tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83179396243636588472024-03-18T21:36:37.398-07:00Photography As I amSharing photography as an interest.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-36092263745100952632019-04-10T01:56:00.001-07:002019-04-10T01:56:36.178-07:00A year, a year and I am still hereA year has gone by since I've posted. But I haven't had much further to post regarding the Samsung NX300.<br />
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Now, I absolutely love my NX300 and wish I could get my hands on a 60mm macro. I have the 30mm and the 18-55mm, both of which are very good. I rely more now on the 30mm because for stock photos the 18-55mm is limited.<br />
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So the reason I'm posting is because I wanted to share a photo I took recently. With camera sales seeing a decline across the numerous manufacturers, people seem to be leaning towards smartphones more than DSLRs. The price for any smartphone that could get remotely close is a little too high for me to consider giving up DSLRs.<br />
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Anywho, back to the photo. It's a simple photo of a Marigold found in the garden. The petals of the Marigold caught the last rays of the setting Sun. Other than some darkening of the edges and sharpening everything else was caught in camera on the Samsung NX300 and 30mm.<br />
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I am going to show you a cropped version of my original (which can be found on my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/693176185/moody-marigolds-wall-art?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=marigold&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1" target="_blank">Etsy Shop</a>) that hasn't had any processing done.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjFLaoF52NK8WNa-w5LMn1u-GGxGlWwFenLDvoMRP3XH54pWLIH0j8yo8H6knmYDfm19yx7K_0Qwgg2uMovYnm_ldMg7k7MMuZY7HLTGJe0YUe-X2EGMVK4RTaG1d7i65StB2iF1vL1A/s1600/_SAM1114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1283" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjFLaoF52NK8WNa-w5LMn1u-GGxGlWwFenLDvoMRP3XH54pWLIH0j8yo8H6knmYDfm19yx7K_0Qwgg2uMovYnm_ldMg7k7MMuZY7HLTGJe0YUe-X2EGMVK4RTaG1d7i65StB2iF1vL1A/s320/_SAM1114.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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f2, 1/500, ISO 200, no flash</div>
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I used Manual and underexposed slightly to enhance the lit area of the flower. The settings above will be different for your lighting so use as more of a guideline. </div>
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I feel Samsung had a good thing going with their cameras and would have loved to see them stick around.</div>
Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-77825822651511003062018-03-30T07:41:00.001-07:002018-03-30T07:42:30.647-07:00When you hit a photographic dead endI haven't updated this blog in awhile because I hit a creative dead end with my photography. I'm not shy to admit it because everyone, even the most seasoned photographer goes through this.<br />
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How you get out of it is another thing. What works for one won't work for the other and so on. What worked for me was a creative break into another medium, clay. I think it was a reminder of why I started out with photography, creating worlds in photos, seeing things from a different view....<br />
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You tend to get bogged down with trying to keep up with the latest trend, what people like, how to keep clients happy, how to get prospective clients etc. It kicks your fun right between the legs.<br />
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Anywho, while obsessively researching how to use Polymer clay and seeing some pretty amazing things, I felt my spark start to kindle. I accidentally, or maybe unconsciously intentionally stumbled across some tutorials on using one speedlite to act as multiple light sources. I only have one speedlite and attempts to make my own lights, while fairly successful, just couldn't give me that power I needed.<br />
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I will share two youtube videos by two photographers. I would suggest watching Photigy's video because he discusses a topic that I've known about before but never really paid attention to until I hit my dead end....you don't need gear to get a shot.<br />
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You always want to do it right so you get the gear, what you can, but even then you still can't get the shots you want and that gets you down.<br />
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Remove the gear, keep it simple and build up from there. Yes, having multiple light sources is great, but it can overwhelm you with having to think about where they need to go. Seasoned photographers have the advantage of knowing what to put where, most of the time and that's because they had to start with something basic and build it up.<br />
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If you find that things are frustrating you, take a step back and think about what you want to achieve. Think about whether or not you really need so much gear (no one will look down on you for using the basics) to get that photo.<br />
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I tried the composite idea, I need to work on it lol. But I actually had fun for once in a long time and that opened up further creative ideas.<br />
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With <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTo4Jrn-EgA" target="_blank">Photigy </a>everything is done in camera using long exposure.<br />
With <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_IkD0KLdXA" target="_blank">Workphlo</a> multiple shots are taken, then processed together in Photoshop. Photoshop Elements or GIMP will also work fine but you do need a program that can handle layers.<br />
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For a DIY diffuser check this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu9xxRkCch8" target="_blank">link </a>share by Photigy.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-79831297795143730972017-05-18T06:50:00.001-07:002017-05-18T06:50:08.361-07:00Samsung cameras, going going gone?There was a rumour that Samsung would be leaving the camera market and selling their design to another manufacturer. Whether or not this is true I have noticed the absence of Samsung cameras and lenses on the market.<br />
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I was trying to find out the price of the Samsung 60mm macro but couldn't find one single supplier in South Africa. Contacting Samsung didn't help as they directed me to a service center who told me to contact Samsung. Fun eh?<br />
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So it would seem that in South Africa Samsung cameras and lenses are no longer available, unless you can find them secondhand.<br />
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Anywho, I can't think of what else I can discuss or experiment regarding the Samsung NX300 (although I would have LOVED the 60mm macro lens) so if you have anything you want me to check out drop me a message below.<br />
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Sad though, it's a pretty good camera. Here a link to more info about Samsung and whether or not they have really pulled their camera and lenses off the market: <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/samsung-exit-camera-business/2/" target="_blank">Digitaltrends</a>Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-55667294411813178092016-11-20T10:47:00.000-08:002016-11-20T10:47:04.366-08:00Topaz Labs - a world of creativityWhile photography is a creative process in its own, software can either enhance or take a photo to a whole new level.<br />
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I'm not easily sold on software enhancements other than the general editing but when I want to have some fun, like Twirling (yeah I said Twirling) then Topaz Labs is my favourite for editing features.<br />
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While Twirling might not seem like a photographic quality, it does help to have a decent photo to start with and once you start with Topaz Clarity, Simplify, Glow etc you start creating beautiful abstract art.<br />
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My personal favourites are Clarity (for its non-destructive sharpening qualities), Remask (for detailed masking of areas) and Glow (beautiful ethereal results).<br />
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Topaz works with Lightroom and Photoshop as a plugin or can work through an standalone program called PhotoFXLab.<br />
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The PhotoFXLab allows you to apply multiple effects to one photo which is a plus when working in Lightroom and you want to add more than one effect.<br />
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Below are some examples from just some of the software from the Topaz Collection. All was done in Lightroom 4.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7d63fGlchL3LpeSMQnaNft7gN5H6Gw9QU39Fuun0-xc5pqjkJi6VeWdPpGHaWY5ADv9l2_DJGLDr_u2Yr2K_5N_eZawB0fW4F7VMQJ6jJJZAEd19kGejmKgT3xnAchZNw3clPfYWWnk/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw7d63fGlchL3LpeSMQnaNft7gN5H6Gw9QU39Fuun0-xc5pqjkJi6VeWdPpGHaWY5ADv9l2_DJGLDr_u2Yr2K_5N_eZawB0fW4F7VMQJ6jJJZAEd19kGejmKgT3xnAchZNw3clPfYWWnk/s320/Untitled-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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From the top go to the left: Original photo, Simplify, Lens Effects</div>
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From bottom to left: Restyle, Mix (Simplify, Lens Effects and Star Effects), Glow</div>
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You are also welcome to give the software a trial run for 30 days. Read the requirements for Glow, Impressions and Textures.</div>
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Take a look at their website: <a href="http://www.topazlabs.com/?hr=aj6Z" target="_blank">Topaz Labs</a><br />
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Topaz Labs also features videos to help you get started with each of the different effects.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-13861095045911925882016-10-21T03:13:00.001-07:002016-10-21T03:13:37.210-07:00Pledging open for Santa Cause for PawsSanta Cause for Paws is an initiative where boxes of simple items are pledged and donated to shelter animals. <br />
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Every year new beneficiaries are chosen so that various animal sanctuaries have a chance to benefit from much needed donations. Not only do the items like a can of food, a blanket, something useful etc help make a furry heart happy, it also brings to attention the amount of orphaned animals waiting at shelters for a new family.<br />
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Pledging is open so get your school, your workplace, your community involved but remember that when pledging it's also your duty to complete the pledge and drop off the boxes. There is a huge list of drop off areas to make it easier for you.<br />
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If you can't pledge a box, Santa Cause for Paws more than welcomes donations which are used to make up boxes.<br />
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For more information on Santa Cause for Paws as well as what is needed in your area go to: <a href="http://www.santapaws.co.za/index.php?option=com_santapaws&view=frontpage&format=raw" target="_blank">Santa Cause For Paws</a><br />
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For a list of what to pack (furry kids require a lot less than human kids) click on your area and click on the What to Pack menu at the top. Here is an example from the JHB/PTA area:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsb0Nq0y8fO-6Z7qYomkuODstqPN0_BqAO0a3Sqnnt6wOMXrok-Wih-pLyIxC_mvV08HwwF1rqKCsyxKYcX3FqtRc0QOa_cpNrFQOgQQbdjx-RfsFziov8K6OqehwWS-hOiT8rMyuSPd4/s1600/furry.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsb0Nq0y8fO-6Z7qYomkuODstqPN0_BqAO0a3Sqnnt6wOMXrok-Wih-pLyIxC_mvV08HwwF1rqKCsyxKYcX3FqtRc0QOa_cpNrFQOgQQbdjx-RfsFziov8K6OqehwWS-hOiT8rMyuSPd4/s320/furry.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Optional Staff item is your choice but adding a packet of sweets, or a bottle of cream, anything that can be used by the staff is always highly appreciated. These items are for the staff at the animal sanctuaries as a Thank You for everything they do for the animals.<br />
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PLEASE NOTE: pay attention to the right hand side which shows how many boxes are needed for which animals i.e. kitten, puppy, adult dog, adult cat. <br />
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People usually buy more for kittens and puppies but the adult animals also need boxes so please consider them as the target for kittens and puppies may already have been filled.<br />
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For kittens and puppies, make certain that food and toys are appropriate for the young ones.<br />
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For dogs, rather buy biscuits (besides a can of food) than bones or hooves as they make choke on these.<br />
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Two things Yum - example, biscuits and a can of food<br />
Something warm - a blanket<br />
Something fun - a toy<br />
Something useful - example a bowl, a leash, flea powder, shampoo, pet brush etc<br />
Optional staff item - example, biscuits, clothes, tea, sweets etc<br />
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Follow them on Facebook where auctions are run to raise money for sterilization of animals in locations etc and where you can view the handing over of donations to the various sanctuaries - <a href="https://web.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Santa Cause for Paws</a><br />
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Make a pledge and make a furry heart happy this Christmas!Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-19738978713891910402016-10-19T15:34:00.001-07:002016-10-19T15:35:28.706-07:00She.Clix with style<div style="text-align: left;">
It's time for the Photo & Film Expo, now in its 8th year to be hosted at the Coca Cola Dome from Oct 27th - Oct 30th 2016 from 9am to 4pm.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-KtWwO6j0_6Om_6aVT95KqUptwzonvb1ZBoxBvSlu3R97Jxmg30Gvr2LraN1XbhpOTPZmMDl61oIaQDopy2VafpPjQPlg7bjjK8BpWAt-ie8PQa-0B_FrjJGs0Th3eIh74VQ5Syv0Es/s1600/14102401_10153895049296279_8104942313539505265_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-KtWwO6j0_6Om_6aVT95KqUptwzonvb1ZBoxBvSlu3R97Jxmg30Gvr2LraN1XbhpOTPZmMDl61oIaQDopy2VafpPjQPlg7bjjK8BpWAt-ie8PQa-0B_FrjJGs0Th3eIh74VQ5Syv0Es/s320/14102401_10153895049296279_8104942313539505265_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Photo banner from Photo & Film Expo</div>
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Details of the event, workshops, brands etc can be found on the website <a href="http://photofilmexpo.com/photo-film-expo" target="_blank">Photo & Film Expo</a>. Check out the cool workshops, competitions and speakers on their <a href="https://web.facebook.com/photofilmexpo/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook </a>page.<br />
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Tickets to the event can be bought at <a href="http://www.ticketpros.co.za/portal/web/index.php/parent_event/17351ec2-3853-55ce-f916-576bae42ede8" target="_blank">TicketPro</a>.<br />
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I like to refer to the expo as a feast for the photographic mind because with such a variety of brands, gear and free workshops it's not difficult to see why the Photo & Film expo lives up to its title.<br />
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"The Largest Photographic Event in Africa"</h2>
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Gear galore with free workshops (over 100 sessions), body painting, underwater photography, competitions (don't forget to enter the mother of all competitions), free lens (outer elements) and sensor cleaning and the list go on and on.</div>
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A wonderful addition to this year's expo comes in the female form of She.Clix. Created by a team of female photographers "that promotes emerging female photographers as well as assist in promoting established ones in other platforms".</div>
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You will be introduced to the works of photographers from various genres including Jabulile Hlanze, whose work showcases everyday life with a depth that draws you into the photos as if you were there.</div>
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Yvette Victor will take you on a fantastical journey of photographic art with a uniquely creative personality. Step into her world of magic as she sees it.</div>
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Jordan Hyde speaks to the confidence of a woman in her body where all shapes and sizes are beautiful. She positively impacts on how women feel about their bodies and emphasizes that strength in her photos.</div>
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These are just some of the talented female photographers that will be showcasing their work, each telling a story of how they came to form their style of photography.</div>
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See the inner workings of a photographer's spirit and mind with displays of work and get to know who they are and how they came to be.</div>
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For more information on She.Clix go to their FB page - <a href="https://web.facebook.com/She.Clix/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a></div>
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You don't want to miss this event.</div>
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Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-30383505264988271872016-08-29T06:07:00.001-07:002016-08-29T06:11:10.765-07:00Understanding White BalanceI've been missing in action on this blog. Whoops lol.<br />
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If you have had trouble understanding White Balance, the links below should help you get a better grip on what is going on. The first article by Graphics simplifies White Balance a little better.<br />
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White Balance can be just as confusing as understanding Aperture as it can look as if everything is working back to front.<br />
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A higher Kelvin number e.g. 10 000k is more blue whereas a lower Kelvin number e.g. 2500k is more red.<br />
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When you take a photo and it appears too blue/cold, you increase the Kelvin number and it adds in more red. The same goes for a warm photo that has too much red so you decrease the Kelvin number to add more blue.<br />
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Ha? White Balance works in reverse like Aperture. When you increase the Kelvin number the camera is reading the white balance as having more blue than red so it compensates and adds more red.<br />
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WB selection and changing of presets is not available in Auto, Lens Priority and Smart Mode.<br />
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The automatic options are represented as Auto WB (the camera chooses), Daylight, Cloudy, Flourescent, Flourescent NW, Flourescent Daylight, Tungsten and Flash. Followed by customary options Custom Set and Colour Temperature (where you dial in the Kelvin number you want).<br />
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To access WB:<br />
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Via the Menu Button - Select Menu, under Camera icon menu on the left scroll down until you get to White Balance, select and then select one of the WB options.<br />
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Via Fn Button - Click Fn button, scroll down to the WB menu option, it will be the third row from the top.<br />
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You can adjust the WB presets by scrolling to the preset and then pressing the DISP button (up button for this selection) and move the selection tool around e.g. say you want to add more green and blue, move the selection up and to the left.<br />
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After you have changed the preset it will show up on the right side of the screen next to the WB symbol selected e.g. if you selected Cloudy, a cloud will show with the letters, B, G, M or A (A is yellow) or a combination of two letters in their colours (B is blue etc).<br />
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This doesn't make a new preset but changes the current one however you easily just change it back to the original by using the Reset button or moving the selection to the center dot where the two lines intersect.<br />
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<b>For Custom Set</b>, you need to take a measure of the white balance either with a grey or white area. Select Custom Balance (just scroll until it's highlighted) then press DISP (up button). <br />
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There will be a grey box in the center, hold this over an area of white or grey then click/screen touch Measure. The camera will click as if taking a photo but is only taking a measure, you won't find any photos in your review.<br />
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Once a measure has been taken the camera will go back to the Live view screen. Custom Set will be selected as the WB and the measure it took will be used. That won't change unless you take another measure or change the WB to another setting.<br />
