If I take a shot with my phone camera and process it on the phone with the Lightroom app, is it SOOC ? (Straight Out Of Camera). What if I use one of the Scene modes on my regular camera and the camera does the processing? My Sony has an app that allows me to set up three areas with different exposures and color temperatures in the same shot and blends them in-camera. Is that SOOC? Is it really any different to letting the camera process an Auto jpeg? What about in-camera lens correction or HDR?
Is letting some engineer in Japan determine how my image is supposed to look any more purist than me deciding how I want it to look?

This thought arose after reading a post on a user checking the LCD screen in bright light. Someone mentioned Chimping and I am just curious how many of you Chimp or not Chimp. Is there some sort of unwritten stigma attached to chimping that would flag you as a deplorable and not worthy of being recognized as a serious photographer or is it a useless endeavor that is just a waste of time ? Personally I like to Chimp and look at my capture; I make adjustments and move on. I fully understand the concept of " Getting it right the first time " and fully endorse that as it makes you a better photographer. Just curious as to WHY or WHY NOT you personally choose either approach. Maybe we can get a few humorous pages out of this.... Bob

With the season for hummingbirds and butterflies around here over and flowers and fall colors fading I'll soon be looking for new subjects. I have been amazed at the many outstanding bird photos posted on this forum and would like to try my hand at it. I'm using a Nikon D7000 and my 80-200 F 2.8 with a 1.4X converter. That will probably handle most of the shots at the feeders we'll put up soon, but a few trips into the woods have me thinking I need more reach there. Budgetary reasons have me considering a 300mm F4 Nikkor. If my math is correct, that will give me the equivalent of 570mm at F 5.6. Or would I be better off with a manual focus older lens, like a 400mm. Thoughts?

If I was a betting man, I'd lay my money on mirrorless cameras being more susceptible to sensor dust ... The sensor is just there, waiting for whatever wants to jump / fall into the body when the lens is off. I struggled with an afternoon of cleaning spots yesterday in images from a Sony a7II. For whatever reason, Sony makes the shake process a manual action rather than auto when the camera is turned off or on, where I'd prefer auto for both.

I feared I'd have to get to a wet clean where I don't have full-sized wipes. I started with a sensor in this situation:



For the long pieces rather than circular spots, I could see these on the sensor with good light and a magnifying glass.

My first tool was a Giotto Rocket-Air and running the camera's sensor clean a few times.



The strips are gone. Maybe hair? I don't know what they are. The next tool is a Sensor Brush. It would seem this could add more than it removes. I blew the brush vigorously with the Rocket-Air, both to remove any dust in the brush as well as to build a static charge before touching the sensor.

Much improved, lots of spots gone, some new stuff arrived.



Another round of brushing and blowing and cleaning cycle and the final result after 20-minutes effort:



Good enough to get out and shoot and better, it seems, than the entire time I've had this body since purchasing used. Most of the images were f/16 at the nearest wall to my computer so I could click the SD card out quickly back n forth between the camera and computer / monitor.

Hello:
First off I am a (new) photographer. I bought my t7i about a year and a half or maybe 2 years ago now. I have a few good lenses now and also upgraded to a 7d mkII body and a few other semi-expensive "toys". I am doing all spending and my learning is ramping up but started off pretty slow however I know I can always do more :) but the problem lies I am not making a single dime from it. I guess I am worried i'm not good enough because of all the ignorance you read around social media sites when people ask for CC. It's rarely if ever useful it seems to me. You get a few "that's awesome-s" or "nice shots" but then again CC is I guess pretty vague. Plus it seems to me photography is more art than much anything else and I should be the main or only critic of my work perhaps. Then if you like ME then you can buy from ME or hire ME (??) Anyway I am interested in getting my work out there and scoping out options for a website. I have a FB page and sometimes wonder if that is all I need for now ?? But eventually I'll need a website I think. Long story longer lol what are your thoughts on starting off with this part or becoming a photographer 101? I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a lot of options I won't need for a long while (such as I sort of have already been doing with my equipment purchases HAHA) but maybe something semi-reliable. In searching i was thinking about the starter package on zenfolio ($5 a month)?? I read a lot of bad reviews about them though. Anything better out there I may not know about? WW You Do? Thanks for your thoughts... Jonathan aka Paint By Light Photography

One thing to consider before pulling the trigger is to check the serial number closely, and see if it's been registered to that person, or maybe stolen???

Just because he said he bought it for a girlfriend to shoot weddings, then they broke up, doesn't mean that's what happened. I know of a person duped by someone, because he told her that he was a good Christian. I had to explain to her that a bad person, would lie about that, just like anything else.

Trust.... but verify. In God we trust, but all others pay cash... etc!

Bonjour, je vais au Carnaval depuis une quinzaine d'années, voici mes conseils:
1/ si possible, logez près de San Marco ou pont du Rialto, entre les deux est parfait.
2/ peu d'utilisation de longues focales, sauf du haut du Campanile ou de Dan Giorgio.
3/ pied pour photos de nuit
4/ beaucoup d'intérieurs avec des lumières diverses (attention à la balance des blancs)
5/ mon objectif favori : Nikon 24/70 2,8 ou Sigma Art 24/105 bien réglé il est top !
6/ J'ai acheté un 1.4 Sigma 20 mm l'an dernier pour limiter mes isos et augmenter ma dynamique : ce que j'ai gagné par rapport au 24/105, je l'ai perdu en recadrant assez sévèrement car l'angle de champ est vraiment large ! je ne fais que peu de paysages, plutôt des portraits et costumes + les canaux, églises, etc... et puis si mon 24 ne couvre pas le sujet, je fais l'assemblage de plusieurs photos avec Image Composite Editor qui est offert avec Windows 10 et qui fonctionne très bien.
7/ pour info, je tire environ 1300 photos lors du Carnaval, et je fais un tirage papier des 300 à 350 meilleures en 13x19 (pour bien en profiter), que je mets en album (fait chez un artisan Vénitien)
8/ etc... c'est le paradis des photographes, on se croisera peut-être au Florian, c'est le lieu de rencontre des costumés pour un chocolat chaud et le soir avant le départ pour les soirées...
Pour me reconnaître : Nikon D 850 et 24/105 sigma art, ou Z 6 ou 7 avec 24/70 2.8 S si mes finances me le permettent ! Amicalement, Denis