This is a stupid question

[Dawna]

I have a Nikon d60 and for the life of me I can't figure out how to change the shutter speed and/or the aperture setting. Maybe I don't have it right in my head help... if I have the camera set on aperture mode then I can change the shutter speed is this correct and when in shutter mode I can change aperture right? HOW DO I DO IT???? How do I do it on the camera? UGG my head hurts I really want to learn this stuff but I'm about to stick it in auto and forget it!!! Please help and no snickers please!!!

Dawna

[dcclark]

Originally Posted by Dawna

I have a Nikon d60 and for the life of me I can't figure out how to change the shutter speed and/or the aperture setting. Maybe I don't have it right in my head help... if I have the camera set on aperture mode then I can change the shutter speed is this correct and when in shutter mode I can change aperture right? HOW DO I DO IT???? How do I do it on the camera? UGG my head hurts I really want to learn this stuff but I'm about to stick it in auto and forget it!!! Please help and no snickers please!!!

Edit: Oops, I misread. When you're in Aperture mode, you control the aperture, not the shutter speed -- and vice versa! Everything below is written from that point of view.

The main control you need to use is the Command Dial. That's the little dial right about where your right thumb should be, on the back right of the camera. The Command Dial is essential to any SLR use.

When you're in Aperture or Shutter priority mode, that dial changes your aperture or shutter (respectively). You can see it change in the green LED display which shows up inside your viewfinder.

If you're in Program (P) mode, turning the command dial changes the "exposure set", meaning that it adjusts the automatically-chosen aperture and shutter to another equivalent exposure, but with a different aperture-shutter combination.

If you're in full manual (M) mode, turning the command dial changes the shutter speed. Holding the +/- button (on the top of the camera) while turning the dial adjusts the aperture.

If you're reviewing images on the screen, the command dial cycles through the images.

This is covered explicitly in the manual, incidentally.

[Chip]

Short answer is "you can't."

When in aperture priority, you control aperture only, and the camera controls the shutter speed.

When in shutter priority, you control the shutter speed only, and the camera controls the aperture.

That's why these are sometimes "semi-automatic" modes - you control part(s) of the exposure triangle, and the camera controls the rest.

If you want to be in charge of both aperture and shutter, you need to be in Manual mode. Sounds like you're ready to give Manual mode a try.

[Dawna]

Thanks for clarifying that David Aperture mode controls aperture and shutter mode controls shutter. This is what I am trying to do... I want to take a pic of a flower and blur everything else... I'm in aperture mode so I turn the command dial on the back ... it seem I can turn and nothing happens WHAT the Heck am I missing??? ok I just tried again and it turned out overexposed. OHHH I think I've got it its not the aperture I need to be in shutter for this right???? Now I need a good tripod!

[dcclark]

To get a blurred background, you want a large aperture. To set the aperture, you need to be in aperture-priority mode. If you have the kit lens, the best you can do is probably f/3.5 -- which is good, but not great, for blurring backgrounds.

Try setting the aperture to each of these values, take the same photo, and compare the results: f/3.5, f/8, and f/16. This will help you see what happens when you change the aperture.

[Dawna]

Thanks, are you for hire? hehe I AM SO NEW at this and I am learning on my own so THANK YOU for the help. I have a 18-55mm lens and a 55-200mm lens SO I need a different lens to get what I want???? So I was right to begin with aperture mode. So what about the waterfall thing? To blur the waterfall that's in shutter right???

[firebox40dash5]

You might not need a new lens to get the effect you want, but a 'faster' lens (lower f-number/larger maximum aperture) has less depth of field than a 'slower' lens. It sounds like you're trying to shoot macro with the flower, which is easier with a dedicated macro lens, such as the 105mm f/2.8 VR, or the 85mm DX f/3.5 VR. But it's not necessary to have a macro lens, you just need to get some distance between what you're trying to shoot (the flower) and the background- a larger aperture just shortens that distance. If your lens has more depth of field than that distance, you won't be able to get the background out of focus.

For the waterfall, yes, you want a longer shutter speed to create motion blur in the water. You'll quickly find that you want a tripod for longer shutter speeds, even with a VR lens.

The 3rd part is the ISO speed, just like film- lower ISO means less sensitivity, and less 'noise', higher means more sensitivity but more 'noise'.

Raising the ISO, using a longer shutter speed, and using a larger aperture all have the same basic effect (making the exposure brighter), but with different side effects. Respectively, more noise, a better chance of your picture being blurry, and less depth of field. Lowering the ISO, using a faster shutter speed, and using a smaller aperture all make the exposure darker, but will have less noise, less chance of motion blur, and more depth of field (and less sharpness due to diffraction if you use a very small aperture). If you can't get the effect you want at the right exposure with those settings, then you get into things like neutral density filters (allow a slow shutter speed or large aperture with too much light) and lighting (allowing you to use a faster shutter speed for less blur, lower ISO for less noise, or a smaller aperture to get more depth of field).

[Dawna]

OK here is a test shot...this is not the pic I wanted to show but for some reason the better one wouldn't download to my computer. (no really, I know that sounds like a line. hehe)

shutter 1/60
aperture f5.3
focal length 155mm