***DSLR Thread***

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Originally Posted by ValleyFan

As a side note, I have really been wanting to get a watermark on my images, but I find Lightroom's tool to do this completely lacking. What I found is a pretty cool little plugin for Lightroom called LR2/Mogrify, which can do a bunch of stuff for you on export (like borders and what not), but the most critical is that it can create watermarks sized as a percentage of the image width, so if you export at 4000 pixels wide or 400, it will always be a reasonable size. The only weird thing about installing it is that if you are on a PC, you first need to install ImageMagick, which is sort of like command line Photoshop. It can use psd files, so you can have transparency, as well as any blending mode that Photoshop has, which makes it pretty flexible. So far so good.

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Good stuff, Sam.

That plugin is for Lightroom 2 only? Crap. Now I'll just have to upgrade...

You're right about Lightroom's watermark tool. I think its highly deficient.

Another nice Lightroom plugin, a flickr uploader, so you can just select the images you want and export them directly to flickr

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spjon25

Also, other than protect the lens what else does a filter do. I know the obvious is filter out the light, but why are some more expensive than others. Other than the standard UV lens, what are some other good ones??

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There are tons and tons of filters, which all do different things. The main categories are:

UV filters - which don't do much on a digital camera. A lot of people use them for lens protection. There is a fair amount of debate on this, as there are a lot of people who swear by them, and then there are the people who say just use a lens hood unless you are going to the beach or a place with flying particulates. The cost of a front element and a really good UV filter are about the same. The difference in price often has to do with how optically good the filter is (how much UV it blocks as apposed to the rest of the spectrum, how much it is going to reflect light back into the camera reducing contrast, etc.)

Polarizing filters (and their cousins for use on AF cameras, circular polarizers) - they only allow light "vibrating" in one direction into the lens, there are a lot of great articles which describe this in depth, but the short of it is is that they are really handy for cutting down on certain specific reflections (like peering into water)

Color filters (which in the digital world have often been replaced with Photoshop) - These can be general things like warming or cooling filters, or correction type filters (correcting for tungsten, florescent, etc.)

"Shape" filters - these give a shape to highlights, like you saw in nocturns images of the child and the Christmas tree

Neutral density filters and graduated neutral density - these cut down on the amount of light coming into the camera. They are handy if you want to open the lens up, but you can't speed the shutter up to compensate. For instance, say you want a shot of a public square, but you don't want all the people. You could get a really heavy neutral density filter, and have a shutter speed of like an hour, which would blur all the people out. Graduated neutral density filters are the same, but they have a gradient from clear on one side to some amount of filter on the other side. These are handy for things like landscapes where the sky might be much brighter than the ground. Many people use HDR techniques instead of GND filters for more flexibility.

I'm sure there are others that I am forgetting that others can chime in on.

Valley Fan, karma to you for the help. Thanks, now my head is exploding, oh wait that is from reading 3 Curious George books in a row to my son, and 2 of them were the same book.

Looks like I might have to spring for photoshop elements for my Mac. I don't know if I am ready for Aperture 2 on my iMac

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FlyBoeingJets

Good stuff, Sam.

That plugin is for Lightroom 2 only? Crap. Now I'll just have to upgrade...

You're right about Lightroom's watermark tool. I think its highly deficient.

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There is a version for Lightroom v1, but I think because v1 doesn't allow post process plugins, so it is a little more round about to get it working (I haven't used it, but just reading his description)

The really nice thing about Lightroom v2 is the local adjustment brushes and gradients. Very cool and handy (but they can be a bit sluggish at times). I almost never have to bring anything into Photoshop anymore for the little "oh I wish I could burn that area in a little" or whatever local adjustment I want to do.

I have an old version of Lightroom and it won't understand my RAW from D50. Boo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rinkrat

I have an old version of Lightroom and it won't understand my RAW from D50. Boo.

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Yeah, for the 50D you are going to need LR2 because it needs the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw. It is one of the things about Adobe that kind of pisses me off, they force you to upgrade by not releasing the newer ACRs for their older products, so if you buy a new body, you have to buy a new Photoshop or Lightroom.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ValleyFan

There are tons and tons of filters, which all do different things. The main categories are:

UV filters - which don't do much on a digital camera. A lot of people use them for lens protection. There is a fair amount of debate on this, as there are a lot of people who swear by them, and then there are the people who say just use a lens hood unless you are going to the beach or a place with flying particulates. The cost of a front element and a really good UV filter are about the same. The difference in price often has to do with how optically good the filter is (how much UV it blocks as apposed to the rest of the spectrum, how much it is going to reflect light back into the camera reducing contrast, etc.)

Polarizing filters (and their cousins for use on AF cameras, circular polarizers) - they only allow light "vibrating" in one direction into the lens, there are a lot of great articles which describe this in depth, but the short of it is is that they are really handy for cutting down on certain specific reflections (like peering into water)

Color filters (which in the digital world have often been replaced with Photoshop) - These can be general things like warming or cooling filters, or correction type filters (correcting for tungsten, florescent, etc.)

"Shape" filters - these give a shape to highlights, like you saw in nocturns images of the child and the Christmas tree

Neutral density filters and graduated neutral density - these cut down on the amount of light coming into the camera. They are handy if you want to open the lens up, but you can't speed the shutter up to compensate. For instance, say you want a shot of a public square, but you don't want all the people. You could get a really heavy neutral density filter, and have a shutter speed of like an hour, which would blur all the people out. Graduated neutral density filters are the same, but they have a gradient from clear on one side to some amount of filter on the other side. These are handy for things like landscapes where the sky might be much brighter than the ground. Many people use HDR techniques instead of GND filters for more flexibility.

I'm sure there are others that I am forgetting that others can chime in on.

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Dont forget the overpriced IR filters. I have a Hoya #72 that I love. Just remember, shoot in B&W for the best image. Shooting in color using a ir will over saturate the shot in red/pink.

I use a old 58mm UV filter as a hood. I also use Haze 1&2 for hoods on my larger diameter lenses.

New toy alert...

AF17-35mm F/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical (IF); Tamron USA, Inc.

Reviews are excellent. Cant wait until this crap weather breaks so I can run it through its fast pace....

OMG, I just sent out my first invoice. I have major wood right now.