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For <b>Kelvin Colour Temperature</b>, here you set the temp according to a number from 2500K (will add more blue) to 10 000K (will add more red). Select Color Temperature (has a big K) then press DISP to change the temp.<br />
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Below are some sample photos.<br />
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The first (and not so glamorous) Jelly Bean photos were taken indoors under a fluorescent energy saving bulb, 14w, cool white (but more an off white colour). I included a sack material, which is a light brown, colourful Jelly Beans and used my Grey Card for the background of the sweets.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0lt0nefF-Uq15Nb_uXN1l2iHF1fTFylvjluxjHkRzw5WLArc4wJGWSgp7qcO_Cfojgsi2Wj5ihOyqI_Rh49HyfFx3SuhL2P1vBRhgh2l754EmO4lbidxPoneKhyphenhyphenhi98W2k-aqjoeW1I/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl0lt0nefF-Uq15Nb_uXN1l2iHF1fTFylvjluxjHkRzw5WLArc4wJGWSgp7qcO_Cfojgsi2Wj5ihOyqI_Rh49HyfFx3SuhL2P1vBRhgh2l754EmO4lbidxPoneKhyphenhyphenhi98W2k-aqjoeW1I/s320/Untitled-1.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>
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AWB and Custom Set were more accurate where Custom Set was measured from the Grey Card. I included the highest and lowest in the Color Temperature (Kelvin Temp).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPC7j2SWXwJVzccJDR9VKcxfX0B3ngzRHnJ7av7G7_KceuF74PyuRD7jOpSmbj9wTYRCS1vNqTIOuGtNlSDXY8inlSo6oR4dkYFggjeFnlSXVTyDv2Z5FTPNX0nWlTWSrnlihcbvCfM5I/s1600/jars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPC7j2SWXwJVzccJDR9VKcxfX0B3ngzRHnJ7av7G7_KceuF74PyuRD7jOpSmbj9wTYRCS1vNqTIOuGtNlSDXY8inlSo6oR4dkYFggjeFnlSXVTyDv2Z5FTPNX0nWlTWSrnlihcbvCfM5I/s320/jars.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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Taken inside using natural light from a window behind the mason jar. For Custom Set one measure was taken from the center of the jar and the second from below the jar.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTASzvi3APRXkqayc3EMNZbLZ38hDiEt6MmLOxihj0iMjARjmv8Oj1CFAf_2zAvF9rG56kBasLWGywyRoGJPVvFMqzNpElQ-DB3qojbEwNGO2nE9G9Kmkrt6NY4MaFVG-S_RRNRdXV-SE/s1600/flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTASzvi3APRXkqayc3EMNZbLZ38hDiEt6MmLOxihj0iMjARjmv8Oj1CFAf_2zAvF9rG56kBasLWGywyRoGJPVvFMqzNpElQ-DB3qojbEwNGO2nE9G9Kmkrt6NY4MaFVG-S_RRNRdXV-SE/s320/flower.jpg" width="178" /></a></div>
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Desert Rose - taken outside in the shade of a tree with sun just past midday. I used my grey card for the Custom Set, as you can see there is more green in the custom measure than in AWB. Daylight was a little more closer to what I saw as it contains a warmer cast than AWB.</div>
<br />
<br />
As you will have noticed I didn't play with the Flash WB. Balancing ambient light and flash is a whole other ballgame, especially when you are stuck with the "internal" flash. So for now that will be left for another post.<br />
<br />
Ok that's about it for this post. Check out the articles below, they should help clear up a few things and have some great info.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.graphics.com/article-old/photography-fundamentals-white-balance">Understanding White Balance</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/tutorials/white_balance_color_temperature.html">Bob Atkins</a><br />
<a href="https://fstoppers.com/post-production/learn-shoot-proper-white-balance-using-kelvin-temps-3328">Fstoppers</a><br />
<a href="http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balance.htm">Cambridge in Colour</a><br />
<a href="http://www.exposureguide.com/white-balance.htm">Exposure Guide</a>Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-60753569461874384012016-03-12T02:23:00.001-08:002016-09-20T07:31:48.880-07:00Samsung NX300: Smart Mode Night, Fireworks and Light TraceThis post has taken me a long time to complete. First reason being that these features are not used on a regular basis and second because I came across something unusual about the Fireworks and Light Trace features and tried to find an answer for it.<br />
<br />
<b>Read on if you noticed your camera going out of focus in Light Trace and Fireworks. Otherwise, scroll down to the heading Night Mode.</b><br />
<br />
So, about the second reason. I took photos of a colour lit fountain and to be honest, the results were really beautiful to me. I started to get excited about Light Trace and Fireworks (ignore the name, I'm not a fireworks person because of my animals but this feature can be used creatively). The photos were sharp and lit just right (no flash was used because of long exposure) and I was happy with the results.<br />
<br />
When I arrived home I sat down to write the post and had the camera in front of me as I prefer to go through everything again while writing. Now when I was taking the photos of the fountain I didn't look at the screen when I used AF (Auto Focus). The camera was placed on a steady stone ledge, two second timer set, half pressed the shutter button for focus and then pressed all the way to take the photo.<br />
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When I half pressed the shutter button at home (I didn't take a photo) I noticed that the camera went out of focus. What? I touched the screen to place the focus, it didn't change, just remained slightly out of focus. It happened in both Fireworks and Light Trace but when I tried Night and other features focus was obtained.<br />
<br />
I focused in Night and switched over to Light Trace, half pressed to focus, even touched the screen as I did this a few times, and the camera immediately went out of focus.<br />
<br />
Worried that there was a problem with the camera I searched the Internet to death. All I found was that a majority of reviewers/bloggers just glossed over the feature and barely, if even, used it. I was told that they prefer manual so they don't use this type of feature. Oookay.<br />
<br />
I contacted Samsung in my country and overseas, was promptly told this was not normal and to take it in for repairs. I tried updating the software on camera and lenses but nothing changed. I contacted the repair center suggested by Samsung and sent them a video plus a photo sample and asked them if they had actually played with the feature. The repair center was a fair distance from me and I didn't want to make a wasted trip.<br />
<br />
The repair center told me their Samsung technician said I most likely didn't have the camera stable and that's why the photos were blurry. Er...the photos were not blurry and the out of focus issue occures before photos are taken plus the camera was stable. They said they were get back to me...they didn't. Samsung also left the conversation. Both parties above wouldn't answer me when I asked them if their technicians had actually played with the feature.<br />
<br />
So I went out to two different Samsung stores to test out their NX300, which they didn't have on display. Instead I tried out the NX3000 and NX Mini, both of which did the exact same thing in Light Trace and Fireworks mode: when you tried to focus the AF went out of focus.<br />
<br />
One thing to note here, Manual focus also worked so I could focus there. But I was beginning to wonder if this out of focus could be related to the lens and feature.<br />
<br />
For example, with my 18-55mm lens I had more in focus at 18mm than with my 30mm at the same distance. Light Trace is expected to be used for moving light like car lights but at a distance. Fireworks is also expected to be used at a distance.<br />
<br />
And yet no one could give me an answer. I'm going to post the video and would be curious to know if anyone is experiencing the same thing, an experiment if you will. <br />
<br />
It's nothing major, but little things like this irritate me when I can't get an answer and wonder if it's product failure or product feature.<br />
<br />
Note, the video had to be taken in a dark room (for Light Trace/Fireworks) because of the long exposure. In daylight everything would be white because of the amount of light that is being allowed in. The camera was also placed on a table. No photos are taken, they would be blurry if the 2 second timer isn't used due to me moving the camera but the point here is to show how the AF goes out of focus BEFORE the photo is taken.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s3dDmxJoHg" target="_blank">Light Trace</a><br />
<br />
<b>Night Mode</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Night Mode is a fairly good feature for night time shots where you don't want to have to fiddle with the settings. It brings in enough light to add ambiance to the photo but I did notice the increased amount of noise. You do need to have a stable surface or tripod even though the shutter speed can be fast enough for handheld. You can actually use this during the day<br />
<br />
Reason: the camera takes about 4-5 photos in a quick burst and a faster shutter speed means a quicker burst whereas a slower shutter speed means a slower burst. The camera then puts these photos together, like Exposure Bracketing, to get a properly exposed shot.<br />
<br />
While you may be able to get away with handheld when the shutter speed is higher, there is still a chance of the photo blurring in the finer details.<br />
<br />
To activate Night mode, change the Mode dial to the black camera icon with the S inside and then scroll along the features bar at the bottom until you get to Night. If you are already in Smart mode but have selected another feature, tap the black camera icon with S on the screen left side or press the Fn button and select the feature.<br />
<br />
The camera chooses ISO, shutter speed and aperture unlike Fireworks where settings don't change.<br />
<br />
Where the ISO is concerned, the more light in the scene the lower the ISO. <br />
The photos tend to have a slight softness, more so than Fireworks and Light Trace but unless you zoom in it's not too noticeable.<br />
<br />
Settings:<br />
Autoshare: Off<br />
Smart Mode: Set to Night<br />
Photo size: highest set at 20M 5472x3648 (3:2)<br />
Quality: No RAW here so set to Super Fine<br />
AF Mode: Single Auto Focus but Manual focus is also available<br />
Touch AF: Touch AF<br />
MF Assist: Enlarge x5<br />
Focus Peaking: I leave this on, Normal and White colour<br />
Depending on your lens OIS may be activated<br />
Drive: Set to Single but I navigate on screen to use the timer<br />
Flash is not available even though it shows up in Night and Light Trace mode<br />
<br />
Photos are as is, no editing except for cropping. The first photo was taken just before sunset when there was still enough light but the camera was placed on a stable surface.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTF-tyUePA0mcDYL7QPeG41cXf4Atl5SsrTRLVuL3a_RLaxYeLMYqWqE4i5ClXnCv88GVuQbM0p8qH6RHJzgYD5EHZ6tBLGdMwH-W55auZHUZqoqbAYyb9gTxXT4mrOXGEFxIG7WvPubc/s1600/night1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTF-tyUePA0mcDYL7QPeG41cXf4Atl5SsrTRLVuL3a_RLaxYeLMYqWqE4i5ClXnCv88GVuQbM0p8qH6RHJzgYD5EHZ6tBLGdMwH-W55auZHUZqoqbAYyb9gTxXT4mrOXGEFxIG7WvPubc/s320/night1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Notice how the feature turned the lighting in the fountains into a fire like effect. The water is not as smooth as with Fireworks or Light Trace. </div>
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Aperture f3.5, shutter 1/40, ISO 1600, focal length 18mm.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fwHF7xYZRIsMwm8zWreAoFAPp_PHhnMCRM4ChJqj1GkRMMZNpfI0q0e8aAvXDoBTZMuEfmdK9wyMW6jg8ZM4s4Vpl7sZU6jOHpAL8sXGR_hkhORu4-neI_1AXPoWo7cFt0jleUlgFdU/s1600/night2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fwHF7xYZRIsMwm8zWreAoFAPp_PHhnMCRM4ChJqj1GkRMMZNpfI0q0e8aAvXDoBTZMuEfmdK9wyMW6jg8ZM4s4Vpl7sZU6jOHpAL8sXGR_hkhORu4-neI_1AXPoWo7cFt0jleUlgFdU/s320/night2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A night setting which was captured exactly as I saw it with different areas lit nicely. The squiggly lines are reflections from another shop, not blurred movement. Noise is very high, the details are a bit soft in comparison to the other photos below. This can be fixed in Lightroom to a degree.</div>
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Aperture f5, shutter 1/8, ISO 3200, focal length 42mm.</div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Fireworks</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
As I said above I don't like fireworks because of the emotional distress it causes my animals but the feature doesn't necessarily have to be used for it. Both Fireworks and Light Trace are for moving light so technically any moving light will work. With stationary light you won't see much of the feature in work there.<br />
<br />
To activate Fireworks mode, change the Mode dial to the black camera icon with the S inside and then scroll along the features bar at the bottom until you get to Fireworks. If you are already in Smart mode but have selected another feature, tap the black camera icon with S on the screen left side or press the Fn button and select the feature.<br />
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As with both Fireworks and Light Trace you need a stable surface or tripod as both use long exposure and the features work best at night or just before sunset and there on. If you try taking a photo during the day the photo may show up completely white or mostly blown because of the amount of light being allowed into the camera.<br />
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The photo I took was about 30 min after sunset. You don't need to do anything other than...uh focus (if you read above you would understand). You don't need to set anything as you would with P, A, S, M but you can still change the following settings (below is what I used in my settings).<br />
<br />
Autoshare: Off<br />
Smart Mode: Set to Fireworks<br />
Photo size: highest set at 20M 5472x3648 (3:2)<br />
Quality: No RAW here so set to Super Fine<br />
AF Mode: Single Auto Focus (here you can change to Manual Focus)<br />
Touch AF: Touch AF<br />
MF Assist: Enlarge x5<br />
Focus Peaking: I leave this on, Normal and White colour<br />
Depending on your lens OIS may be activated<br />
Drive: Set to Single but I navigate on screen to use the timer<br />
<br />
When I took the pic I was unaware of the focus situation so I didn't take a manual shot as an example and haven't had a chance to get back to the fountain but hope to soon.<br />
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The camera takes one photo, long exposure unlike Night mode that takes several photos.<br />
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The photo below is the result, SOOC (straight out of camera meaning no editing was done i.e. levels, colour etc) with some cropping, ok a fair amount of cropping. Straight out of camera and wow. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiehR2cLhIJ0-FEsaeZ0jGFPKBXJuq4z_DZAN4OOb7v1m8rXdb1SIDxjiDuzkA0vW0iIFv0inOiTWkiPhDJp73gRGAQz43LrWVtxd6L8oNNzdNz00rOwTg2aqALH5vKEB2k4Rtj452YNk/s1600/firework.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiehR2cLhIJ0-FEsaeZ0jGFPKBXJuq4z_DZAN4OOb7v1m8rXdb1SIDxjiDuzkA0vW0iIFv0inOiTWkiPhDJp73gRGAQz43LrWVtxd6L8oNNzdNz00rOwTg2aqALH5vKEB2k4Rtj452YNk/s320/firework.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Aperture f8, shutter 3", ISO 100, focal length 55mm</div>
<br />
Other than the noise and some blurred people movement (remember long exposure means anything moving will be blurred) the lighting of the fountain is beautiful, ethereal and clear. Anything not moving is in perfect focus at a distance and behind the fountain whereas the tree top left is closer and slightly unfocused. Even the person sitting to the right is in focus.<br />
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As I said above regarding focus, the feature appears dependent on distance and the lens. I used the 18-55mm in all of these photos.<br />
<br />
What looks like just lighting in the fountain is a mix of light and water, the water giving that smooth, soft look. The noise isn't too bad, in fact I don't mind leaving it as is although I'm not too fond of letting JPEG take over.<br />
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The camera seems set on leaving ISO at 100, which is no problem for me as this keeps the noise down (the lower the better as long exposure introduces noise), shutter at 3 seconds and aperture at f8. f8 should have quite a bit in focus from front to back yet that darn focus issue.<br />
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To get this feature to work with something other than fireworks I would suggest a bit of distance between you and the subject/object because of what I mentioned earlier on. Assuming it's a part of the feature that is.<br />
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The Fireworks feature does have some creative potential so don't ignore it.<br />
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<b>Light Trace</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Not much difference other than the longer exposure time and that the camera adjusts the aperture according to the amount of light. The end result is similar and below are two photos, one from just before sunset and one after.<br />
<br />
To activate Light Trace mode, change the Mode dial to the black camera icon with the S inside and then scroll along the features bar at the bottom until you get to Light Trace. If you are already in Smart mode but have selected another feature, tap the black camera icon with S on the screen left side or press the Fn button and select the feature.<br />
<br />
But first, the settings:<br />
<br />
Autoshare: Off<br />
Smart Mode: Set to Light Trace<br />
Photo size: highest set at 20M 5472x3648 (3:2)<br />
Quality: No RAW here so set to Super Fine<br />
AF Mode: Single Auto Focus (here you can change to Manual Focus)<br />
Touch AF: Touch AF<br />
MF Assist: Enlarge x5<br />
Focus Peaking: I leave this on, Normal and White colour<br />
Depending on your lens OIS may be activated<br />
Drive: Set to Single but I navigate on screen to use the timer<br />
Flash is not available even though it shows up in Night and Light Trace mode<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-FHHFWg8QXL4XY85n-hdOnAyX53B1gTB-I0inq0ztCDRqpqxXk7lkVWe3983K8Eyohg8nxt7xANjnq_EYcWX27Nhe1_htISzl_TxxTpFEF0S-mvB6-6cY5yBCqmCSQwxOE8cJ9f7PBs/s1600/light2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-FHHFWg8QXL4XY85n-hdOnAyX53B1gTB-I0inq0ztCDRqpqxXk7lkVWe3983K8Eyohg8nxt7xANjnq_EYcWX27Nhe1_htISzl_TxxTpFEF0S-mvB6-6cY5yBCqmCSQwxOE8cJ9f7PBs/s320/light2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Aperture f22, shutter 10", ISO 100, focal length 18mm.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0yKriL8gf6g6xFsQamKG4Fh_PABCNQAN3LQKDeWGfDAr9AiaTX5JuiiDo9z_vBGuEpRsv-cW_7ZAkF-XTO0vdGyrl4Zv-hG1wSuFNRNl5wEB2JqUQuffTP36ajSYea4m9GWLqB5gnmI/s1600/light3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0yKriL8gf6g6xFsQamKG4Fh_PABCNQAN3LQKDeWGfDAr9AiaTX5JuiiDo9z_vBGuEpRsv-cW_7ZAkF-XTO0vdGyrl4Zv-hG1wSuFNRNl5wEB2JqUQuffTP36ajSYea4m9GWLqB5gnmI/s320/light3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This one I really love in how it turned out. While the movement of people is blurred, the tree, the lit fountain etc are all in focus and has a magical feel.</div>
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Aperture f11, shutter 10", ISO 100, focal length 42mm.</div>
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I don't normally go for the quick fix settings but these three I find very interesting and useful. Would love some feedback from NX300 owners, even other NX camera owners regarding the camera going out of focus in Light Trace and Fireworks so if you have time please leave a comment if you notice anything.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Here is a video example of using the Samsung NX300 with Light Trace.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX-vjwRUpJM" target="_blank">Light Trace video example</a></div>
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For South African readers who own a Samsung NX camera, if you are looking for the elusive 2D/3D lens have a look at the Samsung store in The Glen as they have stock (at the time of this posting).</div>
Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-48438779042099741432016-01-19T06:40:00.003-08:002016-01-19T06:40:39.313-08:00A little fun in RGB and CurvesI love puzzles, love figuring things out. Recently I tried out two 'tests' that were posted on Facebook.<br />
<br />
The first one tests your knowledge of curves. The creator of the test provides a quick (I would have liked a little more information) explanation on each answer.<br />
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Understanding how curves works, whether in Photoshop or Lightroom, helps to create colour manipulations with just a few adjustments. You are able to work independently on the red, green and blue channels (RGB - Red, Green, Blue) and the slightest shift on the curve can dramatically change the photo.<br />
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The first link here is the Curves Challenge. The second link is each part of the challenge discussed lightly.<br />
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<a href="http://www.diyphotography.net/how-good-are-you-with-curves/?mc_cid=749655087d&mc_eid=e05e002647" target="_blank">Curves Challenge</a><br />
<a href="http://www.diyphotography.net/curves-adjustments-layers-101-10-examples/" target="_blank">Curves Challenge Explained</a><br />
<br />
Now the reason I posted the Curves Challenge first is because it can help you understand how RGB works i.e. moving one curve up lightens the colour, moving it down darkens and this also works as an add and subtract equation.<br />
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The more you lower the curve below the grey/gray line the more you remove the colour.<br />
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The second quiz is a little more difficult. Here you are working with numbers, each number corresponds with the amount of red, green and blue that has been added or removed from the photo.<br />
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The first number is red, the second green and the third blue. I'm not going to give it away and even though this is not an absolute necessity in photography it will help you understand colour a bit better. And hey, it's fun once you get the hang of it.<br />
