Topic: Best Quality from DSLR?
How would I get the best quality pictures from a DSLR besides having the pictures in RAW format?
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How would I get the best quality pictures from a DSLR besides having the pictures in RAW format?
The main thing that comes to mind when I read your question is ISO. ISO is the sensitivity of the camera to light. The higher the ISO, the more grainy the picture will be, and the lower the ISO, the less grainy the picture will be.
Also, here is a guide on general information about a DSLR and how to use one. It contains some good information about picture quality and the like.
It depends on what you mean by "quality". Your question is quite vague. Do you mean picture size and quality, focus quality, is the photo too grainy, are they coming out under or over exposed? What is your actual problem?
Since you said something about RAW, I assume you mean what's the best jpg size to use. So here's my answer:
If you are making movies in 4K, use Large Normal JPG. It's a good balance of file size and image size and has a good bit of cropping room on the edges since the pictures are 5K.
If you are just wanting to do 1080p movies, use Small Fine JPG. These are well over 1080p size, so they too have crop room, and it's a relatively small file size.
Just a note, I would not shoot a stop motion in RAW unless you are very experienced in RAW workflows, a lot of software does not support RAW files so they have to be processed in an intermediate software first, then exported as a JPG. The advantage to shooting RAW is the increased ability to edit the photos after they are taken. With a stop motion you have all the time you need to set you camera right in the first place. As long as you are using a high quality setting no one should be able to tell the difference. A better thing to do would be to experiment with the different jpeg profiles (picture styles) to find the one you think looks the best.
Also I'm sure you've heard this already, but keep every setting in manual, even the ones you might not think about like DRO.
I have shot stop motion in RAW before but for the most part I shoot in Fine Small JPEG quality, I still have to scale the image down to 1080p in the end, I mostly use large image sizes if I need to add some kind of digital zoom. Generally the way to 'get the best quality' is to light the subject well and keep the subject in focus.
Are you having DSLR quality issues, and if you are if you could post any examples it would be helpful.
I'm not having any problems at all. I've been doing all the things people have suggested in this topic except the shooting in RAW but I'm always trying to learn if there are things I can do to improve the outcome of my photos that I do not know of. Thanks guys for the help
Canon 1200D and still trying to figure out which is the best finished video format
I would definitely experiment with the picture styles and see which one you think looks the best.
if you want to stylize/grade your shots afterwards the shoot with a flatter profile, otherwise just pick your favorite.
another thing to do is take test photos at different iso setting to see what is acceptable, than make sure to keep your iso under that. If you have enough light, setting the iso to it's lowest native (not expanded) setting will almost always get you the best picture.
Also be sure to read the manual.
Technically, unless you are super picky about being able to manually adjust the white balance of your frames and the compression quality, I wouldn't use raw settings for stop-motion. Plus, raw images are also generally much larger in file size. As long as you aren't zooming in a ton on your images, the jpg's compression shouldn't be much of an issue. Plus, you won't have to go through and sharpen the footage and increase contrast by hand.
As far as exposure settings go, I think everyone else here has pretty much said what I was going to say. Putting your ISO to the lowest number possible is good if you don't want the frames to be all grainy.
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