How To Take The Best Pictures Of Your Crop !

What is White Balance?




What is white balance?
It all boils down to the concept of color temperature.

Color temperature is a way of measuring the quality of a light source.
It is based on the ratio of the amount of blue light to the amount of red light, and the green light is ignored.

The unit for measuring this ratio is in degree Kelvin (K).
A light with higher color temperature (i.e., larger Kelvin value) has "more" blue lights than a light with lower color temperature (i.e., smaller Kelvin value).
Thus, a cooler (resp., warmer) light has a higher (resp., lower) color temperature. The following table shows the color temperature of some light sources.
Light Sources Color Temperature in K Clear Blue Sky 10,000 to 15,000 Overcast Sky 6,000 to 8,000 Noon Sun and Clear Sky 6,500 Sunlight Average 5,400 to 6,000 Electronic Flash 5,400 to 6,000 Household Lighting 2,500 to 3,000 200-watt Bulb 2,980 100-watt Bulb 2,900 75-watt Bulb 2,820 60-watt Bulb 2,800 40-watt Bulb 2,650 Candle Flame 1,200 to 1,500

Please Note that Kelvin values listed in the table are approximates rather than exact.

Moreover, a new light bulb and new flash have higher color temperature than their old and used equivalents, and an electronic flash is designed to have a color temperature comparable to that of average sunlight.

Human brain can quickly adjust to different color temperatures.
More precisely, our eyes, with the help from the experience we learned, see a white paper as a white paper no matter it is viewed under strong sunlight or in a room illuminated with incandescent lights.

Unfortunately, color films can only correctly record the colors in certain range of color temperatures.
Therefore, we have daylight and tungsten films.

On the other hand, digital cameras are very different!
Digital cameras usually have built-in sensors to measure the current color temperature and use an algorithm to process the image so that the final result may be close to what we see (with our eyes, of course). But, the algorithm(s) being used may not be accurate enough to make every situation correct.

Under some difficult situations when the in-camera algorithm is not able to set the color temperature correctly or when some creative and special effects are needed, we can instruct the camera to use a particular color temperature to fulfill our need.

This adjustment that makes sure the white color we view directly will also appear white in the image is referred to as white balance.

Setting white balance incorrectly may cause a color shift in the image.
For example, suppose the camera is told to use a color temperature of sunlight to take an image of an indoor environment illuminated mainly by incandescent lights.

The camera will expect excessive blue light and less red light, and set its algorithm to be more sensitive to the blue light.

However, in an environment illuminated with incandescent lights, color temperature is low with excessive red light rather than the blue one.

As a result, we shall see a reddish or yellowish image. The following shows an example.


On the other hand, suppose we set the camera to a low color temperature (e.g., that of incandescent light) and take a photo under sunlight.
Because the white balance is set to incandescent light, the processing algorithm is more sensitive to the red light rather than the blue one. Hence, the resulting image will be bluish as shown in the following images.




PEACE AND HAPPY GROWING EVERYONE !!

good thread thank you for that information. all of this time i never even knew that there was a white balance setting on my camera let alone it had anything to do with the yellowing of plant pictures. i always though it was because of the hps lights, but after trying it a minute ago i can clearly see that it is due to the color balance of the white temperature.
thank you and +Rep

Lets not forget to mention that to get good closeup shots you need to put your camera into macro mode, otherwise all your closeups will be out of focus. With Macro on i can get to within 1/2 inch of my plant and have total focus.

NoDrama said:

Lets not forget to mention that to get good closeup shots you need to put your camera into macro mode, otherwise all your closeups will be out of focus. With Macro on i can get to within 1/2 inch of my plant and have total focus.

Click to expand...

Thank you for for pointing this out NoDrama it is surely going to be a helpful addition of input to the thread.

Peace and Happy Growing

You shouldnt worry about it being a sticky forum and going for the rep bro,
You should just do it to help everyone out man.
Bad attitude.
But overall, great thread and thanks for helping people.
+Rep.

