Questions Asked, Questions Answered

Ever since I started this simple blog of mine, I started getting questions from friends of mine who (kindly) read what this poor schlub writes and from a sprinkling of good folks who either just wandered into this blog by accident or are just bored and want to pass time by reading what I write. Anyways, I thought it might be a good idea to get some of the common questions I get and post those here with my answers. Mind you though, I ain’t no photography expert. Far from it. I’m just a shcmuck who likes to read and gets lucky sometimes so that I get rewarded by a good photo or two, so what the answers you read here are all just my personal opinions.

Question: Which is better, a DSLR or compact?
My answer: It depends on a number of factors and I won’t take the time to talk about just one here. Let’s take shooting situation. There are shooting situations where a DSLR would be necessary (like covering an event or if you’re going on vacation and you just happen to own a DSLR) while there are situations where a using a compact would be, well, proper (like shooting a private gathering with very close friends inside a small, cozy restaurant). As I own a film SLR, a DSLR and  compact, I’ve had my humble share of experiencing how my subjects see or treat me depending on the camera I bring. I found out that when I shoot people on the street using my SLR, the word “photographer” clicks inside their head and the result is that most of them shy away or give me a threatening stare while if I use a compact, they are more…accommodating. On a trip in Egypt a couple of years back, I was shooting with my Nikon FM10 (now gone, thanks to a thief) and Sony digital compact. As we went through the ghettos of Cairo with me documeting in pictures the things we see and people we talk to (client requirement), I experienced that when I heft up my SLR, a number of my subjects turned cold on me. Some even gave me threatening stares while one shooed me away physically. However, if I bag the SLR then bring out my small, unobtrusive Sony almost all of my subjects were friendly towards me – some even asking me to photograph them with their kids. Anyway, my point is that you study the shooting situation that you’d be in. If you got enough room on your bag, bring your compact.

Question: Which matters more, the number of megapixels or the size of the sensor?
My answer: None of the above. Neither.Sure, people tell you that a camera that has the most megapixels packed into a sensor is the better camera. Not really. You might be using a 50megapixelm shooter but if you can’t compose an image worth a damn and don’t understand light, you’re big-bomb shooter won’t give you the quality photos you like. What’s important (I think) is the size of the individual pixels. Think of a pixel as a sponge. The larger and denser the sponge, the better it can absorb and retain water. The greater sensitivity to light, the better to capture images using high ISO settings with the less noise on the resulting image. It goes without saying of course that the bigger the size of the individual pixels, the bigger the size requirement for the sensor.

Question: My camera has both optical and digital image stabilization. Which is better to use?
My answer: Optical stabilization, hands down. Why? It’s because optical stabilization involves elements or “parts” inside your lens or on the sensor that moves to counteract your hand tremors when handholding at slower shutter speeds. What digital stabilization does is just bump up the ISO setting and boost the shutter speed – sometimes using a built-in software inside the processor to sharpen the image. If you’re camera has both, use optical stabilization. If not and the stabilization mode is only digital, then I guess you’re stuck with it. Cheer up! It’s better than nothing.

Question: What makes a lens fast?
My answer: A fast lens lets in more light through a large aperture. The smaller the aperture number, the larger the opening to let light in. So, a 50mm lens with an aperture of f/1.4 would let in more light than a 50mm lens that has a maximum aperture of f/2.8. Lens with larger apertures allows you to shoot at faster shutter speeds.

Question: Why is there such a thing as an “equivalent focal length”?
My answer: It refers to the corresponding focal length on a 35mm film camera. A number of cameras have cropped sensors, which means the sensor is smaller than a 35mm frame of film. Let’s say you’re using a 50mm lens made specifically for cropped-sensor film cameras. Since the sensor is “cropped”, the 50mm lens will only capture the center of the image made by a full-frame 50mm lens. Therefore, your 50mm cropped-sensor lens really doesn’t reflect all the areas of an image that would be captured if you had used a full-frame sensor camera or  35mm film camera that has a 50mm lens built for full-frame sensor or for a 35mm film camera. Thus, your 50mmm cropped-sensor lens would capture that a full-frame 75mm lens would capture when used with a full-frame camera.

Question: I’ve rock steady hands so why are hand tremors still affecting my photos?
My answer: You got a pulse don’t you? Believe it or not, the pulse beat on your wrist produces pretty good movement that affects the steadiness of your hand and this movement is captured by the camera when you’re shooting at high ISOs using slower shutter speeds.

Question: Why does my camera produce blurred images when I take photos where my hand is moving? Shouldn’t the image stabilization feature give me focused subjects on my photos even if I shake my hand?
My answer: The image stabilization feature is not built for that use. Even if you’re camera has the best image stabilization your money can buy but you shake your camera or move your hands while tripping the shutter, no amount of image stabilization will help your photo.

Question: My camera has an Automatic mode and a Program mode. My manual says that they’re practically the same so is their any difference between the two?
My answer: Yes their is. Check your manual. Chances are, the explanation is written inside somewhere.Then maybe not as some manuals don’t really explain the difference. Auto mode is pure vanilla mode, meaning the camera does all the work for you as it sets the aperture, shutter speed, ISO setting, flash, while balance and focusing mode for you depending on how it reads the entire scene you are trying to take a photo of. In Program mode, all the camera does it set the aperture and shutter speed for you – nothing else. It’s up for you to decide to whether or not adjust the other settings or if you want to flash or not. Think about it as two cars: one with manual shift while with Automatic shift. Both cars will let you start the engine, press the gas and drive on. The difference is that in manual shift, you need to select the correct gear while in Automatic shift, the car does the gear shifting work for you.

