How do I...

[Happy_Mummy]

So hubby and I have decided that we have enough money to get Canon's T2i DSLR. I'm really excited, but a bit nervous. I really want to learn to use the more manual side of the camera. That said, I think at the beginning I will use auto and scene selection and take note of the lighting in the area and what the camera felt it needed for the photos.

My question actually stems from my first camera. When my grandparents no longer needed their camera it was given to me. If memory serves it was an Ashi Pentax, but I don't remember for sure. I do remember that it was an slr and from the reading I have done here I'm guessing that the lens was a prism lens since I could not zoom, but I'm not 100% sure that not zooming always means a prism lens, so I may be mistaken. Anyways, my brother taught me to use the camera, and basically his lesson was to set the iso to whatever the film speed was, then the focus was a ring that I turned on the lens and then there was what he called the light metre. There was a needle to the right side when I looked through the viewfinder. There was a plus sign and minus sign. For most shots he recommended having the needle in the very middle, and when I got my new camera (film point and shoot) I was just starting to understand what and when to use over and under exposure to get the shots I want. I know I can set the iso to what I want and I understand that the brighter the light the lower the iso I can get away with and that typically the higher the iso the less grainy the photo, but what exactly did the light meter do? and where would I find it on the T2i, or do I need to learn to play with other settings? ANy guidance would be helpful!

[Sterling]

I think you mean "prime" lens, not prism. Prime lenses have one fixed focal length.

typically the higher the iso the less grainy the photo

Perhaps a typo, but the opposite is true. The lower the ISO the less grainy (noisy) the photo.

What did the light meter do? It measured the light hitting the film and showed you how much there was by moving that little needle. If it was up by the + sign there would be too much light and the opposite at the - sign.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by Happy_Mummy

So hubby and I have decided that we have enough money to get Canon's T2i DSLR. I'm really excited, but a bit nervous. I really want to learn to use the more manual side of the camera. That said, I think at the beginning I will use auto and scene selection and take note of the lighting in the area and what the camera felt it needed for the photos.

My question actually stems from my first camera. When my grandparents no longer needed their camera it was given to me. If memory serves it was an Ashi Pentax, but I don't remember for sure. I do remember that it was an slr and from the reading I have done here I'm guessing that the lens was a prism lens since I could not zoom, but I'm not 100% sure that not zooming always means a prism lens, so I may be mistaken. Anyways, my brother taught me to use the camera, and basically his lesson was to set the iso to whatever the film speed was, then the focus was a ring that I turned on the lens and then there was what he called the light metre. There was a needle to the right side when I looked through the viewfinder. There was a plus sign and minus sign. For most shots he recommended having the needle in the very middle, and when I got my new camera (film point and shoot) I was just starting to understand what and when to use over and under exposure to get the shots I want. I know I can set the iso to what I want and I understand that the brighter the light the lower the iso I can get away with and that typically the higher the iso the less grainy the photo, but what exactly did the light meter do? and where would I find it on the T2i, or do I need to learn to play with other settings? ANy guidance would be helpful!

You will see the light meter when you look through the viewfinder. It will be a small scale that will have small hash marks on it like a ruler. You can adjust your exposure by changes to the aperture and/or the shutter..you will see those changes on the meter's scale. When the the meter is centered = normal exposure for the shot. To the right of center = over exposed, to the left of center = underexposed.

[Happy_Mummy]

Sterling - yes you caught my meaning for both. I've been sick going on 3 days now while looking after my 3 kids, i think it is making me loopy. That really made me sound completely clueless! thank you for catching my mistakes!

autofocus - that does make sense, but how do you know which to adjust? I guess that is the art of photography... Thinking back I think there was was also a shutter speed wheel on the top of the camera, so the light metre that my brother called it must have adjusted the aperture. WHo knows how anything turned out given that I was clueless how iso, aperture and shutter speed worked together until I recently read Understanding Exposure.

[Sterling]

Thinking back I think there was was also a shutter speed wheel on the top of the camera, so the light metre that my brother called it must have adjusted the aperture. WHo knows how anything turned out given that I was clueless how iso, aperture and shutter speed worked together until I recently read Understanding Exposure.

Not quite. The light meter doesn't adjust aperture. It doesn't adjust anything. It just measures the amount of light. That old camera would've adjusted aperture via a ring on the lens itself. In simple terms, adjusting aperture, shutter speed, or ISO changes the amount of light and the meter shows you how much light you have to work with. Without a light meter, photographers would just have to guess until they got a combination of settings that work.

[Happy_Mummy]

Ok, maybe I didn't quite explain it clear enough. When I turned the ring on the camera that adjusted the light meter to get it to the "right" spot I'm guessing that would have been adjusting aperture.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by Happy_Mummy

Ok, maybe I didn't quite explain it clear enough. When I turned the ring on the camera that adjusted the light meter to get it to the "right" spot I'm guessing that would have been adjusting aperture.

I would say that's true...on today's cameras you'd make aperture changes by turning a small wheel on the camera body