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1500 questions
38
votes
3 answers

When you zoom in with a lens on an SLR why does the lens go in then out?

I guess this is more a question of optics than photography but I just got an SLR with a basic 18-55 lens. I noticed that when going from 18 to 55 or 55 to 18 the lens physically comes back in and then physically goes back out? What is going on…
zgirod
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38
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4 answers

How do I interpret an MTF Chart?

As part of how Canon (and other lens makers) give technical information about their lenses, they supply an MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) chart. How do I read and interpret what the chart is telling me? Here is a sample MTF Chart for the 16-35…
Alan
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38
votes
6 answers

Do sensors wear out?

We all know that shutters wear out and they have a limited number of actuation's. The question I have is, do sensors wear out too? Do they suffer any kind of damage after each shot? Should I be concerned about this or is the sensor lifespan way…
Andres
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38
votes
8 answers

Technically, why is the out of focus area blurred more when using a bigger aperture?

I'm wondering, technically, why and how does the out of focus areas blur more when using a bigger aperture. I think it'd help a lot if I presented a problem that's been driving me nuts for a long time: I've read that the f-number of the human eye…
Frantisek
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38
votes
6 answers

Image rejected by Shutterstock because the main subject is out of focus and it contains noise

I am a student learning doing photography as a hobby, I came across shutterstock and heard it is a way of making money by contributing and selling your images. My first image was rejected with reasons but I can't quite understand these reasons. The…
user94771
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38
votes
3 answers

How can I show a slope? Even mountain roads appear flat in my photos

During a bicycle trip, I wanted to take a pic to show how sharp the slope was (about 20%). The same applies downhill. See below, the viewer can't really tell whether it is downhill or flat or uphill: What are your tricks to imply the steepness of a…
Nicolas Raoul
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38
votes
3 answers

How to reproduce a photo with silhouette and bokeh?

I recently found a photo with a silhouette and bokeh at DSLR vs Mirrorless: Wedding Photographer's review. The subjects are as dark as the background, there is only a rim light shaping their heads. I know that the yellow circles are small,…
robert
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37
votes
5 answers

How to white-balance photos shot in mixed-lighting environments?

I have a dSLR and I often find myself taking pictures of people in 'mixed lighting' environments (e.g. tungsten lighting and daylight, fluorescent and tungsten, or even the ‘nightmare lighting scenario’ of mixed fluorescent, tungsten and daylight).…
Jay Lance Photography
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37
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2 answers

What is "bokeh panorama" (also called the "Brenizer method")?

Somewhere I don't remember, I heard about the Brenizer method. After reading a few sites, there is no consistent information about what it is exactly, or what the procedures are to apply it, so: What is its goal? Is it a merely post-processing…
tomm89
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37
votes
3 answers

How do I give someone a critique of their photograph?

I often read about giving and getting critiques on a photograph or series of photographs. Specifically how do I go about giving a critique? What do I say, what points do I want to hit, etc.
Jay Lance Photography
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37
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3 answers

What should one consider when choosing a style of tripod head?

What should one consider when choosing a style of tripod head? There are ball heads, 3-way pan/tilt heads, geared heads, even gimbal heads. I'm not asking so much about brands, but styles... how should one consider which type of tripod head will be…
ahockley
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37
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13 answers

How can I get a good HDR image from a single RAW file?

I've heard that it's possible to create an HDR image from a single RAW file. (Obviously, it won't be as good as using multiple bracketed RAW files; I know that much.) Every time I try — using Photomatix with the default settings -- the results are…
Matt Bishop
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37
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7 answers

Do good lenses really last a lifetime?

I’ve heard people say “a good lens will last a lifetime” many times. Is this actually true of modern lenses? More specifically, will a good lens be usable for a lifetime? With an inexpensive adapter, I can mount up any M42 (Pentax) screw-mount…
ieure
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37
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6 answers

Why take diagonal photos?

In the "old days" I sometimes composed my photos diagonally, but I've not had success doing that in the "modern" era, because there's not really any nice way to present it digitally. Is there a reason to take diagonal photos? Does the composition…
Benjol
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37
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6 answers

How to have colors in Milky-way?

Many photos of Milky-way show it in nice colors instead of just the black of sky and white of the stars. Is the key to having those colors in the capturing of the image or in the post processing, or both? Or am I just doing it in a wrong time of…
Esa Paulasto
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