One of the things I love about my new camera is the 10x optical zoom. I know enough about digital cameras to know that optical zoom is good, while digital zoom compromises the shot and isn't really that great. My last camera only had 3x optical zoom, so I was pretty limited in the shots I could get.
Here's an example of what I'm able to shoot now. Another shot from yesterday...see those trees at the closer edge of the pond here, on the middle/upper right of the shot? There's an obelisk there called Perry's Monument. (For those War of 1812 history buffs, that would be one Oliver Hazard Perry, "We have met the enemy and they are ours," and all that.) Anyway, the monument is towards the end of that stand of trees and you can barely see it in this wide shot.
But at full zoom from the same spot:
OK so it's not like you're right there or anything, but it's pretty darn good!
I managed to get what I thought was another pretty good shot. I was aiming almost straight up, trying to get a cardinal at the tippy-top of this huge tree, and it was a bit windy, so I got some camera shake. I need to work on the sharpness of my image (or start using a tripod), but still...I was pretty impressed!
7 comments:
omg I am impressed with the length of that zoom--that monument looks f-a-r away. And a cardinal. Wow (said in a whisper by an envious s. Californian), beautiful.
I hope you start playing with Photoshop soon. I know there is talk that Photoshopping photos is not fair play, but I ask what a film photographer does in the darkroom. With Photoshop, you can increase the depth, deepen colors, brighten areas, so much.
Lou, if Pioneer Woman ever gets her dang ol' Photoshop/Photography site launched, I plan to follow along. Did you see her post about Hard Light? I've tried that trick and I like it!
Well, shoot, I tried "hard light" and it turned out ugly unless I reduced the opacity about 50%.
Look at us, talking photography. :)
Great zoom!! That cardinal is amazing, Amy! Let this be a lesson to you: there is no need to envy us Californians and our early spring weather. We don't have CARDINALS!
I'm with Mom on the hard light trick. I didn't have much luck with it, but I did have fun playing around with other things in that little pull-down menu I'd never played with before! Ah, Photoshop...seems we could spend a lifetime and never know it completely.
I'm blown away by the close up of the monument! That is really cool.
All this photography talk is over my head. I just figured out how to turn the date off of my camera. (Hey! Did you know my camera is Amy's old camera?!?!?! She's cool like that!)
Now see, Laura, stuff like that happens to me, too. Sometimes my cell phone suddenly turns into a loud speaker, and the voice of the person on the other end is amplified for all to hear. I have no idea how this happens. Then, finally, someone in my family takes my phone out of my hand, clicks something, hands it back, and says, "There." :) I could easily imagine a date suddenly showing up on my photos, and I'd have no idea how to get rid of it.
Oh, Amy, on the PW site, just type in a key word (like "Photoshop") in the search box, and you can read some of her old posts with photo tips.
Amy these are awesome. I was JUST at Best Buy taking a look at the camera as you suggested and I was totally marveling how far across the store I could zoom to. I am thinking in about a month I will have one of these puppies in my hot little hands! Thanks for the inspiration. :-)
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