[GUIDE] Make the most of the GT5 Camera v2.1

[Orobouros]

As a photo nut, I just wanted to add in a word about how aperture and focus play a role together. To a very good approximation, the depth of field is about 1/3 in front of and 2/3 behind the focal point. For a car facing towards you, if you got a DOF of about 2.5 meters, you'd want to focus somewhere around the front of the front door to get the whole thing in focus. DOF also depends on focal length, focal distance, and (as mentioned) aperture. For certain shots, you can make it appear as if you have a greater DOF by using a long (telephoto, aka high-zoom) lens.

 

[mushimushiyo]

go make a photoshop tutorial hehehehhehehehehehehehehehheh <3

-Mushi

 

[GoTham-R]

Incredible guide. Good job

 

[BradenGT]

Can anyone tell me how to get my saved pictures from my PS3 to my computer? I want to be able to email, make desktops, etc.

 

[strtgng]

Great guide - thank you!!

 

[gtsomething]

As a photo nut, I just wanted to add in a word about how aperture and focus play a role together. To a very good approximation, the depth of field is about 1/3 in front of and 2/3 behind the focal point. For a car facing towards you, if you got a DOF of about 2.5 meters, you'd want to focus somewhere around the front of the front door to get the whole thing in focus. DOF also depends on focal length, focal distance, and (as mentioned) aperture. For certain shots, you can make it appear as if you have a greater DOF by using a long (telephoto, aka high-zoom) lens.

Thanks for the in depth explanation! I plan on adding a focal length section too, and will be sure to discuss how it affects DOF. I had originally planned to do it from v1.0, but since I didn't like my sample images, I never added it in.

Can anyone tell me how to get my saved pictures from my PS3 to my computer? I want to be able to email, make desktops, etc.

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=131913#post4083723

 

[Dan360]

Hey gtsomething, I noticed a spelling mistake. On chapter 10, on the second photo of the Evo vs. 350Z LM, it says, 'crass'. I think you mean 'grass'. Great job on the guide by the way. 👍

 

[gtsomething]

Thanks for spotting that Dan360! It's been fixed now.

Also, added the HDR section.

Although section 9.0 says coming soon, it probably won't be until next weekend, I have far too much school work to finish it this week, sorry guys!

 

[breezy]

how do you make your pictures look so realistic? I have pictures taken at same angle(different cars, but still premium) and you can completely tell their from a game. does editing contrast and brightness and such help with the realism factor?

 

[EViL*ViSiON]

Great guide!
Informative and funny.

 

[uvelocity]

Kudos. Nice writing style too. Well done.

 

[birdyy]

Great guide. Thanks.

 

[gtsomething]

Thanks for the feedback guys! It's much appreciated.

how do you make your pictures look so realistic? I have pictures taken at same angle(different cars, but still premium) and you can completely tell their from a game. does editing contrast and brightness and such help with the realism factor?

Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure how to answer this question. Part of it is the angle yes, the other part is your camera settings, overall composition, and uh.. yeah lol. Contrast and brightness does help a little bit with the realism factor, but it all comes down to how you use it and how much of it is used. I am gonna do a section on "How to make photos look real", or "more real" I should say, so I don't want to give everything away just yet xD. I will however leave you with a riddle! The most important part of making GT5 images look real is the detail...

In order to get more detail, you must take away detail.

I'll answer that riddle when I put the section up in about a weeks time

 

[pokerphob]

Just wanted to say thank you. I learned some new tricks I didn't know about.

 

[crazy88uk]

Well, that's my lunch time at work all gone. Thanks dude, great read! Can't wait to get on GT5 tonight and try out some of this stuff.

 

[JediRage]

Can you tell me how to blur out the surroundings of a car when the camera is standing a little farther away from it?

I'm talking about the San Gimigano location in front of the steps to the church (also the Piazza del Campo) where there are a lot of people milling around. The ones in your post explaining the aperture has a close up of the car, but what if I want to get the whole car in the picture, and blur the people and the buildings, but show just enough detail in the buildings to have a nice background for the car. Quite a tightrope yes?!

