Super new-be here! help with the basics.

[Photography~girl~]

Hello all,

I just joined this forum. I saw that OP had a forum and thought that you guys on here could help me tons!
I am VERY new to photography. Right now I have this Panasonic 5.0meg point and shoot camera. I went to a camera shop a few days ago and the guy there said that the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTI would be a good camera for me. Now just to get it. xD
Since I want to get into photography seriously, I thought I better learn the language. O_O
I am a bit overwhelmed. Okay, VERY overwhelmed. I really have no idea what all these letters and things mean. xD So I started to search online. Helped.......a little.
I've been reading some threads on here, and must say that you all are AMAZING photographs.
Anyway, so I was wondering if you'd be so kind to explain some, what you may call 'rather simple' terms to me.

ISO - what in the world does that mean? I see it often.

SLR -I know has something to do with lense. Sinlge Lense Reflex or something like that. But what does that mean? you only have one lense?

And that's all I've heard as of late, but I know there's something with the pixal count. [I kind sorta understand that....kinda]

Anyway, I was just wondering if you could give the basic info that will help me actually TAKE a good photo. Thank you much. =]

EDIT: I thought it might a good idea to add, that I am a High School student. =]

[gldiana]

Hi and welcome!

To jump to your questions:

xD is a memory card format, the smallest available (the one used on phones), it is compatible with SD so you can actually use an xD card on a camera that takes SD cards as long as you have the adaptor (usually sold with the card). It is slower, so I would stick to SD cards. SD means Secure Digital, btw (by the way).
ISO rates the sensitivity of the sensor (on film you would buy an ISO 100 film for sunny days, ISO 200 for overcast, ISO 400 for indoors... as general rule, etc.) As the ISO goes up on film, the grain gets bigger, on digital as the ISO goes up the noise increases. Still, today's best cameras cab push the ISO up to several thousands and still give better results than most ISO 800 film. Next generation of cameras coming out by the end of the year will be even better. On film you are stuck with a certain ISO for the entire film, on digital you can change it as much as you like to get better shots.
SLR means that when you look inside the viewfinder you are seeing through the lens that captures the image and not through a separate lens like it happen on non-SLR cameras. So you're actually seeing through that expensive piece of optics you purchased and what you see is much closer to what you get.
Feel free to ask anymore questions...

[Photography~girl~]

Hi and welcome!

To jump to your questions:

xD is a memory card format, the smallest available (the one used on phones), it is compatible with SD so you can actually use an xD card on a camera that takes SD cards as long as you have the adaptor (usually sold with the card). It is slower, so I would stick to SD cards. SD means Secure Digital, btw (by the way).
ISO rates the sensitivity of the sensor (on film you would buy an ISO 100 film for sunny days, ISO 200 for overcast, ISO 400 for indoors... as general rule, etc.) As the ISO goes up on film, the grain gets bigger, on digital as the ISO goes up the noise increases. Still, today's best cameras cab push the ISO up to several thousands and still give better results than most ISO 800 film. Next generation of cameras coming out by the end of the year will be even better. On film you are stuck with a certain ISO for the entire film, on digital you can change it as much as you like to get better shots.
SLR means that when you look inside the viewfinder you are seeing through the lens that captures the image and not through a separate lens like it happen on non-SLR cameras. So you're actually seeing through that expensive piece of optics you purchased and what you see is much closer to what you get.
Feel free to ask anymore questions...

Heh......sorry about you having to explain xD.[but thank you for, I honestly didn't know it ment something] I use it as a smiley.[once I told my parents xD ment something, they thought it might be a good idea to inform you all that I a High School Student. But i will watch my smilies from now on.]

Oh i think i get ISO. So I have to change my ISO depending on the weather conditions. If it's a bright day[or brither day] I need to keep ISO low and if it's a cloudy day I should put my ISO higher, is this correct?

[gldiana]

HAHA that was funny! Well, now you know what xD is to a photographer and I know what xD is to you!

xD

Yes, but don't limit ISO change for that. For example today was a very bright day but I was shooting pellicans at ISO 400 to get a faster shutter speed (light sensitivity increase = shutter speed increase).

It's great to have a high school student here. Learn as much as you can while you're young, it gets harder later... :-p

[Photography~girl~]

HAHA that was funny! Well, now you know what xD is to a photographer and I know what xD is to you!

xD

Yes, but don't limit ISO change for that. For example today was a very bright day but I was shooting pellicans at ISO 400 to get a faster shutter speed (light sensitivity increase = shutter speed increase).

