Advice for a semi-newbie with a new camera

[ChanaC]

I'm very much a newbie-ish amateur photographer, and mostly self taught. For over 10 years I used a Canon Powershot SX30 IS, which had a pretty decent attached lens. I played around with the manual settings and I think I got some really good shots out of it over the years. I took it to Alaska last year and while I did get some great images I could tell the camera was on it's last leg. Plus, I hated how slow it was, especially with the zoom, and because of it I think I missed some good action shots, like of whales. I also really wanted to step up to a "real" camera with an attached lens, and to have a little more control over the camera in general.

 

After a lot of researching, I just bought a Canon EOS M50 Mark II, and two lens (15-45mm and 55-200mm). I scrolled though this thread and found a lot of great advice, but does anyone have any tips for a relative newbie? I'm going back to Alaska this year. I personally love taking landscapes, especially in Alaska where there are some amazing sights, but we're also going on a sea otter and wildlife tour and I'm hoping I'll be able to get some nice shots on that. I know I may not have the fanciest camera body nor the longest lens, but the good thing about Alaska is that the surroundings are so beautiful I can't imagine screwing up any photo that badly! I'm trying to get out around my town now and practice (especially at some local gardens). I just bought a new case (that comes with a waterproof cover - great for Alaska) and will take the camera plus both lenses, although admittedly the new case is a little large and bulky to carry around.

[pierces]

The M50 is going to be a major step up in image quality, mostly due to its much larger sensor. The lenses in the kit are a good compromise for Alaska which (IMHO) doesn't really favor ultra-wide. The 300mm equivalent reach of the long zoom is also sufficient for all but the most distant wildlife. Don't fumble with changing lenses if you have the long lens and want to take a wider shot of something. A good phone will capture surprisingly good images in good light. 

 

Our 4-day cruise with only a phone: 2021-12 Navigator (pptphoto.com)

 

Your camera and lenses don't have weather sealing, so picking up a couple of disposable/reusable rain covers is a good idea. It doesn't always rain in Alaska, but it doesn't always not rain. We have been there in early September when it was sunny and nearly 80° in Ketchikan and June with 34° and sleet in Skagway. I own a pricey dedicated rain cover and have used it once. Bulky compared to the ones mentioned above and not worth the expense unless you plan to shoot in the rain a lot. I now carry a couple of the little plastic disposables in my bag. Disposable ponchos are also a good idea if you want to stay dry along with your camera. 😉 

 

Link to Amazon: Rain Covers - Ponchos

 

Brace yourself for tour prices. They have really gone up.

 

Take twice as much memory as you think you need. 

 

With a big step up in your equipment, consider investing in photo management/editing software. I'm a fan of Photoshop and Lightroom with the $10/mo Photographer's plan, but there are many others like Luminar Neo and Even Adobe's non-subscription Photoshop Express application which is easy to use and surprisingly sophisticated. It also includes a decent management component. Don't take a laptop to fiddle with photos on the trip. Spend your time enjoying it and using your camera. 

 

That's about it. Enjoy your Alaska adventure! We are going in July and really looking forward to it!

 

Dave

 

P.S. Don't apologize for being self-taught. I've been doing that for a half-century! 🙂

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by pierces

[pierces]

10 hours ago, ChanaC said:

I played around with the manual settings and I think I got some really good shots out of it over the years.

 

Just another little note. Don't fall into the trap of believing that "real photographers only shoot RAW and only use Manual settings".  Manual settings are for studios where the light and the subject are under your control. Not one darn thing is under your control on a tour boat in the middle of Juneau Bay 🙂. I like having control over depth-of-field and have shot Aperture Priority for most of my photographic life (once it became available...yeah, I've been shooting that long) and have found the cameras keep getting better at managing the rest of the settings. Even the dreaded "P" mode is a miracle of AI decision making these days. Pick a mode you are comfortable with and don't waste time trying to fiddle with settings.

 

Again, enjoy your trip and bring back a ton of digital memories!

 

Dave

 

And it's Photoshop Elements, not Express I mentioned above and noticed too late to edit.

Edited March 31, 2023 by pierces

[ChanaC]

Thank you

 

 

2 hours ago, pierces said:

Your camera and lenses don't have weather sealing, so picking up a couple of disposable/reusable rain covers is a good idea. It doesn't always rain in Alaska, but it doesn't always not rain. We have been there in early September when it was sunny and nearly 80° in Ketchikan and June with 34° and sleet in Skagway. I own a pricey dedicated rain cover and have used it once. Bulky compared to the ones mentioned above and not worth the expense unless you plan to shoot in the rain a lot. I now carry a couple of the little plastic disposables in my bag. Disposable ponchos are also a good idea if you want to stay dry along with your camera. 😉 

 

 

The case I bought came with a full removable rain cover (kind of shaped like a hood for a rain jacket). It's probably meant to cover the entire case but I'll also plan on using it for the camera. It has velcro and elastic so hopefully it will produce a nice seal and can conform to whatever I need covered. I also have my lightweight rain jacket that I rather throw over my camera than myself if necessary. 

2 hours ago, pierces said:

Brace yourself for tour prices. They have really gone up.

 

Take twice as much memory as you think you need. 

