Night Shots Review

[NLovis]

Ok with the deadline looming for history under the stars and me getting used to my camera I think its about time to review some of my night shots to figure out exactly what needs work and what might be possible contention photos. I would go over them msyelf but I feel I would benefit better with reviews from the pros. If you would like to view more of my photos they are located here at http://www.flickr.com/photos/53766376@N03/ and here http://profile.imageshack.us/user/AA_MD_80 Thanks in advance

[gonzalu]

Nick, I hate to tell you this, god knows what you will do, but the above shots are perhaps your best, day or night LOL.

[NIKV69]

Yep Nick your skills have improved big time now you just have to stop posting sensitive company info and you are all set! LOL

[NLovis]

Nick, I hate to tell you this, god knows what you will do, but the above shots are perhaps your best, day or night LOL.

Yes the above shots are very good ill admit but I feel I can still do better. What ill do Manny is work on my photos so there even better.

[wunaladreamin]

Nick, I hope you don't mean re-editing them. Some of those suffer from clear blurring even at low-res, which translates to more visible blur at hi-res. Best thing to do is get a good, steady tripod, ask questions, and really listen to some answers.

[NLovis]

Nick, I hope you don't mean re-editing them. Some of those suffer from clear blurring even at low-res, which translates to more visible blur at hi-res. Best thing to do is get a good, steady tripod, ask questions, and really listen to some answers.

No not re-editing. A tripod on the AOA is a cannot do. Outside with the living world yea its a good idea. Id need to save up as I have a loan on my new car. Btw which ones have the clear blurring? I dont see it...

[wunaladreamin]

Try the Amvona site. They have great deals. Your DL B744, N485EV, and F-GSPL all suffer from blur, over-sharpening, and grain. I suspect the over-sharpening comes from the attempt to offset the blur, which we all know is not possible, and the grain is a result of the over-sharpening. On a good note, your white balancing is very good. May I ask what you're using to edit?

[NLovis]

Actually I am not fiddling with the color balance. The colors you see is unedited in the photos I take. These photos I realise I oversharpened them. I have gotten better with noticing when the oversharpening since manny told me bout it. I will need to put a few recent photos up on this page for review.

[wunaladreamin]

I know you're shooting there without a tripod. I definitely do recommend taking night shots of your car or your house using your tripod. In a perfect world, you'd still want to keep the iso down to minimize grain. I can see you're using gimp to edit. One thing that may help your grain situation is to select the plane only before sharpening. Sharpening creates massive amounts of grain in an empty sky be it day or night (sucks that the blue channel is the most noise prone). I know you're really shooting for the night under the stars event and without a tripod, I'm not sure you're going to make it. My advice besides with the sharpening techniques is to really learn how to use a tripod. Like I said, shoot some pics of your car or something and post them up.

[NLovis]

I know you're shooting there without a tripod. I definitely do recommend taking night shots of your car or your house using your tripod. In a perfect world, you'd still want to keep the iso down to minimize grain. I can see you're using gimp to edit. One thing that may help your grain situation is to select the plane only before sharpening. Sharpening creates massive amounts of grain in an empty sky be it day or night (sucks that the blue channel is the most noise prone). I know you're really shooting for the night under the stars event and without a tripod, I'm not sure you're going to make it. My advice besides with the sharpening techniques is to really learn how to use a tripod. Like I said, shoot some pics of your car or something and post them up.

Im actually using a program that I got with my camera to edit. I am however using gimp to add my watermark. Maby there is a tripod in the attic somewhere. I need to see, if not ill have to save up and buy one.

[wunaladreamin]

Just a word to the wise, most if not all the programs that come with your camera will not afford you the ability to to what you need to do to properly edit a photo. My suggestion is to abandon it and really learn gimp or look into photoshop elements or better.

[Derf]

I concur with the need for a tripod, you are not going to get good quality at night without it. A good tripod is a must with a long lens but for a regular kit type lens any 3 broomsticks will do. Here is an inexpensive tripod that will be horrible with a 300mm lens but will do nicely with any 50mm or less lens. Low ISO's and keep the f-stop high will yield low noise and more definition in your dark areas.

A tripod is a must, until then try worms eye view by laying it on the ground or a piece of equipment like a truck with the motor off (as long as there is no wind or the car will move). You need a tripod, there is no way around it. Here is an inexpensive and will probably only last a year, but it will be worth every dime!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...255&SID=187652

[Fighting_falcon_51]

I have a similar Dolica tripod and while they are not the best ones out there they do work pretty well and very good value for the price. If you're on a budget I suggest you get it.

EDIT: Btw I did put my 70-300 on it and I did not trust it enough to let it go but that defeats the purpose since you want to be as still as possible.

[NLovis]

I will def be looking into a tripod thats for sure. Yes for now im on a budget but once this is paid off next year im all set to spend a little more money though I need to save for a place of my own one day.

[Derf]

Here is a tripod for $18 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...255&SID=190898