What should I do, then? Send her a gift? Sacrifice? … Unholy fruit basket?

Angel ,'Just Rewards (2)'


Buffistechnology 3: "Press Some Buttons, See What Happens."

Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!


Polter-Cow - Jan 09, 2009 12:23:36 pm PST #8770 of 25501
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

If you're pretty close, and you want to get a shot of the whole panel, you may be happier with a lens that's got a wider angle option.

Ha! Now that I think about it, that is one of the few times I've ever wished for a little wider. But I am more irritated that even though I am sitting in the front row, I can't zoom in on their damn faces.


megan walker - Jan 09, 2009 12:24:40 pm PST #8771 of 25501
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

If it helps, 50mm is the standard "what your eye sees" lens. Numbers lower than that widen the picture out; numbers higher than that narrow in on something.


Polter-Cow - Jan 09, 2009 12:26:04 pm PST #8772 of 25501
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

Oooh! Thanks, that does help me understand the numbers more.

Also, that explains why the camera sees more than I do. I was always freaked out and confused by that.


NoiseDesign - Jan 09, 2009 1:14:45 pm PST #8773 of 25501
Our wings are not tired

Keep in mind that all of the 50mm standards are based on 35mm film. The image sensor on digital cameras is quite a bit smaller which screws with all of the math. It's part of the reason the really high end digital SLR cameras jump in price so much, they use a full size CCD inside which means the lenses actually perform as expected.

I think I'm drawn to the SD890 because of the 5x zoom.

Keep in mind that if you get a camera that is high megapixel (I'd say 8 MP or above) you can crop and zoom after the fact and actually get excellent results. The optics on the extremely small zoom systems in most of these compact cameras leaves a lot to be desired. I'd go for one with less of a zoom but better quality shots and with a 10 MP resolution and just shoot the extra area in the field and then crop and zoom when I got the footage home.


NoiseDesign - Jan 09, 2009 1:19:57 pm PST #8774 of 25501
Our wings are not tired

Here is a more complete explanation of crop factor in lenses and how it can lead to misleading information from camera manufacturers:

[link]


Polter-Cow - Jan 09, 2009 1:24:34 pm PST #8775 of 25501
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

Both the SD880 and the SD890 are 10 MP, but I wasn't thinking I would be shooting at that high resolution anyway because the file size would be so goddamn huge. My A530 is 5 MP, and that seems to do pretty well (they're pretty gigantic at 1 MB already!). I don't really know how to do much photo editing beyond the standard resize and crop. I like to just use what I shoot. I might shoot some hi-res photos and see what you mean about crop-and-zoom, though.

Here is a more complete explanation of crop factor in lenses and how it can lead to misleading information from camera manufacturers:

I don't think I understood any of that. But since I don't know much about photography, I guess it won't affect me.


megan walker - Jan 09, 2009 1:31:48 pm PST #8776 of 25501
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

God, I haven't even opened the box to my new digital camera, and already I'm missing my Pentax K1000.


NoiseDesign - Jan 09, 2009 1:32:48 pm PST #8777 of 25501
Our wings are not tired

Both the SD880 and the SD890 are 10 MP, but I wasn't thinking I would be shooting at that high resolution anyway because the file size would be so goddamn huge

The memory cards are so cheap that it really makes sense to shoot at full resolution. Take a shot at full resolution and then just crop and resize. You'd be amazed how tiny an area you can crop down to and still keep very sharp detail. Much closer than you would ever get with an optical zoom system inside any compact camera.


§ ita § - Jan 09, 2009 1:38:12 pm PST #8778 of 25501
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I know I've asked this before, but I'm curious about any change: who here shoots in raw? Why? What's the resolution of your camera?


javachik - Jan 09, 2009 1:58:02 pm PST #8779 of 25501
Our wings are not tired.

who here shoots in raw?

I am usually at least wearing socks.