Getting to know your camera is where we start. My primary gear is a Nikon D7100 purchased recently to replace my first entry into digital photography in 2007 with a Nikon D80. My first camera in 1954 was a Brownie 127 - no manual, fixed focus, fixed speed and fixed aperture
(65mm, one fiftieth sec, f14 respectively) all on an eight exposure roll of 120 size film. I also shoot when travelling light with a Sony NEX6 (which like the Nikon has an APS-C size sensor) with a 16-50mm lens and a f1-8 portrait lens of 50mm. Having bought the NikonD7100 recently I am well read of its 358 pages but have revisited this again, I am reminded of several features I'd forgotten including the ability to change the image area from the 1.5 crop factor of DX (24x16mm) to 1.3 crop factor (18x12mm) hence enhancing the telephone capabilities. However, having served my SLR apprentiship with an Ashia Pentax S1a in the sixties with no electronics, no built in light meter, but just shutter speed, aperture and film speed (ISO/ASA) settings, these are the three controls I mainly live with on modern cameras today, together with a Sekonic exposure meter.
So onto the first exercise - focal length and angle of view, illustrated and annotated above. The brief waa to take a series of photographs from one spot - 50mm equivalent wide angle and telephoto. I chose my f2-8 18-50mm lens for this exercise and shot the pictures as per the briefing instruction. I printed them out on A4 paper, went back to the spot where the pictures were taken and held the prints at various distances from the eye to produce the same view as I was seeing and measured the distances from the eye that viewing was needed to achieve this.
The outcomes are listed with the focal lengths in the picture summary above and at 34mm (50mm equivilent) I had to hold the print 14 inches from my eye for the garden view to appear the same size as I was seeing with my eyes. Similarly, the other two pictures 18mm (27mm equivalent) wide angle had to come closer to 8 inches of my eye to give the same perspective whilst in zoom telephoto setting at 50mm (75mm equivalent) I had to hold the print much further away at nearly two feet to get the same view as my eye.
I have always been aware of the effect of focal lengths and the similarity for example of 50mm being similar to what the eye sees since my days with the Pentax S1a with it's wonderful 50mm lens shooting on to FP4 black & white film 36x24mm. But doing this as a first step on the course was something I'd never done before and it was an interesting exercise and made me think more about focal lengths and what the eye is seeing when we are out and about. I hope I have done this exercise correctly as my start to the course!
23rd April 2014.
(65mm, one fiftieth sec, f14 respectively) all on an eight exposure roll of 120 size film. I also shoot when travelling light with a Sony NEX6 (which like the Nikon has an APS-C size sensor) with a 16-50mm lens and a f1-8 portrait lens of 50mm. Having bought the NikonD7100 recently I am well read of its 358 pages but have revisited this again, I am reminded of several features I'd forgotten including the ability to change the image area from the 1.5 crop factor of DX (24x16mm) to 1.3 crop factor (18x12mm) hence enhancing the telephone capabilities. However, having served my SLR apprentiship with an Ashia Pentax S1a in the sixties with no electronics, no built in light meter, but just shutter speed, aperture and film speed (ISO/ASA) settings, these are the three controls I mainly live with on modern cameras today, together with a Sekonic exposure meter.
So onto the first exercise - focal length and angle of view, illustrated and annotated above. The brief waa to take a series of photographs from one spot - 50mm equivalent wide angle and telephoto. I chose my f2-8 18-50mm lens for this exercise and shot the pictures as per the briefing instruction. I printed them out on A4 paper, went back to the spot where the pictures were taken and held the prints at various distances from the eye to produce the same view as I was seeing and measured the distances from the eye that viewing was needed to achieve this.
The outcomes are listed with the focal lengths in the picture summary above and at 34mm (50mm equivilent) I had to hold the print 14 inches from my eye for the garden view to appear the same size as I was seeing with my eyes. Similarly, the other two pictures 18mm (27mm equivalent) wide angle had to come closer to 8 inches of my eye to give the same perspective whilst in zoom telephoto setting at 50mm (75mm equivalent) I had to hold the print much further away at nearly two feet to get the same view as my eye.
I have always been aware of the effect of focal lengths and the similarity for example of 50mm being similar to what the eye sees since my days with the Pentax S1a with it's wonderful 50mm lens shooting on to FP4 black & white film 36x24mm. But doing this as a first step on the course was something I'd never done before and it was an interesting exercise and made me think more about focal lengths and what the eye is seeing when we are out and about. I hope I have done this exercise correctly as my start to the course!
23rd April 2014.