<br />
Think about adding and subtracting, the higher the number the lighter the colour, the lower the number the darker the colour. Also think about how colours work together i.e. if you mix green and red you get yellow etc.<br />
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I found that working out the first two and then adding the third is how I was able to figure out the closest answer.<br />
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<a href="http://www.rgbchallenge.stfi.re/?sf=rgxdkg" target="_blank">RGB Challenge</a><br />
<br />
Once you have an idea of this all fits together it should open your eyes to the bigger world of colour.<br />
<br />
But...if you want to be able to test out your colour theories and practice try this <a href="http://www.rapidtables.com/web/color/RGB_Color.htm#rgb-format" target="_blank">Colour Chart</a>.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-58273966835633507772015-12-28T11:43:00.000-08:002015-12-28T11:43:39.364-08:00Samsung NX300: Key Mapping (working with Auto Exposure Lock)By now you will hopefully have figured out how to use many of the features of your Samsung NX300. One of the features, though not so obviously placed, is the Auto Exposure Lock or AEL.<br />
<br />
When taking photos you will run into situations where you want to recompose the scene but not change the exposure. Recomposing/re-positioning is when you decide to change where your subject/object will be placed e.g. instead of directly in the middle you choose to place the subject/object slightly to the side. Doing so can change the exposure when you don't want it to and that's one of the times where AEL comes into effect.<br />
<br />
But, recomposing requires that you keep the focal plane the same i.e. the distance between your camera and the subject/object the same.<br />
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Before going into AEL let's quickly discuss Recomposing. When you press the shutter half way down you are locking in the focus (plus the exposure) and if you decided to recompose (change the where subject/object is placed) you would need to make certain the subject/object remains at the same distance because any change in distance will affect the focus. In other words, you could go from having the subject/object in focus to being out of focus if distance changes.<br />
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For a more detailed explanation take a look at this article: <a href="http://www.clickinmoms.com/blog/focus-and-recompose-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/" target="_blank">Recomposing</a><br />
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What's the point of AEL if you can just half press the shutter to lock in exposure and focus? <br />
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AEL helps in situations where the camera under or overexposes part of the scene e.g. the camera might expose for the background (so it will be properly exposed) but the foreground may be too dark. It makes metering easier, especially for those who don't have a full understanding of how Aperture, Shutter and ISO work together.<br />
<br />
A quick note: AEL doesn't work in Manual because Manual is controlled by you. It works in the following shooting modes: PAS. <br />
<br />
To activate: Go to Menu, select the icon below the video camera that looks like a little person (3rd menu icon from the top). Scroll down to Key Mapping, press OK and under Custom select either AEL or AEL Hold. The Delete button (the trashcan bottom right of camera) is used as the Custom button and for AEL when the function is assigned to it.<br />
<br />
AEL, when pressed to lock exposure, will lock it until you have taken the photo.<br />
<br />
AEL hold is pretty obvious, it will hold that exposure even after you have taken the photo and this can be very useful for Panoramas and photo stacking where you want the exposure to be consistent.<br />
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AEL doesn't depend on recomposing to work, but recomposing works better with AEL. So you can change the focus plane (distance between camera and subject/object) and keep the exposure the same when using AEL and not worry about focus.<br />
<br />
How to use AEL:<br />
<br />
1. Make sure that AEL or AEL Hold is selected in your Menu options.<br />
<br />
2. Select a shooting mode, either Program (P), Aperture Priority (A) or Shutter Priority (S) but not Manual. Remember this doesn't work in Manual.<br />
<br />
3. Decide on your shot and place the focus point over the area you want to expose (use the exposure) from, even zooming in if needed. Press the Delete/Custom button, which then locks the exposure.<br />
<br />
Since the Samsung NX300 holds the exposure until you take a photo, you can safely release the Delete/Custom button, recompose and take a shot. You won't have to worry about the AEL deactivating until the shot is taken. But, if you take too long and your camera goes into sleep mode, AEL deactivates.<br />
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4. Recompose your photo, half press the shutter to gain focus and take the shot. The exposure will remain the same because you locked it in so the camera won't take another reading of light.<br />
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Keep an eye on your settings and practice with taking different exposures as you may not always get the result you expect. This is where you learn about how shutter, aperture and ISO work.<br />
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I try to find articles that are easy to understand as well as helpful. Below are two links that will give you examples and more insight into using AEL.<br />
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<a href="http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/06/12/how-to-use-ae-lock-to-control-exposure/" target="_blank">Digital Camera World</a><br />
<a href="http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/1481/why-use-auto-exposure-lock/" target="_blank">Auto Exposure Lock</a><br />
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I'll play around with the other features under Custom (which was originally as preview for Depth of Field) and post as I go along.<br />
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Wishing everyone a great New Year!Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-41582276825316823972015-12-05T07:33:00.001-08:002016-03-13T04:51:42.008-07:00Samsung NX300: Christmas editing tutorialChristmas is just about here so Happy Holidays to everyone. I decided to add a quick editing tutorial on a photo I took with the Samsung NX300. You will see something similar to the right side of the blog that is available for purchase on my portfolio.<br />
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Firstly, the photo was taken in my very small, as in very small "studio, office and official cats playground". My access to light is limited due to the angle of the house and being currently in the middle of Summer I get light in the mid afternoon. I try not to use artificial light with natural light because of colour balance but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.<br />
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I'll also add in a badly lit photo just for the fun of it. If you believe in taking a shortcut with photos by thinking you can save it in software then straight out you should rather be in retouching than photography. The reason I'm going to share a badly lit photo and rescue it in software is because there are times when you are faced with terrible lighting. Whether or not you choose to go for a higher ISO or an underexposed photo you will have the problem of noise in both cases.<br />
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There is plenty of noise reduction software available like Topaz Labs Denoise but some people may not have the money for that extra software. The Luminance slider in Lightroom does a pretty good job of reducing noise but the more you reduce the more you lose detail.<br />
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Anywho, the first photo that was properly exposed according to camera was taken on a tripod to allow for longer exposure due to low light even though I had a fairly wide aperture.<br />
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I used a diffuser in front of the window because the light was too hard and I couldn't move the objects further away from the window. The diffuser also spreads the light out a bit wider. The window was at a 90° angle to the camera on my left side with the light coming in behind the camera. A curtain cut off light closer to the table (not intentional). The diffuser was at a 45° angle to the camera behind the camera.<br />
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Do excuse my lack of creative drawing skills but this gives you an idea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaEHqeGKQatZTr5sknbBwY2BvYYET0AquXAokP4gpgOUTSYrC3fXtE6XOmGk-Bayn0J9CDgdsispNcJl7tkxFla4QTqMLL9JhG1Te1Sa0U818sm9PIpNSSyLLuIwetUiL_vbUZPj3TgQ/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaEHqeGKQatZTr5sknbBwY2BvYYET0AquXAokP4gpgOUTSYrC3fXtE6XOmGk-Bayn0J9CDgdsispNcJl7tkxFla4QTqMLL9JhG1Te1Sa0U818sm9PIpNSSyLLuIwetUiL_vbUZPj3TgQ/s320/Untitled-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Camera: Samsung NX300<br />
Lens: Samsung 30mm<br />
Flash: No<br />
Aperture: f2.8<br />
Shutter speed: 1/5<br />
ISO: 100<br />
Software: Lightroom 4<br />
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Straight out of camera (SOOC)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ytE-pP6CrJjHCvmwu7_JIL-U8sjnXmULCgcwWYFZtHYZSIiO4V-AMXPHg5OxquB-LW3Tl4XQbw6IBeQYBAaFXtsjjTkVBWVntEBYqhvxsPI0qb7LMx0NYBmEMSxOl9Hk9CMfuK1tINw/s1600/lr1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ytE-pP6CrJjHCvmwu7_JIL-U8sjnXmULCgcwWYFZtHYZSIiO4V-AMXPHg5OxquB-LW3Tl4XQbw6IBeQYBAaFXtsjjTkVBWVntEBYqhvxsPI0qb7LMx0NYBmEMSxOl9Hk9CMfuK1tINw/s320/lr1.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Technically speaking Lightroom is designed to help your workflow by having you start with the top and work your way down. But in some cases you want to start at another point. Keep an eye on your Histogram. The arrows (when clicked) on either side show when Highlights have been blown or detail has been lost in the Shadows.<br />
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The colours of the arrows:<br />
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Red, green and blue means those colours are clipped.<br />
White is all of the channel whereas Black is none of the channels (black is what you are aiming for).<br />
Cyan is clipping of green and blue channels where Yellow is red and green channels and Magenta is red and blue channels.<br />
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Exposure: -0.71 (the photo was too bright, I wanted a slightly darker look and would add in a "glow" later on)<br />
Contrast: 0 (I prefer to work with Clarity more than Contrast, it's just a personal pref thing)<br />
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Highlights: -40 (I usually decrease Highlights if some are blown in the shot)<br />
Shadows: +48<br />
Whites: 0 (wasn't really needed here and I would be adding a glow to the ball and wanted to keep the surrounding background dark)<br />
Blacks: +24 (to help with clipping shadows a bit)<br />
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Clarity: +21<br />
Vibrance: +12 (this is a better option than using Saturation but be careful of how much you use).<br />
Saturation: 0<br />
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Generally starting off with the above mentioned settings is creating a base for the photo in the same way you prep a canvas. Now I will make specific adjustments.<br />
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Next I played with the tone Curve which let me target highlight and shadows areas. Just remember to keep checking your Histogram but here you want a gentle S curve. <br />
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As long as you don't lose too much info on your Histogram i.e. blown highlights or lost shadow detail then you are still good. You can get away with some some small lost details.<br />
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You can work directly on the curve line, just click to place a point and then move it or click on the small box bottom right and tweak the adjustments from there. Go easy here as the S curve is pretty sensitive.<br />
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Under HSL I adjusted the Luminance of the Red and Orange. I like the red colour and didn't want to change the Hue or Saturation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpOhe2yYMeZwlvQK9pb4ndfUyOyYuJfkpDuQ9d6WVjxG8SvZlbq_vh6od2LK5YjEBIH8no4NxyzGPErelO1b-rqIhI5Md7dCtRBH__uLD_nfRd3JUBGtZFFNktA8EtS-fpEK2hjG5z8k/s1600/Capture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpOhe2yYMeZwlvQK9pb4ndfUyOyYuJfkpDuQ9d6WVjxG8SvZlbq_vh6od2LK5YjEBIH8no4NxyzGPErelO1b-rqIhI5Md7dCtRBH__uLD_nfRd3JUBGtZFFNktA8EtS-fpEK2hjG5z8k/s320/Capture.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I added a bit of Split Toning because the image is too warm. I could change the Temp and Tint but Split Toning gives more control as it targets the Highlights and the Shadows which you can change to whatever colour you want.</div>
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Not being a huge fan of Sharpening I left this alone as my image didn't need it. However, if you want to get a better idea of the Sharpening feature this will be a good article to read: <a href="http://www.slrlounge.com/school/how-sharpen-images-detail-panel-lightroom-4/" target="_blank">SLR Lounge</a></div>
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Even with the adjustments the noise level in my photo didn't increase by much but I still upped the Luminance slider to 15 and left the Detail slider at 50. Contrast was upped to 18.</div>
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Lens Correction, Effects and Camera Calibration were left alone. I could have added a Vignette but I wanted to control that by rather using the Gradient Tool instead.</div>
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Using the Gradient Tool I pulled down a gradient from the top right and top left corners as well as one from the top down. You can see by the 3 three white round circles at the top. I varied the exposures but made all 3 negative e.g. -4.00, -1.56 etc to create a darker background and to remove that edge line you see between the background the "floor". </div>
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The 4th darkened gradient on the right hand side is just because I felt like it and the 5th gradient on the bottom left is of positive exposure i.e. lighter as that's the direction my light was coming from.</div>
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I then used the Brush Tool, set the size to just a bit bigger than my ball as the Feather was set to 100 so it would feather out nicely. Exposure was 1.24 and Contrast 13. Here you can change the tint or the temp but I left as is. I then clicked once in the middle of the ball. If it was too bright I pulled the Exposure slider down and vice versa.</div>
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You can change the adjustment gradient and brushes at any time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTuigaqpWqnq5YXR3GwTiB0CgIkmpkSYIINqRUecxzd0RGbny4N_BRaeiJ5PieZS4JDYlYDjdalqem9dz7PYN_hBtRiWNqmZVUAHUAahmXs4mcuHaGS4iBcDThSi8AGuSoUA2fdMWqqE/s1600/Capture3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTuigaqpWqnq5YXR3GwTiB0CgIkmpkSYIINqRUecxzd0RGbny4N_BRaeiJ5PieZS4JDYlYDjdalqem9dz7PYN_hBtRiWNqmZVUAHUAahmXs4mcuHaGS4iBcDThSi8AGuSoUA2fdMWqqE/s320/Capture3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now if you look at the Histogram you can see clipping on both white and black. Clicking the arrow on the white shows very little detail is lost, only in small areas so that doesn't worry me. On the black clipping arrow a big blue patch shows up on the background. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_ncevITul_Of4k9NhlbkIH4PKZWOMQCkjS8HyhyNKoLF4xNy04tHMMN2_qNQSbX-GWjurbslUX1yftGc94a1qfIpUUM0OHtOXd9XrGooIOEeR3vu6Opd2P-_9-X9zDejsqDMdqG_u7Q/s1600/Capture4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_ncevITul_Of4k9NhlbkIH4PKZWOMQCkjS8HyhyNKoLF4xNy04tHMMN2_qNQSbX-GWjurbslUX1yftGc94a1qfIpUUM0OHtOXd9XrGooIOEeR3vu6Opd2P-_9-X9zDejsqDMdqG_u7Q/s320/Capture4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Don't let this freak you out, it's not a permanent fixture i.e. it won't show up on your finished product it's just there to show you where detail is lost. Since I don't mind losing detail in the background as it's dark I'm also not worried about this. If I were to play with the Blacks and Shadows slider to remove the clipping then the background will no longer be dark.</div>
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A problem I may face is that the background might not be completely dark and patches from the original background might show through as splotches. This will also depend at what quality I save the file. For a problem like that I use the Clone tool in PSE to clone out areas that may show through as patches.</div>
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I added as a final touch a small glow at the top of the ball with the Brush Tool with an Exposure of 0.32 and Contrast 0.</div>
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I could spend time with the Clone and Healing tool removing finer blemishes but that would take time. </div>
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I wanted to add words like Happy Holidays but the limit to wording is in Watermarks. You could get creative and make a Watermark in Lightroom but you are limited by where you can place your watermark i.e. you can't move it freely around as you can in Photoshop or GIMP.</div>
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I created a simple watermark which is at the bottom of the photo, and added Happy Holidays in Photoshop Elements. GIMP is free so you can use that.</div>
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I tried to find a simple explanation of how to create and add watermarks: <a href="http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowledge-center/how-tos/photo-software/lightroom-how-to-watermark-images-with-your-own-logo-or-text.html#b" target="_blank">Watermarks</a>. The font I used is <a href="http://www.dafont.com/channel.font" target="_blank">Channel Font</a>.</div>
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Final result:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrE654XlVsJkDvs9snxQDy_udnLFMY-3OA0_EO21NW-GSgIViweeAUwpa1FQxO0Z8qtntQ2qNGA1c0_SGXybNmE8XDcxngebPJOZFldU2TwpSTwNYvLcYGeQZh7wwcnTosu4jeh29_FI/s1600/_SAM1209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrE654XlVsJkDvs9snxQDy_udnLFMY-3OA0_EO21NW-GSgIViweeAUwpa1FQxO0Z8qtntQ2qNGA1c0_SGXybNmE8XDcxngebPJOZFldU2TwpSTwNYvLcYGeQZh7wwcnTosu4jeh29_FI/s320/_SAM1209.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
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<b>Quick Edit of low light photo</b></div>
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I'm not going to go through the edit because I just wanted to show that a photo can be "rescued" if too dark but as you can see this will take a lot more work and tweaking plus the noise level from the tweaking is much higher. That means more work on removing the noise, more info that gets stripped from the photo and more loss of contrast.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKSqsDKxiNc4Q2CSLxiRaQlAJGfiFNlek_xvxcfEoV_HSf9zcnZCHXvNa2UXXqp6jKQb6eiiunmBgSVPT_k5lnRVRQUNNpgrgiqrgtwpk-KHcRBlNiaCZ8i9v0Xdx1wnvTa5wfhDf_qI/s1600/Capture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKSqsDKxiNc4Q2CSLxiRaQlAJGfiFNlek_xvxcfEoV_HSf9zcnZCHXvNa2UXXqp6jKQb6eiiunmBgSVPT_k5lnRVRQUNNpgrgiqrgtwpk-KHcRBlNiaCZ8i9v0Xdx1wnvTa5wfhDf_qI/s320/Capture.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And that's it. Hope everyone has a relaxing and wonderful holiday plus New Year.</div>
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Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-61721047371394447382015-09-04T03:19:00.000-07:002015-09-04T03:19:33.912-07:00Santa Cause for Paws - something close to my heartI love animals and there are so are many sanctuaries in need of help. Santa Cause for Paws was put together by a wonderful group of people with the initiative of trying to help as many animal sanctuaries as possible. Every year, at Christmas time, requests are made for donations of Christmas boxes for the rescued animals in numerous animal sanctuaries. Boxes require very basic items, yet very much wanted items by furkids far and wide.<br />
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Donations of money is also accepted as this goes to paying vet bills, medication, sterilizations etc. <br />
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You can find further info here: http:<a href="http://www.santapaws.co.za/" target="_blank">Santa Cause for Paws</a>. <br />
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Every year we try to support at least 4 boxes. Check what is and isn't allowed, and always keep up to date as to what is needed e.g. some sanctuaries require more boxes for their adult furries than puppies and kittens. Also take note of what is required specifically for puppies and kittens.<br />
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Besides running this amazing drive, many have come together to offer up products which are auctioned off on the Santa Cause for Paw FB page found here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/timeline." target="_blank">Santa Cause for Paws FB</a>.<br />
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So get your work involved, your schools, community etc and if you are unable to help, just share, share, share. Santa Cause for Paws welcomes and appreciates any and all help.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-39856535858927750852015-08-30T07:19:00.000-07:002015-08-30T07:23:57.242-07:00Improving your photographic knowledgeAs I mentioned in <a href="http://photographyasiam.blogspot.com/2014/12/composition-next-step.html" target="_blank">Composition</a>, learning how to use your camera is just one part of photography, learning how to take photos is the next step.<br />
