Saturday, June 18, 2011

169/365 Hmm... HELP!

So... today was my first day to play with my new (used) Nikon D300. I don't think I am happy with the pictures so far. They seem really noisy to me. I am wondering if I have messed with something that I shouldn't have. I have ordered a book all about the D300 and it should be here by Tuesday. This camera is so much more of a camera then the D40. I really hope it is something I have done and not the camera. I bought it from B&H and I have 30 days to return it. Here are my settings on this picture... f 1/8  1/1600 sec  ISO 1600. The picture seemed really light to me on the camera screen but when I uploaded it, it was really dark. Now I usually shoot full manual, but this picture was taken on aperture mode. Any ideas? I did lighten it up in PSE.

ETA: I don't usually shoot in such high ISO, but I was letting it go on auto while I did this, and in the screen it looked fine. On the D40, I only had an ISO of 400 and then everything else was bad. I figured this camera could handle an ISO of 1600, I guess.  That might be my problem. Maybe I just need to play with it more.

8 comments:

Emily said...

Maybe b/c it's ISO 1600? Do you usually shoot in such a high ISO? beats me, otherwise!

Kristin said...

When I first got my Canon 7d I was not happy with it at all. It took me a while to get used to it, and I was sure there was something wrong with the camera until one day I read something about something and changed something and then it started coming together. This picture is noisy and orangish to me and I too have to wonder why you were shooting at 1/1600? Keep playing and go outside a little and try taking a photo of an inanimate object with both cameras on the same settings and see how they compare.

Jessica Brown said...

It's your ISO, I never let it go that high unless I *want* grain, or I'm desperate to catch a dark moment that I'd otherwise lose to a really long shutter speed. I have trouble finding balance in those situations. I've only ever shot full manual b/c I am way to much a control freak to allow the camera to control parts of the exposure, so I can't help with shooting in "A" Looking forward to seeing the suggestions on this (c:

MeaganMusing said...

Hi,
I have to agree with Kristin. I kind of freaked out when I upgraded to my 7D. All my images looked pretty soft for the first few weeks, even shooting in manual where I knew the exposure was right. But then it all started to come together. I think sometimes it just takes getting used to the new controls/options on a new camera.

And yes, those settings are a little off, so I think once you get back to manual it should work itself out - hopefully!

Good luck and enjoy your new camera! :)

Tracy said...

Keara..It'll take a bit of time to get used to the camera and get your settings where you want them. I felt so intimidated when I went from my D40 to the D300s. Now I can't live without it and my D40 is for the kids and my husband. f1.8 could be a good reason for soft photos. Wide open like that causes photos to be softer I believe. 2.8 seems to be my sweet spot. As for the orange tint, maybe look at your WB. I usually have mine set to Auto and use a gray card to set that in PS. It also might be just the direction your daughter is facing and more of a shadow. The magenta might be too high as well?? Just some thoughts. 1600 is probably the highest the D300s handles before it begins to look really grainy. I think I read that some where....I rambled a bit, but hopefully some of that helps. You are welcome to call me if you want to go over what settings I have on my camera. I'd be happy to try and help.

Anonymous said...

So adorable!

Anonymous said...

Aahhh...the joys of a new camera.
I got my D7000 last week, and immediately played with all the settings, then was horrified at how the pictures came out! I ended up resetting everything, took more pictures (and was much more happy)- now I'm going to take the time to go through the manual and work on one setting at a time. I must have messed something up initially. Stick with it-- you'll get it!

Kara said...

something I learned that helped me tremendously was the order of how to set in manual. ISO first, then aperture, then manual to meter. Hope this helps! Cute picture regardless.