June - Round 6; Ghostly or Spooky - Discussion thread

[smoker]

You can see the moon from the most light polluted places on earth, eg central London where I did my Astronomy degree 20 years ago. It's thousands of times brighter than any of the stars. I would expect high buildings to be more of a problem out your way AB.

As Mercia says, there are always ways of interpreting a subject matter differently, but I think it would be cool to encourage people to think about things outside the earth. Given that it's July's competition and we are so close to the summer solstice, I am tending towards "The Sun". This would allow for a wide range of interpretations. I also think it would be quite cool to compare it with the entries for "Earth".

 

[AB22 Easy Tiger]

You can see the moon from the most light polluted places on earth, eg central London where I did my Astronomy degree 20 years ago. It's thousands of times brighter than any of the stars. I would expect high buildings to be more of a problem out your way AB.

As Mercia says, there are always ways of interpreting a subject matter differently, but I think it would be cool to encourage people to think about things outside the earth. Given that it's July's competition and we are so close to the summer solstice, I am tending towards "The Sun". This would allow for a wide range of interpretations. I also think it would be quite cool to compare it with the entries for "Earth".

Actually Smoker, we get some great views of the moon through the smog. I've seen all sorts of wonderful colours. I'm just not proficient enough to shoot it so I thought I'd try to bluff you into thinking I can't see it. Bugger.

 

[not spavin]

Smoker - can you take decent astrological shots without modifying your camera? It's summat I'd love to have go of like.

 

[smoker]

Smoker - can you take decent astrological shots without modifying your camera? It's summat I'd love to have go of like.

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Yup, my entry in this month's competition was taken with an unmodified 10D. For a lot of my star trails or wide sky shots with the modded 20D, I generally use a custom white balance to filter out the extra red.

 

[Deleted member 5265]

My camera's gone missing . I've been doing a bit of travelling for work through the month, and I think it just failed to make it back into the suitcase on one trip. So, there's unlikely to be a photo from me this month.

Still, at least I have the excuse now to buy a digital SLR.

 

[not spavin]

My camera's gone missing . I've been doing a bit of travelling for work through the month, and I think it just failed to make it back into the suitcase on one trip. So, there's unlikely to be a photo from me this month.

Still, at least I have the excuse now to buy a digital SLR.

Go for it, you won't look back. £230 for a Nikon D40 with 18-55 lens here. A brilliant, brilliant starter DSLR. I keep on meaning to sell mine, used it twice in 18 months, but can't bring myself to part with it.

 

[peachy]

Go for it, you won't look back. £230 for a Nikon D40 with 18-55 lens here. A brilliant, brilliant starter DSLR. I keep on meaning to sell mine, used it twice in 18 months, but can't bring myself to part with it.

If you are going to go from point and shoot to DSLR, why shouldn't you go for the best rather than some "starter". ?

 

[not spavin]

If you are going to go from point and shoot to DSLR, why shouldn't you go for the best rather than some "starter". ?

The D40 does everything you need. You can make it fully manual, which is the main thing. The sensor isn't the very best available, but it's perfectly capable of producing great images.

The best costs money, unfortunately. The best bet for non-Pros is, imo, the D90. Trouble is, that's at least £750 including the lens.

I'd sooner have the most basic DSLR than the best P&S. Before I bought my D40, I got myself the top of the range, titanium bodied Canon Ixus, think it cost £350 at the time. It was and is a great P&S, but it wasn't even in the same league as the D40.

You have a point though. I bought the D40, and after a year I upgraded to the D2X. Had I just went for the D2X from the get go, I'd have saved the £400 or whatever it is for the D40. Mind, I doubt I would have every shelled out D2X money before 'getting the bug' via the D40.

 

[peachy]

The D40 does everything you need. You can make it fully manual, which is the main thing. The sensor isn't the very best available, but it's perfectly capable of producing great images.

The best costs money, unfortunately. The best bet for non-Pros is, imo, the D90. Trouble is, that's at least £750 including the lens.

I'd sooner have the most basic DSLR than the best P&S. Before I bought my D40, I got myself the top of the range, titanium bodied Canon Ixus, think it cost £350 at the time. It was and is a great P&S, but it wasn't even in the same league as the D40.

You have a point though. I bought the D40, and after a year I upgraded to the D2X. Had I just went for the D2X from the get go, I'd have saved the £400 or whatever it is for the D40. Mind, I doubt I would have every shelled out D2X money before 'getting the bug' via the D40.

I made my point from the olden days; i bought a Canon A1 which was the bees knees of a camera, I never regretted it for a moment, it was just the best camera to own. So, money aside, Janie P should go for the very best DSLR going (imo) she is a lawyer I believe, so can afford it, I love her photos, so she should go for it !

 

[not spavin]

I made my point from the olden days; i bought a Canon A1 which was the bees knees of a camera, I never regretted it for a moment, it was just the best camera to own. So, money aside, Janie P should go for the very best DSLR going (imo) she is a lawyer I believe, so can afford it, I love her photos, so she should go for it !

Oh aye - if she has the money then she should get the best she can afford. I'd totally recommend the D90, or even D300. It wouldn't be wasted on her.

Having said that, the D40 is terrific too if you didn't want to spend big money. It's a proper SLR. I used mine a bit ago after prolonged use of my D2X - a pro camera that was literally 10 x the price of the D40 at launch - and was pleasantly surprised just how capable it was.

 

[taipeisafc]

My camera's gone missing . I've been doing a bit of travelling for work through the month, and I think it just failed to make it back into the suitcase on one trip. So, there's unlikely to be a photo from me this month.

Still, at least I have the excuse now to buy a digital SLR.

I am in the same boat, cameras are in Beijing and I am in Lanzhou until the 1st July so no entry from me either (mind based on my previous couple of entries that is no real loss).

 

[Cartman]

I made my point from the olden days; i bought a Canon A1 which was the bees knees of a camera, I never regretted it for a moment, it was just the best camera to own. So, money aside, Janie P should go for the very best DSLR going (imo) she is a lawyer I believe, so can afford it, I love her photos, so she should go for it !

it not so much about the camera in my opinion, it's the lens that you should spend as much as you can on, they will last a lifetime.

 

[Deleted member 5265]

Thanks for the advice folks, you've persuaded me to do it!

 

[clyde]

what have ya gone for then?

if ya didnt wanna go for a full blown dslr then maybe consider something like this?

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[peachy]

it not so much about the camera in my opinion, it's the lens that you should spend as much as you can on, they will last a lifetime.

Prime lenses are better than non prime but I have an excellent non brand ie Not Canon telephoto lens too. So yes research before you buy. Also it is in the end the photographer not the camera that makes a photograph!

 

[Mercia Blackcat]

If the topic was the Sun then be careful looking through a viewfinder directly at the Sun especially if using a high telephoto lens.

 

[peachy]

Janie, is that no C&C ?? Did you get your new camera?

 

[Deleted member 5265]

In the absence of a "proper" camera, I've just put one up I took on my blackberry a couple of weeks ago. It was something I "stumbled upon" and was kicking myself that I didn't have my proper camera with me.

Thanks for all the advice of DSLRs. I haven't had time to read through it all yet, but I will do.

 

[peachy]

If the topic was the Sun then be careful looking through a viewfinder directly at the Sun especially if using a high telephoto lens.

You should not even look at the sun should you?

 

[Deleted member 5265]

Janie, is that no C&C ?? Did you get your new camera?

Thanks for the reminder Peachy, I've gone and done a quick edit.

No new camera yet, I need to research it a bit first. Ebay here I come!