Using Fuji F10

[Black_Scorpion]

Ok people ... i would like to discuss about your experience with Fuji F10 . Write about everything ... from some tips of taking a nice shots , saveing LCD from scratching , send us your pictures , well ...whatever you think of ...

[sjseto]

Hi there,

I was just reading through your "F10 problems" thread. Balrog was very helpful. I hope you had all of your questions answered.

I've owned the F10 since May and have been very pleased with it. I love being able to shoot at higher ISO's when needed, without having to worry about overly noisy pictures. It would be nice to have direct manual control over aperture and shutter speed. It looks like the F11 will provide that and I'll be looking for it when it becomes available (I know it isn't supposed to be released in the U.S. but I'm in Canada, so maybe I'll be lucky).

I recently came back from a trip to Atlantic Canada and U.S. during which I took well over 300 pictures with the F10. So I learned a few things along the way. If you'd like to see my pictures, please visit my gallery. The link is in my signature below. Feel free to ask questions, I'll do my best to answer.

[Black_Scorpion]

Hy Stephanie

I didnt know that before , but i followed the link and i can say i
already been a few times to watch your galleries . I think your are taking everything good from this camera ... your pictures are just great . How did you learn to be , i can easily say ... like a professional ? Ok , i have some questions ...

In wich case are you using aperture F3.2 or higher? My opinion is that F2.8 is alright but i would like your sugestion.

If you are on a concert and only stage is in a light , do you use a flash ?

I saw that u are "playing" lots with a manual options , any suggestions?

Which Photo editor are you using?

Do you ever use auto option ?

I know everything about Natural mode , but i am just wondering if you are useing it just for indoor daylight or also in some other situations ?

Is there any way to save LCD from scratching , except the small bag?

I asked you so many questions , but i couldnt resist

P.S. - Fuji F11 is coming in Europe till the end of the year . I will deffinetly buy it , and i will give this one to my sister

[Black_Scorpion]

Where are you Stephanie . Is there anyone else, who can answer me on upper questions ?

[sjseto]

Where are you Stephanie . Is there anyone else, who can answer me on upper questions ?

Right here...sorry for my late reply.

To answer your questions:

I have no control over the aperture when using the F10, and I've noticed that it likes to choose wide-open apertures a lot. When it does choose something smaller than f/2.8 (e.g. f/3.2), it seems to be in situations where there is LOTS and LOTS of light in the scene, and the shutter speed is so fast that the camera can "afford" to go to a smaller aperture. The other situations are where I've zoomed in with the lens. Since the widest aperture of f/2.8 only applies to the widest zoom setting, the camera is "forced" to choose a smaller aperture.

I would not use a flash in a concert setting, for a number of reasons. Number one, I'd be afraid it would be distracting to the performers. Number two, any concert that I've been to, doesn't allow cameras, and the flash would give me away. Number three, I'm usually sitting too far away for the flash to do any good. I'm always amused by people who use flash when they're 20 feet or more away from the stage. It will light the backs of the heads of the people in front of them, that's all. Unless you're very close to the front, turn off your flash, use at least ISO 400, and hope for the best.

I almost always have the F10 on "manual". I've never used it in auto mode. Sometimes I use the scene modes. As for recommended settings, it depends on the situation. Outdoors, I set the ISO to 80. Whenever I'm about to take a picture, I look at the shutter speed on the LCD. If it's below 1/60s, I find a way to steady the camera, or I use a higher ISO. Indoors, I usually just use the lowest ISO that gives me a shutter speed of 1/60s or faster.

I also use exposure compensation a lot, since the part of the picture that you want in sharpest focus isn't necessarily in the middle of your picture. Once you half-press the shutter, the exposure is locked in, so if you re-compose and the lighting is different, sometimes you have an over- or under-exposed picture. So I use the exposure compensation feature to compensate. I really hope that makes sense. If you're confused, I'll try to give you an example.

I set WB to auto for almost all my pictures, as I've found it looks the most natural. I will set it to manual for indoor pictures with artificial light, or to cloudy when it's an overcast day.

For photo editing, I use Paint Shop Pro 7. I'm not very knowledgeable with it, though.

I've hardly ever used Natural Light Mode. As far as I can tell, all it does is turn the flash off and crank up the ISO higher than I usually want it. I'd rather turn off the flash myself and set the ISO manually. I think Natural Light Mode works best for, like you say, "indoor daylight".

I always keep the camera in a bag, so I've never had a problem with scratching the LCD. But, I have an idea. Have you ever been to an optical (a place where they sell eyeglasses) and seen frames with sunglass clip-ons? Sometimes they have a protective film over the clip-on lenses so they don't get scratched. If you go to an optical, ask them if they have some of that film to give you. Unfortunately the pieces of film usually aren't big enough to cover the F10's LCD, but get the biggest one you can find, or get two and use them together.

Lucky you, for living in Europe! I really hope that the F11 will be available in Canada, although I'm not sure I'll upgrade. It would be nice to have the option, though.

[Black_Scorpion]

Thank you Stephanie

I know that everything is a practice , and i understand exposure compensation but what do you think that i just leave it on 0 , i mean default?
When its lighter i could put on a -1/3 or when its darker on +1/3 but is that really important? Any more tip or thats it, all what i have to know? I am travelling in a Prague for 2 weeks so i think i will have many chances for a good shooting over there . As i live in a small town i dont have many interesting places to go with my camera. I mostly like to take night pictures and specially that one i like in your gallery .

[sjseto]

Yes, I would recommend leaving the exposure compensation at 0 as a default, and just change it when necessary.

Is it important to change it by -1/3 EV or +1/3 EV?

Well, let's say that you are taking a portrait of a person against a very bright background. If you take the picture without the flash and exposure compensation at 0, chances are that the person will appear very dark in the photo. So, you can either use the flash, switch to spot metering so that you can meter off of the person instead of the whole scene, or you can use exposure compensation (usually +1/3 to +2/3 EV does the trick).

Also, sometimes I like to use -1/3 EV to reduce blown highlights in the picture. But I usually take a picture first at normal exposure, check the photo in the LCD, and decide if I should take another at a different exposure.

If you don't like to play around with exposure compensation, often you can "fix" a photo in your photo editor afterwards, but it tends to be easier when it's underexposed, rather than overexposed.

The only other tips I can think of that might be useful have to do with flash. Common sense things, like, the range of the flash is better when you have the lens at wide angle rather than at telephoto. And the range is better when you use higher ISO's. If you are going to zoom in all the way, switch to ISO 400 or 800. I did some tests with the camera and if you're going to be 8 feet or more away from your subject with the lens at full telephoto, you'll need ISO 400 or 800 to properly expose your subject.

Exposure compensation will do nothing to increase the range of the flash. All it does is brighten or darken the background (which did come in handy, for me).

If you're going to be taking night pictures, use a tripod and switch to night mode (which will give you up to 3s of shutter speed) or long exposure (where you can set the shutter speed from 3 to, I think, 15s). But you probably knew that already.

Well, that's it for now. Practicing with your F10 will be the best way to learn. Have a good time in Prague!

[Black_Scorpion]

Hy Stephanie

Sorry for my late reply , but i had problem with conecting to the internet.
Thank you for your help ... tips and everything . I made some really nice photos this morning and i will send it to this thread if i figure it how
I would like to see what you think about my "work"

[Black_Scorpion]

These pictures i took this morning ... what do you think?

[Black_Scorpion]

Where are you Stephanie ? You are probably busy with your own camera