Help please

ken rockwell is best avoided from a raw begginers point of view , there is the odd golden nugget from him but they are few and far between
and also if evryone listened to him there would be no other camera but nikon

having said that the D60 is a superb camera in essence it is the same as the new D3000/3100 models as it uses the same sensor
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2009/7/30/nikond3000

I also reckon there’s a lot of sound advice here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/

Ken Rockwell is considered to be rather controversial in his opinions and his reports on camera’s and lenses aren’t much more than write-ups of the specifications. Still there could be some useful information in there for you.

In my opinion a more solid site to start with would be Cambridge in Colour http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

Just for the record and also blowing my trumpet a bit: I’ve been using SLR’s intensively for over 45 years. 😀 😀
I switched to Nikon in 1977 and have always enjoyed those camera’s (still owning and using 5 SLR’s and DSLR’s).

You’ve got two ways to approach it, I reckon.
The first is to select auto and then get on with taking photographs. Chances are 90 per cent of the pictures you take will be properly exposed and focused, and you can concentrate on composition, framing and the like. Then, as you get used to handling the camera, start exploring what it can do – there’s already been some good advice given.
A decent book might help, plus constructive criticism from friends both face to face and on forums like this. I’ve been impressed by the various Tom Ang books published by DK. They’re updated pretty frequently and you can get last year’s edition at a very reasonable price from the various discount book stores.
I also reckon there’s a lot of sound advice here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/
He obviously likes his Nikons – so do I! – and his views about not being seduced by the last word in specifications are invaluable, in my opinion.
I’ve been taking pictures with an SLR for over 40 years (ouch!) and while I wouldn’t call myself a proper pro photographer, I’ve had stuff used in publications from red-top tabloids to regional papers and glossy magazines. Just to blow my own trumpet a bit!

The Nikon D60 is a good camera for an introduction to “proper” photography.

My advice:
– stay away from the “scene modes” (like sports, portrait, landscape, etc.), as they will not contribute in developing your insight in setting up your camera effectively
– instead, start with the A-mode (aperture priority) and S-mode (shutter speed priority)
– learn when to use wide apertures (for shallow depth of field) and small apertures (for maximum depth of field)
– whenever possible, use a low ISO setting, but be aware of the shutter speed to avoid camera shake (focal length 50mm: above 1/50 sec; focal length 200mm: above 1/200 sec, etc.); select a higher ISO setting if necessary, but on the D60 try to avoid anything higher than 800 ISO
– be aware of movement blur; for moving subjects select a shutter speed above 1/350 sec, until you’ve mastered good panning technique
– shoot in RAW (Nikon: NEF mode) and use Nikon software to “develop” your files. This also enables you to play with various alternative camera settings (like white balance, exposure) after the shoot. Nikon ViewNX2 can be downloaded for free.
– enjoy your camera and shoot a lot!

The physical use of the camera is not the hard bit.
It’s the behaviour of light and colours, and how your camera can or cannot deal with it.
If you are really new to “Proper” photography I suggest the first thing you get to grips with is Exposure value. 2nd concept is Depth of field. (EV and DoF are related for certain types of pictures you may wish to take)
If you understand and use these two, you will be able to set the camera up for taking the shots you want.
EV on Wiki. There is a good EV table on here too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_value

Thanks

Yeah its going to be a steep learning curve but at least the only person I have to please is myself:). The camera is of excellent cond and price seems fair just hope I can get to grips with it? How hard can it be:confused:

Nikon D60 is an excellent starter! (Assuming the price is right of course!)

If you are coming up from a phone, I imagine you will have a lot to learn about photography?

The AW139 (formerly known as the AB139) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, which was developed by Bell Agusta Aerospace, a joint venture of Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. of the USA and AgustaWestland.

http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/ab139/

I have a Canon 400D with EF 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM shooting at TV 400/1 and f13 on the LDC monitor I have a good image.
When I transfer to the PC Photoshop Elements I have a very dark image can anyone suggest what is going wrong.
Thanks Simon

It may be none of the above answers….

If the image looks fairly bright and uniformly lit on the camera moniter, but looks dark on your pc, then it may simply be that your pc screen is not calibrated properley and in fact shows all pictures darkly.

I use photoshop myself, but am not farmiliar with elements – does it have the adobe gamma program included ? – this will assist you in calibrating your monitor to display images correctly for viewing

If not, try an internet search for “monitor calibration” – you will see then what i am rattling on about.

Try:

http://www.photofriday.com/calibrate.php

or

http://www.epaperpress.com/monitorcal/

I think it may well be the root of your problems and your pictures may well be perfectly fine all along.

It all depends on the lighting conditions and the ISO setting. In the old film days (even without a lightmeter) the “sunny f16 rule” was a very convenient means to estimate the correct exposure.

