- This topic is empty.
Absolute beginner needs help!
-
Hi to all,
I have just joined your forum and need bucket loads of help and advice. I have always had a keen interest in photography but never the time. Now I am hitting the big 19 plus vat age group and am getting a Nikon D70s as a present. After lots of research this is the camera I have chosen. Am I wise?. I have had an SLR and a digital camera up to now. The SLR I found took some great photographs for me but I never changed the settings, always used it on automatic. (This needs to change with my new one but I have not got a clue.) The digital camera I found was to slow in that by the time I pressed the button the subject had moved out of shot. I would be greatful for a fools guide to the Nikon D70s that would tell me what buttons and settings to press and adjust to for different shots. Lighting, exposure etc., (see I know all the jargon but thats it) I am glad I came accross this site as I am sure I will find it very helpful. Also if any one knows of a night time course for absolute beginners starting in Galway during the winter I would be very interested. Thanks to all in advance.
Hello Martina and welcome to Photography Ireland.
Interesting quesstions you ask.You ask if you are wise about the D70s, while I dont have one, its an excellent camera. Bear in mind that Nikon have a new D80 though, more info at http://www2.europe-nikon.com/details.aspx?countryId=20&languageId=22&catId=91&prodId=1175
But its really you that takes the photographs, the camera is secondary. Lots of people get comfortable with Automatic and a bit reluctant to stray from it. The more experience you get the more you stick with Manual.
As for learning more photography, theres a camera club in Galway, why not contact them, their website is http://www.galwaycameraclub.com/
Have fun
ahhh… yes. beware of the fully automatic mode!
BTW I feel your frustration with crap digital camerasHi Martina & welcome,
there are many reviews etc. available on the net regarding the D70. Here are a couple
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond70/
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d70.htmBoth of these are relatively easy to follow and jargon free.
There are also a lot of D70 users in this forum, who I’m sure would be only too happy to help with any questions.
Regards
Kevin
Hi Martina and welcome along.
You’re in exactly the same position I was in when I joined up. The only pictures I ever took prior to arriving here were on automatic settings. But you’d be surprised how much fun you can have simply learning through experimentation. Once you go digital, it doesn’t really matter how many mistakes you make along the way – that’s what 4GB memory cards are for! You can take all the photos you want until you capture the right one, and none of the cost of developing. And there are no end of helpful and experienced photographers here who are astonishingly unselfish when I comes to passing on tips on how to improve your skills. All I can say to you is enjoy yourself and have fun learning. I know I am. 8)
Ah, something I forgot to mention. It would certainly be worth your while to look at these two threads posted by Ciar?n.
https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=155
https://www.photographyireland.net/viewtopic.php?t=392
While these threads deal primarily with portraiture, there is a great deal of useful information to be gleaned from reading, both in terms of composition overall and metering and exposure in general. As a beginner myself, I can only pretend to understand all that’s being said, though the more often I read each one (I printed them off and refer back to them often) the more I’m beginning to get the hang of things. Enjoy!
Thanks for the replies. Found the links very helpful especially your links kevin.
Martina,
The best place to start is to come to an understanding of aperture and depth of field which is largely controlled by the option selecting wheel on left hand side.
On the selector wheel you are offered options – pictures for flowers = close-up (narrow depth of feild / faster shutter speed), mountains = landscape (wide depth of field, slower shutter speed), portait (medium depth of field / handheld shutter speeds), runner = sports (narrow depth of field / fast shutter speed)
but I’d go the other way with your new digital camera – work in the ‘advanced modes’ take lots of images, see where things go wrong and try again ‘oh the joys of digital photography’ with no processing costs
Modes that I work with:
M – full manual – stay out for the time being
A – Aperture Priority – I use this all the time, with Aperture controlled right hand front wheel selector – numbers in the view finder starting at 1.7, 2, 3.5, 4.5, 5.6, 8, 16, 22, 32 etc. Low numbers = shallow depth of field, high shutter speed and action frozen. High numbers = great depth of field, long shutter speeds and blurred movement.
S = Shutter priority to choose fast shutter speeds, shallow depth of field and action frozen
P = programme, nikon’s proramme algorithm where you take your chances to get what the camera thinks is best exposureHope this helps, but my best advice is join a camera club and ask lots of questions of other D70 owners who will be only too happy to help
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