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When I bought my first DSLR I didn't have a clue how to use it other than to stick to Auto. Out of frustration, I put my camera away for over a year because I lacked motivation and encouragement so felt I was just wasting my time.<br />
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After following a few photographers and their work, I decided to pick up my camera again and start teaching myself as best I could. I couldn't afford a workshop, didn't have transport to move around to clubs and Youtube chowed my bandwidth. So I stuck to books. Unlike some other photographers who progressed within a year, I took longer. Without direction, guidance and so on, I was floundering a bit from one place to another and learning erratically. <br />
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But what made me improve was taking the time and dedication to learn. I wish that I could have gone to a workshop because there at least you have a proper starting point, someone to help you, motivate you and keep you going.<br />
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Some photographers don't need a workshop, they are able to focus well enough to work on their own. But for someone like me with waaaay too much going on in my mind and my life, I couldn't focus the way I used to so a little backup was always needed.<br />
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I have been following a very inspiration photographer called <a href="http://christinagreve.com/" target="_blank">Christina Greve.</a> I would suggest reading her bio on how she started on her FAQ page under the question: <a href="http://christinagreve.com/qa-with-christina-greve/" target="_blank">Did you study photography in school or are you self-taught?</a><br />
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She provides workshops in photography and is also a Life Coach. Christina's photos are at times light and delicate and others times slightly moody, which will appeal to many photographers of different genres. She is currently offering a workshop, which starts in September 2015. More info can be found here <a href="http://christinagreve.com/online-lifestyle-photography-workshop/" target="_blank">Workshop</a>.<br />
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Enjoy!Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-71631830162581904102015-07-06T23:01:00.000-07:002015-07-06T23:01:16.881-07:00Samsung NX300: VideoI'm not the best one to come to for video because my knowledge is limited to just the basics and I prefer photos to video. But I figured that since this blog was helping others to learn I can learn along with you. This did take me longer to put together so apologies for taking so long.<br />
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While playing around with the Video feature I found out, to my surprise, that I could add the Picture Wizard feature and Smart Filters to my videos in camera (although not both at the same time).<br />
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I won't discuss anything in the videos, but will give the descriptions and so on here. Just a quick note, you can start recording a video at any point by pressing the red record button top right of the camera (red circled surrounded by silver). To stop recording, press the red button again.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6udLP4YYw6I&feature=em-upload_owner" target="_blank">Samsung NX300 Video</a><br />
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To start, the settings:<br />
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PAL or NTSC?<br />
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NTSC stands for National Television Standards Committee and the standard format for DVD players and in broadcast television in America and Japan.<br />
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PAL stands for Phase Alternating Line used for broadcasting and DVD players in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.<br />
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PAL DVD players are said to play both PAL and NTSC while NTSC DVD players can't play PAL.<br />
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Choosing either will depend on your region and your audience e.g. I'm in South Africa so my region's format would be PAL and wouldn't be able to play on a DVD player in America. So check what your region's format is and go according to that.<br />
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<b>Movie Size </b>- I used the highest for my region which would be 1920 x 1080 (50p) PAL to play around with.<br />
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I thought that visually, this example might be easier to understand regarding frames per second: <a href="https://frames-per-second.appspot.com/" target="_blank">Frames per second</a><br />
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The more frames per second the smoother the movement in the video. 24p is considered the "film mode". The less fps the more choppy the video will look, as if you took multiple photos and put them side by side in a fast slideshow. It can lead to a creative video so don't overlook it.<br />
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Take a look at this article and examples: <a href="http://www.red.com/learn/red-101/high-frame-rate-video" target="_blank">FPS</a><br />
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The size 1920 x 1080 is 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels tall and provides more definition than say 640 x 480. The smaller size you select, the more pixelated (blocky) the video will be when you try to view it on a bigger screen. But, a bigger size will also depend on the screen or TV you will be viewing it on as older and/smaller screens and TVs might not be big enough to view the entire video at 1920 x 1080.<br />
<br />
The 1920 x 1080 resolution just fits on my computer monitor. So when taking a video keep in mind the resolution of the screen.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/videoschool/lesson/186/the-basics-of-image-resolution" target="_blank">Here </a>is an article on resolution.<br />
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<b>A quick note here</b>, in your manual you may have noted that some Smart Filters can only be used at 1920 x 1080 (15p) but the settings under movie quality don't go lower than 1920 x 1080 (24p) in NTSC and PAL.<br />
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In order to use the Smart Filters with quality 1920 x 1080 (15p) you will need to activate the Smart Filters under the camera icon under Menu. If Smart Filters is greyed out then you need to change your photo Quality (under the camera icon) to JPEG (I chose Super Fine) and Drive to Single.<br />
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Smart Filters won't work if RAW and Continuous Drive is selected. You can get more details on Smart Filters <a href="http://photographyasiam.blogspot.com/2014/07/samsung-nx300-smart-filters-picture.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
I will get back to using Smart Filters with videos shortly. For now we will carry on with normal videos.<br />
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<b>Movie Quality </b>- I have 16GB memory cards so prefer to use the best settings and set HQ (High Quality).<br />
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<b>Multi Motion</b> - This setting....well I was laughing all the time. Sounds is cut off when anything higher or lower than x1 is selected. I can just see this feature being used in a comedy (attaching a music file in a video software) as the video speeds up so when using Multi Motion, make sure to take at least 15 seconds of video for 5x and longer for anything higher than the speed.<br />
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For slow action you can go lower than x1 but only if Movie Size is set to 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 for x0.25 (really slow and funny) or x0.5 when set to 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 and 320 x 240. x1 is for normal recording and is the only one where you will have sound.<br />
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<b>Fader </b>- handy feature for a gently fade in, out or both. I have this on off but examples will be below.<br />
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<b>Voice</b> - enables or disables sound, I left mine on.<br />
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<b>Wind cut</b> - cuts down on wind noise. I left mine off.<br />
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<b>Mic level</b> - how sensitive the microphone is, I left mine on high although the sound can be a bit tinny.<br />
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Aperture and ISO work in the same way as photo but Shutter Speed is calculated according to degrees or angle. Working with this principle helps to create a realistic looking video. But unless you intend creating videos for sale etc then it might appear complicated to you.<br />
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If you want to take video recording more seriously, here's an explanation of how the 180 degree works: <a href="http://inventorspot.com/articles/how_choose_shutter_speed_video_your_dslr" target="_blank">180 Degree</a>.<br />
<br />
But if all you want to do is just take some videos, whether it's a family event, something funny your pet got up to etc, then take a look at this article/video example: <a href="http://www.videomaker.com/videonews/2013/07/4-steps-to-understanding-shutter-speed" target="_blank">Understanding shutter speed</a>.<br />
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The slower your shutter speed the more blur you have. But, the shutter speed usually won't go lower than the frames per rate selected e.g. if I chose 1920 x 1080 (24p) the frames per rate would be 24.<br />
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But since the shutter speed doesn't allow for 1/24 the shutter speed will be 1/30 and won't allow you to go lower. There is an option for 1/25 but the camera chose 1/30 instead (the shutter closest to the frames per rate is usually selected).<br />
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This low shutter speed will cause quite a blur with any moving object e.g. propellers of a plane. You can increase the shutter speed as high as you want (I went up to 1/6000) but this is going to make your video darker to a point that you won't be able to see anything unless you have a large amount of light available.<br />
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A faster shutter speed will also "freeze" the movement so instead of a blur of propellers you will be able to the see the movement of the blades clearly.<br />
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While taking video I will admit I was oblivious to all of this, and yet, the video came out pretty good lol. So if I can play around and not make a total mess up without any knowledge, you shouldn't have a problem lol.<br />
<br />
Now let's go through the video tests. I tried to keep it fairly short just to give you an idea. You can also view a video of the Annual Zwartkops Airshow used with the Samsung NX300 and 18-55mm lens here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY92XxIgdBE" target="_blank">Airshow</a><br />
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<b>Samsung NX300 video examples</b><br />
<br />
I tried out different light settings to see how the video handled noise. As the video says, all but the waterfall (in the video examples of the movie) was recorded handheld. Throughout the rest of the video, recordings were handheld.<br />
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The Aquarium: there was backlighting in the aquarium but I had zoomed in to 55mm which wouldn't let me open my aperture further than f5.6, so less light allowed in and I because of my video settings I couldn't go lower than 1/50 shutter speed. I had increased my ISO to 3200-6400 and could have increased further for more light but as you can see, the noise was becoming pretty evident.<br />
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The video of the fish in a smaller tank meant the lighting was stronger so I could get a brighter video.<br />
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Now in video software like Premiere Elements (not free) you can lighten the video, add more saturation etc. There is also a free program called MPEG Streamclip where you can to basic editing. I created the videos in Premiere Elements 10.<br />
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Movement is good, maybe a little slow at times and if you noticed, the camera kept adjusting the focus. I haven't yet found a way to stop the Continuous Focus other than to go to Manual Focus.<br />
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Zooming in and manual focus created a very feint sound, which might not be evident at an event where there is plenty of sound but with something quiet it might present a problem. If sound isn't needed then it's better to turn off the sound. Turning the Jog Dial (for changing aperture/shutter speed etc) while shooting a video is picked up by the mic and you can definitely hear it.<br />
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You could try an external mic to reduce the noise but as I don't have one I can't comment further.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Zoo - Full Sunlight</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Not the most exciting of videos but here the ISO was at 100 because of the amount of light, I could also increased my shutter speed and aperture without having to worry about light issues.<br />
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<b>Waterfall - Shadow</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The waterfall was in the shadow of a mountain, but there was a decent amount of light although I had to increase my ISO to about 400 but I could also increase my shutter speed enough to capture the movement. As I zoomed in you couldn't hear the mechanism (but some wind as I didn't have the Wind Cut feature on). I used a tripod for this, could have used handheld or leaned on the wooden railing but there were too many people moving around and bumping the railing that it was easier to grab my ground with a tripod. You know, a sign to say to them, "my space".<br />
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The light was consistent even when I zoomed in so I didn't have to change anything while zooming.<br />
I used the Manfrotto, which I discussed here: <a href="http://photographyasiam.blogspot.com/2014/04/samsung-nx300-tripods-and-monopods.html" target="_blank">Tripod</a><br />
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<b>Fader Feature</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is pretty much self explanatory, the Fade In feature fades the video in at the beginning when you press the record button (red button near top right) but doesn't fade out when you press the button again to stop recording. The Fade Out feature is the opposite, doesn't fade in at the beginning but fades out when you press the record button to stop recording.<br />
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With the Fade Out feature there was a very slight fade in at the beginning of recording, almost unnoticeable. The Fade In feature was a bit hard with the fade in whereas the Fade Out was softer.<br />
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Fade In and Fade Out is where both features are used, so your video fades when you start recording and fades out when you stop recording.<br />
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Oh and if you notice the slight shifting now and then, that's me bumping the camera accidentally or pressing the stop button.<br />
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<b>Picture Wizard</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I chose 3 features (but all work fine), Retro, Classic and Landscape. In Video Picture Wizard can work in RAW, Drive set to Continuous High etc. I.e. if you use these camera settings for taking photos, they won't prevent you from using Picture Wizard, unlike Smart Filter where certain setting need to be turned off.<br />
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<b>Retro</b><br />
<br />
I like the Retro feeling, especially for the Airshow showcasing some very old planes. As you will notice, Little Anne didn't come into focus immediately until the plane had reached the area I had selected as my focus point. Now, the cool thing about the touch screen on the Samsung NX300 is that you can can place your focus anywhere you want while recording, just touch the area.<br />
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I didn't do that with the plane but later in the video I show an example of changing focus while recording.<br />
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Retro is nice and clear, no banding (those lines you see when blending isn't done well). It also kept up fine with the speed and unlike Smart Filter I wasn't limited to 15fps.<br />
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<b>Classic</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Classic is basically Black and White. Even though the jet was fast, it passed an area of sky that was blue and all colour is removed from this feature. Also, no restriction on frames per rate and this could be used very nicely for an old black and white film, but with a lower frames per rate (e.g. 24p) for a more authentic look. Adding a little more contrast in software would bring out the Black and White better as it looked a little bland.<br />
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<b>Landscape</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Landscape, as with photos, is used more for scenes with blue and green. I chose to use Landscape because of the blue in the sky. The blue wasn't enhanced greatly, just very gently and if you wanted something with more punch then Vivid would be better.<br />
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As said above, Picture Wizard doesn't restrict the same way Smart Filter does, so you have a little more freedom for creativity here.<br />
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<b>Smart Filters</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Smart Filters can be interesting to use and the effects they produce are fun although I'm not certain how often a video with these effects would be created.<br />
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Take a look at my post about Smart Filters here: <a href="http://photographyasiam.blogspot.com/2014/07/samsung-nx300-smart-filters-picture.html" target="_blank">Smart Filters</a><br />
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Smart Filters will be greyed out unless Picture Wizard is set to Off, Drive is set to Single and Quality set to JPEG. So you need to make those changes in order to use this feature in video in the same way as with photos.<br />
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Some of the Smart Filters are also limited to 15 frames per second (15p) whether it's 1920x1080 or 640x480. You may have seen that when selecting Movie Size under the Video Menu, 25p (if you are using PAL) or 30p (if using NTSC) will show up as an option. Even if you select 25p/30p, the camera will change to 15p for certain filters. Below are the filters I've tested and which work with 25p/30p and which with 15p. Note, I tested out in PAL but the same applies to NTSC.<br />
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Vignetting - 25p<br />
Miniature - 15p<br />
Coloured Pencil - 25p<br />
Watercolour - 15p<br />
Wash Drawing - 15p<br />
Oil Sketch - 15p<br />
Ink Sketch - 25p<br />
Acryl - 15p<br />
Negative - 25p<br />
Red - 25p<br />
Green - 25p<br />
Blue - 25p<br />
Yellow - 25p<br />
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<b>Vignetting</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Corners are darkened, this is meant to bring attention to the subject in the center. Slight banding (in a circular way) with frames per rate being 25p. Not too bad. The reason the video took so long to upload is because I wanted to use the highest quality save in order to show the original videos instead of degrading the quality for a smaller file.<br />
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<b>Oil Sketch</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Colourful, different but slow and creates a lot of banding. It almost looks as if the jet was mirrored towards the end. Speed 15p.<br />
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But I didn't want to give it a bad rap because I don't think it works well with fast objects. Still life on the other hand looks pretty good which is why I added in a video example of a little house and a flower. The more detail and definition there is, the better this feature seems to work. If you look at the house, colours are well defined, lines easily visible but with the flower contrast is lost.<br />
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<b>Negative</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Heavy, visible banding here. Speed is 25p. Another interesting effect which can be cool, but might be best used with objects that are dark in colour to be more visible in the video.<br />
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<b>Colour: Yellow, Blue, Red and Green</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
These filters are meant to filter out the said colours. Sorry for the fast movement, didn't realise until afterwards how fast I was moving around. Speed for these filters is 25p.<br />
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Colours showed up well and stood out clearly. Shades closest to the said colours (e.g. pink showed up in the red filter) also showed up but while the colours in these videos were clear and defined, when I played with a desk (with different grains of wood) in low light, the filters struggled. It looks like light plays a part in whether or not the filters in Smart Filters can pick up the colours clearly else they will be patchy and continuously shift over the area if you move your camera.<br />