Question: What is Program shift?
My answer: It’s when you grab your telly remote and change the channel. Just kidding. Program shift is a feature on a number of DSLRs that allows he user to change the aperture and shutter speed combination while maintaining the exposure reading. For example, you’re shooting an outdoor portrait of a lovely girl. You set the camera to f/8 at 1/250. When you check the image on your viewfinder, you find that the background is distracting and it needs to be blurred. Using Program shift will allow you to hold the same exposure while you change the aperture f/2.8. What this does is it changes the shutter speed to f/2.8. The result when you click the shutter button is that the camera will allow the same amount of light as you would if you had retained the f/8 at 1/250 setting but the effect on the portrait would be the girl in sharp focus while the background is blurred.

Question: I got an lens that has the markings f/2.8 – 5.6 on it. What do these numbers mean?
My answer: Those are my IQ scores. 5.6 is the best I can do on a good day. Again, just kidding. C’mon! You don’t think I have that low of an IQ? Uh…don’t answer that. Anyways, it means your telephoto zoom can do it fast or do it slow. The more you zoom the lens, the slower it gets. Lets say you have a standard kit lens of 18-55mm f/3.5 – 5.6. This means that if you go as large as 18mm, the widest you can go is at f/3.5 while when you zoom in to 55mm the widest you can go is f/5.6.

Question: Is it harmful to frequently format the memory card on my camera?
My answer: Nah. It’s not harmful. In fact, experts suggest we format our memory cards often – and I’m not talking about our brain. Reformatting wipes the memory disk clean as it scrubs images, physically deletes filenames and other image-related data on the card. By the way, to ensure that your memory cards work properly on your camera, don’t format them with your computer: format them using your camera.

Question: I’ve an old flash that worked with my old 35mm film camera. Will it work on my DSLR?
My answer: It depends. For instance, don’t expect a Pentax flash to work on your Canon or expect a Sunpak flash made for a Nikon work with an Olympus. Different systems. Say that you’re flash is for a Canon film shooter and you want to use it with your Canon DSLR. Canon to Canon so it should be safe right? Wrong. It depends on the voltage. Some old flash units use higher voltages compared to their new-age cousins. First thing to do is check the voltage on your camera and on your flash: the numbers need to be the same. If the voltage on your flash says 600 while your camera says 250, don’t use the flash as it will definitely fry your camera. Some newer flash models have a 9-volt trigger charge so technically, these would be safe to use on your camera. However, you still need to be careful when using this kind of flash. If you have this flash and you want to be safe, get a safe sync adapter.

Question: Teleconverter lenses are less expensive that telephoto lenses so why do I need to get a telephoto lens?
My answer: Teleconverter lenses will make your lens go slow. If you have a slow lens, it will make the lens go slower. Say you got a nifty f/2.8 lens and you slap on a 2x teleconverter. This will make your lens operate not at f/2.8 but at f/5.6. Now, for example you have an f/3.5 – 5.6 lens and you use a 3x telconverter on it, your lens will now operate at f/10.5 – 11.2. This is very dim and would prevent your camera AF from getting any focus. There are a number of inexpensive telezoom lenses out there so my suggestion is to save up for one. However, if you want extreme magnification and is willing to do manual focusing, slapping a 2x teleconverter lens on a 250mm camera will give you rewards especially if you like to shout the moon or celestial objects, like that of your pretty neighbor changing clothes. Pervert!

Question: My camera has three exposure settings: evaluative, center-weighted and spot. Is there any difference between the three?
My answer: Yes there is. All cameras, whether compact, DSLR or SLR, try to make some part of the image appear in midtone. What’s midtone? It’s the shade in the middle of very light and very dark. If you use evaluative metering, your camera will divide the scene into frames. Then, it compares the reading for each of the frames and then decides the “right” pattern for determining the “correct” exposure. Center weighted, meanwhile, takes into account all the light but emphasis is on the middle of the scene. Spot metering uses a small percent of the frame (5% or less) and typically meters at the center of the scene. Spot-metering gives you more control to choose the “correct” midtone. Center weighted works well with group portraits/photos while evaluative works well for all situations.

Question: I’ve just bought a new external flash but I don’t know how far it will reach?
My answer: Depends on your arm strength and how angry at your husband you are. Just kidding. Almost all shoe-mount flash units have guide numbers printed at the back and/or inside the manual. What the guide number does is tell you how far your flash unit will throw the light it emits at a given aperture or will tell you what aperture to set at a given distance. For example, if a flash has a range of 100 feet at ISO 100 using a lens that is set to f/3.5, the effective distance of the light emitted would be at 28.5 feet. The trick to determine is to divide the GN number by the aperture size. To determine the aperture size, divide the GN number by the distance. For example, the GN says 80 at ISO 100 and you’re shooting at 20 feet. Therefore, you need to set your aperture to f/4.

Question: What’s the difference between the Auto setting and the TTL setting of my camera?
My answer: Auto mode controls flash output by measuring how much the light flash reflects back to the sensor built into the flash while TTL controls flash output by how much flash reflects back through the lens (TTL) to the camera’s built in light meter. If your camera has TTL and you have a TTL flash, use it to accurately determine the flash exposure. It will also let you aim your flash in any direction to bounce the light. However, don’t discount the Auto mode as this will produce accurate results for almost all scenes.

Question: You talk to0 much. When will you stop?
My answer: Right about now.

Thanks for visiting!