After losing my little Sony Cybershot at CES and mourning the absence of a Smile Shutter in my life to pick up my friend’s most accidentally contorted rictuses, I decided I would buy myself a Canon G10 in the hopes that it would bridge me from retarded point-and-shoot territory into the world of DSLRs.
What I’ve learned so far has been laughable, but I’m pleased with myself: I no longer have to smugly nod when people talk about ISO or aperture to mask my ignorance. I actually know how to manually focus a digicam now, which is leading to some more interesting photographs. And, biggest lesson of all: I’ve learned using the flash on a camera almost always results in photographs that just suck.
This guide to DIY Lighting Hacks for digital photographers is good fodder, then. Granted, it’s mostly aimed at the DSLR crowd, but stuff like the DIY flash diffuser and party bouncer card is still stuff I could fit into my Canon G10. And if you’re a more advanced photographer than me — and it’s almost impossible to imagine that you aren’t — there’s sure to be at least a few tips here that will save you a couple bills in equipment costs.
DIY Lighting Hacks for Digital Photographers [Digital Photography School via Crunchgear]
The G10 is a sweet camera.
It does have a hot-shoe so you can indeed use an external flash, I have one for my DSLR that I slap on there occasionally. You can do some very neat stuff with that, bouncing it off walls, etc.
In terms of cost/benefit, an ext flash is probably the best deal out there and the difference is really shocking.
There’s a nice blog that’s full of ideas like this: diyphotography.net.
In a pinch with the point and shoot at a restaurant or party, I’ll tear off a piece of paper napkin and lick it and stick it over the flash. Diffuses a bit and is better than nothing. Also I have a friend who cut a piece of vellum (sp?) to the size of a business card and he use a similar technique.
The preference though for quick and dirty is a wireless slave flash. They’re small and relatively inexpensive.
while the G10 is a badass little camera, the only thing stopping you from buying an SLR is an extra 100 bucks. In the cannon like the Rebel XS isn’t that much more than the G10 and a great camera to start out on.
Take the plunge, its not scary.