NoB

Nice Ol Bud said:

You shouldnt worry about it being a sticky forum and going for the rep bro,
You should just do it to help everyone out man.
Bad attitude.
But overall, great thread and thanks for helping people.
+Rep.

NoB

Click to expand...

You are more than welcome my friend however might I bring it to your attention that I am not doing it for the rep one bit..
I'm doing it simply for the helpfulness..
None of my threads I have started have been about the rep..
I'm not a noob here to get more rep and I dont have a bad attitude at all.
I don't post anything on a thread unless I can be helpful (hence me only having 686 posts with 9 grow journals). I joined over 2 years ago and I am on the site every day.
I just simply wanted to know if it was helpful enough to people and if it should become a sticky like my other thread.. ☮ Washing Machine ☮ Do It Yourself Resin Separator ☞ Everything you need to know ☜ in the harvesting and curing forum.
Thank you for reading my thread.

PEACE AND HAPPY GROWING !!

Macro Photography Tips for Point and Shoot Digital Cameras
　
Much has been written on the topic of Macro photography for those photographers fortunate enough to own a DSLR with macro lenses
but what about if you own a compact point and shoot camera?
Can you get great macro shots too?
While the results achievable with a point and shoot camera in macro mode probably won’t compare with a DSLR with a purpose built macro lens I’ve still seen some remarkably good shots with compact cameras (all of the shots in this post were taken with compact cameras).
　
Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of yours:
　
　
Select Macro Mode
This is a fairly obvious first step but I’m always surprised by how many digital camera owners haven’t explored the shooting modes that their camera has.
Macro mode is generally symbolized with a little flower and when selected it will tell your camera that you want to focus on a subject closer to your lens than normal (the minimum distance allowed will vary from camera to camera (consult your instruction manual to find yours).
Macro mode will also usually tell your camera to choose a large aperture so that your subject is in focus but the background is not.
　
　
Use a Tripod
In macro photography a tripod can be particularly useful, even if you’re just shooting with a compact camera.
Keeping your camera still not only improves your shots (getting rid of camera shake) but it allows you to play around with different settings without losing your composition.
　
　
Aperture
Once in macro mode some cameras will not allow you to make many other adjustments but if you are able to play with your aperture settings it can be well worthwhile to do so.
The main thing that aperture impacts is the depth of field of your shots.
Choose a small aperture (big number) if you want a large depth of field with everything in focus or a large aperture if you just want your main subject in focus.
In macro photography you’ll probably want a shallow depth of field so select the largest aperture available.
　
　
Focusing
I find that in macro photography it is helpful to have full control over focusing.
Especially when you have shallow depth of fields where it is all the more important to make sure the right part of your shot is in focus.
If your camera allows manual focusing select this option and manually focus on the part of our subject that is the main point of interest.
　
　
Composition
Remember some of the basic rules of composition like the Rule of Thirds.
Make sure your image has a main point of interest and place that focal point in a smart position in your image in order to draw the eye of your viewer.
Try to select a non cluttered or simple background for your main subject so as it doesn’t compete with it visually.
　
　
Flash
In many macro shots having some artificial light is important.
The challenge with compact cameras is that most give you limited control of your flash.
As a result choosing a good time of day when there is plenty of available light is probably your best bet.
If you do need more light check to see if your camera allows you to pull back the level that your flash fires at.
Alternatively you might like to try diffusing it in some way (tissue paper or cellotape over the flash for example).
Another option might be to use some other source of artificial light or to invest in a reflector to help make the most of available light.
Experiment with different methods of lighting your subject.
　
　
Take Your Shot
Once you have your shot lined up and in focus take your shot.
Make sure once you’ve taken it to take a good look at it on your LCD, zooming in to make sure that your focusing is sharp.
Try shooting at slightly different apertures, with different compositions and focusing on different points of your subject to see what works best.
　
　
Macro Lens Attachments
Some compact cameras actually have accessories available to help with macro/close up photography.
These will enable you to enlarge your subject and/or decrease your minimum focal length.
These might be worth investing in if you intend on doing a lot of macro work.
　
　
Self Timer
(this point was added as a result of experementing) when using my DSLR for Macro work I tend to use a shutter cable release and tripod to make sure my shots are completely still (to eliminate the small amount of camera shake from pressing the shutter).
Most compact cameras don’t have cable releases but a simple way around this is to use your camera’s self timer on it’s shortest time setting which will similarly mean you have no movement of your camera when taking your shot (if you’re taking notice of the ‘use a tripod’ tip above).
　
　
PS:
I’ve used the term ‘macro photography fairly loosely here.
Technically ‘macro photography’ is actually when you produce an image where your subject is captured on your image sensor at life size (or bigger) with a 1:1 ratio.
In the case of most (all?) compact cameras this is not achieved and in fact ‘close up’ photography would be a better description.
However as most manufacturers call their close up mode ‘macro mode’ I’ve used the term for the purposes of this thread
　

