Some local pics I took with a cheap p&s
 

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ighlighted.jpg


http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...eeandstars.jpg


http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...amofClouds.jpg


http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...IMG_0055_2.jpg

thats quite impressive.

just curious, did you up reduce the shutter speed on the second pic so that the stars can show up?

Yes. I went back to retrieve the EXIF data, but that pic must have been pre-crash a couple of years ago and the only copy left is the one on Photobucket, so no EXIF data.

If I recall it was:
ISO 80
Apt 5.5
Exp 15 seconds
On a Canon A550

I had the cam mounted to a tripod and to avoid any initial blur from actuating the shutter, I set a 2 second delay. So I press the button, 2 seconds later the shutter opens, 15 seconds later the shutter closed.

Looking, I just notice how grainey they all look, the originals are much clearer. I'm guessing this is from too many JPEG saves, I try to save everything in TIFF now when it comes off the camera to avoid all the JPEG compression.

The 3rd picture looks like my old neck of the woods and makes me feel like a kid again. I love it.

That's Terrell Creek where it feeds into the Sound, Birch Bay, WA.


Thank you for the compliments.

Very nice pictures!

Work in a lossless format like TIFF until the final export if you can and you should avoid most of the graininess. Lightroom is really nice for post processing as none of the effects actually alter the original photo.

I save everything off of the camera in TIFF now. I took those when I got the camera a couple of years ago, before I knew how to preserve the quality. They've been through 4 JPEG saves. Camera-transferred to the Computer-edited and sized for web, saved again-uploaded to photobucket.

I use IRFAN View for all of my quick resizing and batch editing. It's light, fast and free.

I've been playing with Gimp 2.6 and Paint.net for more advanced editing and manipulation. Gimp is by far the champ there, but my dinosaur P4 with 2 gigs of RAM is pushed to the limits with any advanced work in Gimp.

I found a CHKDSK hack for my little Canon A550 that will allow me to shoot in RAW. I think it adds TIFF too. I'll be playing with that soon too.

I'd give my left nut for a 5D, but I'd be very happy with a T2i. I thought it would be a good idea to learn how to shoot before diving in too deep. Now I'm happy with my understanding of the subject and will likely end up with a T2i within a year.

Your shots from your phone are outstanding, If you're looking for a good photography group, try these guys. I learned more from them in a year than I will ever need to know.

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Thanks for the kind words.

CHDK is pretty awesome. I have it on my SD600 so I can shoot RAW. (DNG actually, as the original CRW format is not as well supported)

Thank you for the compliment! I love having a decent camera with me at all times via my phone. I also shoot a Canon T1i, but with a battery grip and EF 28-135mm IS lens it is a fairly big item to be carrying around everywhere. I'm hoping my SD600 will help bridge that gap and I'd say it has. Check out the thread I started here for a pic I got with it:

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/tilted-...-greatest.html

A new one from a gloomy, rainy day at Disneyland:

http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/GloomyDL.jpg

Damn I miss SoCal.

Nice shot, but come-on, it's Disneyland, there are no gloomy days. :D



..

I suppose not, but for SoCal it was pretty gloomy...we were in the park for less than an hour and we were soaked! This rain needs to quit!

Photoshop should be able to change that gloomy day into a sunny one! :)

But what if I like it gloomy?

Here is one from today that was quite sunny:

http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/a...CalPolyCLA.jpg

Forgive my ignorance, what's a cheap P&S?

I really like the pix. Thanks for sharing!

P&S stands for point & shoot, or the small pocketable cameras with built in, retractable lenses.

I normally prefer my digital SLR, but I just can't carry it everywhere because of the size. I'm getting more use out of my SD600 lately since it fits easily in a pocket and goes with me most places.

Also, I take the SD600 where I don't want to risk damaging my nice camera:

http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/a...m/Web-2177.jpg

Ahh... I see. The coaster shot is awesome!