planning upgrading from t3i

[iphonemaster93]

Hey guys!

So I've had my t3i for a while and I think I'm hitting the limitations in the t3i in terms of what I'm doing now. I've had the camera for about 1-2 years (was given to me as a xmas gift) and up until now, I've done automotive photography, nature photography, as well as portrait photography. I thought that the T3i was already a good enough camera for me to suit my needs but I realized I might need more now but I'm not sure. One night, I was doing rolling shots with a few buddies of mine and noticed in post processing, that there was a ton of grain in most of the pictures if I turned up the shadows (was shooting in betwen 1/10-1/20th of a second at F8.0 at 3200ISO. What are the benefits of upgrading from a T3i or do I just need a better lens? I was thinking of going to either a T4i or a T5i but at the same time, I want to go for a full frame sensored camera but I don't know if the types of photography I'm doing right now require such an advanced camera such as the 5D MkII  or if the t4i/t5i will be good enough. Also, do the lenses for the T3i work for the 5D MKII or do I have to purchase new lenses for it? I'm guessing the lenses for the T3i are compatible with the T4i and the T5i. Thanks!  

[iphonemaster93]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Keep at LR and PS.  Even take a course in them from the local community college.

Your 7D Mk II will take sharper pictures than you are able.  So it has to be something you are doing incorrectly.

Most likely you are not getting focus on what you think you are.  Try turning off all the focus points except the center one.  Now make sure that red square is exactly where you want the sharpest part to be.

Secondly, try to keep SS above the reciprocal of the lens.  I.E. a 50mm lens use 1/60.  A 200mm lens use 1/250.  See if you don't have the exact number go to the next higher one.  Of coures you can use even higher SS and that will help more.  When you get poorly lighted places you will need a higher ISO but that can lead to less than sharp photos, too.

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I took a course at LR and that's how I know how to use LR haha. I'm about to move down to L.A. from the San Francisco Bay so I won't have enough time to take a class on PS from the local community college here. 

It definitely was something I was doing incorrectly. I had the 2nd image priority set in between speed and focus so I switched that to focus (now both my 1st and 2nd image priority selection is on focus) and I went out and took some shots with my CPL (I work at a dealership). All of the shots were great in comparison to photos that I took two days ago at again, full zoom. Now i'm just worried about night time shooting and having to raise the ISO up because I don't have stable hands. I usually don't like raising the iSO up unless I really have to.   

[ebiggs1]

Have you discovered the Lighting Effects "presets"?

[iphonemaster93]

Yeah I'm just waiting to see when I can purchase one and/or pick one up 🙂

[iphonemaster93]

Here are some images that I have taken over the past few weeks with the 7dmkii 🙂

[RobertTheFat]

Looks like you got a flare spot in the shot of the muffinn. And in each of the last two pictures the subject car blends too much into the dark background. I'd boost the shadows and possibly increase the overall brightness a tad.

[ebiggs1]

"...  the last two pictures the subject car blends too much into the dark background"

Possibly the look he was after! 

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"...  the last two pictures the subject car blends too much into the dark background"

Possibly the looke he was after! 

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If so, it doesn't quite work. Your eye is directed to a particular point in the image, but there's no "there" there.

[iphonemaster93]

I do understand where you're coming from, that a viewer's eye will be attracted to the top right corner of the image, as that is the brightest portion of the image, but he's right haha. I did want to make the background darker and for the Z and the 335i to stand out. I'm still trying to figure out how to make the photo turn out better (i'm a lightroom and photoshop noob) so I'm not stopping here. It was difficult for me because the 335i was black and the Z was red, so I had to make sure that the black wasn't too dark while the Z wasn't too bright either. 

[ebiggs1]

"(i'm a lightroom and photoshop noob)"

OK, that is a PS job not for LR in this case.  Underexpose a bit and use the Lighting Effects (Sporlight) in PS. 

[iphonemaster93]

For some reason I can't use Lighting Effects  do I have to select something or can I just apply it to the entire picture?