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Recommendation for G2/digital photo newbies

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gkl

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There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary . Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and explanations for those breaking into digital: digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms: www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to this thread.
cheers, GKL
 
GKL:

Great compilation of sites! Great reading for all -- even as a refresher.

Thanks!
gkl said:
There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital
photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an
experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So
I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of
the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil
Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary .
Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and
explanations for those breaking into digital:
digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great
tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding
Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms:
www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to
this thread.
cheers, GKL
Click to expand...
--Keep on shooting!Lisa
 
mark
gkl said:
There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital
photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an
experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So
I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of
the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil
Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary .
Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and
explanations for those breaking into digital:
digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great
tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding
Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms:
www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to
this thread.
cheers, GKL
Click to expand...
--Fred
 
You seem to be knowledgable. I am coming from an S20, and am torn between the S40 and the G2. The size of the S40 is most appealing as I travel, and it is certainly easy to pocket, or put in a golf bag. Do you think the faster lense, and the movable LCD makes a big enough difference to warrent the G2. The additional lenses, don't mean a thing to me, and the hot shoe is a great option, but one that would not come into play, for travel, but would be handy for parties, and events. Is the G2 pocketable? I'd appreciate your viewpoint.
 
IMO, the G2 is not pocketable. I don't consider it bulky either though coming from a Mavica and Minola Maxxim SLR. It just doesn't fit into a pocket. I am pleased with my purchase -- wouldn't change my mind if I had to do it again.
joels said:
You seem to be knowledgable. I am coming from an S20, and am torn
between the S40 and the G2. The size of the S40 is most appealing
as I travel, and it is certainly easy to pocket, or put in a golf
bag. Do you think the faster lense, and the movable LCD makes a big
enough difference to warrent the G2. The additional lenses, don't
mean a thing to me, and the hot shoe is a great option, but one
that would not come into play, for travel, but would be handy for
parties, and events. Is the G2 pocketable? I'd appreciate your
viewpoint.
Click to expand...
--Keep on shooting!Lisa
 
This thread is worth bumping it back to the top.
gkl said:
There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital
photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an
experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So
I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of
the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil
Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary .
Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and
explanations for those breaking into digital:
digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great
tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding
Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms:
www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to
this thread.
cheers, GKL
Click to expand...
--Keep on shooting!Lisa
 
Lisa Neal said:
gkl said:
There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital
photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an
experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So
I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of
the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil
Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary .
Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and
explanations for those breaking into digital:
digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great
tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding
Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms:
www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to
this thread.
cheers, GKL
Click to expand...
--
Keep on shooting!
Lisa
Click to expand...
I agree this thread should be bumped to the top every hour or two to limit the basic questions. But I would add the following two links as being very informative:
http://www.shortcourses.com
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.htm#FAQ

--Happy SnappingDon McVee
 
Don said:
Lisa Neal said:
gkl said:
There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital
photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an
experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So
I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of
the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil
Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary .
Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and
explanations for those breaking into digital:
digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great
tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding
Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms:
www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to
this thread.
cheers, GKL
Click to expand...
--
Keep on shooting!
Lisa
Click to expand...
I agree this thread should be bumped to the top every hour or two
to limit the basic questions. But I would add the following two
links as being very informative:
http://www.shortcourses.com
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.htm#FAQ

--
Happy Snapping
Don McVee
Click to expand...
that last link should have read:
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.html#FAQ
--Happy SnappingDon McVee
 
Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!!!
  • Jasen
gkl said:
There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital
photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an
experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So
I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of
the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil
Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary .
Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and
explanations for those breaking into digital:
digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great
tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding
Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms:
www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to
this thread.
cheers, GKL
Click to expand...
 
I think the most important thing I've learned since buying a new digital camera is to treat the image that comes out of the camera as a 'digital negative' and not the final product.

The best investment of time I've made for my photography so far is to learn the digital processing tools that I have and how best to apply them to get pleasing results.

I am not referring to complex manipulations, just how to use the levels and curves tools optimally. Other features like contrast masking and multiple overlays to extend exposure are also a real advantage. Sharpening using unsharp mask or more complex methods makes a huge improvement to images too.

A couple of examples to illustrate my point. I'm not claiming these are brilliant pictures in themselves, however they do show the difference between the 'raw' image that I took with my G2

http://www.pbase.com/image/1056784

and then the result after a small amount of tweaking with curves/ levels and a slight crop followed by sharpening

http://www.pbase.com/image/1056783

I hope you can see an improvement! Initially I would have passed over this pic as not particularly interesting, but with some slight adjustments it is really sharp.

Another example :

http://www.pbase.com/image/1056782

rather dull, uninteresting. With some work to extend the effective exposure (overlaying a light and dark image, plus a graduated mask layer, and then playing with the channel mixer and finally sharpening gives :

http://www.pbase.com/image/1056781

again hopefully this is a stronger image.

