hello people :-)

[spasm]

hi everyone, me names pete. im new to all this but have been studying my shutter speeds, apertures f-stops, and iso, and white balance very hard with the help of youtube which has some very useful vids and tutorials on understanding these important features and how to use them.
now ok im new so still got a load to learn, ive only got a nikon p100 bridge camera ive just bought thinking it would meet my demands but i was obviously mistaken. i went to the river this morning trying to get some nice pics which i did, but i was trying to take some nice slow shutter speed pics of the gushing water on the wier at the river. but i found that at speeds of 1/5 or even 1 second my aperture is limited to f.8 and i kept getting over exposed pics, they were basically white lol. its strange because this camera will go as slow as 8 seconds on the shutter speed but the aperture only goes to f.8 and it just dont work well. i had my iso as low as it would go being 160, and even tried playing around with the white balance. the slowest it would goand get resonably good pics is 1/125 at f.8, im guessing this is because it was very sunny, any advice would be greatly appreciated. im thinking now i need a full on DSLR and need to know of which is best for around £600 i know these have a much wider range on the settings, thanx

[Dodge]

Hi Pete, welcome to DPS forum.

[Biomech]

Really only 5? Crazy - you can get around this by using what is known as an ND or Neutral Density filter. It's really just a piece of glass or perspex that cuts down how much light gets through. Before splashing out for one or kit that will attach, try taking the same picture with a pair of sunglasses infront of the lens to see what happens

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by Biomech

Really only 5? Crazy - you can get around this by using what is known as an ND or Neutral Density filter. It's really just a piece of glass or perspex that cuts down how much light gets through. Before splashing out for one or kit that will attach, try taking the same picture with a pair of sunglasses infront of the lens to see what happens

Jamie, can you even get ND filters for a P&S?

[faeriegodess612]

Originally Posted by autofocus

Jamie, can you even get ND filters for a P&S?

Hey,.. if your knocking the sunglass suggestion when using a P&S,..dont. I've done that before, and it works. One of the oldest tricks in the book ,for things that are small enough to use it effectively.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by faeriegodess612

Hey,.. if your knocking the sunglass suggestion when using a P&S,..dont. I've done that before, and it works. One of the oldest tricks in the book ,for things that are small enough to use it effectively.

ahhh...who was knocking?? Let me repeat the question, "are ND filters available for P&S cameras?"

[RichardTaylor]

Cokin filters can be used on P&S cameras vis the Cokin Digi-Holder.
The Cokin Filter Systems

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

Cokin filters can be used on P&S cameras vis the Cokin Digi-Holder.
The Cokin Filter Systems

Thanks Richard, I knew they were available for SLRs, but didn't think they could be used on P&S's

[spasm]

any chance someone can answer my question please lol

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by spasm

any chance someone can answer my question please lol

To the best of my knowledge, pretty much all P&S cameras have f/8 as the smallest usable f/stop. It has to do with the considerably smaller sensor size in P&S cameras. You will already find some of your answers submitted in the previous posts. Being that your camera has some limitations, you will need to find a work around. For it to do what you want it to do you have to be able to control the light some way. By restricting some of the light (that's what an ND filter will help you do) or shooting the shot in a shaded area, you just may get better results.