Ask The Pros!

The crisp detail of this Australian rock art panel approaches or surpasses 35mm though shot with a digital camera.

Q. I have both digital SLRs and film SLRs. Which is the best for scenery photos with pro lenses?
—Dennis Ternent

A. Dennis,
It sounds to me like you could go either way on this question, so I’m going to guess you don’t have a strong love for the “look” of film. Some people just like film better, and I admit to liking it quite a lot, too. Having said that, I’m now an avid digital photographer. Detail, which is important to most landscape photographers, is excellent in most high-megapixel digital cameras. The other advantages of digital? Never running out of film in the field, using high ISO, HDR, no developing and scanning costs, managing focus and always knowing you have a correct exposure in the field, just to name a few.

A final big advantage to digital image-making for landscapes is what can be done in the digital darkroom. With Adobe Lightroom, photographers have more control than ever before over the finished product and can make excellent prints quickly and easily. When I worked only with film, it might have taken me months to introduce a new image to my retail gallery. With Lightroom, I can make prints and sell them on the same day the image is shot. The future of landscape photography is with digital imaging, and I think it will be a great one.
—Tom Till

Q. How can I become a wildlife photographer?
—Autumn Kuhn

A. Autumn,
First, give yourself time to become good. Slow and easy wins the race. Next, be very observant. While not totally accurate and often staged, wildlife documentaries can provide great insight into the way critters react to people and cameras. Look at the light and how it changes the way a critter comes across on film. Lastly, hook up with biologists. I’ve made no secret that the success I’ve enjoyed for the last 30 years comes from all the knowledge biologists have shared with me.
—Moose Peterson

Q. I am considering upgrading my Nikon D80 (which is a great camera) to the Nikon D700 because it is an FX format. If I want to advance my skills and produce the best possible images (keeping in mind I am still an amateur), which format would you recommend? (Money is somewhat of a consideration.)
—Dick Karch

A. Dick,
If you are happy with your D80, you need to ask yourself why get a D700. The so-called full-frame sensor has become this odd goal for photographers, yet most photographers will never see a difference in image quality. The full 35mm-size sensor does offer advantages in better high-ISO performance and the ability to use fast wide-angle lenses at their normal angle of view. However, for standard nature photography shot at normal ISOs, you would be hard pressed to see any difference on prints less than 16x24 inches.

The APS-C-sized sensors today are excellent. They also have some big benefits. You get a smaller camera and a magnification factor for lenses, which will get you more power from smaller, less expensive lenses. The D300 is less expensive than your D700 choice, would be less weight to carry on your shoulder and back, would act like your D80, would give you outstanding image quality and would upgrade your camera to the latest technologies.
—Rob Sheppard

Page 2 of 8

« Start Prev12345678Next End »

18 Comments

Feed

bucky mccamy makes this comment

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

without using a ladder how could i stand on the ground and take a picture 15 or so feet above ground.Like taking pictures of statues.Accessories like a stand to hold the camera and a way to snap the lens.
Melissa makes this comment

Friday, 04 September 2009

I am getting ready to buy a Canon 50d and a lense. I have a tight budget and can really only afford one lense for now. I am considering the 18-200mm although I have learned that the wider range reduces quality. Would I be better off to wait and save up the money to by multiple lenses? or would the 18-200 be fine for now? Is the quality with this lense good enough to produce marketable photos for magazines, calenders, ect?
picky makes this comment

Friday, 14 August 2009

So, the explanation of the cover photo of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park neglects to say that it was a double exposure. It mentions that it was shot with a 17-35mm lens, on film. However, with a wide-angle lens the moon would not even be remotely close to the size that it appears in the photo. A longer lens, at least a 300mm, was obviously used to shoot the moon. Also, the time of day is all wrong for the moon to appear in that position. It's the old full moon, double exposure on film technique. To achieve this, an entire roll of film is used up to shoot the full moon against the black night sky. Then, the film is re-loaded in the camera and the other photo is made. I'm rather disappointed that this publication has passed that photo off as a single exposure.
sean gleeson makes this comment

Monday, 27 July 2009

can you adjust the apeture for depth of field on a casio exilums880 camera thanks
Terry Bloom makes this comment

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

I went on vacation and shot everything in raw format. When I got home I am having trouble getting my pictures to download. Some of them seems to have been converted to jpeg and others are raw or thm files. Do I have to have special software to download the raw and thm files?
Michael Leitao makes this comment

Sunday, 12 July 2009

Hi, I am beginner and would like to study photography, i would like to purchase a profesional camera but need help in buying one. for the moment i dont have a big budget so would like to buy a camera which i could use for atleast 3-4 years to go. but at the same time would like to have the option in adding lens in order to upgrade my camera. I need help, please guide me through. Michael Leitao.
R. Nuport makes this comment

