New DSLR owner (70D), need some pointers

[nwolfe88]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and am trying to learn as much as possible about my new 70D. I just have a few questions I was hoping I could get answered.

1. Should I always be shooting in RAW mode? I want the best possible images...

2. Should I always try to be using the lowest ISO possible?

3. What lense would you recommend as a prime? I have two kit lenses but am looking for something that would be good at everything (landscapes, portraits, etc.)

I'm sure I'll think of more but if I could get any responses on these I'd surely appreciate it!

Thanks

[cicopo]

Yes you can post photos but they can't be too big. Use the 10th icon over from the left to do it.

[nwolfe88]

Here's one...it's overexposed on the sky, should be blue. What setting should I have changed for this?

[cicopo]

It's quite good as is and unfortunately in a case like that you have to give up a highlight to get the shadows. In MY opinion you did it right but others may disagree. That said there are ways to fix it (especially from a RAW file) after the fact or if you had a tripod by shooting the same scene at different exposure settings & combining the best areas of each exposure using programs like Photoshop. You can however use the RAW file in a similar way by making different jpg's & combining the areas you like.  

Here's the link to one of my event albums from last summer, and it was a very dull day which forced me to shoot at about 2 stops (+2 EC) all day long. Had I shot for a nice sky everything else would be silhouetted.

http://plus.google.com/photos/114565060647135800760/albums/5885055489613946129?banner=pwa

I always meter for the plane and not the general scene which is usually too bright relative to the subject matter.

[cicopo]

Read this & hopefully you'll have a better understanding of how the camera tries to capture what we see but can't because of it's limitations.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml

[nwolfe88]

Thanks for the reply's!

[hsbn]

1) Yes, but then you have to learn post processing and need a bigger HDD to store your images.

2) Yes, whenever possible. But don't be afraid to pump up ISO in lower light situation to keep desired shutter speed or aperture. Newer camera is pretty good with high ISO.

3)There is no such thing. Generally, people use Wide angle lens for landscapes and mid-tele for Portrait. You don't have to get Prime, you can settle for zoom L-lens. They're much better then the kit lens and may fit your requirement better than prime.

[cicopo]

'll say it a little differently since hard drives & memory cards are much cheaper now than when I made the switch. Shoot in RAW + large fine jpg until you learn to rework the RAW files you feel need to be worked on. Once you have files you want to perfect try your best to get what you thought the scene looked like on screen & save that as a jpg but use something in the file number to let you know later on whether it was a first attempt or the third etc. I number my files by using the original number IMG 1234v1. or IMG 1234v2 etc so I have an idea of changes good or bad as I progress through the editing process.

[nwolfe88]

On 2, when shooting landscapes, wouldn't I always want to use the highest F stop possible? Like 22 or 26? What are the disadvantages of using such a high F setting?

I'd like to start shooting in manual and setting all the settings myself so I can start to learn what each one does and how they affect each other.

Will the Magic Lantern guide book for the 60D be relevant for the 70D as well? I looked and they don't have a 70D one yet.

[hsbn]

You don't need a book really, just read your manual. Canon has a really cool site you can learn about photography. They let you play with Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO and see the effect of each.
Here: http://www.canonoutsideofauto.ca/play/

[cicopo]

A RAW file is just a file filled with computer language relating to the scene. It NEEDS to be converted to a jpg to be a photo. Many of see the very same scene differently & that's where working from RAW gives us the latitude to create what we saw or hope to create. The benefit is that each & every brand of camera that produces jpg's does so because the manufacturer had a team write software to do the conversion "their" way. Some favor richer reds, others favor richer greens ets. YOU get to do that to suit YOUR tastes.