I Finally gone and 'dune' it...

[rotxlk82]

Nice start Tim.

The first img is intriguing, it looks like there's something going on here in the candlelight. It'd be nice to see what it is.

The second is ok, it's nicely composed and shows a good range of tones and intensities of light. Perhaps it'd be improved with a b/w conversion.

The final img seems very blue to me, was the WB set wrong or something? Or was this intentional post processing?

 

[Wolfie]

the first image was actually taken during a huge power outage. there was a bad storm and the power didn't cut out till hours later when the sun came out. power was out all day, went to a movie to do something fun and came back and it was still out. We were just lighting the candles (it was dead night when we got back) and i thought about fooling with my camera in the candle light.

the person you see in the background is actually my girlfriend (after she lit the candle) i have another where the camera is focused at her and not the candle, I'll try to find it. i could use a VR lens in those conditions, almost all my photos were blurry, either that or i haven't mastered compensation. (i think it's the later lol)

the other pic was take at settings very similar to Ken Rockwell's D40 users manual. with saturated color cranked up and an exposure comp of -0.7.

the last one (there actually were two). i changed the White Balance to incandescent (i think i cranked that up to +3 and -3 to see what the difference was).

 

[rotxlk82]

Thanks for the reply Tim.

In very awkward conditions such as your candle-lit scene you may be better off using manual exposure mode and then manually setting what works best judging by what's shown on the LCD screen and histogram. The meter sometimes simply can't handle the contrast between the dark background and candle-lit subjects, I can remember trying to take a photo inside a tunnel once and having resort to manual as the meter simply wasn't working for me.

As for the other two they do represent good progress in terms of experimentation, it takes time to 'learn' your camera and see what works best for you.

 

[Wolfie]

Yeah, I'm finding out that i like things that our vivid in color and more or less warm looking. Kinda like Ken. seems we have the same taste.

anyways, I'm reading the operation manual along with whatever information i can find online. I've tried manual exposure mode and i wasn't so good at it the first few times. I have a rough time trying to figure out what would work best in that situation. I'll try it again and read more on shooting in manual mode.

thanks for the reply and the friendly suggestions.

 

[Mike S]

Congrats Tim! I'm a D40 shooter as well and I’m amazed at the great job it does. Can’t beat it for the money. The 18-55 kit lens does a really nice job as well.

 

[mdruiz]

I have a D40 with a 18-200..I love it. The only problem is that the pop up flash causes a shadow indoors, since the lens is so large...get a flash when the budget allows.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Wolfie]

Nice!!!

I'm stuck with my gem of a kit lens or a while (i may get the 55-200mm for half the price unless you guys say that the 18-200mm is absolutly worth it)

i thought about the 18-200mm but thought it'd be a little hard to operate on such a small body.

I LOVE MY D40!

the flash i was hoping to get would be the SB-400 (thats the correct name right?)

 

[rotxlk82]

I have a D40 with a 18-200..I love it. The only problem is that the pop up flash causes a shadow indoors, since the lens is so large...get a flash when the budget allows.

Have you tried removing the hood from the 18-200vr when shooting indoors with the flash? I've not heard of this problem in relation to this specific camera-lens combination however I do remember reading something somewhere about larger lenses with big hoods blocking the AF assist lamp and flash.

the flash i was hoping to get would be the SB-400 (thats the correct name right?)

Yes, the SB400 is the cheapest external Nikon flash that's fully compatible with your D40. Ken Rockwell has a very favourable review of it if you want an opinion and more information.

 

[mdruiz]

Have you tried removing the hood from the 18-200vr when shooting indoors with the flash? I've not heard of this problem in relation to this specific camera-lens combination however I do remember reading something somewhere about larger lenses with big hoods blocking the AF assist lamp and flash.

Ive tried it...same problem

 

[rotxlk82]

Have you tried removing the hood from the 18-200vr when shooting indoors with the flash? I've not heard of this problem in relation to this specific camera-lens combination however I do remember reading something somewhere about larger lenses with big hoods blocking the AF assist lamp and flash.

Ive tried it...same problem

Ok, just a thought. Sorry it didn't work out. I hardly ever use flash so I don't really know a lot about it.