PEACE AND HAPPY GROWING !! ​

simple tip


go farther away, and zoom into buds.. this way the focal length is longer and its not AS focused but it's focused on MORE surface area and into little nooks and crannies

Sr. Verde said:

simple tip


go farther away, and zoom into buds.. this way the focal length is longer and its not AS focused but it's focused on MORE surface area and into little nooks and crannies

Click to expand...

Optical vs. Digital Zoom
　
Zoom on a camera can add to the pleasure of digital photography.
However, many consumers are confused between optical and digital zoom.
An understanding of the difference between the two zooms will help you choose the digital camera that is right for you.
　
　
Most people who have used a 35mm camera or an APS camera are aware of only optical zoom.
Optical zoom uses the optics (lens) of the camera to bring the subject closer.
Digital zoom is an invention of digital video cameras.
It is not uncommon to see digital videocams with 300x digital zoom.
　
　
For our purpose, digital zoom is not really zoom, in the strictest definition of the term.
What digital zoom does is enlarge a portion of the image, thus ‘simulating’ optical zoom.
In other words, the camera crops a portion of the image and then enlarges it back to size.
In so doing, you lose image quality.

If you’ve been regularly using digital zoom and wondered why your pictures did not look that great, now you know.
　
　
Is digital zoom therefore all bad?
No, not at all.
It’s a feature that you might want in your digital camera (in fact, all digital cameras include some digital zoom, so you can’t really avoid it).
Especially if you don’t care about using (or don’t know how to use) an image editing software. So, as far as digital zoom is concerned, you can do it in camera or you can do it afterwards in an image editing software.
Any cropping and enlarging can be done in an image editing software, such as Photoshop.
　
　
So, when a digital camera is advertised with 3x digital zoom, no big deal.
You can achieve the same 3x (and in fact as much as you want) digital zoom effect in an image editing software.
The advantage of doing it later is that you can then decide exactly which portion to crop and how much to enlarge (3x, 4x, …).
If you do it in camera, image quality is irreversibly lost.
　
　
Someone in a digital camera forum once mentioned that he uses digital zoom because it might mean the difference between capturing a great shot or not at all.
Umm, let’s think about this a bit.
True, if by zooming digitally in camera you get to see what your subject is doing and thus can capture the shot at the right moment.
Not quite true, if it’s something like a landscape shot, and the mountains ain’t going nowhere fast, because you can achieve the same cropping and enlarging effect after the fact in your image editing software.
So, it’s really up to you, if you know what you’re doing.
　
　
What, therefore is the rule of thumb, when it comes to using zoom?
Here it is: Always use optical zoom.
When buying a camera, choose one that warns you that you are about to use digital zoom or that allows you to disable digital zoom (most do).
If you do use digital zoom, use it only if it does not appreciably impact your image quality.
If you rarely print past 4×6 in. photos, digital zoom may not adversely affect you.
　
　
When comparing cameras, you should always use optical zoom.
There is no point in comparing digital zoom with digital zoom or optical zoom with total zoom.
Always compare optical zoom with optical zoom.
　
　
Optical Zoom vs. Resolution
What about optical zoom vs. resolution? (Sigh!)
Now you all know that we cannot and should not be comparing apples ‘n oranges, but we still try.
The question I often read about goes something like this:
"Which is better: 2 megapixels resolution with 3x optical zoom or 3 megapixels resolution with 2x optical zoom?"
　
　
The megapixels resolution of a digital camera can be thought of as the number of pixels available to capture an image.
With a 2 megapixels camera, you have 2 million pixels to record an image.
With a 3 megapixels camera, you have 1 million extra pixels to record the same image.
In other words, you are able to capture the image in more detail.
　
　
Whether you zoom or not does not affect how many pixels are used to capture the image.
So, zoomed at its maximum, a 2 megapixels 3x optical zoom digital camera will still have captured a 2 million pixels image.
Likewise, a 3 megapixels 2x optical zoom digital camera will always capture a 3 million pixels image.
　
　
The real question behind the question is, "So now if I use digital zoom to zoom in with the 3 megapixels camera and simulate a total zoom of 3x, will the resultant image quality be less, the same, or still better than the one I captured with the 2 megapixels 3x optical zoom camera?" You follow so far?
　
　
With a 2 megapixels digital camera, you can make good 4×6 in. prints, and maybe even 5×7 in. prints.
With a 3 megapixels digital camera, you can make good 8×10 in. prints.
So, as far as image quality is concerned, the 3 megapixels camera is better.
Unless you are always going to take pictures at max. zoom, the 3MP camera is better because at 2x optical zoom and less, it is always capturing images with more detail than the 2MP camera.
