some questions from newbie

[clickNsnap]

1) Where normally you keep your camera & lenses to avoid fungus or something bad for our gear: dry box, camera bag, container, safety box... I just left it in the camera bag... is this ok?

2) Need to learn some "photography term", I only understand... BTW (by the way), ASAP (as soon as possible), but I'm not sure those in photography forum, like... BOKEH, IMO, CC, PP... could some one please share these words.

3) How much time have you spend on photographing (shooting, post processing...) a week, I only managed to spend roughly 3-4 hours a week...

4) What software do you use to convert RAW format? Any free software recommended?

Thanks for your feedback.

[ramblie]

Errr...I'm same as you, my friend.

[noruazumi]

1) Where normally you keep your camera & lenses to avoid fungus or something bad for our gear: dry box, camera bag, container, safety box... I just left it in the camera bag... is this ok?

2) Need to learn some "photography term", I only understand... BTW (by the way), ASAP (as soon as possible), but I'm not sure those in photography forum, like... BOKEH, IMO, CC, PP... could some one please share these words.

3) How much time have you spend on photographing (shooting, post processing...) a week, I only managed to spend roughly 3-4 hours a week...

4) What software do you use to convert RAW format? Any free software recommended?

Thanks for your feedback.

first of all, let me welcome you to shutterasia.
this is where we keep photography alive.
to answer your questions.
1) the best way is to keep your gears in drybox/drycabinet. moisture cause fungus. so avoid leaving your gears in high moisture level area (such as toilet! hehe). for me, as a temporary solution, i keep my gears in a my small cabinet and in that cabinet i put a small Thirsty Hippo. Thirsty Hippo can also make it super-dry. so make sure you monitor your gears. for long run, get yourself a DRYBOX/DRYCABINET which i myself will get mine in the near future.

2) you can refer here (http://www.shutterasia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97) (http://www.shutterasia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97). and wikipedia is also helpful! :D

3) i have no specific hours spent on processing photo since i do photography as a hobby. try to spend as much as u can coz u'll learn & expose to more NEW thing while you doing it. trust me!

4) i already stopped shooting in RAW coz it only fill-up my 300GB HDD very fast. plus, NOT shooting in RAW can also benefits you as it'll train you not to make mistake. as we all know, photos in RAW can be salvaged using software. so it depends on individuals. and to answer your question, i have no clue brother! hehe. i used Picture Project to export it to .jpeg format before i process it using CS2. ask around esp. in SHOUTBOX. :D


so i hope i managed to clear up some issues. don't hesitate to ask around. everybody are welcome here in SA.com. remember, we keep photography alive. have fun!! :D

[clickNsnap]

THANKS! noruazumi

You have answered all my questions. I will try to keep my gear in a plastic container for now and likely not shooting RAW for the time being, I think shooting RAW mainly for people who like to do post processing work and have control/achieve good result.

once again thanks.

[noruazumi]

THANKS! noruazumi

You have answered all my questions. I will try to keep my gear in a plastic container for now and likely not shooting RAW for the time being, I think shooting RAW mainly for people who like to do post processing work and have control/achieve good result.

once again thanks.

not a problem. feel free to ask whenever u got questions... :D

[ShaolinTiger]

1) Where normally you keep your camera & lenses to avoid fungus or something bad for our gear: dry box, camera bag, container, safety box... I just left it in the camera bag... is this ok?


The best is a dry box as it actually can control the humidity rather than just keeping things dry.

The cheapest way is an air tight box with thirsty hippo or some silica gel, the downside of this is it can be too dry and fatigue the rubber seals on your lenses and camera.

2) Need to learn some "photography term", I only understand... BTW (by the way), ASAP (as soon as possible), but I'm not sure those in photography forum, like... BOKEH, IMO, CC, PP... could some one please share these words.

Noru has shared with you our own SA dictionary, you can also use Wikipedia or Google. Putting "define:word" in the Google search box gives good results (Example - Bokeh (http://www.google.com.my/search?q=define%3Abokeh&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a))

3) How much time have you spend on photographing (shooting, post processing...) a week, I only managed to spend roughly 3-4 hours a week...

