tips for my new camera?

Question

i am going to be purchasing a nikon d40 slr. with most digital cameras i noticed it has alot of options for taking pictures, like outdoors, low night, flash, no flash, etc. i was wondering if its better to use a camera on auto to get the best pictures or to use it manually so i make all the choices? i know most of it is trial in error but i want to get the best pictures, and most of my worries is when or when not to use the flash. any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I usually put my on auto..
perfect photos everytime!

Answer 2

If you leave your camera on "Auto" all the time you may as well save your money and just buy a simple point & shoot digicam.

One of the main reasons for a DSLR is the creative potential it gives you. Interchangeable lenses. Off camera flash. Deciding which mode to use and when and why - Aperture Preferred or Shutter Preferred or Manual.

Once you have your new camera, find a comfortable place and begin reading and studying the Owner's Manual. Take it one section at a time, learn it, practice with it and then go to the next section. Having the DVD and/or Guide from Magic Lantern for your camera certainly won't hurt. Learning to use your camera shouldn't be "trial and error". It should be done logically and step by step.

Taking a photography course would be an excellent idea.

Answer 3

If you are going to drop the cash for a DSLR, (even if it's a D40), you should learn to use it manually. If will give you a better control on how your pictures turn out.

I have a Pentax K10D, a few months ago I bought a lens with a 1.4 aperture. In manual mode I can take advantage of the large aperture whenever I want, in auto mode the camera chooses the aperture for me and I have no control over what value is used.

The old saying "there are more than one ways to skin a cat" applies very well to photography. Learning to operate a camera manually gives you tons of options on how your final photo will look, auto mode will only give you one.

F-Stop

Answer 4

First and foremost, spend some quality time with your user's manual. I know the first tendency is just come out guns blazing and take pictures, but while the battery is charging, take some time to read the manual. This will save you a lot of time in case you have a simple question you can't figure out; if you remember where it was in the manual, you won't have to spend time on places like here waiting for an answer.

Second, I'm going to go against the grain here and actually advise you to NOT shoot on the automatic mode. In all honesty, I've found that auto mode frequently produces the worst photos, and you have no control over it! You have an extremely powerful and capable camera in your hands...don't let it do the thinking for you! When you learn how various exposure factors (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, even metering mode) affect your picture, then you will really be able to achieve that joy when the picture you imagined shows up on your LCD. Now, enough with the philosophy, here's a few techniques I would suggest:

1) If you're not comfortable with full manual (M) mode right away, stick to A (aperture priority) or S (shutter speed priority) mode. Experiment in these modes and adjust the settings to see how they affect your picture result. Notice, for example, in aperture mode, what happens as you dial in a smaller aperture (a larger number like 8 or 11)- what happens to your shutter speed? What then happens if you adjust the ISO rating? My main point is that this will be a lot of trial and error at first, and it may be really frustrating- a lot of people (myself included) are frustrated initially with digital SLRs because they don't produce the same images our previous point and shoots did. There is a learning curve, so stick with it.

2) As I mentioned before, stay away from the auto modes. If you have to use an automatic mode, use P mode. This at least allows you to adjust ISO and control whether or not the flash pops up, and (maybe) the focus point. This will at least let you have some idea and control over the exposure. While the other modes like sports are convenient, I find the guesstimates in that mode are rarely accurate.

3) Grab some supplemental books or join some photo forums to get advice and feedback on your photos. A lot of people recommend Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" which I think has a "digital" version, but I'm not sure. Some websites I can recommend are listed in my sources. I have been going to DPReview for a little over 3 years, and it has been my mainstay when it comes to photography forums, but I'm sure others will have a few to recommend.

4) In relation to flash...one of the critical exposure factors to monitor to see if you need flash or not is the shutter speed. Generally there's a rule that the minimum shutter speed to have to achieve photos without blur is 1/focal length, so if you have a 18-70 lens at 70mm, you should aim for about a 1/80 shutter speed at minimum to get a reasonaly sharp photo. If your shutter speed dips below this, then consider popping the flash. Flash can help to freeze motion when you're below the 1/f.l. rule.

Another situation where you will want to consider using flash is outdoors if you're taking pictures of people in shaded areas. Sometimes the camera's meter will be fooled by the bright background and set a fast shutter speed, causing your subjects to look like shadows. Try taking shots with and without flash to see if it improves.

An important subject to research (hint, user's manual) is flash exposure compensation, which will raise/lower the output of the flash. FEC is measured in +/- "stops", just like the meter in your camera, so if you want more flash, move FEC towards the + sign, less flash moves towards the - sign. Just remember if you adjust it to move it back to the middle "normal" level before your next engagement.

I hope this helps you get started. You've made a great investment, and it will pay off for you in the long run- the most important bit of advice I can give you from personal experience is to take as many photos as you can as frequently as possible, and look for help when you need it. Good luck!

Answer 5

I normally use auto, but sometimes I have no choice. I do a lot of low light photography but my camera will only take pictures up to about one second unless I put it in night mode.

Answer 6

if you get a camera that does that for you(.the auto focus/manually) then you wont need to bother switching around all the time,it will just do it on its own! .