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Out of the filters, Blue seemed the lightest in the video but I had adjusted my settings and set the exposure a little too high. I didn't seen any banding here.<br />
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The banding in the features of Smart Filter seem to affect areas where there is differnt shades of colour blending into one another.<br />
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<b>Multi-Motion</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Ah, now here is a good feature to have a laugh with. x1 speed is normal and you will have sound but decrease it to x0.5 or x0.25, or increase higher than x1 and sound will be turned off.<br />
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While recording, everything will look normal but when you playback the video it will speed up or slow down according to the setting. For x0.5 and x0.25, you don't need to record for long (even 5 seconds is good enough) but for x5 and up, don't go below 10 seconds because the playback is so fast it will be over before you can blink.<br />
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Here your only restriction for frames per rate is when you want to use x0.5 and x0.25 where you can only select the highest of 1280x720 (25p/30p) for x0.5 and highest of 640x480 (25p) for x0.25. <br />
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You can also use Picture Wizard or Smart Filters with Multi-Motion. I only played with Retro and Watercolour just to test it out. I also changed the aperture and shutter speed while recording. Because sound is turned off when higher or lower than x1 you won't hear the dial turning.<br />
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There was a bit of banding evident in the slower video, you don't really have time to see it in the faster speed.<br />
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<b>Changing Focus during recording</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
If you find that your focus area isn't where you want it to be and have already started recording, simply touch the screen over the area you want in focus and the camera places the focus point there. It's pretty efficient, quiet and doesn't create that much disturbance as the camera refocuses.<br />
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For now that's it on video. I'm still going through info so will add more as I go along.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-59304038248444677432015-06-14T08:30:00.001-07:002015-06-14T08:30:26.166-07:00Samsung NX300: Video sampleOkay, okay, I have been so behind this. I did make a video, two actually. One is already on Youtube, which I will post below. The other still needs to be loaded and contains examples of the different features but it's rather big and will take time to upload (I use my night time gigs and will take a few hours depending on my server).<br />
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I also have a post about the whole process but as video isn't my area of expertise I'm still doing some research to better help you and me.<br />
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In the meantime, here is the link to the Youtube video. It was taken at the Annual Airshow 2015 at Zwartkops SAAF Museum and contains some features like Picture Wizard's Retro, Classic and Landscape including Multi-Motion. The Multi-Motion is really something funny to look at and can make for some interesting videos. I show both fast and slow speeds in the second video (hopefully up soon).<br />
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The videos were shot with the Samsung NX300 and 18-55mm lens (I don't have a Samsung telephoto and want to have a wide angle option besides my telephoto on my Canon).<br />
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Enjoy and I'll get back to you soon!<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY92XxIgdBE" target="_blank">Samsung NX300 with 18-55mm lens</a>Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-21246183730842011522015-03-19T04:35:00.002-07:002015-03-19T04:35:57.766-07:00Samsung NX300 and Tutankhamun Before all the hullabaloo I was able to get to the <a href="http://tut-exhibition.co.za/" target="_blank">Tutankhamun Exhibition</a> at Silverstar Casino recently and it is truly an amazing experience. The exhibition has been extended to 12 April 2015.<br />
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The rules of the exhibition state that you are allowed to take photos but ONLY for personal use and if you do not interfere with the viewing of others. Also no tripods, flashes or backpacks allowed.<br />
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So naturally I took along two cameras lol. I took my Canon 650D with 50mm (low light lens) and my Samsung NX300 with 18-55mm kit lens (I wanted a wider angle as the 50mm doesn't having zooming capabilities). Both fit into my small shoulder bag.<br />
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The photos posted here have been taken with the Samsung NX300 and 18-55mm. A member of my photographic community will be working with my one photo (the same composition taken with the NX300 will be posted here) and when available on his site I will post the link here. He's the reason I started playing a little more with Lightroom 4.<br />
<br />
I'll admit I'm not an expert where LR4 is concerned because I have been working with PSE the entire time. But thought I'd give it a try. Other than adding my watermark in PSE, all other editing has been done in Lightroom 4 (including using the Cloning Brush). <br />
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You will see that with some photos the ISO was 3200, which is quite high but working with the Luminance and Detail slider under Noise Reduction helps to reduce the noise greatly. Just go easy with the Luminance slider as it will start to soften the details the higher you go. Work with the Detail and the Contrast slider to bring back more detail.<br />
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Also, most of the photos were taken using the Smart Shooting Mode. Although I won't remember which feature (EXIF data shows these features as Normal) I think I used the Rich Tones feature the most.<br />
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ISO 3200, 1/25 seconds, f4.5</div>
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ISO 1600, 1/50, f4</div>
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ISO 3200, 1/20, f5</div>
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ISO 3200, 1/30, f5.6</div>
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ISO 3200, 1/30, f5.6, here the statue was on a stand which I cloned out in LR4. A very common image but still an experience. See below for settings in LR4.</div>
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ISO 3200 1/40, f3.5</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4nLPlFekA0mmR7gBswSAnFxbuKd7UPvAUIl_oOI_Y8J7JAttaeMHfYTQeyWT4lk4KX6-xXbsuloC7FmBp6T6MUjU88P2BzOEPO5bPJ1R7eOC52VenRxFBQlwgtpEvbNtdgLyP2J9N0M/s1600/_SAM1150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4nLPlFekA0mmR7gBswSAnFxbuKd7UPvAUIl_oOI_Y8J7JAttaeMHfYTQeyWT4lk4KX6-xXbsuloC7FmBp6T6MUjU88P2BzOEPO5bPJ1R7eOC52VenRxFBQlwgtpEvbNtdgLyP2J9N0M/s1600/_SAM1150.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
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ISO 3200, 1/30, f4.5 - taken in Manual Mode, RAW, no tripod or flash</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0glKiGmTKfGHaKAhPBSrHnvvKZ-CnlaPCuiBVuaGE-Rp4AtCkWeJux8mfniqgDLx-JPKqSj_R5x-AXyanw8h9Bn_1azYZXJYof4mzcMBkQBy8AQfo3bIWJmtbImSfR3UBKWbmhGHh8ws/s1600/_SAM1155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0glKiGmTKfGHaKAhPBSrHnvvKZ-CnlaPCuiBVuaGE-Rp4AtCkWeJux8mfniqgDLx-JPKqSj_R5x-AXyanw8h9Bn_1azYZXJYof4mzcMBkQBy8AQfo3bIWJmtbImSfR3UBKWbmhGHh8ws/s1600/_SAM1155.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
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ISO 3200, 1/50, f4</div>
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Learn to use your Lightroom 4 software that came with your Samsung NX300 because it's a pretty powerful program that gives far more flexibility with exposure, shadows, colour etc than Photoshop Elements (but does not allow for layers and composites).<br />
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<b>Settings used for the Tutankhamun Head Statue:</b><br />
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The colour on my screen, which has been calibrated, is more golden and darker than it may appear in your browser.<br />
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<b>Under Basic:</b><br />
Temp: +2<br />
Tint: 0<br />
Exposure: +12<br />
Contrast: 0<br />
Highlights: 0<br />
Shadows: -40<br />
White: 0<br />
Blacks: -52<br />
Clarity: +7<br />
Vibrance: +10<br />
Saturation: 0<br />
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<b>Tone Curve was left on Linear and customised:</b><br />
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<b>HSL/Color/B&W:</b><br />
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<b>Color</b> was selected with the following adjustments:<br />
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Red - no adjustment<br />
Orange - Saturation -9, Luminance +13<br />
Yellow: Saturation -13, Luminance +4<br />
Green to Magenta - no adjustment<br />
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<b>Split Toning</b><br />
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Highlights - Hue was set to 60 and the Saturation set to 21<br />
Shadows - Hue 43, Saturation 27<br />
Balance was set to +10<br />
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I like to add some blue to some images that have an orange hue to take away some of the warmth.<br />
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<b>Detail</b><br />
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I don't really like to add sharpening unless I work with Topaz Clarity as sharpening can increase the noise in a photo. As it is the ISO is quite high in this photo so noise is also increased. But under Detail I prefer to use the Luminance and Detail Slider.<br />
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Sharpening amount is set to 0. Don't worry about the greyed out settings beneath it.<br />
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Noise reduction settings:<br />
Luminance: 32<br />
Detail: 56<br />
Contrast: 0<br />
Colour: 0, greyed out Detail is also 0<br />
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I didn't use Lens Correction, Effects, or Camera Calibration settings.<br />
<br />Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-8315022449775181562015-03-11T12:43:00.001-07:002015-03-11T12:43:41.852-07:00A hiccup..or two...or a few Oookay, so my plans for the night features went awry. Had a little issue with the car engine blowing and the neighbours being robbed so my original idea has gone out the window. Sigh, it would have worked beautifully. Ah well I have to get creative.<br />
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I am also thinking of a video although I'm not very knowledgeable about video but will work it out. If you have any questions ask away and I will help you as best I can.<br />
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In the meantime, thought to share a photographer's website who creates such beautiful photos that I find inspiration on days when I feel so bleh that nothing looks appealing to me.<br />
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Everyone started somewhere, that's not a myth. So when looking at the work of others, don't see your lack of matching skill, see a chance to improve and learn more.<br />
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And all that jazz.<br />
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<a href="http://chasinglightactions.com/" target="_blank">Chasing Light Actions</a>Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-32629564126388705132014-12-29T00:07:00.000-08:002015-01-08T10:16:57.649-08:00Composition - The next stepLearning how to use your camera is just the first part, the next is learning how to take a photo.<br />
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There are rules to taking photos, but the rules are more guidelines and don't always work in every photo opportunity. I have read numerous books, searched the internet and watched videos but still find that many of the examples photographers use are pretty useless to me.<br />
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I just don't see their photo composition the way they do. Maybe that's because many photographers are a little too strict with the rules...and maybe those rules only exist to me once it's been pointed out in the photo.<br />
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So I'm adding two Youtube links to this post that I found very interesting. Note, you do need quite a bit of bandwidth to play with but I am also including article links for those who can't Youtube for an hour or more in one go.<br />
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With the digital age people don't think about the photo they are taking, it's more a case of snapping away to get as many photos as you can. While many readers here just want to enjoy taking a photo, you will get to a point where just taking a photo isn't enough if you carry on with photography. You may even start to feel that your photos are uninteresting, maybe even crappy and wonder whether or not you should even bother.<br />
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You should, because, as you can see in Scott Kelby's video, it just takes a few adjustments like changing the angle to get better composition. You will also see that no matter how good someone is at photography, they will still take crappy photos at some point.<br />
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Look at it this way, if you could only take film photos and the film was extremely expensive, you would think more about your composition and what the photo was about. You could even try this out with a Fujifilm Instax Camera, which uses film and does need some thinking over before pressing the button as each photo is fairly expensive (but a very cool gadget on my wishlist).<br />
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If you feel that your photos are just not getting there, use the tools in the videos e.g. think about why you were drawn to that scene, what sparked your interest and work on that. Photographers gets days where inspiration is non-existent and nothing seems to work, almost like a Writer's Block. <br />
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If you seem to be stuck with that block, frustrated that no matter what you take a photo of nothing seems to work, then just sit and look around you. Forget about taking photos for a job, an assignment or to impress someone. Forget about taking photos because you think you must. Just look around you and if you see anything interesting, don't take your camera and take a photo. Think about how you would frame the photo and why, what's interesting about that scene, does it get you excited about taking a photo etc? Naturally, if it's an action photo, go for it :-D.<br />
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It's so easy to press the shutter button that you can get bored just as easily. If you actually pay attention to your surroundings, see where your eye follows and if it makes you itch to take a photo, then photography will be more interesting and the inspiration greater.<br />
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Here's hoping you have a great photographic experience with the Samsung NX300 (or any other camera you may have) in 2015.<br />
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<a href="http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/04/12/10-rules-of-photo-composition-and-why-they-work/" target="_blank">Article on composition</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpHMuK7Htic" target="_blank">Youtube - Scott Kelby on Composition</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwk3YFknyNA" target="_blank">Youtube - B&H</a><br />
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I'm working on an opportunity to use the Night modes in Auto Mode, let's hope that pans out soon lol.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-61515081954786051362014-12-17T03:06:00.001-08:002014-12-17T03:06:31.331-08:00Samsung NX300: Dynamic RangeDynamic Range can get very technical but basically is the difference between brightest and the darkest areas of the photo. Some details are "lost" in photos so using other options like HDR can bring back that information (HDR brings back highlight details).<br />
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For a better understanding that is a little less technical than some sites, go to <a href="http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/09/12/dynamic-range-what-you-need-to-know-about-capturing-all-the-tones-in-a-scene/" target="_blank">Dynamic Range</a>.<br />
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On the Samsung NX300 under Menu < Camera Settings < Dynamic Range you have three choices: Off, Smart Range + and HDR.<br />
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Now you may have noticed that the HDR function is greyed out. There are two things you need to set in order to make use of the feature.<br />
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First, HDR will only work in JPEG so you need to change your Quality setting under Camera settings to JPEG (Super Fine is the best quality but takes up more space on the memory card).<br />
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Second, HDR will not work with Continuous Drive. So you need to change your Drive (either by clicking Menu < Camera settings < Drive or the navigation button to the left of the OK button) to Single Drive.<br />
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So to use HDR, make certain the following is checked:<br />
Menu < Camera Settings < Quality < Super Fine (JPEG)<br />
Menu < Camera Settings < Drive < Single<br />
Menu < Camera Settings < Dynamic Range < HDR<br />
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Using Smart Range+ is a little less complicated. Menu < Camera Settings < Dynamic Range < Smart Range+. Drive can be set to Single or Continuous, Quality can be RAW and/or JPEG, ISO will only start from 200 up and whereas HDR takes 2 photos Smart Range+ will only take one.<br />
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HDR can't go higher than 3200 and the 2 photos taken are automatically merged. I use Manual and the HDR takes photos based on those settings. <br />
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HDR and Smart Range+ work in P, A, S, M but remember to keep an eye on your aperture, ISO and and shutter speed<br />
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Ok, before I get into the photos below, just a quick note.<br />
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I used the 18-55mm lens because I was at the Voortrekker Monument and I needed a wide angle. As I have said in the past the Samsung 18-55mm is a very good lens and currently outshines my Canon's 18-55mm (I don't have the STM lens).<br />
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Next, HDR is a technique that needs to be used wisely as people starting out tend go a little wild and create photos that are...well, garish to look at. While the HDR function on the Samsung NX300 combines the photos for you (unlike AE Bracketing) the photo will mostly likely need a lot of tweaking.<br />
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Smart Range+ is far more subtle than HDR as you will see in the photos below. Photos below are all SOOC (straight out of camera) with downsizing for the net. I only included Smart Range+ in a few photos because the difference is so small compared to OFF. <br />
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Not every photo will have the settings as each comparison of No HDR, Smart Range+ and With HDR share the same settings.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGdAQ25Dk6pduL-Z5ZAErh3EA7krbOUasdp32Rvz60yDvYFpz4nAXPXcxAsQO3IS2Fa761uC4EW6jr8DeKRHN12bxtc8hKo5WDq2OnqjvbuTF3n62ZO-mYY0hgdwWrc6PTUw7eTbFkrg/s1600/dynamic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGdAQ25Dk6pduL-Z5ZAErh3EA7krbOUasdp32Rvz60yDvYFpz4nAXPXcxAsQO3IS2Fa761uC4EW6jr8DeKRHN12bxtc8hKo5WDq2OnqjvbuTF3n62ZO-mYY0hgdwWrc6PTUw7eTbFkrg/s1600/dynamic1.jpg" height="313" width="320" /></a></div>
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This was taken inside the monument, near the entrance. The walls have a slight cream colour look and the HDR increased that to give a orangy/yellowish tint. Smart Range+ did a better job by correcting the loss of bright details (compared to OFF which is the first photo).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGszm54noCdK-z_9K6A67I0vnY8F_FssAlq0pkccwjsCrZkDMO3Qft6BOTC1wlC-uzmzD3zxoGF4njcR8m53-zP0u3wyrXBVRPPk36afXqBqMP3n86k7cz-t1jrl6GtOtzbC5XCbsj3Ng/s1600/dy5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGszm54noCdK-z_9K6A67I0vnY8F_FssAlq0pkccwjsCrZkDMO3Qft6BOTC1wlC-uzmzD3zxoGF4njcR8m53-zP0u3wyrXBVRPPk36afXqBqMP3n86k7cz-t1jrl6GtOtzbC5XCbsj3Ng/s1600/dy5.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Can you believe that this was taken handheld at 1/4? ISO was pushed to 1600. I used the flash without HDR (setting OFF for Dynamic Range), no flash with the HDR as that option isn't available. Again, a yellowish cast. When taking photos, note the lighting and what it's bouncing off of, if anything. The colour of whatever it's bouncing off can give a cast on your photo. This is easy enough to fix by specifically working with the yellow and orange colours in Lightroom.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATh4aBEKHw4kKYOLkO4HhEexoMtJ0Ty479Mh-f9gSnsCzH9t6ggar_xvWr-evF4XsJl-BKo1dzO751hb_yhIxWrAtRukPMl_k2ePyONxY1i6tzRQvAIzrFKY0brFEkKiLMo4JM5PdQGs/s1600/dy4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiATh4aBEKHw4kKYOLkO4HhEexoMtJ0Ty479Mh-f9gSnsCzH9t6ggar_xvWr-evF4XsJl-BKo1dzO751hb_yhIxWrAtRukPMl_k2ePyONxY1i6tzRQvAIzrFKY0brFEkKiLMo4JM5PdQGs/s1600/dy4.jpg" height="243" width="320" /></a></div>
