15-10-15, 04:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 15-10-15, 04:26 PM by Kosmic Kartman.)
I use a Nikon D7100 as my main work horse and have always used Nikons so can't speak for other makes. IMO a DX sensor and something in the region of 24mp is fine. Word of warning your picture image will depend on the glass you put in front of the sensor. My back up bodies which are 12mp are still pretty sharp with some Nikon kit lenses fitted but stick the kit lenses in front of 24mp you can see their shortcomings. I'll add that if you are just printing out at up to A3 then 12mp and kit lens... depending on type of lens should be fine as long as you're not a pixel counter. Some kit lenses are sharper than others. With landscapes I would go for the best glass you can afford.
I've just finished upgrading all my kit glass for Pro glass and the difference is noticeable. A prime lens (fixed focal length) will mostly always give a sharper image than a zoom... even pro zoom, though pro zooms are far better than kit zooms.
As mentioned tripod, plus remote trigger come in handy as do neutral density filters. And yes, shoot in RAW and save files as TIFF if storage is not a problem. Only convert to JPEG if posting to web or storage is a problem. Tip. Most printers are optimised for output at 360dpi and not 300dpi. So before any editing convert files to 360dpi at the correct file size for printing.
With landscapes also look on web for Back Focus techniques, settings and camera set up. Useful when composing shots on and off tripod and for shooting moving wildlife.
Lightroom is good as is Photoshop, the later being a bit more expensive but you can hire both on a monthly basis if you don't want to buy licence to use outright (You don't get a hard disc anymore with Adobe software). Doing this may also give you chance to try out both software.
Re books. I often refer to "Complete Guide to Digital Photography" by Ian Farrel (ISBN 978-0-85738-548-2). It cover all aspects of digital photography that you could think of, and even though I've been using Photoshop for about 30 years I still find it a brilliant book for quick reference if I haven't use a filter or something else related in a while. Photoshop is a vast leviathan of a programme and I still can't get my head around all the things this software can do. There are also lots of tips and tutorials for editing software on the net.
How to cheat in Photoshop is also a good book but aimed more at digital illustration and manipulation.
I've just finished upgrading all my kit glass for Pro glass and the difference is noticeable. A prime lens (fixed focal length) will mostly always give a sharper image than a zoom... even pro zoom, though pro zooms are far better than kit zooms.
As mentioned tripod, plus remote trigger come in handy as do neutral density filters. And yes, shoot in RAW and save files as TIFF if storage is not a problem. Only convert to JPEG if posting to web or storage is a problem. Tip. Most printers are optimised for output at 360dpi and not 300dpi. So before any editing convert files to 360dpi at the correct file size for printing.
With landscapes also look on web for Back Focus techniques, settings and camera set up. Useful when composing shots on and off tripod and for shooting moving wildlife.
Lightroom is good as is Photoshop, the later being a bit more expensive but you can hire both on a monthly basis if you don't want to buy licence to use outright (You don't get a hard disc anymore with Adobe software). Doing this may also give you chance to try out both software.
Re books. I often refer to "Complete Guide to Digital Photography" by Ian Farrel (ISBN 978-0-85738-548-2). It cover all aspects of digital photography that you could think of, and even though I've been using Photoshop for about 30 years I still find it a brilliant book for quick reference if I haven't use a filter or something else related in a while. Photoshop is a vast leviathan of a programme and I still can't get my head around all the things this software can do. There are also lots of tips and tutorials for editing software on the net.
How to cheat in Photoshop is also a good book but aimed more at digital illustration and manipulation.
Some say that he eats habanero chilli peppers dipped in oil of capsaicin for extra bite and that his pyjamas are made from Nomex. All we know is, he's called Ad the Bad