　
　
Of course, digital cameras now have 5x, 10x, even 20x optical zoom, and resolution has reached 14MP.
You would think that with all of that MP and optical zoom, this question would at last be laid to rest, but you’d be wrong.
People still ask me whether 12Mp with 5x optical zoom is better or worse than 6MP with 10x optical zoom.
　
　
What we are really trying to say is this: do not compare.
You’ve got to decide what is more important to you: resolution or optical zoom? If the answer is both, then find a digital camera that has both.
It’s that simple.
If it’s outside your pocketbook range, then choose a digital camera for what is more important to you.
　
　
One important consideration with regards to resolution is important to make here: compact digital cameras seem to have maxed out their image quality at around 6-8MP.
Go higher and image quality in fact gets worse instead of better.
It has to do with pixel density: cram too many ever tinier pixels close together onto a tiny image sensor and all kind of image quality issues come up, including the all important noise.
　
　
To repeat, we do not compare optical zoom with megapixel resolution because optical zoom is not megapixel resolution-dependent.
That is, the resolution of your final image does not change no matter how much you zoom in.
If your digital camera is 5MP and has a 12x optical zoom lens with focal length of, say, 30-360mm, then at 30mm, your image is 5MP and at 360mm, it is still 5MP. With digital zoom/enlargement, the megapixel resolution decreases as you "zoom" in digitally (the premise behind Smart Zoom, Safe Zoom and the many flavors of Intelligent Zoom, see below); if you try to bring the cropped image back to the same 5MP size, then there is pixels interpolation and the resulting image suffers in quality.
　
　
I always disable digital zoom in camera, choosing to do my own cropping and enlarging in an image editing software.
　
　
Optical vs. digital zoom?
There is no contest. Only optical zoom matters when selecting a digital camera.
　
　
Smart, Safe and Intelligent Zoom
　
Realizing that digital zoom is not really a good thing because it negatively affects image quality, camera manufacturers have introduced a new type of digital zoom variously called "Smart Zoom" (Sony), "Safe Zoom" (Canon) and "Intelligent Zoom" (Panasonic and others).
Smart/Safe/Intelligent Zoom (let’s collectively called them Intelligent Zoom, or iZoom for short) can be viewed as an "ethical" digital zoom which avoids interpolating the image and so avoid degrading image quality.
iZoom works only if you select an image size smaller than the full available image size.
So, for example, if your digital camera is capable of producing a 12MP image, Smart Zoom is available only if you select to save your images as 7MP or less.
In other words, with this particular type of digital zoom, the MP resolution decreases as you ‘zoom’ — in other words you are just cropping the center of the image (without interpolating back to the original resolution).
　
　
Say, your digital camera is 12MP and you select to save your images as 10MP.
So, in effect, you are forfeiting 2MP of image data (extracted from all over the image area) that the digital camera’s sensor has captured and now has to throw away [you hope the camera makes the right decision and does not throw away important image data].
Enter iZoom that says, "Hey, instead of throwing away 2MP of good data from all over the image area, why don’t I crop out all the pixels starting from the outside perimeter?
When I’ve cropped out 2MP of image data all around, I have 10MP left over and that’s what you want, right?"
Notice, the 10MP image does not have to be interpolated and enlarged back to 12MP as traditional digital zoom does (because you elected to save it as 10MP, remember?).
So, in effect, you’ve basically more or less retained the same image quality but you have to save your resulting simulated zoomed image in a smaller image size.
Of course, if now you turn around and enlarge it in post-processing, you will be limited to what a 10MP image can be enlarged up to without image degradation.
　
　
I call iZoom "ethical digital zoom" because it is not made available at full image size — this would cause image degradation.
The smaller you elect to save your image, the more iZoom power you have available (folks, you’re basically just cropping the image without re-enlarging, which you can also do at any time in post-processing).
　
　
So, My recommendation still holds. If you want zoom power, only optical zoom matters!
iZoom is the better form of digital zoom, but what you gain in simulated zoom power (again, you’re just cropping), you lose in image size.
There’s no free lunch.
　
　
Again, don’t buy a digital camera based on digital (traditional or inteligent) zoom.
Always compare optical zoom with optical zoom.
If you are comparing 2 digital cameras with the same optical zoom, but one has intelligent digital zoom and the other has traditional digital zoom, then the intelligent zoom has a slight advantage.
But personally, I wouldn’t even look at that because there are a lot more important features to differentiate the cameras.


