Naming the camera and settings (Page 4): After a fine meal, you don't ask the chef what kind of oven he uses.

budrakey

After a fine meal, you don't ask the chef what kind of oven he uses.

ocbeyer Loc: Baltimore

budrakey wrote:

After a fine meal, you don't ask the chef what kind of oven he uses.

Right. Blodget, Vulcan, Keating, Alto Sham - the types of ovens matter as little as Canon or Nikon. But you might ask him how he seasoned the dish, or at what temperature she cooked it and for how long. And as I said, the oven is like the camera while the ingredients and the cooking techniques are akin to the EXIF data - shutter speed, aperture, ISO. I can tell a personally EXACTLY how I prepared a meal and it is highly unlikely that their efforts will replicate mine (or vice versa). But it's nice to engage with people who are interested, even complimentary. There is no problem with sharing knowledge.

budrakey

Good points.

GPappy Loc: Finally decided to plop down, Clover, S.C.

Aldebaran wrote:

It seems UHHers don't care about technical matters... (show quote)

Maybe some information isn't added for the same reason some are in hiding, have no occupation, no interests, no hobbies, no biography, etc. It appears some are already using technology to find out information about someone that they don't necessarily want to be included.

luloral

Excellent Bruce! It works too!

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

cloverleaf wrote:

Why can't the type of camera and the settings used be part of the posting for everything in the photo gallery? I so admire some of the incredible pictures I see, and some just don't loo sharp enough but are still pleasing, but I always want to know, what kind of camera, and what were the settings, even is it was just "auto". Can't that be a stipulation for every published picture?

Yea your right . And they should clutter up every picture of food in a mag with the recipie . And a list of everything in a car . In a auto mag. The list goes on . Camera and fstop is all you need . Shutter speed is what ever.

ocbeyer Loc: Baltimore

Bram boy wrote:

Yea your right . And they should clutter up every picture of food in a mag with the recipie . And a list of everything in a car . In a auto mag. The list goes on . Camera and fstop is all you need . Shutter speed is what ever.

But that is precisely what they do. Most food magazines post recipes, along with the great (or not so great) pictures of food. And the car magazines almost always post engineering and performance specs. What's the point of presenting a comparison of various cars as they turn laps at Riverside (or Brookstone for you Brits) if you don't provide what kind of tires they were wearing, auto or manual transmissions, or what size engines?

nikonlad Loc: Venice, FL

I usually add some information about the camera, lens, and settings I used. Some people like this information, and some don't care. "Everybody to his own taste," said the old lady as she kissed the cow.

When posters show a landscape photo, I like to know where it was taken. "In hiding.." doesn't help.

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

CaptainC wrote:

I think many people think if they just knew the &q... (show quote)

I agree with the Captain. The settings won't help a bit. Each situation is different. Even if you were at the same location. Is your angle of view the same? Is the time of day different? In fact if it's a different day you'd have to adjust for that. Are the clouds the same? Answer, never so the exposure would be different.

You'd never be able to duplicate the situation so the same settings wouldn't work. Use your meter, learn how it works. Bracket, Bracket, Bracket.

wlgoode Loc: Globe, AZ

nikonlad wrote:

I usually add some information about the camera, lens, and settings I used. Some people like this information, and some don't care. "Everybody to his own taste," said the old lady as she kissed the cow.

When posters show a landscape photo, I like to know where it was taken. "In hiding.." doesn't help.

Poster usually shows the location of the image but their own location (i.e. town of residence) is "in hiding". I wonder if so many are afraid of retaliation.

RealBohemian Loc: Toronto

CaptainC wrote:

I think many people think if they just knew the &q... (show quote)

CaptainC,
i can feel you talking from your many years experience, did you feel same way when you begin your photography and later perhaps your business,don't say you haven't been curious HOW IT IS DONE , try go back and be honest to yourself.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

RealBohemian wrote:

CaptainC,
i can feel you talking from your many years experience, did you feel same way when you begin your photography and later perhaps your business,don't say you haven't been curious HOW IT IS DONE , try go back and be honest to yourself.

Nope. Sorry. I started in the 60's with the Nikkormat and then a Nikon F. Manual everything. I never cared about anyone else's settings. The thought never even occurred to me.

I learned what worked. To this day, when I look at gorgeous images, I know that if I had the "settings" it would be useless information.

Now, how the PROCESSING is done is a different story. Camera settings - useless.

Bushpilot Loc: Minnesota

I usually post most of the information with the images I display here, mainly to help others, and to receive feedback on what I could do to improve, plus it helps to keep me always aware of my settings, lighting etc.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Settings depend on lighting, some lighting we can control, even if using desk lamps like I often do for still life settings. Today, I attended a 90 minute class called "The Stranger on The Third Floor" it was presented by TCM, Turner Clasic Movie!! Yep old B&W movie from early 30's... Yep, Cptn the Cinematographer, did not say what lights he was using, but the result was fantastically interesting. With the great advances in Cameras as the ad for Virginia Slims stated "we have come a long way baby".... or have we... Cptn may not really know what settings he used because he by passes conscious thought he has been at it so long. It by now instinctual for him as it should be for ol' dudes like me... unfortunately those knobs disappeared and are in the menus,, OUCH.

My conclusion, unless my approach is unique or I tested a new plugin etc... I will just display a photo without tech comments. (Moon photos excepted)

JayB Loc: Northeast US

wlgoode wrote:

I agree with the Captain. The settings won't help a bit. Each situation is different. Even if you were at the same location. Is your angle of view the same? Is the time of day different? In fact if it's a different day you'd have to adjust for that. Are the clouds the same? Answer, never so the exposure would be different.

You'd never be able to duplicate the situation so the same settings wouldn't work. Use your meter, learn how it works. Bracket, Bracket, Bracket.

As a fairly new owner of a complex digital camera, it has been a helpful part of my process to compare experienced photographers' camera setting choices to mine (ones who take the same sort of pictures that I do). I'm not sure if this applies to single photo postings or not, but if you can see that a photographer you admire has used basically the same settings for a slew of their great photos, it's worth investigating what they use, and not necessarily to copy, but to THINK about why those settings work for them (if they don't offer to tell you), and why they might or might not work for you. Then you can go another step and find another comparable photographer who will share their settings and compare those. It is a valid teaching tool as long as you're willing to do your own thinking about it.