My First DSLR

[supernovafsx]

Hey guys, I just wanted to say that I am getting my very first DSLR within the next week. I am extremely excited, as I've never had an SLR at any point in my life. Photography was a hoby that I just sort of picked up. I never expected it to go far, because I have no tallent in any art whatsoever, and I didnt think it'd be any different. I just randomly bought a Cannon Powershot A510 because I was tired of using disposable cameras, and digital point and shoots just seemed like a cool fad. I was instantly hooked, though, and couldnt stop taking pictures, despite how HORRIBLE the quality was now that I look back on it!

Very quickly, I'm talking 1-2 months, I was tired of the camera. I needed something more. That's when I bought my Sony DSC-H1. I was INSTANTLY hooked! I could not STOP taking pictures. I bought photoshop, messed around with it, learned it all by myself, and read tutorials daily. I've been using my DSC-H1, and while it is still technically a point and shoot (though SLR-like), I've been able to take GREAT pictures with it. However, that's when limitations come into play. Slowly but surely, I began to realize the limitations of my non-slr camera. One day, I wanted to take a wide-angle picture of a beautiful beach, and realized that I couldnt do it. The next, I wanted to shoot an indoor shot of a stage from the 20th row... and I was extremely frustrated, because the picture that I saw on my viewfinder was great, but the picture that I saw as a finished product, was dark.. no matter HOW high I et the ISO to (and the ISO only goes up to 400, and at 400, experiences EXTREME noise). I didnt at that moment realize that the reason the picture on the viewfinder was better than the picture in the finished product, was because the lense was not shared.

So now, I am moving past my 5 megapixel days, moving on to greener pastures. I have decided on the Olympus Evolt E500. I am looking forward to all of the things this camera will provide me with... a variety of lenses, the capabilities to shoot in RAW format, a stepping stone for my next dream, hdr imaging, and even getting accepted as one of the yearbook photographers for my university!

Can anyone give me some tips for the move, what I should expect, what programs I need to convert RAW (I have CS2, will that do it?) and change exposure in RAW? One thing I really want to do is create High Dynamic Range images from a single shot, which from what I hear, needs RAW to do that.

Thank you so much, guys, I look forward to your advice!

[Saralonde]

Congrats on the new camera! You may find this thread interesting E-500 Review.
Also, this at the DPS blog may be helpful http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/raw-vs-jpeg/
Don't forget to post some shots .

[Seltzer]

Congrats on the new acquisition there, look forward to seeing what the new dynamic will bring ya.
You can get a conversion tool for CS2 to bring in RAW (yes, I prefer the unnecessary capitalization there) is dependant on the camera you have. It looks like the Evolt E500 is not listed as that name but they might have it listed as the E-500 that is on the page. Link to CS2 RAW data is here: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html
Basically every camera has their own file format for what is considered 'raw' data, it's not a format on it's own. Plugins are usually fairly easy to find if it's not packaged with the program you are using but you should be good in this case.
I believe you are correct about the HDR conversion from a single shot, at least to do it well, would require the extra data that the RAW info provides since the JPG output just does not have the range for splitting the spectrum.

[supernovafsx]

Sure! I am limited by my camera, but I feel like I've done as good as I can with what I've got I've been using it for a year without a flash card, literally just taking 11 images.. it's really forced me to learn post processing and not to waste shots.

This is my favorite They are all on flickr. Click for the full size.



www.flickr.com/photos/drivebyphilosopher is the link to my work