It's great to have a high school student here. Learn as much as you can while you're young, it gets harder later... :-p

hahaha, yeah it is...though I won't use it on here any more. I would hate to confuse people.

Oh wow.....okay. So if I'm taking photo of a fast moving object[or animal] I would want my ISO to be higher so my shudder speed is higher?
And shudder speed makes what type of differance for what type of photos?
I know it has something to do with how fast the camera takes the picture, but when should I use what shudder speed?

Oh i am trying, though I must say it's kinda overwhelming right now. All this info I have to remeber can get tough. [and it's the basics! AH!]

[CG415]

Here is what helped me. I have only really been at this for about 7 months right now. But what I would look for is some books on the types of photography you are wanting to try and capture. Most of them explain all of the basics like Shutter Speed, ISO settings, F-Stops, blah, blah, blah... I still carry these books around with me as a referance when I am out taking photos.

The other way that I learned was to just play with the settings on my camera. I would take a couple of shots then change one of the setting weather it was the ISO, Shutter speed, or the F-stop. Then I would look a the differences in the shots and take note of what changed.

Trust me when I say I know how confusing all of this is but stick around here for a while and you will learn tons of great stuff. Everyone here is more than willing to share any and all of the information that they can.

Just remember to have fun, if you get frustrated, walk away for a while and come back to it and eventually you will have what I like to call an AH HA moment.

I hope this helps.

Peace,

Chris

[Photography~girl~]

Here is what helped me. I have only really been at this for about 7 months right now. But what I would look for is some books on the types of photography you are wanting to try and capture. Most of them explain all of the basics like Shutter Speed, ISO settings, F-Stops, blah, blah, blah... I still carry these books around with me as a referance when I am out taking photos.

The other way that I learned was to just play with the settings on my camera. I would take a couple of shots then change one of the setting weather it was the ISO, Shutter speed, or the F-stop. Then I would look a the differences in the shots and take note of what changed.

Trust me when I say I know how confusing all of this is but stick around here for a while and you will learn tons of great stuff. Everyone here is more than willing to share any and all of the information that they can.

Just remember to have fun, if you get frustrated, walk away for a while and come back to it and eventually you will have what I like to call an AH HA moment.

I hope this helps.

Peace,

Chris

Oh thannk you, Chris!!!! Can you give me some of the names of the books?
Right now I am just into nature. I really can't go any where for landscape[cept the beach. though I still have yet to catch a sunset on lake Mi] So I'm stuck with the flowers and bugs around the house. But that is okay. =]

Yeah I just got a note book[mom's idea], should help a lot. I went out today and tried what I just learned on some Black Eyed Susans. Twas happy with what I learned. =D But i will post those and ask for CC on them. =)

Anyway, thanx for the encouragement!

[CG415]

The two books that I have, and that have helped me quite a bit are:

"National Audubon Society Guide to Nature Photography" by Tim Fitzharris
"Nature Photography Field Guide" by John Shaw

They both have a lot of great information, and really do a great job of explaining things so that beginners can understand. They also cover a broad range of photography skills such as Macro, Landscape, Exposure, Motion Effects, and a whole lot of ofther useful information.

I have really been looking for a work book that has exercises in it but, I have not found one of those yet. How ever since we have started the Weekly Assignments here, I have found that is helping me a lot more.

I really hope this helps, and like I said if you have any questions what so ever by all means ask. Everyone is very helpful here.

Peace,

Chris

[Tom B.]

Hello and Welcome!

I will add my two cents worth here - by having a digital camera capable of taking THOUSANDS of picturers at a single sitting, take the time to experiment with all of the settings. Digital is great in that (a) you do not have to wait to see the results of your effort (no film development) and (b) you can shoot the same shot with many different settings to find what you like the best or returns the results you are hoping for! Do take notes as you experiment so you can look back and see what you did when you have a shot you really like! Practice, practice, practice and practice....Last, there are quite a few guys/gals who use this forum who will take hundreds of pictures at a single sitting - join the club!

Good Luck and you have come to the right place for great advice!

Tom B.

[Photography~girl~]

The two books that I have, and that have helped me quite a bit are:

"National Audubon Society Guide to Nature Photography" by Tim Fitzharris
"Nature Photography Field Guide" by John Shaw

They both have a lot of great information, and really do a great job of explaining things so that beginners can understand. They also cover a broad range of photography skills such as Macro, Landscape, Exposure, Motion Effects, and a whole lot of ofther useful information.