 

[gtsomething]

Just wanted to say thank you. I learned some new tricks I didn't know about.

You're welcome! I'm glad to know that I've been of some knowledge

Well, that's my lunch time at work all gone. Thanks dude, great read! Can't wait to get on GT5 tonight and try out some of this stuff.

Heh, sorry about your lunch xD. Have fun in photomode.

Can you tell me how to blur out the surroundings of a car when the camera is standing a little farther away from it?

I'm talking about the San Gimigano location in front of the steps to the church (also the Piazza del Campo) where there are a lot of people milling around. The ones in your post explaining the aperture has a close up of the car, but what if I want to get the whole car in the picture, and blur the people and the buildings, but show just enough detail in the buildings to have a nice background for the car. Quite a tightrope yes?!

Although it's my examples are close ups, the concept is essentially the same. For example, if we take your first photo, and just cut off the sides so it were square, then it would look... almost the same, the amount of blur produced would vary slightly just because the zoom lengths differ slightly. From what I can see, your f/stop setting is simply too high, all your images are clear and sharp in all areas. Your second image can also relate to my examples in the HDR section, where I gave the background clock tower a bit of a blur, but you could still tell that it was a clock tower. That was at f/2.0, if it's too blurry, then step it up a bit to f/2.8, or f/3.2 (Would have to press triangle and go into the actual camera settings to do this) or even f/4.0. A more side-view example would be the first image here of my recent batch of photos. That first image has a f/stop of f/2.8, and again, if you find the blur to be a bit too blurry, step it up to about f/3.2 or f/4.0. Just keep it low, and experiment at different aperture levels. Hope this helps!

 

[JediRage]

Although it's my examples are close ups, the concept is essentially the same. For example, if we take your first photo, and just cut off the sides so it were square, then it would look... almost the same, the amount of blur produced would vary slightly just because the zoom lengths differ slightly. From what I can see, your f/stop setting is simply too high, all your images are clear and sharp in all areas. Your second image can also relate to my examples in the HDR section, where I gave the background clock tower a bit of a blur, but you could still tell that it was a clock tower. That was at f/2.0, if it's too blurry, then step it up a bit to f/2.8, or f/3.2 (Would have to press triangle and go into the actual camera settings to do this) or even f/4.0. A more side-view example would be the first image here of my recent batch of photos. That first image has a f/stop of f/2.8, and again, if you find the blur to be a bit too blurry, step it up to about f/3.2 or f/4.0. Just keep it low, and experiment at different aperture levels. Hope this helps!

Thanks, I'm going to try what you suggested. I was using a high f/stop of around f/22 to f/45 but I didn't know it could be fine tuned by decimals in the triangle menu. I figured since this was photo travel, I could get all the details to make the car look realistic but saw these pesky Matrix agents in the way!

I saw your example of the Mitsubishi against the clock tower, but that probably requires some editing and I only have iPhoto for now so I'm holding off any complex editing temporarily.

 

[Terronium-12]

Fantastic thread, man.

Considered it subscribed to. 👍

 

[HumanDestroyah]

Great tutorial, Enjoyed your Flickr gallery

 

[SkyBreaker]

This is amazing. I'm sure that the next time I try my pics will be awesome (for once)
I don't have any pics now (power outage corrupted my save data and game data...)
but I guess I can turn over a new leaf the next time I play

 

[gtsomething]

Thanks, I'm going to try what you suggested. I was using a high f/stop of around f/22 to f/45 but I didn't know it could be fine tuned by decimals in the triangle menu. I figured since this was photo travel, I could get all the details to make the car look realistic but saw these pesky Matrix agents in the way!

I saw your example of the Mitsubishi against the clock tower, but that probably requires some editing and I only have iPhoto for now so I'm holding off any complex editing temporarily.

Yeah, your f/stops are definitely too high lol. When it comes to photo travel, you would almost never want to use such high aperture settings. There are a few occasions in replay photomode that you would want to use higher apertures like that though. To get the finished look in the clock tower picture, yes that requires some editing. But the "Original Image" in the HDR section has no editing what so ever. The background blur was created simply by using a lower aperture setting.

Fantastic thread, man.