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I chose objects that had texture and depth so that I could test out the HDR feature. The problem with built in HDR is that you can lose quite a bit of shadows and blacks, creating an almost washed out look. Here the HDR didn't do too badly, I like the lightened detail in the windows but would want to bring back more shadow in the crevices of the wall. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUqYnSOcsv1CqBeZDohQybKbav8NN9HKWvWdueIrPMJsVHLbyyuAMFiXNEAyiQ6ujCHCYM4poY5BDTJfcXoqVCfTTh3Id1LAf9ISiZwOr4s7ro2BqsqkeC-iYS4bh2Uw_ZJdDSowlT-Y/s1600/dy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUqYnSOcsv1CqBeZDohQybKbav8NN9HKWvWdueIrPMJsVHLbyyuAMFiXNEAyiQ6ujCHCYM4poY5BDTJfcXoqVCfTTh3Id1LAf9ISiZwOr4s7ro2BqsqkeC-iYS4bh2Uw_ZJdDSowlT-Y/s1600/dy2.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></div>
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Landscapes seem to benefit more with the HDR as it lightened the green more. But some shadow detail was lost in the clouds and the building. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LjjFdSoAw6H4w4S95G_cNJIkZId-tX5-dnItUWmjUBBxT5Jp5TFiYFLIfHBXegjGY8i8xiprlsiBmgu2sCJYewyTZnfQ7VPMPoZBnmZkttH9nkxRGFQKVfRFthpep7FP3R_bQASfvIE/s1600/dy3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LjjFdSoAw6H4w4S95G_cNJIkZId-tX5-dnItUWmjUBBxT5Jp5TFiYFLIfHBXegjGY8i8xiprlsiBmgu2sCJYewyTZnfQ7VPMPoZBnmZkttH9nkxRGFQKVfRFthpep7FP3R_bQASfvIE/s1600/dy3.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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You can see that the sky is almost blown out but the grass is lighter. I would use masking to bring back detail in the clouds and the city, but very slightly decrease the brightness of the green.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUR8_TPwNsgYZajVZVl7Jfya0VA0pvdvz5Fm3bQZwhtUqXNnkyW023MY4N1NYEFX0NtPmkUDEgZ8HVmHz_84dcu5tSz1UAaSyyhehFe82nwg7hYIPs0B7FMHSWjBFIUpYmQOrvKrD9QK8/s1600/dy6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUR8_TPwNsgYZajVZVl7Jfya0VA0pvdvz5Fm3bQZwhtUqXNnkyW023MY4N1NYEFX0NtPmkUDEgZ8HVmHz_84dcu5tSz1UAaSyyhehFe82nwg7hYIPs0B7FMHSWjBFIUpYmQOrvKrD9QK8/s1600/dy6.jpg" height="150" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here, the HDR failed. It was a cloudy, rainy day but somehow the HDR found a bit of blue. The statue is washed out, shadow detail is gone and it almost starts to blend into the building behind. In the Smart Range+ there is less yellow, light areas are slightly brighter but shadows are kept and the statue stands out from the building.</div>
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HDR technique is not a one click and done setup. Nice to have a tool that can bring out the highlights more but not when the result is a washed out photo. As you can see, HDR works in some situations and not others e.g. the landscape photos worked better than the building photos but the criss-cross stone design with windows as well as the wagon were fairly good.</div>
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Smart Range+ worked better but had results that were very close to a normal photo (Dynamic Range on OFF) that it didn't stand out enough for me to rely on Dynamic Range instead of my usual settings.</div>
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And, just for the fun of it this photo was taken with HDR, at the very top of the monument looking down to the bottom (but not the bottom most level).</div>
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<br />Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-12030742909440894152014-11-30T06:00:00.002-08:002015-02-25T09:22:40.433-08:00Samsung NX300: Brackets - AE, WB and P WizardOnce again, delayed in uploading a post so please accept my apologies. That's what happens when you go to SA's biggest photo expo, the Photo & Film Expo. Always enjoy the show and get so wrapped in the events I forget everything else lol.<br />
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So, today's post is about Bracketing. Unlike the HDR option, the bracketing feature doesn't combine the photos for you but instead takes a set of 3 photos based on the settings. It's then your choice to combine if you want using software.<br />
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I used a tripod for all the experiments below so that when merging, photos would be properly aligned. I also took these photos in manual mode but the features will also work in P, A and S. <br />
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To make this easier on yourself, make certain that you get correct exposure first before taking the photos because the camera will take exposure points based on what exposure you selected. E.g. if I had my exposure at -1 instead of 0 (correctly exposed), then the exposure settings will start with -1 as the "correctly exposed" photo and place the exposed points from there.<br />
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Auto Exposure Bracketing allows for RAW format whereas White Balance Bracketing and Picture Wizard Bracketing doesn't. As you will need to set AE, WB and PW bracketing using the drive button, you can't use Continuous Drive or the Timer. The features will each take 3 photos based on your settings.<br />
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<b>Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB)</b><br />
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Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) is meant to provide you with 3 different exposures (some more advanced cameras allow more than 3 photos), one underexposed, one correctly exposed and one over exposed. The idea is that you get 3 options to choose from later on if you are not certain what exposure to use in a specific lighting. You can decide on how many stops e.g. -2, 0, +2. The negative and positive will be the same number.<br />
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The AE Bracket feature is favoured for HDR (High Dynamic Range) which records more detail in shadows and highlights when 3 or more different exposure photos are combined. You do require software for this and while Lightroom 4 is a powerful product you still need photoshop to merge the photos into an HDR image. There are also other programs for merging, I use Photomatix but Photoshop Elements might be a cheaper option.<br />
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I played with Auto Exposure Bracket photos in Photoshop 11 Photomerge-Exposure feature. The initial result given lost shadow detail, highlights and was oversaturated but under Smart Blending I was able to bring back more detail.<br />
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To use the AE Bracketing exposure feature, click on the Drive button (to the left of the middle OK button on the camera body) and scroll to your right and select AE Bracketing. Once selected you now need to select the exposure points.<br />
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Click the Menu button and scroll down and select the User Settings (where the red arrow is pointing).<br />
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Now scroll down to Bracket Set and Select AE Bracket set. A side menu will pop up and give you a selection of exposure points with -/+3 being the highest (+3) and the lowest (-3). For example, if you select -/+3 the camera will take 3 photos, one underexposed by -3 points, one perfectly exposed by 0.0 and one overexposed by +3 points.</div>
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The lower the number selected e.g. -/+0.7EV, the less of a change in exposure (light and dark) you will see. The higher the number, the bigger the difference. </div>
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You can't use the timer (as it's under the Drive feature and you can't select both Bracketing and Timer) to prevent camera shake when touching the camera (even when using a tripod) so I found that the easiest way was to changing my shooting option to One Touch Shot.</div>
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Menu<Camera Settings<Touch AF<One Touch Shot</div>
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This way, you touch the screen where you want to place the focus and it will immediately take a shot for you without having to touch any other part of the camera, accidentally causing camera shake.</div>
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In the photos below you see the difference in exposure points and a comparison to an un-merged and two merged exposure points. Only the merged have been edited, everything else is Straight out of camera (SOOC). Notice how the shutter speed changes (why a tripod or stable surface should be used) but the Aperture stays the same in Manual?<br />
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In Manual you can change the Shutter Speed and Aperture but as you have to press a button to change the Shutter Speed, the camera keeps the Aperture you selected and changes the Shutter Speed. You can still change the shutter speed and the exposure points will adjust from there.<br />
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Aperture Priority Mode does the same, keeps the Aperture you want and changes the Shutter Speed but you can't adjust the shutter speed individually.<br />
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In Shutter Priority, the camera keeps the shutter speed you select and changes the Aperture.<br />
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Program Mode seems to favour the Aperture, so this you can set while the mode changes the Shutter Speed.<br />
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In Auto, Smart Auto mode and Lens Priority mode Brackets are not available.<br />
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Here the exposure points -/+3 selection was used. Note that the over exposed photo is far more brighter than the +2 below. The underexposed photo is also darker than the -2 below. </div>
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The -/+2 selection was chosen here. You could work with the darker -2 exposed photo as it contains more detail than the -3 (which could be more difficult to recover).</div>
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The top photo is correct exposure without bracketing using Auto White Balance. The two photos below show a loss of shadows with the -2 exposure setting losing more than -3. The bracket merges could be tweaked more with better software and produce a fairly nice photo.</div>
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AE Bracketing is great for trying different exposures quickly and effortlessly. If you want to go HDR out of camera then that is an entirely different technique that needs to be done well to look good. But it's achievable based on your skills, the Samsung NX300 will help with the first part.</div>
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I will be working a post about the HDR function in camera on the Samsung NX300 after this posting.</div>
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<b>White Balance Bracketing (WBB)</b></div>
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White Balance Bracketing follows basically the same idea as AEB in that you use it to quickly get photos with different results. But in this case, instead of changing the light and dark, you are changing coolness and the warmth of the photo.<br />
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RAW is not available here, only JPEG.<br />
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What if you took a photo and it came out too cool or too warm? Instead of fiddling with settings, you change the Bracket settings (see above for changing the settings to AEB) and instead of AE Bracket set select WB Bracket set.<br />
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Now similar to AEB in changing the points, here you will change by how many points cooler or warmer the photos. AB is Amber value (yellow, orange) and MG is Magenta value (red, pinkish).<br />
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So if you choose AB -/+2 you will have one photo with Auto White Balance (AWB or the white balance you selected), one photo with a warmer, more yellow/orange cast (colour) and one with less yellow/orange.<br />
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If you choose MG-/+2, one photo will be AWB, one with more red/pink and one with less red/pink. Unlike AE Bracketing, in White Balance Bracketing you can only change by increments of 1.<br />
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Photos below are SOOC. Note that with WB Bracketing, Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO don't change at all. You can use other White Balance options under the Camera Settings<White Balance or by pressing the Fn button and scrolling to White Balance and choosing a setting e.g. Cloudy.<br />
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The camera will use that setting as the starting point and base the bracketing on that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcv2V0s_6J1p3qnHq4qyaDWHzt_j7nb-EQaUVv3jZU31YHflPRdtCGU81Vb8E_sDUOquUkXysUxy23rIIZpg8MaoJsUBtqAd3Huc7bXkYLw9XpLrFRuAtrKQmTepwe88WqerzqF0165nE/s1600/ABWB3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcv2V0s_6J1p3qnHq4qyaDWHzt_j7nb-EQaUVv3jZU31YHflPRdtCGU81Vb8E_sDUOquUkXysUxy23rIIZpg8MaoJsUBtqAd3Huc7bXkYLw9XpLrFRuAtrKQmTepwe88WqerzqF0165nE/s1600/ABWB3.jpg" height="295" width="320" /></a></div>
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Amber value (AB) -/+3. More yellow in +3 photo and less yellow in -3 photo.</div>
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Magenta value (MG) -/+3.</div>
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If you not certain about what white balance to use, first choose the one you think is closest e.g. Cloudy Day or go with Auto and let the camera choose. If you are more knowledgeable about White Balance you can use a custom white balance (uses a Grey Card to get the correct balance) and bracket from there.</div>
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<b>Picture Wizard Bracketing</b></div>
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The Picture Wizard Bracketing feature is more fun orientated and for those who want a photo in different styles e.g. Vivid, Retro etc. This is a very quick method for trying out those styles but you are limited to 3 at a time from a selection of 9.</div>
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RAW is not available, only JPEG. To select the P Bracket feature, press the Drive button (to the left of the OK button) and scroll until you get to P Bracket and select. To change the styles, go to Menu<User Settings<Bracket Set<P Wiz Bracket Set and select 3 styles.</div>
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Your aperture, shutter speed and ISO don't change, only the styles. To get an idea of how each of the styles look, go to: <a href="http://photographyasiam.blogspot.com/2014/07/samsung-nx300-smart-filters-picture.html" target="_blank">Smart Filters and Picture Wizard</a>.</div>
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f.4, 1/80, ISO 100. The settings stayed the same, only the styles changed. </div>
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There isn't much else to add about Picture Wizard Bracketing, it's a very simple and straightforward method and one you will most likely use more than the AE Bracketing and WB Bracketing.</div>
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Just for the fun of it I Photomerged with Exposure in PSE 11 (breaking the rules lol). I merged the Vivid (for the red and yellow colours), Forest (for the intense green) and Retro (for the brown). This is the result: </div>
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The colour here is far more rich than with a single Auto White Balance photo. </div>
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So you have an idea of what a little bit of imagination can do and help you create a photo with the colour elements you want by using the Picture Wizard Styles. You are not restricted to 3 styles in Photoshop Elements, so you can take as many selections of 3's as you want, then choose how many, if not all to merge and see what happens.</div>
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Next up, and hopefully soon, Dynamic Range using the Smart Range + and HDR.</div>
Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-72525861696811921372014-09-28T03:38:00.001-07:002014-09-28T03:38:37.072-07:00Samsung NX300: Tracking and Continuous AF Tracking allows you to keep a moving object/subject in focus. One you have placed the focus point (touched the screen over the area where you want the focus to be) the camera will start tracking the object/subject under that focus point even if there is movement.<br />
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To activate got to Menu then Camera Settings (camera icon at top), selected Touch AF then select Tracking AF.<br />
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The tracking shows up as a white border box and will track the subject/object as long as it's in view of the camera i.e. if you remain still as the action moves past. If you pan (move the camera by following the action) then the tracking will remain on the object/subject as long as it's in view.<br />
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If the camera loses focus while tracking, a red box will show and focus will be reset.<br />
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I did find that sometimes the tracking wanted to wander and track something else (in this case I used a heavy wind and flowers for this experiment). When it did I had to touch the screen to refocus.<br />
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Tracking is available in Auto Mode, Program, Aperture, Shutter, Manual and Lens Priority Mode. In Smart Mode Tracking is only available in Beauty Face, Best Face and Creative Shot. It's not available in Action Freeze.<br />
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The thing about the Tracking feature is that it will carry on tracking (while object/subject is in view) until you press the shutter button half way down. This then locks the focus in and as long as the subject/object remains on the same focal plane (distance from the camera) it will remain in focus. If the object/subject moves out of the focal plane after locking (pressing the shutter half way down) in the focus then it will be out of focus as the camera is no longer tracking it.<br />
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Annoying if you want to keep the moving object/subject in focus. So what do you do? If you want to rely on the camera's help you need to change the AF Mode to Continuous Auto Focus. You also need to keep the Tracking feature activated (Menu<Camera settings<Touch AF<Tracking AF)<br />
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Select Menu on the camera, make sure the Camera Settings is selected (top sub menu with camera icon) and scroll down to AF Mode, then select CAF (Continuous AF).<br />
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What this does is continuously refocus on the moving subject/object even when the shutter is pressed half way down.<br />
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If you don't want to use the Tracking and would rather pan and track the movement yourself, then select Touch AF under the Touch AF menu while leaving Continuous AF selected under AF Mode. Wherever you touch the screen to place focus, CAF will continuously focus on the area but will not track.<br />
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So to manually track you will need to pan (move the camera with the action) and keep the subject/object under that focus area. It doesn't matter if you move closer (don't forget what the closest focusing distance is of your lens) or further away. As long as the subject/object is under that focuses area it will remain in focus.<br />
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For the AF Area under Camera Settings you can use Multi AF and touch the screen to place the focus where you want it if you are not happy with the camera's placement. But, each time you release the shutter button and press half way again your selected focus will be lost (unless you press half way quickly). The camera will choose the focus points so you would then need to touch the screen again and place the focus where you want.<br />
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For something a little more accurate, Change the AF Area to Selection AF. Each time you release the shutter button and press down again, the area you chose to focus will remain there (the camera doesn't have control here, you do).<br />
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The downside of Tracking and Continuous AF is that it's not always fast. Lighting conditions can affect how fast the lens focuses but I found it lagging a bit behind which could mean lost shots.<br />
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Another issue I had (besides the camera crashing on me once or twice) was that the camera just wouldn't focus. It's happened a few times on my normal settings where the camera wouldn't focus. As for crashing, I had to remove the battery as the camera wouldn't turn off even when the switch was on Off. Don't know why this happened.<br />
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Personally I don't favour the Tracking feature all that much and prefer to use Continuous with Selection AF for moving objects. Panning and following the action takes some practice so play around. Anticipating where the object/subject is going to be can aid in getting a sharp shot.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-83464779690913148052014-09-14T03:07:00.000-07:002014-09-14T03:07:33.147-07:00Christmas Drive for Animal SanctuariesI could grovel for forgiveness being late with posts, especially posts about the Samsung NX300 but you know, life happens lol.<br />
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I am working on a post about Tracking with the NX300 as it seems to be done in a round about way and hope to have it up soon.<br />