I have really been looking for a work book that has exercises in it but, I have not found one of those yet. How ever since we have started the Weekly Assignments here, I have found that is helping me a lot more.

I really hope this helps, and like I said if you have any questions what so ever by all means ask. Everyone is very helpful here.

Peace,

Chris

How funny I was looking at getting the John Shaw one!!!! That makes me feel good.

Yeah I think they will help me to, cept this one is macro.....man......I took a photo of this snail today[not bad] but I couldn't get as close as I wanted to.......

I do have one question.......I was reading in my camera book about Aspect Ratio. Sure I have 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9, but what does that mean?
When should I change that?
And my pic size? what is best to keep it at? Or should I change it for differant things?

[gldiana]

A book I think would help you a lot is National Geographic: The Ultimate Field Guide to Photography, you can also get it used for about half price (~$7, well spent). This has all the basics and some more advanced stuff that will come handy for a long time. Another way to improve quickly is to take an online course if you can afford it (I am starting an 8-week course today with best seller photographer Jim Zuckerman).

Shooting Quality (Resolution): always the highest. Remember: you can scale down but you cannot scale up (without losing quality).
Aspect ratio: DSLR usually have a locked aspect ration (4:3 or 3:2 depending on brand), which is dependent on the size of the sensor. 16:9 is not a photography ratio. What camera are you using? Rebel I seem to remember...?

[Photography~girl~]

A book I think would help you a lot is National Geographic: The Ultimate Field Guide to Photography, you can also get it used for about half price (~$7, well spent). This has all the basics and some more advanced stuff that will come handy for a long time. Another way to improve quickly is to take an online course if you can afford it (I am starting an 8-week course today with best seller photographer Jim Zuckerman).

Shooting Quality (Resolution): always the highest. Remember: you can scale down but you cannot scale up (without losing quality).
Aspect ratio: DSLR usually have a locked aspect ration (4:3 or 3:2 depending on brand), which is dependent on the size of the sensor. 16:9 is not a photography ratio. What camera are you using? Rebel I seem to remember...?

Oh thank you for the link! I'll deff check it out!
I am not sure about online courses.........if I had a choice, I'd rather do a one on one with a photographer. seem to learn better that way.....

Ah, so I should keep my camera at highest quality. but there is thing on there and it's called Pic Size and these are the options:5m, 3m, 2m, 1m and 0.3m. And idea what those are? Or what I should keep it at?

HAHAHA, I have a Panasonic little point and shoot thing, can't do a whole lot with it.
I am going to get the canon Rebel........YAY!

[gldiana]

Those mean 5 Megapixels, 3 MP, etc.
Since you have a point & shoot which is limited by a smaller sensor, highest number of MP doesn't always mean highest quality. Usually that works best when you have lots of light and less contrasty scenes. The best way is to shoot lots of different subjects/scenes/light conditions with all possible options and see what end result you get. Hurry up and move to the Rebel.

[Photography~girl~]

Ah, I get it....a lot of picture and note taking. gotcha. thanx. =]
I just went to camera shop sunday and the guy was like "this one is great." i'm like yay....I want to get it soon, but will use what I have now. -sighs- even though it's not very good.
But then I also know that I need to get a tripod....[I have one but it's sooo tiny, I had to put it on a small table outside today to when I shot the black eyed susans.....tiny I say.] soooo, I may have to go back and check those out...plus a camera bag...and do they make......camera covers?
When I go to the beach or take photos in snow[which we get a lot here in Mi] I'd hate for anything to get inside the camera. I hear sand grains and cameras aren't the best of friends.....

[bwmson]

Hey there,

I may be a bit late with the response (I'm new here), but I saw somewhere above in the thread that you were looking for some good books to start out with... I got a couple recently that I haven't completely read through, but seem pretty good at first glance. Check out one of the following (they should be pretty cheap on half.com or Barnes and Noble has them too.)

The Step By Step Photography Workshop by Adam Jones (ISBN 1-58297-216-8)
Digital Photography Masterclass by Tom Ang (ISBN 978-0-7566-3672-2)

I recommend starting with the Step by Step book, as it appears to really cover more beginner information than the latter does (that and its less than $10 on half )

bwmson