Hello From A Newbie

[Oblivion]

Afternoon everyone. Have been lurking around this forum for a little while and have just become the owner of a Canon 350D, up from a Fuji A303.

Currently still trying to work out everything this camera can do, with mixed results. I am amazed at how different images between Fully Auto and Program Auto are.

My problem at the moment is camera shake while using Program Auto over Fully Auto, so I think I am going to stick to that at the moment.

Seeing as I have been looking at everybody else’s photos, here are a couple of my better ones. Only had the camera a week and every time I go to use it its dark.

Comments always welcome. Look forward to learning a lot more.

[stevegreen]

Welcome mate.

You will find everyone here really friendly and helpful so any questions you have just ask, and don't be afraid to post pictures even if you consider them not to much good, you will generally get fairly constructive feedback if you ask.

If you are experiencing a lot of camera shake then i would guess that your shutter speeds are too slow. Have a read of the manual and don't be afraid to try the other shooting modes such as Av and Tv which control aperture and shutter speed respectively. You will be able to speed up the shutter speed by increasing the ISO as well, though this will increase noise in the image.

I found that using Av mode in the early stages helped me a lot to learn about depth of field so it's always worth experimenting. My advice would be to learn the basic and then get onto Manual (M) mode as soon as you can. Your understanding will increase so much quicker that way, and, as it'd digital, you can just dump any images that are really bad!

[Geordie Jester]

I agree with Steve about having a go at a different mode. If you know you need a fast shutter speed then prioritise that and so on.

I would recommend you think of using "A" or appeture priority for a bit. This is where you choose the appeture (how much light you are going to allow in), and the camera chooses the shutter speed that will expose the shot correctly. Its very powerful really. If you want a shot with a shallow depth of field then use a larger apperture (small f-number). This will blur the background in a portrait for example.

For a landscape then use a high F number to get everything sharp.

For the camera shake issues then whenever the light is poor use "A" mode and select a low f number to open the iris. This will mean that the camera will have to choose a high shutter speed.

If you use Av then the camera will tell you what shutter speed it is going to choose on a half-press. This will give you the chance to reconsider if its too slow to handhold, open the iris more and take the shot.

I use fairly old film SLR's and much prefer using A mode than the program modes on the Nikon. The priorty modes ensure that you are setting one of the variables and have control over the shot.

Completely manual is useful for the less standard shots, but to be honest I rarely need anything more than the +/- 2 stops compensation on the meter readings from the camera.

Have fun !

.

[beachy]

welcome oblivion, and nice to see another milton keynes guy on here, i think where a rarity much like the concrete cow's anyway all great advice from the above post,s, and you will alway's find someone on here to point you in the right direction, as there mostly a friendly bunch on here, so no question to big or small, enjoy

[Oblivion]

Hiya Beachy gota love MK I so want to take a pic of the new Faris Wheel at night.

Many thanks for all your comments guys. Will have a play with Av mode and see what happens. Will take stevegreens advice too and sit down with the manual.

[imcarm]

Originally Posted by Oblivion

Will take stevegreens advice too and sit down with the manual.

Lol - I always thought is was a prerogative for us blokes to *not* read the manual