A few questions

[Jeewhizz]

OK, so now i've got the SLR charged etc, what do we recommend for the following:

> Cleaning lenses (not touched them, but should they get something on, what's the best way of cleaning?)
> I've been told a polariser is essential. What is the best to get on a budget?

Also, sensor cleaning - how often, with what etc? (don't have to do that on a compact!)

Am suitably impressed with the SLR so far, just gotta get practising now!

[slaughteredlamb]

OK, so now i've got the SLR charged etc, what do we recommend for the following:

> Cleaning lenses (not touched them, but should they get something on, what's the best way of cleaning?)

Simple. Buy yourself a Lens Pen http://www.lenspen.com/. Lens Pens have two tips, one is a brush which is useful for brushing away any hairs and dust. The other end is a shaped tip with a special compound that is great for removing more stubborn spots and making the lens really clean

> I've been told a polariser is essential. What is the best to get on a budget?

Hmm, not sure I'd say it was essential. For landscapes it is very useful and yes a Circular Polariser is one of a few filters that you can't recreate in Photoshop but there is a little bit of art in using them and you won't use it all the time unless you shoot nothing but landscapes or want to constantly reduce reflections in water/glass etc. Unfortunately Filters and Budget are not comfortable bed fellows, I'd check out the Hoya range, my 77mm one cost me £55 for the double coated one from Hong Kong, if your lens has a smaller filter thread it will be cheaper.

Also, sensor cleaning - how often, with what etc? (don't have to do that on a compact!)

There are many ways of cleaning your sensor http://www.peakoverload.com/blog/Sensor-Cleaning.html and Lens Pen also do one for your sensor. I've not used that myself although I know of people that have and swear by it but I'm a little nervous of using it. By far the best solution in my experience is to use Eclipse Liquid and Sensor Swabs. The good news is that these are really, really good at getting your sensor clean, the bad news is that they are expensive - but nothing comes close in my experience. How often should you use them? I use them before any important shoot and then again as soon as I see any unwanted spots. I guess I do this once every couple of months but it might be more depending on how many photos I've shot and how many lens changes I've made. Which reminds me I need to clean mine now as I'm going to be taking photos tomorrow at Shoreham Airshow.

[Mr Anderson]

For my lenses I have a soft lens cloth for general cleaning, as well as a blower brush, and pecpad lens tissues plus eclipse 1 fluid for proper cleaning. I also have q tip type cotton buds for cleaning in hard to reach edges and around the inside of the dioptre, etc. For my sensor I have a rocket blower and an arctic butterfly, both do the job well for me - I've been fortunate so far that I've not had anything stubborn enough to need to wet clean. If I did, I'd consider sending it in to Canon for cleaning (I believe that the warranty covers one full clean by Canon if it's required). Also, the latest Canons have built in sensor cleaning which is 'adequate' for keeping dust levels low under normal shooting conditions, but if you shoot at a beach or other dusty environment often be prepared to have to help the camera out. And definitely have a good read of SL's article on cleaning, that was the one that reassured me that I could maintain my own camera without having to pay out a lot of money.

[Mr Anderson]

As for polarisers, I love mine the difference it makes in some circumstances is often quite dramatic and as SL says its effect can't be reproduced.

I currently have a standard Hoya CP for my 50 1.8, which is pretty cheap, and I have a Hoya Pro-1 D for my wide angle. I did have a standard Hoya one for my wide angle originally but it fell apart in my hands while on holiday, so I replaced it with the pro-1d. With the newer one I've noticed an improvement in IQ, with better saturation of colours over the original - but I never had any major issues with flare or ghosting that some would claim the cheaper one might have caused. Though I have noticed that more with the standard UV filters.

I would recommend that if your budget allows, get single coated over uncoated, as it does make a difference. And if your budget allows get multicoated over single coated. And, again, if your budget allows, get supermulti coated or pro-1d (if buying Hoya) over the multicoated. Alternatively get B+W MRC, which are on a par (or better) with the Hoya Pro-1 and SHMC ones.

Also, on UV filters - if I was to do it all again I would only get a UV filter for my 17-40 as that isn't fully weather sealed without a filter. I wouldn't bother for the others as they aren't sealed with or without one. Instead I'd spend my money on getting the best polarisers and neutral density filters I could afford.

But it's all about budget. You can get great photos without any polarisers. Filters have the ability to enhance images under certain circumstances, but they aren't necessarily essential IMO.

[sarahA]

I didn't say it was essential! (Unless it was someone else who you spoke to ) Just that it would improve your outdoor shots

I have the Hoya standard filters for both my lenses. £15 (inc pnp) for the 58mm and 52mm each from Amazon. It's a third party seller (I know how you love them) but the Camera King is one that Mr A has bought directly from before. However on their own site the filters work out about £5 each more so it's cheaper to buy them via Amazon (Unless you can find them cheaper elsewhere).

It's a shame we didn't go into it more last week as you could have seen the different effects of the polariser on Mr A's camera.

[Jeewhizz]

Wasn't just you Sarah!

I think I'll grab a Hoya one, and see how that goes.

ON the weekend someone recommended getting UV filters to protect the lens - is this worthwhile?

Whilst I'd rather not keep shelling out money at the moment, I'd prefer to spend a little bit more if it's going to be of benefit.

Simple. Buy yourself a Lens Pen http://www.lenspen.com/. Lens Pens have two tips, one is a brush which is useful for brushing away any hairs and dust. The other end is a shaped tip with a special compound that is great for removing more stubborn spots and making the lens really clean

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-00005604-Lens-Cleaning-Pen/dp/B00006JALB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220259170&sr=8-1

WIll that do?