The key in all of this was some level of faith/ previsualisation when using the camera, but also recognition that the image from the camera is not the end, but just a step towards the final image.

Hope this is interesting/ helps.

Gordon
 
(sorry for the repost)

Gordon McGregor wrote:
I think the most important thing I've learned since buying a new
digital camera is to treat the image that comes out of the camera
as a 'digital negative' and not the final product.

The best investment of time I've made for my photography so far is
to learn the digital processing tools that I have and how best to
apply them to get pleasing results.

I am not referring to complex manipulations, just how to use the
levels and curves tools optimally. Other features like contrast
masking and multiple overlays to extend exposure are also a real
advantage. Sharpening using unsharp mask or more complex methods
makes a huge improvement to images too.

A couple of examples to illustrate my point. I'm not claiming
these are brilliant pictures in themselves, however they do show
the difference between the 'raw' image that I took with my G2



and then the result after a small amount of tweaking with curves/
levels and a slight crop followed by sharpening



I hope you can see an improvement! Initially I would have passed
over this pic as not particularly interesting, but with some slight
adjustments it is really sharp.

Another example :



rather dull, uninteresting. With some work to extend the effective
exposure (overlaying a light and dark image, plus a graduated mask
layer, and then playing with the channel mixer and finally
sharpening gives :



again hopefully this is a stronger image.

The key in all of this was some level of faith/ previsualisation
when using the camera, but also recognition that the image from the
camera is not the end, but just a step towards the final image.

Hope this is interesting/ helps.

Gordon
 
Gordon McGregor said:
(sorry for the repost)

Gordon McGregor wrote:
I think the most important thing I've learned since buying a new
digital camera is to treat the image that comes out of the camera
as a 'digital negative' and not the final product.

The best investment of time I've made for my photography so far is
to learn the digital processing tools that I have and how best to
apply them to get pleasing results.

I am not referring to complex manipulations, just how to use the
levels and curves tools optimally. Other features like contrast
masking and multiple overlays to extend exposure are also a real
advantage. Sharpening using unsharp mask or more complex methods
makes a huge improvement to images too.

A couple of examples to illustrate my point. I'm not claiming
these are brilliant pictures in themselves, however they do show
the difference between the 'raw' image that I took with my G2



and then the result after a small amount of tweaking with curves/
levels and a slight crop followed by sharpening



I hope you can see an improvement! Initially I would have passed
over this pic as not particularly interesting, but with some slight
adjustments it is really sharp.

Another example :



rather dull, uninteresting. With some work to extend the effective
exposure (overlaying a light and dark image, plus a graduated mask
layer, and then playing with the channel mixer and finally
sharpening gives :



again hopefully this is a stronger image.

The key in all of this was some level of faith/ previsualisation
when using the camera, but also recognition that the image from the
camera is not the end, but just a step towards the final image.

Hope this is interesting/ helps.

Gordon
Click to expand...
--Keep on shooting!Lisa
 
gkl said:
There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital
photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an
experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So
I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of
the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil
Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary .
Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and
explanations for those breaking into digital:
digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great
tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding
Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms:
www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to
this thread.
cheers, GKL
Click to expand...
--Keep on shooting!Lisa
 
 
 
 
 
This site is aimed at analog SLR users, but the information contained in The Art of Photography is still relevant to digital camera users.

http://www.camera.canon.com.my/photography/index.htm

Greetings frae bonnie Scotland!

Iain
Lisa Neal said:
gkl said:
There seem to be lots of people using the G2 to break into digital
photography and wanting to learn how to take great digital pictures.

I have to admit the camera/manual can be daunting even for an
experienced film photographer making the transition to digital. So
I've been surfing the web and this great forum and here are some of
the most useful sites I've found:

1) If you are having trouble with the manual don't overlook Phil
Askey's glossary on this web site http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Glossary .
Well-done Phil.

2) Terry Dawson's site has lots of basic photo tips and
explanations for those breaking into digital:
digital.photography.home.att.net/writings/aboutev.html

3) http://www.botzilla.com - originally a G1 site, has a G1/G2/Pro90 FAQ,
"Powershot Essential Gear", Filters, Polarizers, External Flash

4) Michael Reichmann's http://www.luminous-landscape.com has great
tutorials, including Instant-Photoshop and Understanding
Resolution.

5) Jay Arraich's Photo and Photoshop tips:
http://www.arraich.com/intro.htm

6) Understanding exposure histograms:
www.quiknet.com/ frcn/Histograms.html

7) And for more advanced users looking to take advantage of RAW mode:
http://www.kleptography.com/notes-workflow.htm

Others, please feel free to add your own favorite sites/tips to
this thread.
cheers, GKL
Click to expand...
--
Keep on shooting!
Lisa
Click to expand...
 
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