Wednesday, 08 July 2009

Greetings: Seeking expert opnion. 1. Technically, which is better... a. Lens IS ...Canon, Nikon ... or b. Sensor shift IS... Sony, Pentax ... 2. Is there a way to estimate approximate correlation of distance between full wide angle shot, and full zoom shot, to achieve at least one half full size shot with fully zoomed lens. Good example is the Ad Shot on inside cover of OP, of Tamron Lens at 18mm and 270mm. The zoomed shot pretty much what may be obtained at 10 feet or so. Thank you for your time and help in every particular. R. Nuport.
Christian Egeland makes this comment

Monday, 29 June 2009

I have made numerous trips to Alaska and cannot believe how blue the icebergs are. I understand they absorb all the colors except blue. Anyway, I have used everything from my old Pentax K1000, camcorders and most recently my Sony DSC-H2 digital camera with the same results. The pictures always lack the beautiful blue in the icebergs that the naked eye sees. What do the pros do to capture the blue and not just get almost all white?
Wayne makes this comment

Saturday, 27 June 2009

Hi, I have a EOS 40D with a variety of lenses. I no longer have a standard zoom as I gave it away with my rebel xt. I wanted advice on choices for replacement. I gravitate towards landscapes, city scapes and street portraiture and i wanted to upgrade to a fast lens. My choices as i see them are the EF-S 17-55, 17-40L, and the sigma and tamron equivalents. My challenge is I'm concerned As to whether the cost of the canon 17-55 is worth it considering it's apc format or should I get the 17-40L or even the sigma or tamron equivalents. Which do you recommend?
Brian makes this comment

Thursday, 25 June 2009

I am new to digital cameras. I have one question. How does one know when to use the right aperture settings in certain condition in daylight, hazy in the background, moving objects at night. I generally use f4 when there is low light & set the iso to 1000 depending on the conditions. In a setting my f stop f5.6, f11 & beyond in what situations would I use these higher f stop??. Would this be for getting more depth of field when shooting wildlife?. Thanks in adv.
blaze831 makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

How do I downsize a 30MB image file to something less than 1MB for online submissions to photo contests without the image becoming totally pixelated? Thanks! Mark
captian roger makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

what would be the best online photography class to take to become a pro ???
Stephen Ross makes this comment

Saturday, 20 June 2009

I use a Nikon D-200 with a Sigma 150mm macro, Nikkor 80-400 zoom and 24-80mm zoom. All three lenses have their smallest aperture at f-22. However, I have noticed numerous times that the camera display will often register f-stops from f-29 through even f-45 when I am scrolling the f-stop dial in Aperture mode. Am I actually getting those smaller f-stops registered by the camera when the shutter is activated or is the camera only registering f-22 set by the lens?
Maureen makes this comment

Thursday, 18 June 2009

Really good article. I enjoyed reading what the pros had to say.
Melissa makes this comment

Monday, 15 June 2009

I have Lightroom and ACDsee on my computer, I would like to know what applications to use to create a black/white photo with color accents. I cannot figure out how to layer and erase on this program. Is there a different program that would be better for this? Could someone give me step by step instructions on how to do this technique? Thanks in advance for the help.
Luther makes this comment

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Hi. I've been an Outdoor Photogpraher subscriber since 1987. I'm astonished by the problems I am having trying to locate a USGS topographical map of the Joshua Tree National Park. I get tons of commercial trail maps, "attraction" maps, etc, but cannot locate what I need: a USGS topographical map of the Joshua Tree National Monument, recently promoted to Joshua Tree National Park. Has greed really completely displaced service on the Web...? Any reasonable tips would be appreciated. I will be in the Joshua Tree park area July 3 for a couple of days, and would really like to nail a dynamite sunrise or sunset shot. Thanks for your help. By the way, I live about 1.5 miles from Art Wolfe. Thanks, Luther Martin
SilverWolf4445 makes this comment

Sunday, 14 June 2009

I want to start photographing the outdoors,but I need a camera that's low cost,good pictures,and great relability for landscapes.So what camera would best fit me?
gompfer makes this comment

Friday, 12 June 2009

Is post processing a necessity or an option. Can you shoot digital and get the shot you want without any post processing? I never hear anyone saying they don't post process. The challenge in slide film was to get the shot because you couldn't manipulate it. How much of that has gone to the way side because of the ability to post process? John

How-To

Ask The Pros!

18 Comments

Add Comment

Recent OP Articles

Popular OP Articles

OP Most Popular Tags