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Question for the camera savvy

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:37 am
by MarciaMarciaMarcia
Hi folks. So many of you take such beautiful photos I am hoping someone can help me with this.

We are expecting about a foot of snow here in the next 48 hours. My brother who lives in Franklin, Tennessee is an architect and designed my house. I want to send him a photo of the exterior either during or just after the snowfall. I won't be able to get a pro here in time before the snow is disturbed or the dogs mess it up. So....my task is to get the shot myself. I have a good camera that can surely do the job, however I am unworthy of all of its bells and whistles.

The question: The camera must be set at 300 DPI @ 8x10. The camera is the Canon Digital Rebel. Can anyone walk me through finding that setting? I have no idea and I don't have access to the instruction manual. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:49 am
by mbw1024
I don't have that camera so can't really help but did you check the Canon site to see if maybe the manual is on line?

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:02 am
by MarciaMarciaMarcia
Yup, thanks....#1 son is working on that as we speak. I was just hoping that someone here might use the Canon Rebel and save me a few hours of digging. Still crossing my fingers!

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:45 am
by mbw1024
I think VickiH has it - maybe PM her and see if she's around.

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:54 pm
by canucknyc
My husband uses the Rebel, here's his input:

"The settings you're talking about aren't things that can be set in the camera. Those kind of details would come later in some kind of photo editing program (like Photoshop or similar).

Honestly, you could get away with using Auto (the green box on the dial) to get your picture. Just set yourself up on a tripod if you can and it should be as simple as pressing the shutter.

If you want to get fancier, you can put the camera into P mode (Program Auto Exposure) and you'll get a few more options. One important thing you should control is ISO, this is the camera's sensitivity to light. The higher this number is, the grainier the picture will be. So, you should keep this number as low as you can while still being able to get the picture you want. (If the ISO is too low and you're not on a tripod, you could get a shaky picture).

After you've got your picture, you should be able to upload it to your computer and put it into a photo editor. This is where you can edit the picture into 8x10 and 300dpi, if you want."

Hope this helps. canucknyc

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 2:38 pm
by jayseadee
Hi Marianne,

Canucknyc is on the mark. The settings you're referring to would not be done on the camera. Just shooting on automatic will get you a really nice shot; if you can set up a tripod, even better.

I expect to be out taking lots of shots myself tomorrow. My husband just left for business in Puerto Rico - want to be sure he can see what he missed :lol: :lol:

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 5:53 pm
by MarciaMarciaMarcia
I can't thank you enough canuck and jaysea!!!! That is exactly what I needed to know. Now, pray for snow!!!

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:35 am
by jmq
Press the "Func" button on the camera and scroll down to and set picture size to "L" for Large to get largest file size.
The other thing about taking snowscapes is that sometimes the snow will look a little gray and/or not as brilliantly white as in real life because of the way cameras meter that kind of light. Nowadays this can be easily corrected by your editing software. When using film, you used to have to intentionally overexpose snow and white sand beach pix to make the snow or sand look really white.

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:34 am
by jayseadee
I didn't pray for snow, but it came anyway :o

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:50 pm
by MarciaMarciaMarcia
And it's still coming! We have about 8 inches on Cape Ann right now.

Thanks so much for the additional tips. I took a few shots today. I'm waiting for the storm to pass and hope to get some more then when the sun breaks out and the snow is still clingling to the branches of the trees.....so purty. It's easy to feel affectionate for this weather when in 32 days we'll be back on STJ. :D

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 3:38 pm
by jayseadee
I took a few shots, as well. Easy as you say, I'll be in Florida on Sunday -

Image

and I keep a bit of the tropics close by

Image

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:12 pm
by MarciaMarciaMarcia
I love that hat! Pretty shot of that stream. It's still coming down here. If it doesn't stop soon the uutes might have another snow day!