Considered it subscribed to. 👍

Thanks for the sub!

Great tutorial, Enjoyed your Flickr gallery

I'm glad you like my Flickr, thanks! 👍

This is amazing. I'm sure that the next time I try my pics will be awesome (for once)
I don't have any pics now (power outage corrupted my save data and game data...)
but I guess I can turn over a new leaf the next time I play

Thanks for the feedback. But ouch, that's gotta suck having your data corrupted. Silly PD and them not allowing us to back up our saves... Anyway, hope you have better luck with your new file, and I'm looking forward to seeing some great photos.

 

[mert255]

take a look at my flickr and give me some Feedback pleaase !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xxmertxxps3/

 

[Big Ron]

Thank you very much for your great work and explaination of every tool in GT5-photo mode 👍👍👍

 

[Shaun]

Nice write up for people who have a limited knowledge of photography, easily understood.
Well done mate.

GT5 camera is quite impressive, the only thing I find missing is the shutter speed only goes down to 1 second (correct me if i'm wrong as i've only had a quick play around with photo mode so far), it would be nice to go slower or a bulb setting for night shots where you see the streaks of tail lights if you know what I mean.

 

[MoLiEG]

Superb!!! Impressive!!! Thanks pal!!!

 

[gtsomething]

take a look at my flickr and give me some Feedback pleaase !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xxmertxxps3/

A lot of your shots on the track need a slower shutter speed so it doesn't look like the car is sitting there. Almost all your shots need a lower aperture so that the buildings don't look extremely sharp.

Thank you very much for your great work and explaination of every tool in GT5-photo mode 👍👍👍

Thanks for your comment!

Nice write up for people who have a limited knowledge of photography, easily understood.
Well done mate.

GT5 camera is quite impressive, the only thing I find missing is the shutter speed only goes down to 1 second (correct me if i'm wrong as i've only had a quick play around with photo mode so far), it would be nice to go slower or a bulb setting for night shots where you see the streaks of tail lights if you know what I mean.

Thanks, and you're right, it is 1 second shutter speed at the slowest in photo travel mode. In replay photo mode however, it's only down to 1/60, I wish it could go slower in both modes actually. I prefer shooting cars at 1/30 if flawless panning were possible, and a bulb feature would be really useful in photo travel as well, especially for that one San Galgano location, assuming the stars move, it would be neat to get some star trails in a photo.

Superb!!! Impressive!!! Thanks pal!!!

Glad you liked it, thanks.

Update Report: I was technically done school on Wednesday... except for a project which was due on friday, which no one could finish on time, so now it's extended to Monday. And so some time after Monday I'll get working on this again.

 

[JediRage]

It seems like the GT5 camera only produces background blur when the car/object you are focusing on is very close to the camera. I tried lowering the f/stop number as much as possible, even to 1, and it doesn't produce a good background blur if the car is farther away. I tried on Ahrweiler (trains) and Ahrweiler (the one with the courtyard and big building). It also seems like some part of the car has to be in the center of the image but that spoils the idea of the shot I'm trying to take.

Now, how did this guy (Shiparch) get this image of the Italia with such good blur?

Thanks

 

[vikonic123]

It seems like the GT5 camera only produces background blur when the car/object you are focusing on is very close to the camera. I tried lowering the f/stop number as much as possible, even to 1, and it doesn't produce a good background blur if the car is farther away. I tried on Ahrweiler (trains) and Ahrweiler (the one with the courtyard and big building). It also seems like some part of the car has to be in the center of the image but that spoils the idea of the shot I'm trying to take.

Now, how did this guy (Shiparch) get this image of the Italia with such good blur?

Thanks

To get the desired effect you sometimes have to move closer/further away from the car and then zoom in/out, make your f-stop something like 2.0 or 4.0.

As far as getting things in focus, they don't have to be in the center. Simply point to what u want to focus on, hit SQUARE, and then re-aim the camera to your final composition.

 

[JediRage]

I see, so the auto focus button is actually useful When I used it in the beginning it always seemed to me that my image was off-center somehow. That the camera was choosing a new center for the image automatically. Will try out what you suggested.