Another digital SLR thread.....

shawn474

Well, my wife got me a DSLR camera for an early birthday present. I have been wanting to get into photography for awhile now and she found an offer that she jumped on. I had been looking at the Nikon and Canon and they have long been out of my price range so I gave up. She found a Pentax *ist DL entry level camera with 18-55mm lens brand new in box for $270. I have read the reviews and despite its low 6.1 mp it seems to be highly reviewed (even though it has been discontinued).

I work at a university and am able to take free classes. This summer I am going to enroll in the intro to digital photography course and see where it takes me. I am pretty excited and have been futzing around with it over the weekend.

Are there any "tricks to the trade" that I should know about? I am so new to this that reading the owners manual is pretty intimidating. Also, I have read that I can use older pentax lenses on this body. I would like something in the range of 80-200mm to go with the lens that came with it. Any suggestions?

timlitton

If you're a beginner, check out this book:



The Digital Photography Book
with Scott Kelby

This isn't a book of theory—it isn't full of jargon and confusing concepts. This is a book that tells you exactly which button to push, which setting to use, and over 100 of the most closely guarded "tricks of the trade" to get you shooting dramatically better looking, sharper, more colorful, professional looking photos with your digital camera every time you push the shutter.

Here's another thing that makes this book different: each page covers just one trick, just one single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you'll learn another pro setting, another pro tool, another pro trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. There's never been a book like it; if you're tired of taking shots that just look "OK," and if you're tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, "Why don't my shots look like that?" then this is the book for you.

This one, and volume 2 have tips and tricks that are good for the beginner to the seasoned photographer. Like: Get tack sharp focus with the mirror lockup. Adjusting fill flash against natural backlight to avoid that deer-in-the-headlight look. Lots and lots of good tips.

Scott Kelby is a trainer for Adobe and owner of Kelby Training along with being a kick-**** photographer.

jcaut

IF I can locate it, I've got a copy of vol. 2 of that book by Scott Kelby that I'll give you. Sort of an "instant, you-win Karma" type thing. Book two deals a lot with lighting and flash and off-camera lighting, but there's still a lot of good information there for a beginner. PM me an address.

shawn474

PM sent. Thanks so much; I am very appreciative.

Take Care,
Shawn

Shizelbs

Yes, that Scott Kelby book is full of good stuff. It gives you good tips, and in doing so, it indirectly teaches you how the camera works. I feel that is a symptom of good writing.

FYI, you can get into the Nikon, and likely Canon, stuff used for that budget.

My one tip for making better pictures easily, buy an external add on flash. Being able to change the flash angle helps tremendously at times.

shack

http://www.pentaxforums.com/

shawn474

shack, thanks for that link. I have already joined and got some great advice. I remember you being pretty big into photography and posting a bunch of pictures. Any advice you want to give is certainly appreciated. I seem to remember one of the airshow with the blue angels; that one in particular made me want to follow trough with this hobby. I am content with my stereo (for now), so I guess I will get this hobby going in the meantime.

shack

shawn474 wrote:

Any advice you want to give is certainly appreciated.

First and foremost. LEARN YOUR CAMERA.

Next learn to take photos WITHOUT using the Green Auto setting. Otherwise just go get a point and shoot.

This is a good primer about how to manipulate the settings on your camera and what that will allow you to acomplish (beware...it is from a Canon fourm)

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=414088

And here is a detailed review and good info about your camera...
(it has several sections - go through all of them)

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/istdl.html

shawn474 wrote:

I seem to remember one of the airshow with the blue angels

Unfortunately not mine....

shawn474

Thanks again shack. I saw that review and read it before I bought the camera. It seems like the camera is well reviewed (especially as an entry level). Some of the pictures that I have seen from beginners with the same set-up are pretty astonishing. I am really excited to get started and learn this hobby.

I went through the threads and saw that it was someone else with the blue angels pics (jcaut, I think). But, the pics you have posted have impressed as well. Hopefully one day I can get to that level.

Thanks foe everyone's advice and help. hopefully i can share some pictures worthy of sharing soon.

66chevyIISS

Congrats on the new Camera! You should get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Post up some pictures once you get comfortable!

The Blue Angel thread might have been mine? but my pictures aren't good enough to inspire people lol so probably not.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70765&highlight=blue+angels

dkg999

New owner of a Nikon D60, so I'll be investing in that book! I also found a local camera store in Rockford IL that has a lot of digital camera courses that they give for free. I'll be attending many of those.

Shizelbs

dkg brings up a good point. Find your best local camera shop. They are a gold mine of information and great service. The one I like has great staff, very friendly, super knowledgeable compared to me and they had great prices.

Chevy, do you ever go to Kenmore Camera?

shawn474

chevy, the one of the plane flying over the bridge is the one that I have been talking about. That picture is awesome; what ISO setting were you shooting at and what type of lens?

haimoc

shawn474 wrote: »

Well, my wife got me a DSLR camera for an early birthday present. I have been wanting to get into photography for awhile now and she found an offer that she jumped on. I had been looking at the Nikon and Canon and they have long been out of my price range so I gave up. She found a Pentax *ist DL entry level camera with 18-55mm lens brand new in box for $270. I have read the reviews and despite its low 6.1 mp it seems to be highly reviewed (even though it has been discontinued).

I work at a university and am able to take free classes. This summer I am going to enroll in the intro to digital photography course and see where it takes me. I am pretty excited and have been futzing around with it over the weekend.

Are there any "tricks to the trade" that I should know about? I am so new to this that reading the owners manual is pretty intimidating. Also, I have read that I can use older pentax lenses on this body. I would like something in the range of 80-200mm to go with the lens that came with it. Any suggestions?

Taking class is your best route. Don't rush buying lens until taking class.. Until then, you know what you want.. Good lens are expensive.. many regret from buying cheap lens..

You might want to research on a good tripod before taking class...

haimoc

shack wrote: »

First and foremost. LEARN YOUR CAMERA.

Next learn to take photos WITHOUT using the Green Auto setting. Otherwise just go get a point and shoot.

..

Great advice, shack...

66chevyIISS

Shizelbs wrote: »

Chevy, do you ever go to Kenmore Camera?

Nope never been there. I will have to check them out now though. Didn't know about them.

shawn474 wrote: »

chevy, the one of the plane flying over the bridge is the one that I have been talking about. That picture is awesome; what ISO setting were you shooting at and what type of lens?

Shot in AV mode using a pretty big, and insanely exspensive lens (I was able to borrow this thanksfully, I don't own it).

You can pull the exif on all my pictures since I don't strip them personally, but for that particular one:

Camera: Canon Rebel XTi
Mode: AV
Lens: Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/1250
Aperture: F/3.5

haimoc

Add another site to the thread: www.photozone.de has great reviews on SLR lens.

jdhdiggs

shack wrote: »

First and foremost. LEARN YOUR CAMERA.

Next learn to take photos WITHOUT using the Green Auto setting. Otherwise just go get a point and shoot.

Just use A for automatic, or M for magnificant! That's all you need!

Wait... why do I only get all whit or all black pics...

goingganzo

also get a uv hase and a polorier filters.
i love my digital rebbel i got a telefoto with IS and itrocks 3 frains a seccond in burst mode.