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In the meantime, something very close to my heart, animal sanctuaries. It's almost Christmas again, time seems to fly by so fast and the animal sanctuaries could always use a little help.<br />
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One group of very dedicated people started an initiative last Christmas to organise a drive to collect the equivalent of a Christmas Shoe Box, but for animals shelters. Not only did they achieve their goal but they were also able to collect extra donations and help even more.<br />
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They didn't stop there, throughout the year they ran smaller drives and have been helping various different animal shelters with donations from the public. Kind members of the public and businesses have also donated different items which were auctioned off and the money added to the donations.<br />
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The work that these people have done is phenomenal and once again they are gearing up for the Santa Cause for Paw Christmas Drive.<br />
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If you would like to help out, you can find information on their Facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/timeline" target="_blank">Santa Cause for Paws</a>.<br />
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Pledging opens on 20 September 2014 where the public can pledge one or more boxes for a cat, kitten, puppy or dog (the choice is yours and you can donate how many boxes you want). Get your school involved, family, friends, your work, community. Even if you can only donate one box, it will make Christmas something special for a shelter animal.<br />
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Keep an eye out on the site and the Facebook page for drop off areas.<br />
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Follow the links below for more information on what to pack per box:<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/photos/pb.198720626944907.-2207520000.1410603560./341857579297877/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-xpf1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10568829_341857579297877_4276239906911705245_n.jpg%3Foh%3Ddee98b9710d641a6207284825104816b%26oe%3D54D11CEF%26__gda__%3D1418107525_67528d916a7a30910d629780b3d1fd79&size=700%2C700&fbid=341857579297877" target="_blank">What to pack</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/photos/pb.198720626944907.-2207520000.1410603525./341857932631175/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xaf1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10613112_341857932631175_205590472444888956_n.jpg%3Foh%3Dc99730d6553cc8009dcbe8563c49bd73%26oe%3D549DFF36&size=700%2C700&fbid=341857932631175" target="_blank">What to pack: Something fun</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/photos/pb.198720626944907.-2207520000.1410603525./341857872631181/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-xap1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10440893_341857872631181_1110024705146277456_n.jpg%3Foh%3Df9412f3bd04555a202a2d88ecbcfefbf%26oe%3D54CAE05D%26__gda__%3D1419025537_5cc3e34cf55e2326d0a1423284830e25&size=700%2C700&fbid=341857872631181" target="_blank">What to pack: Something useful</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/photos/pb.198720626944907.-2207520000.1410603525./341857855964516/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-xaf1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10616019_341857855964516_6641591039692259244_n.jpg%3Foh%3Dc9cc7884b9414cc2c916079e0f10fbec%26oe%3D54967301%26__gda__%3D1418793904_a9c8d366ccb67be34365e2fd4f630223&size=700%2C700&fbid=341857855964516" target="_blank">What to pack: Something warm</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/photos/pb.198720626944907.-2207520000.1410603525./341857819297853/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-xpa1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10410875_341857819297853_5676436333609726517_n.jpg%3Foh%3D9b48321cf35334ee068aceb9ed38b6e8%26oe%3D549B6E2F%26__gda__%3D1418074263_b02125799e52d2bb8ec6bda2f3c6d96a&size=700%2C700&fbid=341857819297853" target="_blank">What to pack: Something yum (tin of food AND treats)</a><br />
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The list of beneficiaries has grown this year, extending further than before:<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/photos/pb.198720626944907.-2207520000.1410603525./343708739112761/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-xap1%2Ft31.0-8%2F10583003_343708739112761_5108283596452672010_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Ffbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net%2Fhphotos-ak-xfp1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10559910_343708739112761_5108283596452672010_n.jpg%3Foh%3Da9827e94d51f9503c398457ab8ca904b%26oe%3D54C95FDF%26__gda__%3D1422865750_7c7405d0574b3b96335debb142b100a0&size=800%2C1500&fbid=343708739112761" target="_blank">Beneficiaries Cape Town</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/photos/pb.198720626944907.-2207520000.1410603560./339446382872330/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xfp1%2Ft31.0-8%2F10547718_339446382872330_5006044335922696148_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xpf1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10557274_339446382872330_5006044335922696148_n.jpg%3Foh%3D6025d6922fffc17ec7e7b0147e7c2709%26oe%3D54986139&size=800%2C1500&fbid=339446382872330" target="_blank">Beneficiaries Gauteng</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SantaCauseForPaws/photos/pb.198720626944907.-2207520000.1410603525./346022752214693/?type=3&src=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xap1%2Ft31.0-8%2F10631163_346022752214693_7449896194093523972_o.jpg&smallsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-xap1%2Fv%2Ft1.0-9%2F10577103_346022752214693_7449896194093523972_n.jpg%3Foh%3Df4456d61d41ec35dd1f356f363993ae2%26oe%3D548A4D0A&size=800%2C1590&fbid=346022752214693" target="_blank">Beneficiaries Durban KZN</a><br />
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A kind gesture when putting your boxes together would be to also add a little gift for the staff at the sanctuaries e.g. a packet of sweets. Just something to let them know they are appreciated.<br />
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NOTE!!! Keep in mind that kitten and puppy boxes require extra care as they will need food, treats and toys specific to their age group i.e. don't add adult cat food to a kitten box, a tin of kitten food is what is required.<br />
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Also, don't add hooves or bones for dogs as they may swallow sharp pieces. For soft toys, avoid any toys with loose parts, buttons, plastic eyes and mouth. This too can be torn off and swallowed causing implications.<br />
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This is, in my opinion, one of the first to ever extend help to as many different sanctuaries as possible. They have also helped sanctuaries for rabbits and chickens because each and every life deserves a chance. With the help of the public, more and more sanctuaries are getting the support they need. <br />
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My hats off to the wonderful people who have worked tirelessly to make this initiative successful and my greatest thanks to every donation from businesses and individuals of the public.<br />
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<h3>
<br /><b>Monkey Helpline Shoe Boxes</b></h3>
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Monkey Helpline works to rescue and rehabilitate monkeys who have been injured in some way whether it's from a fight with another monkey, bites from dogs, knocked over by passing cars or the ever growing pellet gun shootings.<br />
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A volunteer group, Monkey Helpline also educates the public, school and businesses on the behaviours of monkeys, how to avoid conflict and how to respect our wildlife. See a detailed description of who Monkey Helpline is here:<br />
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<a href="https://www.monkeyhelpline.co.za/about-us/" target="_blank">About Us</a><br />
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Monkey Helpline works tirelessly 24/7 and relies on donations from the public to keep going and any thing you can help them with is greatly appreciated. The perseverance and dedication of Monkey Helpline is an inspiration in determination to save our wildlife and many could learn from them.<br />
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Donations of the following items are welcome anytime of the year but Christmas is coming up so if you would like to help see the following link:<br />
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<a href="https://www.monkeyhelpline.co.za/donate-here/shoe-box-hampers/" target="_blank">Shoe Boxes</a><br />
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For other donations, including international please see the link below:<br />
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<a href="https://www.monkeyhelpline.co.za/donate-here/" target="_blank">Donations </a><br />
<a href="https://www.monkeyhelpline.co.za/" target="_blank">Monkey Helpline Web page</a><br />
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I will always be for the health and wellbeing of animals because they are the ones who are usually forgotten.Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-24242400461568640522014-07-24T08:00:00.001-07:002014-07-24T08:07:43.026-07:00Samsung NX300: Smart Filters, Picture Wizard and Editing on cameraThe Samsung NX300 provides in camera editing of colour, contrast, exposure etc as well as using Smart Filters and Picture Wizard. All offer creative options besides basic editing which allows you do to adjustments in camera and upload directly via the Wi-fi option without having to go through your pc.<br />
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In the photos below I have taken shots of a setup where I tried to incorporate as much colour variations as possible as well as texture. None of the photos have been edited on the computer other than to decrease the size for the blog. Any editing has been done directly on camera.<br />
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Please read below on how to activate Smart Filters under the camera settings. <br />
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I did have an issue importing any RAW photos into Lightroom 4 where I used the Picture Wizard feature. After importing, the photos would seem to lose their adjustments e.g. Classic would turn from black and white into a normal colour photo without adjustments. After a quick experiment I found that JPEG worked fine but not RAW. This could be due to JPEG processing photos in camera whereas RAW keeps the photo as is without any form of processing (the adjustments are a form of processing).<br />
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So, for uploading via Wi-Fi and to keep the adjustments for Picture Wizard and editing (Smart Filters only allows JPEG), set your Quality to JPEG (Super Fine is best).<br />
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Duh me, only realised this after packing my setup away. Instead of the having the photos themselves I did a screen capture of the RAW files. Just didn't have the motivation to reset everything again lol.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2b8iFyhCfb9lRJeP8axtp8UsXHroaduRPyjS7XAcO7zhRsjytF3LrHFqf6FIKCVH1yyQKK4Yw6mPZ9-lAIUNrYiWz6ca0pUZTNYSVovWCij0OYpp83Xt19Dp-tQRHLHUwJENv23kULo8/s1600/SAM_0208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2b8iFyhCfb9lRJeP8axtp8UsXHroaduRPyjS7XAcO7zhRsjytF3LrHFqf6FIKCVH1yyQKK4Yw6mPZ9-lAIUNrYiWz6ca0pUZTNYSVovWCij0OYpp83Xt19Dp-tQRHLHUwJENv23kULo8/s1600/SAM_0208.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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This is the original image</div>
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<b>Smart Filters</b><br />
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How the freak do you activate Smart Filters?<br />
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That was my first thought when trying to follow the instructions (all of one sentence) in the manual. Unless hidden somewhere in small print, the manual doesn't seem to mention that in order to use Smart Filters you need to set your Drive mode to Single and change the Quality to JPEG (Super Fine for the best if you had the setting on RAW).<br />
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I used Smart Filters after taking the photos and not before i.e. once the photo was taken I then went to review the photo, selected the icon in the middle of the screen (that shows as a piece of paper with pen) and used the navigation buttons or touched the screen on the far right icon (looks like a drawing of a landscape). This was how I used the Smart Filter on the photos below.<br />
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(photos of icons are screenshots from the manual, just to show the icons you need to select)<br />
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In Playback (reviewing your photos) first select the middle icon (Editing):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Fr2OcuW01_8LshmBKrMtP60XfYIA-nr2fwUObRcN_OTpxq0jS4xUXd0ayIr6UZDlXNfAoiTSBZs_eY0uvUP4YVAAP-fPbUsGArriCsdDD53RRhHao_BqN6hYC6ihTPDdXO4ZIb3xfp4/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Fr2OcuW01_8LshmBKrMtP60XfYIA-nr2fwUObRcN_OTpxq0jS4xUXd0ayIr6UZDlXNfAoiTSBZs_eY0uvUP4YVAAP-fPbUsGArriCsdDD53RRhHao_BqN6hYC6ihTPDdXO4ZIb3xfp4/s1600/Capture.JPG" /></a></div>
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Then select the right hand icon (Smart Filter) which looks like:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdTFSVcvMxmGeA4ImIfoY6JrQ559ywyFIIlyunk8Butz_4OrMPIqnQ-rmbEEsBFGDlF38x2wn9Z3TIXKP-ATmlR6eilqp7EHvaJWKpMjsF1QNbxx0sDPh3ZWQvw-fFBh_iEEdvEje_lY/s1600/Capture2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdTFSVcvMxmGeA4ImIfoY6JrQ559ywyFIIlyunk8Butz_4OrMPIqnQ-rmbEEsBFGDlF38x2wn9Z3TIXKP-ATmlR6eilqp7EHvaJWKpMjsF1QNbxx0sDPh3ZWQvw-fFBh_iEEdvEje_lY/s1600/Capture2.JPG" /></a></div>
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This way of adding Smart Filters is via the editing tool. You will be given a selection of settings.</div>
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Now, the manual mentions that you can't use Smart Filters and Picture Wizard together, and you can't. Unless you do it the way I mentioned above. </div>
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First choose the setting/feature you want in Picture Wizard (shortcut is to press the iFn button and select the dropper icon to the right of the AWB), take the photo and then review the photo. Select the middle icon for editing, then the right icon (see above) for Smart Filters and you can apply a filter to any photo taken using the Picture Wizard feature.</div>
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<b>To activate the Smart Filter setting under the camera options and take a photo using Smart Filters</b>: make sure that under the camera settings, Quality is set to JPEG (Normal, Fine, Super Fine - Super Fine is the highest quality) and that your Drive is set to Single or Timer. None of the other settings e.g. Continuous or Bracketing will work. Also make certain that Picture Wizard is set to Off.</div>
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Once those three settings are in place then the Smart Filter option should no longer be greyed out and available.</div>
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Above are the creative features available and the last photo Edited Watercolour is the Watercolour feature applied and then edited: Auto Adjustment to make the photo darker and the colour Temp was changed to -1000K to remove some of the warmth.<br />
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You can further edit in anyway that you like with Exposure, individual colours like red, more contrast etc, all in camera. Every time you edit a a photo a new file is created in JPEG (so the original file is kept untouched). But editing can only be done after Smart Filters has been applied as you can't further edit this feature e.g. I would like to been able to adjust where I want the miniature effect.<br />
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To edit further, review the photo in Playback, select the middle Edit icon (see above for description) then touch the screen or use the navigation buttons to select the third icon (looks like a paint palette), which will then take you into a selection of editing options. Click on or select an option e.g. Exposure and you will be able to adjust the exposure.<br />
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<b>Picture Wizard</b><br />
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Unlike Smart Filters, which adds a painterly effect, Picture Wizard applies different styles to the photos i.e. retro for an old fashioned look.<br />
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You can't use Picture Wizard and Smart Filters at the same time but by applying Smart Filters (after taking a photo using Picture Wizard) in Playback review of your photo using the Edit tools, you can still apply both.<br />
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And also unlike Smart Filters, you can change the presets of Picture Wizard and add your own custom colours, saturation, sharpness and contrast. I would personally leave the presets as is and rather create a custom preset using the same settings and change that. You can reset.<br />
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For quick access press the iFn button and navigate to the dropper icon to the right of the AWB setting. Select and you will be taken to a set of 9 styles excluding the 3 custom settings. Once you choose a setting, click ok or touch the setting and make sure a blue tick is visible in the corner, this means the style has been selected. <br />
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If you want to change the preset or the custom preset navigate with the navigation buttons until a blue box is around the style, then press the DISP button or touch the screen on the word Adjust. You can then change the Colour, Saturation, Sharpness and Contrast. To keep the change make sure you press Ok or touch the word Ok on the screen to set.<br />
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As you can see above, there is a very small amount of change in the styles, except for Forest which starts to present more green as the name indicates.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXE71eLhbD7J6hrD0mYn9KMnpRoGisl0pAAbVlsTEut5ftTLTPCj-ohELt4XBuZhj2-LuyrQw7lImgoSNKetqq7S2hFxRg23FRpGKY2MoEKxf1aai-LHGPJix2NYeHVd1kl0hlb64d1oc/s1600/pwretro+to+class.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXE71eLhbD7J6hrD0mYn9KMnpRoGisl0pAAbVlsTEut5ftTLTPCj-ohELt4XBuZhj2-LuyrQw7lImgoSNKetqq7S2hFxRg23FRpGKY2MoEKxf1aai-LHGPJix2NYeHVd1kl0hlb64d1oc/s1600/pwretro+to+class.jpg" height="320" width="218" /></a></div>
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In the above photos the styles are more pronounced.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22LNylsQ5FcqI19ym5o6cw2k860xvRaIB_e0WpYrhAa-Pxi8kl95wgRmEFRafiZbUKx7u510OinL2wbG2RZFcmSXx1ggdo7ocrDlJr-lh3jEGrhKfgZdMr55UuG8fYGAfprB7szi1xck/s1600/satsharp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22LNylsQ5FcqI19ym5o6cw2k860xvRaIB_e0WpYrhAa-Pxi8kl95wgRmEFRafiZbUKx7u510OinL2wbG2RZFcmSXx1ggdo7ocrDlJr-lh3jEGrhKfgZdMr55UuG8fYGAfprB7szi1xck/s1600/satsharp.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
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I played around with a custom style. Again, remember to set the Quality on your camera settings to JPEG as RAW will show on your memory card but not when you import into Lightroom 4 and you will lose the Picture Wizard Styles</div>
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<b>Editing</b></div>
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As mentioned above, you can further tweak your photo with the editing tools. This is done after the photo has been taken and once in Playback view, select the editing icon in the middle, then navigate to the pain palette for options:</div>
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Auto Adjustment</div>
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Brightness</div>
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Contrast</div>
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Saturation</div>
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RGB (red, green, blue) Adjustment</div>
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Colour Temperature</div>
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Exposure</div>
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Hue</div>
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Once you have selected one of the options above you will have the option of changing the adjustment except for Auto Adjustment, which does the adjustment itself.</div>
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When in the editing tools (after selecting the middle editing icon) you will also have the option of cropping the photo, rotating or adjusting the size. My option for adjusting the size was not available but the manual says this depends on the size of the photo selected.</div>
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To crop, once you have selected the option, use the two corner squares by touching one at a time and moving the box to where you want. Rotating gives you visual examples so you only need to select the one you want.</div>
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And I think that's about it :-).</div>
<b><br /></b>Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-86918320341140068592014-07-21T04:58:00.001-07:002014-07-21T04:58:18.939-07:00Samsung NX300 - Quick Shutter Speed TutorialShutter Speed shooting mode is exactly what it says and for speed shots this is the favoured shooting mode by many.<br />
