I decided to jump into the DSLR camera world and purchased a Nikon D5100. The D3100 had some great reviews and the D5100 is supposed to be a better camera. Hoping I didn't make a mistake, but it has to be better than my Sony Cyber-shot 12.1 camera (I hope).
Nikon D5100
- Thread starter mep
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Mark - I own a D3100 and very happy with it, the D5100 is of course a better one - my only caveat is the "portability" of the unit, but picture quality is great, at least for my needs. I was thinking to get an X1 from Leica (smaller size) but read some not great reviews of the unit.
Fernando-Thanks for the response. I was looking at the D3100 because it has received some great reviews, but I found that the D5100 wasn't much more money and was supposed to be better. I'm terrible at taking pictures, but this camera should take any excuses away from me for not being totally my fault.
LOL. I remember when I got my first SLR. When I got my pictures back I said to myself, WOW my point and shoot is a better photographer than I am!
Practice, practice, practice bro. Start with P mode skipping Auto and Scenes, move on to S, A then M. It will be worth it promise! You'll be taking great photos with any camera in no time.
LOL. I remember when I got my first SLR. When I got my pictures back I said to myself, WOW my point and shoot is a better photographer than I am!
Practice, practice, practice bro. Start with P mode skipping Auto and Scenes, move on to S, A then M. It will be worth it promise! You'll be taking great photos with any camera in no time.
First thing I will have to learn is what P,S,A, and M means. I assume that "A" means automatic and "M" means manual.
Congrats on the new camera Mark!
I was looking at a DSLR myself, but then Steve and Gary convinced me to look at the Canon Powershot S110. Since, like you, I'm terrible at taking pictures, I thought I'd be better served with a camera that has less for me to play with. I just leave it on AUTO and forget about it! I think a DSLR is the way to go though if you want to develop your skills as a photographer, so I look forward to seeing some nice shots coming up soon!
I was looking at a DSLR myself, but then Steve and Gary convinced me to look at the Canon Powershot S110. Since, like you, I'm terrible at taking pictures, I thought I'd be better served with a camera that has less for me to play with. I just leave it on AUTO and forget about it! I think a DSLR is the way to go though if you want to develop your skills as a photographer, so I look forward to seeing some nice shots coming up soon!
You are 10% of the way there
. P means program mode which is a form of automatic exposure. S is for Shutter priority which means you set how fast the image is capture and the camera sets the aperture (amount of light arriving at the sensor). A is the opposite and lets you set the aperture and the camera picks the shutter speed for you. M does mean manual where you are in charge of both.I have to disagree with Jack
and say that the best possible mode is "A" for aperture priority. The reason is that the look of an image changes depending on the setting for the aperture. Lower numbers mean less depth of field and higher numbers mean higher depth of field (more things in focus). When shooting a portrait for example, you want to set the aperture pretty low as to have the person stand out. Here is rather extreme version of that where I wanted just the lips in focus:
Here is a more "normal" use of it:
She is standing in a busy street corner yet you can't see any of that. Seems like a studio portrait.
Exact same thing works with animals:
Here is the opposite shot where you want everything in focus:
So for any image you need to decide the look using the aperture. Have the camera pick this and you are going to get random results. BTW, what you see in the viewfinder is with the aperture at its brightest/lowest value. Anything else will have a different look. With experience you can guess what that looks like. Your camera may also have a depth of field preview which can show this, albeit with much darker viewfinder.
Put the camera in A mode and shoot pictures of everything around you. You can start by shooting the keyboard on your computer. See if you can isolate one key vs many. Learn this and just 2-3 other rules and you can put out amazing pictures.
Have fun with your new camera!
Moving subjects may require S...
There are some great intro to photography books you could get. Kelby has some nice ones.
There are some great intro to photography books you could get. Kelby has some nice ones.
I said Aperture Priority was best? Where? I was just saying one should get familiar with the different modes so they can work their way to Manual. I suppose one could go practice with A before S. Doesn't or rather shouldn't matter much. In my case I found S easier than A to practice with because I like shooting my hyperactive kids and sports.
I guess the point is that Aperture, Shutter Speed, White Balance and everything else one can control are interrelated and the best way to see how these work for and against each other is to experiment.
I guess the point is that Aperture, Shutter Speed, White Balance and everything else one can control are interrelated and the best way to see how these work for and against each other is to experiment.
Did you ever notice that Canon and Nikon for the last 5 years never came out with a bomber- well two things why --first- that earthquake with it's mean partner Mr. tsunami knock out both company plants, but before that photo shop light-room had a lot to do with it, for everything is inside the programs now- today you can get a let's say a 12 m.p. camera run it through these programs and walla your a great photographer in an instant..now if you want to get even more out of you photo's. get into nik programs. then you will become a great photographer. what I'm saying is it's not the camera anymore it's the computer and it's tools..yes the world is a changing.. coming from the dark room and into light-room I have to say I could never get what the dark room gave me.. so enjoy any camera you have with these programs..hey I might get rid of my DX3 Nikon and get the new I phone coming out for it will have 12 M.P.insane right..
I said Aperture Priority was best? Where? I was just saying one should get familiar with the different modes so they can work their way to Manual. I suppose one could go practice with A before S. Doesn't or rather shouldn't matter much. In my case I found S easier than A to practice with because I like shooting my hyperactive kids and sports.
I guess the point is that Aperture, Shutter Speed, White Balance and everything else one can control are interrelated and the best way to see how these work for and against each other is to experiment.
No, Amir did, but we all missed it because his pictures are gorgeous so all we did was look and admire, sneaky little devil...
Both companies have had their struggles in the QA department...
That phone will not have the lens that really takes advantage of the pixel count...
That phone will not have the lens that really takes advantage of the pixel count...
Steve williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Steve williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
That's one of the reasons I also wanted a newer camera. It's wonderful to have both stills and HDvideo on one device!
Just to throw another basic thing at you, pay attention to the focal length you set on your (I'm assuming zoom) lens. Wider angle (lower number) not only increases field of view, but also depth of field, and stretches space. Going toward telephoto (higher number), yields not only a narrower field of view, but less depth of field (aka shallow focus), and compression of space. Like aperture on still subjects, choosing your focal length is one of the basic decisions you make when taking a picture. It's anything but just zooming to get the frame size you want.
A simple, telling exercise. Shoot a medium closeup (from chest up) of someone at the wide end of your lens, then step back and shoot the same size closeup at the long end of your lens (highest number) Do this outside in a place where there is space behind the person before you get to other houses, trees or whatever. Note how the subject and background look dramatically different, feel different, in each shot.
A simple, telling exercise. Shoot a medium closeup (from chest up) of someone at the wide end of your lens, then step back and shoot the same size closeup at the long end of your lens (highest number) Do this outside in a place where there is space behind the person before you get to other houses, trees or whatever. Note how the subject and background look dramatically different, feel different, in each shot.
Thanks for those tips Bob. Does anyone have any recommendations on a good photography book for beginners like me?
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