Newbie needs advice on basic shooting

[skyrocketfw]

I would like the photo background to be blurred but the subject remains sharp. How do I achieve that? What mode and setting should I use? How to achieve the same effect in macro mode?

Thanks.

[genece]

That is not accomplished as easy with a FZ camera as with a DSLR.
But to get the effect you want you need to use as large an aperture as possible (F2.8) and as much zoom as possible, plus the distance between the subject and the background should be at least twice as far as the distance from the camera to the subject.

But the effect can be done when Post processing, but that is another story.

[Kiriakos]

Gene
One question pls!
Which of your teleconverter line is in your opinion the 3 best?
TIA

[skyrocketfw]

That is not accomplished as easy with a FZ camera as with a DSLR.
But to get the effect you want you need to use as large an aperture as possible (F2.8) and as much zoom as possible, plus the distance between the subject and the background should be at least twice as far as the distance from the camera to the subject.

But the effect can be done when Post processing, but that is another story.

Thanks genece.

How do I achieve this effect in macro mode or when close-up lens is used?

[emalvick]

Thanks genece.

How do I achieve this effect in macro mode or when close-up lens is used?

Basically do the same thing that was suggested. Set the camera to f2.8, and try to use some zoom with the background further from the image subject as the camera is from the subject.

In Macro mode, you can try to force a larger aperture by using the Program shift mode of the camera. After you half press the shutter release, you can press the exposure button, and rather than change aperture or shutter speed as you can in the manual mode, it lets you shift the exposure. In essence you are changing the combination of aperture and shutter together to get the same exposure. Just make sure you shift so that you get closer to f2.8 on the aperture.

You may not get all the way to f2.8 as in Macro and Program mode, the camera is going to make sure the exposure is correct, but you will get as low of an aperture setting as possible. I almost always get 2.8 or 4.0 aperture settings, and I've had good luck blurring the background in each of those settings in Macro Mode.

It does take practice though, and I often take multiple shots to get the effect I want.

Erik

[genece]

Gene
One question pls!
Which of your teleconverter line is in your opinion the 3 best?
TIA


The 14B is by far the best lens and I Like the Raynox 2020 but I have been experimenting with Stacking two 14Bs , and a 14B with a Tcon17.
I have lots of photos taken with those combos on my vacation but it will take me a while to get them online.
But to answer your question the 14B is the best lens and the Tcon 17 is 2nd.
At least in my opinion.

But I took quite a few photos of goats and sheep that really would not be very big without the Raynox 2020 or the stacked lens.
Its kind of ..can you live with a less than perfect photo to be able to see the horns on a goat half way up a mt side.

But if you just want something to help in a situation like a Zoo maybe .. the 14B gives almost perfect results.

I think I am trying to say that while I like the Raynox you may find it totally unacceptable.

But its hard to imagine you could find fault with the 14B.

[Kiriakos]

Gene
Thank you for your opinion. I appreciate it.

[skyrocketfw]

genece
Some further questions on teleconverter and wideconveter plaese.

Do you have any experience with Canon TL-55? How does it compare to TCON-14B? I like the fact that the TL-55 is light but I have seen some very different picture quality. So I'm not sure whether to get TL-55 or TCON-14B.

How about other Raynox teleconverter such as DCR-1850PRO and DCR-1540PRO?

Which of the wideconverter do you think is the best, Raynox, WCON, etc.?

Thanks.

[jcon]

skyrocket,

I think you may find these 4 links very helpful in your comparisons and decisions. They were given to me by another member and proved to be very helpful....

http://www.pbase.com/image/26137750

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/FZ-10/Converters/TEST/Tele-Tests/Tele-Compare.html

http://216.239.37.104/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&langpair=ja%7Cen&u=http://nighthead.adzoo.jp/fz/telecon/telecon1.htm&prev=/language_tools

[genece]

genece
Some further questions on teleconverter and wideconveter plaese.

Do you have any experience with Canon TL-55? How does it compare to TCON-14B? I like the fact that the TL-55 is light but I have seen some very different picture quality. So I'm not sure whether to get TL-55 or TCON-14B.

How about other Raynox teleconverter such as DCR-1850PRO and DCR-1540PRO?

Which of the wideconverter do you think is the best, Raynox, WCON, etc.?

Thanks.

I have never used a TL55 but I do know 2 people that say it is on par with the 14B, so I am sure its fine.

I also Have seen nice photos from the 1540 Pro but I understand the 1850 does not work well with the FZ cameras. But I never tried it.

I think for the price the DCR 720 is a pretty good lens, I am satisfied with mine but is seems to be more in line with a .8 lens than a .7 lens.
Quite a few people like the drc 6600 but I do not like the vignetting ...seems to defeat the purpose of a WA lens, but thats just me.

[skyrocketfw]

Thanks genece.
Do you feel that DCR 720 is wide enough? Is it on par with WCON-08B?

Thanks jcon.
I already looked at those sites before.