DSLR Newbie Question

[Algernonep]

Originally Posted by klr

No it's cool!

I bet you what happened was you read my post before I edited.

I wrote it, then re-read the original post and realized it was a D3000, not D300.

lol...
Okay then I'm not losing my mind...lol

[valarie]

Thanks to everyone for the great information. I went out riding around on the back roads in the country with my husband and son for the afternoon. I took a lot of pics, don't know how many of them were good, but we had a great time. We saw some really pretty things: hawks, turkeys, deer, longhorns, and some beautiful streams. I will try and post some once I get them uploaded. I have read a lot posts that mention F8 being the "sweet spot" on their cameras. I believe mine is on F4, should I adjust it?

[Algernonep]

Originally Posted by valarie

I have read a lot posts that mention F8 being the "sweet spot" on their cameras. I believe mine is on F4, should I adjust it?

It depends on the photo you are taking and it also depends on how you would like the photo look. Brian Peterson's Understanding Exposure helped me out a lot! I recommend reading this book. Also there are posts here on DPS that explains exposure. Remember practice.... You should practice so much that people always see you with a camera...

[DannyF1966]

There's nothing wrong with leaving the camera in "auto" mode to begin with, as long as you don't just randomly point and click with it. If it's in auto, then concentrate on things like composition, framing the shot, angles, subject matter, things like that. There are two aspects to photography, one is what the camera is doing, and the other is what you're pointing it at

[amotorkat]

Ive had my D5000 for a few months now, and Im still over my head with stuff to learn. I read usually an hour or two a day, more on the weekends on tips, tricks, etc... It never ends. I still have a long way to go, but already have seen night and day differences between then and now.

Ive moved on from being on auto setting. I shot a lot with auto and its pre-programmed scenes when I first got it, but also looked at the EXIF data of every shot just to see what it was doing.

Now, I carry the camera in P mode for the most part when just out and about, but if I have time, I will use the a, s, or m mode.

Its a lot to take in, but keep reading, and practicing. I practice a lot at home too. Its nice to set it up on a tripod and take the same picture with different settings and see the huge differences.

Check out the assignments section of this site, Its a great way to learn new stuff as well!