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Before going into this tutorial I would suggest taking a look at the <a href="http://photographyasiam.blogspot.com/2014/05/samsung-nx300-starting-out-with-quick.html" target="_blank">Program Tutorial</a> and <a href="http://photographyasiam.blogspot.com/2014/06/samsung-nx300-aperture-priority-quick.html" target="_blank">Aperture Priority Tutorial</a>. I know it sounds irritating but my reasoning is because I have explained settings and so on in further detail. It also means I don't have to keep on repeating the info.<br />
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With Aperture Priority, the f number was controlled by you and the shutter speed adjusted by the camera. But in Shutter Speed, the roles are reversed and you control the shutter speed while the camera adjusts the aperture. Another reason why I wanted you to check out the Aperture Tutorial first.<br />
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As always, just selecting a shutter speed and shooting won't get you the photos you want. In order to maintain what the camera believes is correct exposure it needs to compensate by opening the aperture blades wider to allow more light in (the smaller the f number the more light but less is in focus). So you can lose out on depth of field (what is kept in focus). That is why you also need to keep an eye on the f number while changing the shutter speed.<br />
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Also if the shutter speed e.g. 1/2000 shows as red instead of blue, then exposure is incorrect and the photo will be dark. The shutter speed number needs to remain in blue and the slightest shift in light can change this so don't neglect the shutter speed in anyway.<br />
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<b>You may want to push it and increase the shutter speed to what you want, underexposing the photo and then use Exposure Compensation to lighten the photo. Give it a try and compare to a correctly exposed photo. Noise will increase greatly and you may only be allowed to add a certain amount of Exposure Compensation. It will look terrible so I wouldn't recommend trying this out.</b><br />
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To increase the camera's sensitivity to light and therefore increase the shutter speed you can increase the ISO. I'd say 800 is the highest you can safely go without too much noise although up 1600 can work but higher and you get visible noise in the background.<br />
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I haven't had much of a chance to travel and would have loved to get some speeding bike action in but used Newton's Cradle Balance Balls for this tutorial.<br />
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You can use anything with movement e.g. toy car, pinwheel, water etc. A simple experiment is to half fill a glass or jar of water, add glitter and stir. While the water is moving take a photo looking down on the glass/jar.<br />
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Ok, let's get started.<br />
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1. Switch on the Samsung Nx300 and turn the shooting mode dial to S (in between the A and M). Don't confuse it with the Smart Mode small S in a black camera silhouette.<br />
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2. Quick check of the settings:<br />
Autoshare - on or off is your choice, I keep it Off.<br />
Photo size - 20M 5472 x 3648 (this will be greyed out if RAW is selected under Quality)<br />
Quality - I usually use RAW but for the tut I changed to JPEG Super Fine<br />
ISO - start at 100, avoid using Auto<br />
White Balance - set for now to AWB<br />
Picture Wizard - for now keep this Off, I will later go through each setting<br />
AF Mode - Single AF<br />
AF Area - Multi AF<br />
Touch AF - Touch AF<br />
MF Assist - Enlarge x5<br />
Framing Mode - Off<br />
Drive - High<br />
Metering - Multi<br />
Dynamic Range - Off<br />
Flash - won't be using flash for this tutorial, so don't worry about this setting.<br />
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3. As mentioned above, watch both the Shutter Speed number (e.g. 1/200) and the Aperture (e.g. f4). The shutter speed number needs to remain blue to keep correct exposure. Depending on your light available, the higher the shutter speed goes the wider the aperture (smaller the number) becomes. In shaded areas the shutter speed might not go higher than 1/200 and aperture may be the widest the lens allows f2 (depending on the lens).<br />
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This means that while you may have a fairly fast shutter speed the area in focus will be very small and there will still be a chance of blur.<br />
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Before moving to Step 4 I want to show you examples of how changing the ISO and Shutter Speed in turn changes the Aperture.<br />
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The photos haven't been edited other than to make smaller for the blog.<br />
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Here are examples in a shaded area and direct sun to give you an idea before taking the shot. I have also included 100% crops of two of the photos to show you the noise levels:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmEnotZZAsRqMfaBzQwa2eyxYtzu0nExVvdNP7punmg13dblEr7wHxxcQesBoifXYQULnWvTlsKpdGNgOrPiDv8LYc_DEBPAdR38zzdTNFwV-ajDojv43nVjHp8UkXwO0OjgazX3Hkfk/s1600/highest+speed+shade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmEnotZZAsRqMfaBzQwa2eyxYtzu0nExVvdNP7punmg13dblEr7wHxxcQesBoifXYQULnWvTlsKpdGNgOrPiDv8LYc_DEBPAdR38zzdTNFwV-ajDojv43nVjHp8UkXwO0OjgazX3Hkfk/s1600/highest+speed+shade.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></div>
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The highest shutter speed I could get while keeping correct exposure was 1/200 at ISO 100 but this meant the aperture was f2, decreasing how much was in focus. Also, I used Continuous Drive and captured 4 photos, of which the last one showed the moving ball as being blurred. So the speed was ok for 3/4 photos but that 4th may have been important in another situation so the speed wasn't as fast as it should have been.<br />
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You can also see that the depth of field was shallow so only the balls (and anything at the same distance) were in focus as this was where I touched the screen to place focus.<br />
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I increased the ISO in the photo below to 400, so the highest shutter speed allowed was 1/640 with a slight increase in the aperture f2.5. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yPBegIGdY-7N8UgbEuXsJvzszLaS7vEmsjC2q-sgjYmZQhyphenhyphenhDGmDMWvuQ_9GoABUhY8IuGV0c18glNgEzoSjYowcCejReLJQFRtfPgnSKENe38AWUI3U2GhaptWTEhJnLbVDCV_TbcQ/s1600/highest+shade+400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yPBegIGdY-7N8UgbEuXsJvzszLaS7vEmsjC2q-sgjYmZQhyphenhyphenhDGmDMWvuQ_9GoABUhY8IuGV0c18glNgEzoSjYowcCejReLJQFRtfPgnSKENe38AWUI3U2GhaptWTEhJnLbVDCV_TbcQ/s1600/highest+shade+400.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now that the shutter speed has increased I can play around with the setting to increase the aperture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSE0SWQAerSgTMEPaWcwWjgcG8tAiP4XWPR0Fg-SM6BgGVMzIao5iZNGffNoTK3GXAC3hVq8p1KnRTTofhnQQlrVEugql1ctbb7AkejVF4GOcDh4LC28lwbLvHeDKBxSOCE1Yf4AX-zDs/s1600/400speed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSE0SWQAerSgTMEPaWcwWjgcG8tAiP4XWPR0Fg-SM6BgGVMzIao5iZNGffNoTK3GXAC3hVq8p1KnRTTofhnQQlrVEugql1ctbb7AkejVF4GOcDh4LC28lwbLvHeDKBxSOCE1Yf4AX-zDs/s1600/400speed.jpg" height="320" width="203" /></a></div>
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To increase the aperture to f4 and get more in focus I had to decrease to 1/200 but as you can see the slower shutter speed didn't capture the photo fast enough. If I wanted to I could increase the ISO to 800 which would increase the shutter speed fast enough to capture the shot clearly.<br />
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In direct sunlight I reached a shutter speed of 1/6000 with aperture f2.8 on ISO 400. Each photo taken in direct sunlight with ISO 100-400 produced shutter speeds over 1/2000, which was fast enough for clear shots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWi0pjZlqR3JzZJ6kXsFOPCX1Al3ALRd6ZpUSRW6nnDSCTtpmtIz61ASR-Ciep4-pJNm1NYmWahrJDWBxWxYF-1ZhqUtiK4hh4_DwQxPDKrDJ-lAZKlU8x0KKn-QdwIMlySM_t89_R73w/s1600/sunshutter100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWi0pjZlqR3JzZJ6kXsFOPCX1Al3ALRd6ZpUSRW6nnDSCTtpmtIz61ASR-Ciep4-pJNm1NYmWahrJDWBxWxYF-1ZhqUtiK4hh4_DwQxPDKrDJ-lAZKlU8x0KKn-QdwIMlySM_t89_R73w/s1600/sunshutter100.jpg" height="320" width="171" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Gr_lepFOQfo3i-PhwdQPC4DuY7GkMIz25VIXrm0vkEYJI9UXPp0VfsAVUi1aoz_00kaoEi9AQv-g85vW97CPnLvi46-qbtJMEp0HPtoFRpjjj1-4YOqm87y8gslUARon4HlQMQzwq0g/s1600/shutter400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Gr_lepFOQfo3i-PhwdQPC4DuY7GkMIz25VIXrm0vkEYJI9UXPp0VfsAVUi1aoz_00kaoEi9AQv-g85vW97CPnLvi46-qbtJMEp0HPtoFRpjjj1-4YOqm87y8gslUARon4HlQMQzwq0g/s1600/shutter400.jpg" height="320" width="171" /></a></div>
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The high shutter speed gave me room to play and I was able to get a clear shot with ISO 400, aperture f8 and by decreasing the shutter speed to 1/640.</div>
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If you are taking a photo of a bird in flight or a plane against a bright blue sky then you will be able to achieve a shutter speed of over 1/3000 with aperture f8 and up. As said before, it depends on your lighting.</div>
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4. Once you have found the correct settings depending on your lighting, press the shutter half way to focus and touch the screen if you want to place the focus elsewhere. Once you are happy with the focus, press fully to take a photo.</div>
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5. Sometimes the camera doesn't always get the exposure right so you can use the Exposure Compensation to make the photo darker or lighter. Go to <a href="http://photographyasiam.blogspot.com/2014/05/samsung-nx300-starting-out-with-quick.html" target="_blank">Program Tutorial</a> and scroll down to where the article says <b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20.790000915527344px;">But what happens if the photo appears too dark? </b></div>
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ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture all work together besides the influence of light. It might sound complicated but if you just pay attention to the Shutter Speed and Aperture, then it's more than a good start. Unlike Manual Mode the Program, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority mode have settings where the camera acts as an assistant.</div>
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It's why I always suggest starting with Program mode. The camera still has more control than you do in Program mode but you can still decide on the combination of settings although limited. When you move onto Aperture or Shutter Priority the camera hands over the reigns of one of the settings i.e. full control over shutter or aperture. </div>
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As you move through these shooting modes, you choose what suits you best or use each one for different modes. Aperture was my favourite until I tried Manual and have stayed there ever since. But I only reached manual by going through each mode and learning what works where. Some will tell you to go straight to Manual, and if you want to why not? But if it seems to much for a first go, just start at the beginning and work your way through.</div>
Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8317939624363658847.post-15493977226330330212014-07-15T10:18:00.000-07:002014-07-15T10:39:58.163-07:00Samsung NX300: Smart Mode SilhouetteSilhouette is a fairly nice Smart Mode feature and even though it was intended for photos of people, I won't be using human subjects due to the sensitivity of privacy and so on.<br />
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But who said you can't break the rules?<br />
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The reason I like Silhouette is because it gives a type of glow depending on where the light source is coming from. More detail is kept in Silhouette than in Sunset but Sunset brings out the warmer colours.<br />
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The photo examples below were taken around sunset and haven't been edited in anyway other than to make them smaller for the blog.<br />
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To use the Silhouette Mode, as with the other modes under Smart Mode (represented as a small S surrounded by a black camera shape on the shooting mode dial):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxGK4DLlnyYnqr_I7qm9jIJZ6TUWjgdbzpEYXTA2JaJIxGpdqyXm8ZMTvUtUnpO2X-2v4cOc0IKjnL8ETLosH2Yu87a4e86M2TE8MHTx6gIwzSdxtJUql90kFxtYL1fKnv9FZrICrPUY/s1600/smart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxGK4DLlnyYnqr_I7qm9jIJZ6TUWjgdbzpEYXTA2JaJIxGpdqyXm8ZMTvUtUnpO2X-2v4cOc0IKjnL8ETLosH2Yu87a4e86M2TE8MHTx6gIwzSdxtJUql90kFxtYL1fKnv9FZrICrPUY/s1600/smart.JPG" /></a></div>
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Turn on the NX300, turn the mode dial to the small S and you will be given a selection of modes to choose from. Use the Navigation buttons to scroll through the modes and press OK (the mode will have a blue box around it) to select the Silhouette mode, which will show with a tick as the selected mode. You can also just touch the screen to select the mode.<br />
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The rest is easy as the camera does everything else for you, unless you want to change some of the limited settings. But to get started, just point, half press the shutter button to focus and fully to shoot. The camera will take one photo and even in low light I didn't have a problem with blurring as the photos were sharp and clear.<br />
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Settings wise this is what I used:<br />
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Autoshare - Off (Your choice whether this is on or not)<br />
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Smart Mode set to Silhouette<br />
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Photo size - 20M 5472 x 3648 (for best results I go for the highest resolution)<br />
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Quality - Super Fine (RAW is not available in Smart Mode features)<br />
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AF Mode - Single Auto Focus (if you have a switch for Manual Focus MF and Auto Focus AF on the lens, then when AF is selected on the lens, MF will be greyed out and visa versa. This is different for lenses like the 30mm that don't have a switch and must be manually changed in the menu)<br />
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AF Area - Multi AF<br />
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Touch AF - Touch AF - you can touch the screen to place the focus. Tracking is not available<br />
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MF Assist - I leave this at Enlarge x5, i.e. when you want to fine tune focus using manual focus ring (small front ring) the screen will enlarge the area x5<br />
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Focus Peaking - I have this set to High Level and Colour White. Some people don't like this as they find it distracting. What happens is that areas considered over exposed will flash the colour selected, in this case White. It does in no way affect the photo.<br />
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OIS - Set to Mode 1 but this is only available on lenses that support OIS e.g. 18-55mm kit lens<br />
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Drive - set to Single. Timer is also available but Continuous is not.<br />
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Ok, so that's the extra settings that you use to fine tune the Silhouette mode. The 18-55mm lens was used with the following examples. You may see some banding (rainbow like lines) in the sky but that is due to the quality that the photo was saved at for the web. In the original photos you don't see any banding.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7dh88xG5elpzgumob76Akdu46CPAtHAqLU5J748VWbtTeKRPjy2YpNND4Zaw2RSBudqXxzBLVIDk5QaDLEajdwlXo49-aiBiabWp7_96MfzaHtXLsEV-i5_J2ym0BbI0BnQHprmK7zk/s1600/SAM_0004.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7dh88xG5elpzgumob76Akdu46CPAtHAqLU5J748VWbtTeKRPjy2YpNND4Zaw2RSBudqXxzBLVIDk5QaDLEajdwlXo49-aiBiabWp7_96MfzaHtXLsEV-i5_J2ym0BbI0BnQHprmK7zk/s1600/SAM_0004.gif" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Smart Mode Silhouette - camera chose ISO 100, Shutter 1/500, Aperture f9</div>
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You can also achieve the same results in Manual but the point of Smart Mode is to make it easier for those not used to DSLRs to take photos without the hassle of settings. ISO was kept at 100, which is perfect as noise is kept at its lowest and I didn't even need a tripod. The ISO will go up the more the lights drops and may get to a point that a tripod is needed but at just before Sunset I didn't have an issue.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcfghVndoPweoNPG1XZHCCxwZSrXN8kGCwc1DVZ80KK7J1i522zjp4SRThp7BINRzilj16S85NNcn8dk8UOIJUlG2pMG1Zl9khnB1KRcjaC_xxXGSerxSsoTZP0BaRxI6E6FjLHA80kg/s1600/SAM_0020.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcfghVndoPweoNPG1XZHCCxwZSrXN8kGCwc1DVZ80KK7J1i522zjp4SRThp7BINRzilj16S85NNcn8dk8UOIJUlG2pMG1Zl9khnB1KRcjaC_xxXGSerxSsoTZP0BaRxI6E6FjLHA80kg/s1600/SAM_0020.gif" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Not a great idea, but the Sun was directly behind the trees so I quickly snapped a photo. In comparison to the Sunset mode below, the Silhouette has more impact with more detail. But, the sky was one of our bland pale blue and white sunsets so the Sunset mode literally didn't get a chance to shine here. Silhouette also darkened the trees, street, street sign and wall whereas in the Sunset photo you can still details in the bottom elements.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V3tDxxT84cRpCfQxlJZKsZor0Tx9HbmefstdXxqXEJ1M7h4ham_TKkcC7Qa7o7b5j6OJkaPhj6sad-32FqHCzRlcXXAsroSz81Wc3ZdYzNJmXQepZI9Y3hbBLlJnkcLq5-qihxy5dQU/s1600/SAM_0019.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4V3tDxxT84cRpCfQxlJZKsZor0Tx9HbmefstdXxqXEJ1M7h4ham_TKkcC7Qa7o7b5j6OJkaPhj6sad-32FqHCzRlcXXAsroSz81Wc3ZdYzNJmXQepZI9Y3hbBLlJnkcLq5-qihxy5dQU/s1600/SAM_0019.gif" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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A little less detail and impact in the sky, but would have worked better with a sky that had more red in it. You can see feintly some red captured. Photos were taken within a 1 minute of each other so the light source was the same.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcHbfMSRf0R3P1o0n3i-SK4J9JQFIEXmX1V8IobzWELKg9YWbTxxqV2AiGOCA2NjjVeNsK1BJG3CFtDyqP39hfWLTmn8zx9TyWuz8Wkl2SqhOTG_Gu-o_5khs3ZmeGgYhwwcie7p3NKk/s1600/SAM_0001.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcHbfMSRf0R3P1o0n3i-SK4J9JQFIEXmX1V8IobzWELKg9YWbTxxqV2AiGOCA2NjjVeNsK1BJG3CFtDyqP39hfWLTmn8zx9TyWuz8Wkl2SqhOTG_Gu-o_5khs3ZmeGgYhwwcie7p3NKk/s1600/SAM_0001.gif" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Playing around with a more defined outline. A wire and beaded Christmas Tree with lights. You can see some colour has been kept for the Christmas lights but a majority has been darkened out (the star on top is made of blue beads). No lol, that's not a UFO on the right but part of a street lamp.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDE8FGZ1dSHr1h6p9VyK9Ccw3fUiElCVeSecNoIZnAZd9709q46O70orYw9cPoT1jgvgLkfbZp5Y3WYBCp82jL91co1eOl8JnIKiz-AxvHb2OU1t2q5prPpC6zYxVRxg3f7OrwBu8ca4/s1600/SAM_0009.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDE8FGZ1dSHr1h6p9VyK9Ccw3fUiElCVeSecNoIZnAZd9709q46O70orYw9cPoT1jgvgLkfbZp5Y3WYBCp82jL91co1eOl8JnIKiz-AxvHb2OU1t2q5prPpC6zYxVRxg3f7OrwBu8ca4/s1600/SAM_0009.gif" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Another Silhouette photo but facing the direction of the sun whereas the photo below, also taken in Silhouette, looks like any normal photo. It was taken with the sun at my back so for successful results make sure the source of light is facing you.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQmPhM-xWZk22G25ymT5EDVCDpzvk6QrGe4O2XjCxMvoGOOksTZyWVi9IozwEy9pIeAsDx8qopj2uRTzXJjiRPSLbJAbreyRG0dtKdc4SO1d8AXGBJDZrB1W2k_UJSA982uJsezAKDFM/s1600/SAM_0010.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQmPhM-xWZk22G25ymT5EDVCDpzvk6QrGe4O2XjCxMvoGOOksTZyWVi9IozwEy9pIeAsDx8qopj2uRTzXJjiRPSLbJAbreyRG0dtKdc4SO1d8AXGBJDZrB1W2k_UJSA982uJsezAKDFM/s1600/SAM_0010.gif" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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Taken with my back to the source of light, in this case the Sun. <b>Avoid pointing your camera directly at the Sun as you can damage your eyes as well as your camera.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7R5jgQPG0htQDDnoi2UUfbTKARFeGkLgZbhrvpnntEXWUm1Usp926DMH_z3tH7iuc12aICXgAdGUu9a3b5TUEXBVtzKBia8OdDyzf6-Nz7vdmgYNLz-RNz9njZQ7kaov0UjM7UvgAwG8/s1600/SAM_0011.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7R5jgQPG0htQDDnoi2UUfbTKARFeGkLgZbhrvpnntEXWUm1Usp926DMH_z3tH7iuc12aICXgAdGUu9a3b5TUEXBVtzKBia8OdDyzf6-Nz7vdmgYNLz-RNz9njZQ7kaov0UjM7UvgAwG8/s1600/SAM_0011.gif" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just for some fun and maybe artistic value. Different shapes; a bare Winter tree with old peach pips hanging from the branches. Taken facing the light source (sun) and shows the stark impact of Winter.</div>
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So while Silhouette is a people thing, you can take a photo of anything that peaks your interest and get great results.</div>
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I'm a Manual Shooting Mode Fan but for those times when you don't want to fiddle with the aperture and shutter speed, Silhouette does a very nice job of capturing that drama quickly and effortlessly.</div>
Nadinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08655719335965309422noreply@blogger.com0