and shoot that just happens to have an interchangeable lens. Not really something worth the effort IMNSHO.
Oh well, tomorrow should be the day the new equipment arrives, and the experiment can begin in earnest.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Slight update on the experiment
After talking with both the daughter and the folks at Canon, I'm going to do things a bit differently. My daughter will be getting a new XS, and I will be getting a new XSi. This is mainly because I want at least one of the two cameras to have the same MP count as my Panasonic to make sure I'm not going gaga over a difference between the 2MP rather than a real quantitative difference. I also wanted to make sure we would both have our cameras in time for a trip we're taking this weekend. This way I can be sure of both.
For the first trip we're both going to also be using just the kit 18-55 lenses that come with the cameras. I will be getting a 55-200 in a couple weeks (out of stock right now) which will give me some options for checking out Zoom versus Zoom as well.
I'm excited, but also a little apprehensive. What if it turns out I was right after all and I don't like the DSLRs? :-)
For the first trip we're both going to also be using just the kit 18-55 lenses that come with the cameras. I will be getting a 55-200 in a couple weeks (out of stock right now) which will give me some options for checking out Zoom versus Zoom as well.
I'm excited, but also a little apprehensive. What if it turns out I was right after all and I don't like the DSLRs? :-)
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The Big Experiment - Going DSLR...
OK, it was brought to my attention that just because I have sold some of my photos, and just because some people LIKE my photos, that I could hardly be taken seriously writing about not needing a DSLR if I'd never owned one myself.
So... I'm taking the plunge. The nice folks at Canon are helping me to get a Canon T1i for myself, and a remanufactured XSi for my daughter who is into photography. So I'll be talking about the good and the bad about moving to this different platform, and see whether I change my mind about how important a DSLR is to an amateur photographer.
So... I'm taking the plunge. The nice folks at Canon are helping me to get a Canon T1i for myself, and a remanufactured XSi for my daughter who is into photography. So I'll be talking about the good and the bad about moving to this different platform, and see whether I change my mind about how important a DSLR is to an amateur photographer.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Good GIMP Tutorial
The problem with many HowTo or SelfHelp sites on the net is that they tend to get filled with articles that either don't give enough detail, or that are promoting a product under the guise of "solving" a problem. However, that doesn't mean they don't have ANY good articles.
WikiHow has a very nice tutorial on using the Paths tool in GIMP to remove the background from an image. That article also links to a few additional good GIMP tutorials. I personally use Paint.Net for a lot of my editing since it does have layers, and it doesn't have a lot of tools I don't know how to use. However, there are some things I've found that I can only do in GIMP/Photoshop - and I know I really "should" get more comfortable with both tools.
WikiHow has a very nice tutorial on using the Paths tool in GIMP to remove the background from an image. That article also links to a few additional good GIMP tutorials. I personally use Paint.Net for a lot of my editing since it does have layers, and it doesn't have a lot of tools I don't know how to use. However, there are some things I've found that I can only do in GIMP/Photoshop - and I know I really "should" get more comfortable with both tools.
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