This post took me almost an hour to type, I hope you enjoyed reading it.. lol

Thats a lot of shit to write man props

I'm using a cannon rebel 12mp so i'm using the optical zoom

Sr. Verde said:

Thats a lot of shit to write man props

I'm using a cannon rebel 12mp so i'm using the optical zoom

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Thank you very much , I am glad that you enjoyed the read, it took forever to type.. (Sigh!)

Very nice picture you have taken with your cannon.. "you rebel".. lol

Peace And Happy Growing !!

Nice info, thanks!

Sure Shot said:

Nice info, thanks!

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you are more than welcome, I hope that you enjoyed the thread, and I hope that it helps.

Peace and Happy Growing !!

marijuananation said:

You are more than welcome my friend however might I bring it to your attention that I am not doing it for the rep one bit..
I'm doing it simply for the helpfulness..
None of my threads I have started have been about the rep..
I'm not a noob here to get more rep and I dont have a bad attitude at all.
I don't post anything on a thread unless I can be helpful (hence me only having 686 posts with 9 grow journals). I joined over 2 years ago and I am on the site every day.
I just simply wanted to know if it was helpful enough to people and if it should become a sticky like my other thread.. ☮ Washing Machine ☮ Do It Yourself Resin Separator ☞ Everything you need to know ☜ in the harvesting and curing forum.
Thank you for reading my thread.

PEACE AND HAPPY GROWING !!

Click to expand...

Glad too see you didnt take any offense like most assholes lol.
Good shit bro,
keep it growing.

Nice Ol Bud said:

Glad too see you didnt take any offense like most assholes lol.
Good shit bro,
keep it growing.

Click to expand...

I don't take offence to most things people say.
(probably because I am not an asshole) lmao !!

Thanks for stopping by NoB.

Peace and Happy Growing Brotha !!

here's some macro shots I took with my cannon powershot a590IS... the macro mode on auto does all the correct adjustments to take pictures like this:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/poplars/bud 10/Picture458.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/poplars/bud 10/Picture455.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/poplars/bud 10/Picture450.jpg

that's chitowns sour kush incase anyones wondering.

[video=youtube;EDlQ7cBDpsA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDlQ7cBDpsA[/video]