@Jerry and @John_Marlow there’s a Digital photography 101 class next Wednesday and a Photoshop (photo editing) course that Friday.
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Are you looking for shallow DOF (blurry background aka bokeh) or deep DOF (longer field of focus). For shallow DOF you want the widest f-stop (or enough for your liking) depending on your lens you can go as low as f1.2. The longer lens allows for compression of your image and background (another subject).
A usual rule of thumb for hand held photography is that you want to keep your shutter speed daster than your focul length. If you are shooting 100mm lens shutter speed should be above 100 (to decress motion blur and such). If you are using a tri-pod and static subjects (jewlery) you can get away with using a longer exposure to compensate for low power lighting.
For less grainy photos you want a low ISO 100-200. the higher the ISO the more grain/static you introduce to uour photo.
For shallow DOF
Hypothetical setting for shooting a ring on a black/white background, inside, 100mm - f1.2 - one light source with bounce card, then dial in my shutter speed for exposure.
When is the photoshop class on Fri? and will I need a laptop? Mine won’t seem to stay on for very long
Ah the 20th, not the 13th,
I am looking for deep DOF. I have only zoom-telephoto lenses, and at 300mm I am able to use an f29 aperture. At a shooting distance of 2m, I get a theoretical depth of field of 6 cm. In reality I’m getting a bit less (unless I do focus stacking, which is a pain). Of course, as I stand back further I get more DOF but illumination becomes a bigger problem.
In theory I can push it to ISO 25600, but since it’s not a D3 I’m of course seeing some noise. I’d love to shoot at ISO 100 but my (poor) lighting forces me to shoot around 1200. Not my first choice, but better than nothing.
Have you tried a slower shutter/longer exposure with tripod and a 2 second delay.
Edit:
Another tip: shoot it outside! Plenty of light outside.
I know from talking to Mitch and Russell that they would like such a series of classes as well.
The Embedded Workshop series once a month on Wednesdays is not meant for the beginner, though once you understand the basics, you can keep up with some effort.
I have never attended to recent Programming Electronics with Arduino classes on Thursday nights. I get the impression that it is an online course with someone in the classroom tutoring and answering questions. That may be the best option until we get a real beginner’s class.
OK, thanks for the input. I’ll reach out to that instructor.
What exactly are you shooting? Was it jewelry?
I think your issue comes down to the lens. If you are shooting jewelry, you probably want to use a macro lens. The larger the focal length on a zoom lens the shallower the DOP gets. If you are pushing it to the max at 300mm, you may be at the DOP limit.
Like @Rolando_Sustaita1 said, shoot outside if you can. Plenty of light to avoid the noise from high ISO.
PM me, I’d be happy to try and troubleshoot this in person with you.
So did anybody skip the super exciting member meeting to attend the Arduino class?
John, I think you would like my Programming Electronics with Arduino class. Designed for an absolute beginner with no electronics or programming background. I have been trying to book on Thursday but this Next week had to schedule on Friday because Thursday was full.
Module 1: Introduction and Familiarization
Course Introduction
Hardware Overview
Download and Install the Arduino IDE
Arduino IDE and Sketch Overview
Understanding Arduino Syntax
Module 2: Basics
Understanding and Using Variables
Blink an LED
Challenge Discussion
digitalRead() and Serial Port Communication
Challenge Discussion
analogRead() and Serial Port Communications
Challenge Discussion
Reading Analog Pins and Converting the Input to a Voltage
Challenge Discussion
Fade an LED with Pulse Width Modulation using analogWrite()
Challenge Discussion
Module 3: Control
If-Else Statement, Comparison Operators and Conditions
Challenge Discussion
For Loop Iteration
Challenge Discussion
How to Use Arrays
Challenge Discussion
Switch Case Statement and Using a Keyboard for Data Collection
Challenge Discussion
While Statement
Challenge Discussion
Module 4: Digital
Blink an LED Without using the delay() Function
Challenge Discussion
Using Buttons
Challenge Discussion
State Change Detection and the Modulo Operator
Challenge Discussion
Debouncing a Button
Challenge Discussion
Module 5: Analog
Analog I/O and Serial Communications
Challenge Discussion
Analog Input
Challenge Discussion
Calibration
Challenge Discussion
Smoothing Data
Challenge Discussion
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That is correct John. I have found with Free Classes you cannot keep a constant group on the same page, Attendance varies so you end up with people at various skill levels and the class always fails as the instructor is dragged down to the lowest common denominator. The idea of using professional grade self paced videos comes from modeling the nodeschool concept where people with a like interest meetup to learn.
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Four people Attended the class
Russell Ward
Nick Sainz
Adam Oas
Henry Williams
Henry was on his second attendance the other three were first time.
I was able to get through the first 2 modules in about an hour with some basic assistance in getting software loaded from David. It’s a generally convenient time for me, except that it interferes with the member meeting. Either way, Thanks!
Hi Adam. Thanks for the feedback. Next week was so booked up I had to schedule on Friday.
I was talking to @themitch22 and @axeonos last night, and I may teach a 3D printing course at some point; however, based on the interest here, I think my first course will be photography. I’ll try to nail down a date this weekend.
Based on @driewe’s input for his Arduino class, I think I’ll structure the class to accommodate the skill levels of whoever shows up.
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This sounds great, I didn’t realize it was for newbies!
You say another is on Friday May 20th? I may be able to make that date, but I’m not seeing it on the event calendar.
Thanks for offering this!
I just submitted it today. Based on my experience Gus will get a chance to update that this evening.