Including reading book, following tutorials, cleaning cam, testing things, playing with lighting, doing weird stuff at home... Dunno maybe 100+ hours?



4) What software do you use to convert RAW format? Any free software recommended?

I use Photoshop CS2 as I find it the most powerful, I have trialled various others but I can't really get along with them (Nikon Capture 4.4 and NX).

The best you can get for free is RawShooter Essentials, you can find it here (http://www.photo-freeware.net/raw-shooter-essentials.php).

[jayhan]

I personally spend more time in a week doing research on photographic stuff rather than taking pictures. Such are the likes of reading up books, flicking thru flickr' for inspirations, go around places to scout for potential subjects/locations for future shoot, and experimenting with lighting options. Basically I'm the type who knows what I wanna achieve whenever I shoot. So I guess my shooting time is limited to probly 5-10hrs a week.

For RAW processing, I either use CS2 or Canon DPP. Sometimes I do use ACDSee as well.

[noordin]

clickNsnap and ramblie, why not join a TT (teh tarik) session on Friday nights when DPNikon organise one. The guys will be happy to answer all you questions and tutor you on the basic and finer points of photography and use of your camera. Do come. :)

[The Dark]

I use a large tupperware and a small Thirsty Hippo to keep my gear. Don't forget to change the Hippo two to three month once. As for processing my RAW files I used Photoshop Elements 5.0.

[blur]

1) Where normally you keep your camera & lenses to avoid fungus or something bad for our gear: dry box, camera bag, container, safety box... I just left it in the camera bag... is this ok?

2) Need to learn some "photography term", I only understand... BTW (by the way), ASAP (as soon as possible), but I'm not sure those in photography forum, like... BOKEH, IMO, CC, PP... could some one please share these words.

3) How much time have you spend on photographing (shooting, post processing...) a week, I only managed to spend roughly 3-4 hours a week...

4) What software do you use to convert RAW format? Any free software recommended?

Thanks for your feedback.
Hi there, dude! These are my contributions ...

1) All along I keep my gears in those air-tight containers with some silica gel and dehumidifier packs thrown in. But recently when i jumped into the DSLR bandwagon, I noticed my home being attacked by molds growing on furnitures. So that was when I decided to invest in a dry box.

2) I think noruazami has answered this well :)

3) Um, I don't really keep track of how much time I spend. Photography is a hobby to me, so I don't try to pressure myself to shoot just to ensure my gears are well paid for. I just remind myself to buy what is necessary based on my shooting pattern and interest. But one thing is I try not to spend too much time on post-processing, mainly because I'm lazy and I'm a PP-idiot :D

4) Gasps, now I malu want to answer this :D:D I've never tried RAW so far. Been wanting to, but just never got to it :redface::redface:

[clickNsnap]

Thanks everyone for all the info.

Would love to join the TT with you all, but I'm working (Fri 3pm to Sat 3am) every week, not able to drop by, unless during my dinner time... and somewhere in PJ... hehehe... are you all having TT every Fridays?

BTW, is the dry box costly? any brand recommended?

I heard something about "hot pixel"... I think so, I tried to take a night shoot at the mamak store last night @ ISO 1600, found a small little dot in RED colour... not sure is this "hot pixel" but I checked some normal day shoots with ISO 200, I didn't see any RED pixel. Is this common?

[ramblie]

clickNsnap and ramblie, why not join a TT (teh tarik) session on Friday nights when DPNikon organise one. The guys will be happy to answer all you questions and tutor you on the basic and finer points of photography and use of your camera. Do come. :)

I love to, but I live in Sandakan, Sabah. Thanks my friend.:D

[vladimir]

wahh why got ppl " copy " my company name leh? hehehehe.. we REGISTERED company liao...can sue u leh hahahaha...jkjk~

[clickNsnap]

Sorry-lah! I didn't know it is your company name-mah! I've been using this name all over the photo forums for sometimes already. Unless, I need to change other name lol (administrator, can help us?). Thanks.

[fulat]

Sorry-lah! I didn't know it is your company name-mah! I've been using this name all over the photo forums for sometimes already. Unless, I need to change other name lol (administrator, can help us?). Thanks.
please PM ShaolinTiger if u really want your nick to be change. :D