This is how it works:
1. set the shutterspeed closest to 1/ISO; e.g. ISO 400 set shutterspped to 1/500
2. in bright sun (no clouds) with deep shadows set aperture at f16
3. sunny conditions with some clouds set aperture at f11
4. cloudy with faint shadows set aperture at f8

Of course any variation of the same exposure value can be set; e.g. 1/500 at f8 can be replaced by 1/250 at f11, 1/1000 at f5.6, 1/125 at f16, etc.

Based on the above, 1/400 at f13 could have been right for sunny conditions with a few clouds when the ISO had been set at 400. With lower ISO values the pictures would have been underexposed.

Hope this helps to evaluate the problem.

F13 is a tad high. What you are doing with F13 is create a small apperture opening, combine that with you reasonably fast shutter time (1/400th) and there is simply not enough light getting into your camera.

A better set-up would be 1/400th with F8 for regular photos. Personally rather then using the Tv more I prefer using the Av mode.

Of course you can use F13 if you want, however you would have to slow down the shutter time to 1/60th or thereabout. But then you are well into panning-terrority. Great photos, but it requires some getting used to.

If you got photoshop or paintshop you can try to brighten up the photos.

I wrote to Lago and have received no reply so I can’t even get a registration key. Maybe they’ve gone out of business.

I don’t thinks so but that does seem to be standard for LAGOs standard of customer service these days. I used to buy a lot of their products when they published the Georender series. Things really seem to have gone downhill of late.

Bruce

John

No worries at all, we’re here to help 😉

That’s a shame that it wasn’t what you were after, hopefully with the FSX patch you can enjoy a few more ground vehicles etc.

I’m sure the instructing will be “interesting”, especially after some of the things my CFI tells us what the students “get up to”, should make good clean fun 😀
Hopefully I won’t be instructing long, I should get an interview with the recommendation within 10 weeks touch wood.

Ken
Sorry but I couldn’t find one either, will a baron in MS Flight Sim suffice? if so there are a few downloads available.

Dean

Lago FS Enhancer

Thanks Dean & ‘Lectra. I think I’ll dump it. I wrote to Lago and have received no reply so I can’t even get a registration key. Maybe they’ve gone out of business.

Thanks anyway.

Ken, I don’t want to be unkind but you’ve started an entirely separate and different discussion which has no bearing on the subject we’ve been talking about.

You may get more success and an answer to your question about ‘Red Baron’ if you start your own thread.

Best wishes to you all, especially the ever helpful Dean. I hope the flying instructing goes well for you mate. You never know, you may enjoy it even more than the job you’re really after!

John Y

Red Baron.

Is there actually a Red Baron FS on the market that works on Windows XP. I was dissapointed when found it did’nt work. I can’t spend a lot either, at 76 and on basic pension, money does’nt go far.

Ken. (Canberra man)

John,

I think you’ll find FS Enchancer is a simple scenery design add on, the idea being that you can enhance the FS scenery by placing new objects in the FS environment without having to learn complex scenery design software.

The ‘SLEW’ command is simple, just press Y and use the flight controls (your joystick) to move your aircraft to the desired place. The ‘Q’ and ‘A’ keys adjust your altitude.

Hi John

Unfortunately I don’t know of any add-on that will give you that specifically, however, there are a few add-ons that will give you airport specific ground traffic, but this generally comes as a bit of a novelty with the package, I think something like “world airports 2004” gives you some ground vehicles but it isn’t that great and is generally a processor drain.
I’ll keep my eye out and shout up if I see anything.

As far as job hunting is going, well I have a recommendation to a major UK carrier, this recommendation is held in high regard, I just have to wait for the phone call, I am banking on it being towards the end of the summer. It’s kind of strange, because I have had the fATPL since March and I haven’t sent out a single CV yet, mainly due to the recommendation. In the meantime I am doing a Flight Instructor’s Course so I will be instructing within a few weeks.

Speak soon

Dean

2004 enhancer

Hi Deano

Ah well, I suppose you only get what you pay for. It was supposed to be £9.99 in PC World and when they swiped it, it came up as 97p!

What I’m really after is an add-on that will give me the sort of ground traffic you get in FSX. You know the sort of thing. Vehicles running along the roads and service vehicles and cars running around the airports. It’ll give FS 2004 a lot more realism.

Any ideas?

By the way. Have you found a job yet?

Sorry to be so cheeky.

Best wishes

John Y

Hi John

From what I can gather with this program it is actually an enhancer that you have to physically “make work”, what I mean by this is that it is you that adds the scenery that you want to see, so if you add nothing then obviously you will see nothing. It is basically a scenery editing tool.

Dean

The collection may be of interest to others with an interest in aviation, but to be honest, I don’t think a collection of that particular magazine would be worth a huge amount. There has recently been one copy for sale on Ebay, and even with a starting bid of £0.01 the item didn’t sell. In saying that, you do have a large number of editions apparantly in a good condition, so you never know…..

Alternatively, You may wish to keep them safely stored away somewhere for sentimental reasons.

Hope that helps a bit.

Rich.