3 ques: Nikon D3100 and ISO

[hilary110]

Hey there,
I have recently gotten a Nikon D3100. I have had previous experience with photography and film so this digital world is ALL NEW to me. And especially computers in general isnt my forte. I am looking to possible start doing newborns/maternity and family portraits as a business, down the road, so any thoughts ideas are welcome!

First question is: I took the memory card out from my camera and put the images on the computer. I had to change the direction of the photos and what not. I put the memory card back in the camera. It now wont let me see the photos on the camera that I slightly modified, on the computer. It says in the user's manual that this occurs after they have been on the computer, but this doesnt make sense to me. Does this mean that I cant put images on the computer and then expect to see them on the camera??

2nd question is the ISO. If I understand this correctly ISO means the film sensitivity, and how sensitive the film reacts to light. Lower ISO, less light you need. BUt I don't really understand how this is applied to digital, considering there is no film??

Third ques: I have very limited funds right now. very limited. But i wanted to keep my ears open about any post-processing software people think is good at there, preferbly low cost. Is light room the way to go? Any other suggestions? I don't know how to use photoshop and I would need a user friendly software. Any suggestions?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it

[OsmosisStudios]

1: Thats correct: when you make any kind of change to an image on a computer (or any location other than the camera), you wont be able to see it back on the camera. Sorry to say, really.

2: Whereas higher ISO films were different emulsions, with digital it's simply a matter of amplification. The sensor creates a signal that is sent to the processor. The more you crank the ISO up, the more that signal is amplified. The reason you get noise is that the signal is never pure: you eventually start getting signal noise that is as powerful or as "peak" as the signal was before amplification, so you end up with that speckling.

3: Search The GIMP. Its a free photoshop alternative. For RAW processing there's UFRaw, but if you can spend a bit, there's also Lightroom (just over $100)

[milosh]

Hello Hilary and welcome to DPS!

I'll just try to give you a quick answer to your second question and I'm sure others will follow.

Regarding ISO, you're right in your first statement, ISO means film (or in digital a digital sensor's) sensitivity. Just as with film, lower ISO (ASA with film) means lower light sensitivity of your camera's sensor, which in turn means that more light is needed for equivalent exposure. And the higher ISO is, the less light you need.
So basically, the principle is the same regarding ISO with film and with digital.

Hang around, you'll find many great folks here.

[andyw]

1. yes, if you transfer to the pc and make adjustments then you will not be able to see them on the camera - why would you want to anyway?

2. ISO - it is exactly the same as with film. Don't get bogged down with any technical explanations. if you understood it with film then just believe it is the same.
Low iso - less sensitivity to light - less grain (or noise)
high iso - more sensitivity - more grain (noise)

3. If you just want to make basic exposure and colour adjustments then lightroom is more than enough.
If you want to start playing around with pixel manipulation and effects then Photoshop (most expensive)or Paint Shop pro or photoshop elements (least expensive).


There is absolutely no need to get bogged down with the technical details of digital vs film.
Ultimately it is photography and uses the same basic equipment.
The difference (obviously) is one records on film and one on a digital media card.

On the post processing side it is again just the methodology which is different,
one requires a darkroom, enlarger and chemicals and one requires a computer and relevant software.

dodging and burning, colour correction etc are all the same.

[hilary110]

I am a new member to the forum and I just wanted to say thank you to the informative and helpful responses. I think I am going to learn alot from you all!

I really appreciate it!