 

We're actually cruising in the beginning of May so everything is booked! I'm excited about the sea otter and wildlife tour we booked in Sitka, I'm hoping we see a lot of animals. Last year we did a whale watch in Juneau and we only saw three whales from a distance who all dived down almost as soon as we got near them, and since the old camera was so slow I feel like I missed some good photo opportunities, so hopefully this will make up for it. 

 

And yes, I kept the old memory card from the old camera so I have two cards. I might also bring my computer and try uploading photos while on the ship, so I can wipe the card clean each day.

 

2 hours ago, pierces said:

Just another little note. Don't fall into the trap of believing that "real photographers only shoot RAW and only use Manual settings".  Manual settings are for studios where the light and the subject are under your control. Not one darn thing is under your control on a tour boat in the middle of Juneau Bay 🙂. I like having control over depth-of-field and have shot Aperture Priority for most of my photographic life (once it became available...yeah, I've been shooting that long) and have found the cameras keep getting better at managing the rest of the settings. Even the dreaded "P" mode is a miracle of AI decision making these days. Pick a mode you are comfortable with and don't waste time trying to fiddle with settings.

 

Thank you. I feel guilty when I sometimes switch even to the automatic mode because sometimes the camera just knows best. You're right, when you're on the top of a mountain and you have a great view it's fun to play around, but when you're on a moving boat (or the train in Skagway) sometimes you just don't have the time! Really, it's about capturing the memory and sometimes that's better than how the photo really looks. And I too found that I got some great photos on my iPhone! 

 

[pierces]

55 minutes ago, ChanaC said:

And yes, I kept the old memory card from the old camera so I have two cards. I might also bring my computer and try uploading photos while on the ship, so I can wipe the card clean each day.

 

Consider what you spent on the camera, then compare that to the price of a couple of fairly sizeable memory cards. Just grab a couple of new cards and save yourself the agony of lugging a laptop along. Besides, going for the premium internet so you can actually upload a card full of images in less than a day will cost over 3x more than a couple of 64GB Sandisk Extreme SD cards. Bringing too much memory is so very much better than not bringing enough.

 

Another consideration is that your old card is, well, old. Memory cards have a finite life span. The component cells actually degrade after a number of write/read/erase cycles. In real life, the number of cycles is large, and it takes the average shooter a long time to exceed the limit. Even realizing that, my two is one and one is none philosophy leads me to buy new memory with a new camera. Since I tend to keep a camera for about 5 years, I never worry about the age of the memory or the number of read/writes. That has probably contributed to the fact that I have never had a card go south on me. I do carry the old memory in my bag, because you never know... 😉

 

Sorry if I seem overly concerned with this subject. I have done the laptop thing and tried the upload thing and now just enjoy shooting and leave the tedious reviewing until I get home. 

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave

[ChanaC]

3 minutes ago, pierces said:

 

Consider what you spent on the camera, then compare that to the price of a couple of fairly sizeable memory cards. Just grab a couple of new cards and save yourself the agony of lugging a laptop along. Besides, going for the premium internet so you can actually upload a card full of images in less than a day will cost over 3x more than a couple of 64GB Sandisk Extreme SD cards. Bringing too much memory is so very much better than not bringing enough.

 

Another consideration is that your old card is, well, old. Memory cards have a finite life span. The component cells actually degrade after a number of write/read/erase cycles. In real life, the number of cycles is large, and it takes the average shooter a long time to exceed the limit. Even realizing that, my two is one and one is none philosophy leads me to buy new memory with a new camera. Since I tend to keep a camera for about 5 years, I never worry about the age of the memory or the number of read/writes. That has probably contributed to the fact that I have never had a card go south on me. I do carry the old memory in my bag, because you never know... 😉

 

Sorry if I seem overly concerned with this subject. I have done the laptop thing and tried the upload thing and now just enjoy shooting and leave the tedious reviewing until I get home. 

 

Happy shooting!

 

Dave

Thank you, I'll look into getting another card, especially since they aren't that pricy. I'm also looking into getting another battery pack. This weekend when I went out to shoot I started with half a battery and ended up totally draining it. Having another will hopefully keep me from missing out just because I need another charge. And while the new camera has a fancy digital download system, I also have a cable for it so hopefully I can connect it to the computer and download everything without the internet. 

[pierces]

3 hours ago, ChanaC said:

I'm also looking into getting another battery pack.

 

Good self-advice! I completely forgot to mention that. A digital camera with a dead battery isn't much more than a fairly unattractive necklace.

🙂

 

Dave

 

[Hezu]

16 hours ago, pierces said:

Another consideration is that your old card is, well, old. Memory cards have a finite life span. The component cells actually degrade after a number of write/read/erase cycles. In real life, the number of cycles is large, and it takes the average shooter a long time to exceed the limit. Even realizing that, my two is one and one is none philosophy leads me to buy new memory with a new camera. Since I tend to keep a camera for about 5 years, I never worry about the age of the memory or the number of read/writes. That has probably contributed to the fact that I have never had a card go south on me. I do carry the old memory in my bag, because you never know... 😉

Also worth a note that the transfer speeds of memory cards have been increasing all the time and it is rarely a bad idea to have a faster card instead of slower one.