Looks like an external flash is the best way to go. The SB400 isn't that pricey and if you want a bit more control there's the 600 and 800/900 models too.

 

[Wolfie]

I've read the SB-400 review from kenrockwell.com

Very favoriable! looks nice and not so encumbersome on the on the D40 body.

don't really know why you'd need more of a flash. I'm also finding that i like shooting without flash and absolutely NO AF assist lamp. however, i'd like the SB-400 for bounce lighting. I've never liked direct flash in my eyes. At least this way i'll be able to make more natural photos of people without blinding them as a curtsey.

 

[underitall]

Alrite Tim, yes, im sure youll enjoy the D40 like me too!
And nice pics, only thing is, theyre slightly "noisy", and I see that the ISO was set at 1600, on all of them, I personally dont like using ISO higher than the lowest of 200 really, and have only gone up to 1600 to see what it was like, which I wasnt too pleased about, but either way, hope, and im usre you will, enjoy it for evewr to come, Tom.

 

[Wolfie]

Alrite Tim, yes, im sure youll enjoy the D40 like me too!
And nice pics, only thing is, theyre slightly "noisy", and I see that the ISO was set at 1600, on all of them, I personally dont like using ISO higher than the lowest of 200 really, and have only gone up to 1600 to see what it was like, which I wasnt too pleased about, but either way, hope, and im usre you will, enjoy it for evewr to come, Tom.

Thanks! It was on ISO 1600 on all of them? I'll have to double check when i get back home. I thought i set the ISO to AUTO and the max sensitivity to 1600. I understood it as the camera would use whatever ISO it felt best with (like 200 in normal light) and as it got darker it would increase the ISO as far as 1600 (as i set the sensitivity to 1600). Is this incorrect?

 

[rotxlk82]

I've read the SB-400 review from kenrockwell.com

Very favoriable! looks nice and not so encumbersome on the on the D40 body.

don't really know why you'd need more of a flash. I'm also finding that i like shooting without flash and absolutely NO AF assist lamp. however, i'd like the SB-400 for bounce lighting. I've never liked direct flash in my eyes. At least this way i'll be able to make more natural photos of people without blinding them as a curtsey.

People often want more of a flash as it gives them the option to shoot with multiple units in very complex lighting configurations. Futhermore the SB600, 800 and 900 models will allow the head to swivle as well as tilt. It's purely a question of how much control you want and/or need.

The 400 is certainly unobtrusive and effective for most flash jobs.

Thanks! It was on ISO 1600 on all of them? I'll have to double check when i get back home. I thought i set the ISO to AUTO and the max sensitivity to 1600. I understood it as the camera would use whatever ISO it felt best with (like 200 in normal light) and as it got darker it would increase the ISO as far as 1600 (as i set the sensitivity to 1600). Is this incorrect?

Yes, it'll work upto the ISO limit you set. If you really don't like the results you get at 1600 maybe you could set the limit lower so it never gets up that high.

In my experience the key to getting good images at the higher ISOs is to ensure your exposures and WB are dead on as any errors are hard to correct and will often result in lots of excess noise (particually in shadows).

I believe you also have the option to set the shutter speed at which the camera will begin to step up the ISO, it'd be wise to set this in relation to the lowest speed at which you can hold your given camera-lens steady reliably.

 

[gladjo]

I have a D40 with a 18-200..I love it. The only problem is that the pop up flash causes a shadow indoors, since the lens is so large...get a flash when the budget allows.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Might want to lose the hood. :wink:

 

[Wolfie]

wicked cool man! can't wait till i have some more money for some more glass. it doesn't really look that bad. do you hold it with one hand supporting the lens?

 

[atl10a]

I have a D80 with a 17-55 lens and with the popup flash I get a shadow also.
Same thing when I had a 18-135 lens.
I have a SB800 and 2 SB600's.
Their not the best for walking around.
To tall.
For walking around though my SB400 is the flash of choice.
Why? Because it's light, low, and gets rid of the shadow.
Cheap and just fine.

GTF

 

[Wolfie]

good stuff, i plan on investing in one asap. does this flash cast any shadows that anyone knows of?