There are many ways of cleaning your sensor http://www.peakoverload.com/blog/Sensor-Cleaning.html

Will have a read!

Cheers

[Mr Anderson]

ON the weekend someone recommended getting UV filters to protect the lens - is this worthwhile?

For some lenses, yes. Some of the L lenses are fully sealed, other L lenses have an unsealed front element that moves when the lens focuses, which can suck dust in or allow moisture in, for those it's recommended to use a UV (or other) filter to complete the sealing.

For non-L lenses, it's up to you. They aren't sealed anywhere else anyway, so won't get much benefit from using a UV to seal them at the front. But a filter can protect the front element to some degree - but a lens hood can protect it a lot more. Use the money to get one of those first or instead, especially as they have other benefits such as their primary use of cutting down on flare, and stray light hitting the lens which reduces saturation and contrast.

[Jeewhizz]

Another one!

At the moment, I've not really got the time in the day to fiddle with the camera. As such, I'd like to spend a bit of time in the evenings. However, by the time I get round to it, daylight will be almost gone, and it'll be quite dusky, so not ideal.

If I were to do them inside, putting on the main lights (filament bulbs etc), can I expect to get something decent, or am I wasting my time? I assume if I shoot in Raw, I can fiddle with them...

[Mr Anderson]

If I were to do them inside, putting on the main lights (filament bulbs etc), can I expect to get something decent, or am I wasting my time? I assume if I shoot in Raw, I can fiddle with them...

Boost the ISO when necessary and use a wide aperture lens (wider than the kit lens) as wide open as needed to make sure that your shutter speed is fast enough to either hand hold without camera shake, or to photograph objects without motion blur. Alternatively use a flash - though the pop-up flash on your camera isn't the best option though, you'd ideally be using off camera flash (to reduce the risk of red eye) that you can either diffuse or bounce to reduce the harshness.

When using available light - for the camera shake issue the IS on your kit lens will help to some extent, but it will be limited. A better option would be to use a tripod to eliminate the risk of shake. However neither of those will prevent motion blur if your subject is moving. For that you'll need to have a fast shutter speed.

As a general guide - to avoid camera shake you should try using a shutter speed of at least 1/focal length (factoring in the 1.6 fov crop factor). SO for a 50mm lens you would try to use 1/80s minimum. If the light is too low for that shutter speed at a given aperture then widen the aperture. Every stop adjustment in aperture will let in either twice as much, or half as much depending on which way you go, light. So if your aperture is f/5.6 and your shutter speed is 1/125 but you need 1/250 you would need to open your aperture to f/4. If your lens aperture won't open wide enough, or your depth of field requirements mean that you need a narrower aperture, then adjust your iso. A doubling in the ISO number is equivalent to 1 stop of light. So if you're using an ISO of 200 to give a shutter speed of 1/125 but you need 1/250 you would change the ISO to 400 in order to speed up the shutter speed by 1 stop.

A 1 f-stop * change in aperture = 1 stop change
A doubling/halving of ISO = 1 stop change
A doubling/halving of shutter speed = 1 stop change

* F stops don't go from 1, 2, 3 etc they go 1.0, 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0, 11, 16, 22, 32 etc. (notice the alternate doubling of values).

Also, when shooting under house lights remember to adjust the white balance setting to either tungsten or fluorescent, depending on your lighting. Though if you shoot in RAW you can correct that later if you forget.

[Jeewhizz]

Cheers Dave - very helpful!

[Mr Anderson]

Cheers Dave - very helpful!

No problem, and I'm sure Sam and SL can add to it if I've missed anything or not explained very well.

[slaughteredlamb]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-00005604-Lens-Cleaning-Pen/dp/B00006JALB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1220259170&sr=8-1

WIll that do?

Yup that is fine.

Another one!

At the moment, I've not really got the time in the day to fiddle with the camera. As such, I'd like to spend a bit of time in the evenings. However, by the time I get round to it, daylight will be almost gone, and it'll be quite dusky, so not ideal.

If I were to do them inside, putting on the main lights (filament bulbs etc), can I expect to get something decent, or am I wasting my time? I assume if I shoot in Raw, I can fiddle with them...

It all depends on the kind of photos you want to shoot. Obviously you are going to be limited to what you can shoot indoors, it's not as if you could shoot sports in your living room but the two main things you will encounter are slow shutter speeds and colour casts.

Slow shutter speeds can be helped by increasing your ISO, using a large aperture, using a tripod, using flash.
Colour casts can be corrected by selecting the correct white balance.

Dave's guide is excellent as understanding exposure is one of the most important things you need to learn. I would strongly, strongly advise buying "Understanding Exposure" By Bryan Peterson. Quite simply the best book written on the subject and, in my opinion, a must buy for anyone who wants to take good photos.

[Jeewhizz]

Dave's guide is excellent as understanding exposure is one of the most important things you need to learn. I would strongly, strongly advise buying "Understanding Exposure" By Bryan Peterson. Quite simply the best book written on the subject and, in my opinion, a must buy for anyone who wants to take good photos.

You are the second person to recommend that, so I will buy it now

[Mr Anderson]

You are the second person to recommend that, so I will buy it now

it's a very good book, very clear and easy to follow. Written by the fella who runs http://www.ppsop.com/

[Jeewhizz]

His classes do look good... I think i'll start with the books however!