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

[Skirball]

1) Absolutely.

2) In general, use the lowest ISO that you can get away with and get proper exposure and sharpness.  The most important thing is that you use the aperture you want for the DoF you want, and that you're obtaining a fast enough shutter speed to freeze motion (if that’s what you want).  If so, then use the lowest possible (don’t go below ISO 100 if the 70D has the option, you gain nothing).  But you shouldn’t worry about going up a couple stops in ISO, if you correctly expose the noise is more than acceptable on modern dSLRs.  I will frequently use ISO 200 or 400 when using off-camera flash because it allows me to use less power and the increased noise is negligible in my opinion.

3) Which prime is totally subjective.  But a 50mm prime is a very useful lens, IMO.

[nwolfe88]

Thanks so much for the replies! On #1, why do I need to learn post processing when shooting in RAW?

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 want to use small aperture such as F22 because it will degrade your image quality due to diffraction. Diffraction will cause your image to be blurry and not clear.

[nwolfe88]

But I thought the higher the F number the more of the image that's in focus, which is perfect for landscapes.

Sorry - I'm a newb.

[hsbn]

Yes, you'll gain some DOF by stopping down the lens, yet diffraction will effect your image. We all wish we can stop it down without any penalty. You can read more and see some example here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/u-diffraction.shtml

[Skirball]

---

@nwolfe88 wrote:

But I thought the higher the F number the more of the image that's in focus, which is perfect for landscapes.

Sorry - I'm a newb.

---

To a point.  There's actually a sweet spot.  As the aperture gets narrower diffraction starts to play a part, which softens the image.  At which point depends on the aperture size, your camera's sensor size, and to a small degree the lens you use.  We use a term called Diffraction Limited Aperture or DLA. You can do a google search and learn a lot, if you want.  Or just don't push your lens all the way to the limit, f/16 or so is usually ok.

[Skirball]

---

@nwolfe88 wrote:

Thanks so much for the replies! On #1, why do I need to learn post processing when shooting in RAW?

---

You don't have to, but I recommend shooting in RAW just in case some time in the future you want to go back to old images and edit the RAW.

If you have a decent post processing program, such as Adobe's Lightroom, you can have it automatically convert the RAW to JPG on import using standard settings.  That way you don't have to mess with RAW.  You can set your camera to RAW+JPG as recommended above, but that just slows down your camera and eats up SD card space.  I'd just do it on my computer if I insisted on using RAW.

[nwolfe88]

Thank you, that helps a lot. Are we aloud to post pictures on here, so I can get some critiques?

[hsbn]

You are allowed to post photo but most people come here for tech issue more than for photo. There are a lot of photography community out there where you can get great feedback for your images.

For landscapes, I recommend Naturescapes.net