Not sure if this has been discussed before, but I'm getting pretty into it.

I'm starting to learn more about my camera (Sony Cyber Shot 5.1 Mega Pixel), but I've still got a ways to go...

Please share what you use, how well it's working out for you, and any tips you've got. Even use some of your own pictures for an example, if you would like.

Lighting seems to be one of my biggest problems, by the way. [:@]

 

Lighting will always be a problem with a point and shoot camera... go SLR and you can get better results in a wider variety of lighting.
With P&S, it's basically a requirement that you have perfect lighting, or your pictures will suffer. Manual adjustments on them are usually weak, and the lenses just can't take in enough light. There's a time and a place for P&S... otherwise, pick up an SLR. You could get an old D70 or Rebel for very cheap with a starter lens. My brother sold his Rebel for like 600 CAD, and that was over a year ago... since the XTi has come out, I am sure the old rebel is dirt cheap now.

 

Yay, another picture man. It's addicting isnt it?

I have a Nikon D80 with 3 different lenses now.

Does your camera have a full manual setting? If so you can do much much more with it. If you are able to change your shutter speed, f-stop number (aka aperture) then you can do some really cool stuff with your camera.

josh

 

No, there's not a whole lot I can change on my camera.

I'll definitely have to look into the SLRs, though.

Josh, what kind of differences do different lenses make??

 

Oh that sucks. Look for the "M" on the dial to change your shooting modes. You probably have a "P" or "A" or something right?

As for the lenses then make a big difference depending on what lens you have and what your are shooting. Here is what I have:

1. Sigma 28-70mm f2.8
2. Sigma 70-300mm f4
3 Nikon 60mm f2.8 Macro

Here is what all that means:

Sigma and Nikon are the brands. The nikon lens is much nicer than the sigma lenses because they have better glass in them and are just overall built better.
The XXmm numbers are the zoom. Once you get to SLR you don't really have a "10x" optical zoom or anything like that anymore. It's all measured in mm. The mm is the "Focal Length" of the lens. This is basically how far the lens is from the sensor. The Bigger the number the farther away the lens is which will result in a closer looking object. The smaller the number the farther the object is. The f number is the aperture of the lens or how much light the lens lets in. This is kind of confusing to understand because it's all backwards on how stuff works. LOL. The smaller the number the wider the lens opening is and will let more light in. The larger the number the smaller the opening is and the less light is let in. You can use this along with your shutter speed to get different exposures when taking pictures. You also use this to change the DOF or Depth Of Field when taking pictures. The more DOF you have the more things will be in focus in your picture. The less DOF the less things you have in focus in a picture. Here are some examples:


This picture was shot at a low f-stop number which gives me less DOF as you can see by the out of focus objects in the foreground and background. A general rule of thumb is if you want less DOF use a lower f-stop number. To get more DOF use a higher f-stop number.


This picture shows a huge DOF. As you can see the car is in focus along with the hill in the background. This was shot at a higher f-stop number.


Here is an example of the zoom capabilities of the 70-300mm lens. I was standing around 30 feet away from this when I took the picture.

Hopefully this helps some and I didn't confuse you to much. LOL

Josh

 

And I just looked up your camera and it looks like it has a manual mode.

josh

 

And I hear that Sony has an SLR with image stabilization built into the BODY... which might be a good way to go, as you can buy cheaper lenses.
My brother uses a Canon 30D, and he did have a couple of the Image Stabilation (IS) lenses, but he sold them and got a somewhat all-purpose L lens. He misses the IS at times, though.

So yeah, look into the Sony SLR with IS built into the body... would be a great first camera, I bet... although the body is likely pricey.

 

those pics are sweet, cant wait till i start contributiing

 

yeah older slr's can be had for pretty cheap. i just sold my old rebel for $300 and used that to put down on a new 40D. mmm 40D i cant wait til it shows up later today in the mail.

 

Nice to see some fellow photographers! I dont think I've posted any of my photos but here are a few of my favoritesand a link to my gallery (Isnt the biggest yet just getting too lazy to upload)

Oh and I use the Cannon Powershot S5 IS w/ a telescopic andwide attachments

EDIT: Click on the photo to expand

http://woodhead2k.deviantart.com/art/New-Years-73539095
http://woodhead2k.deviantart.com/art...-Lime-73278757
http://woodhead2k.deviantart.com/art...Shore-73235530
http://woodhead2k.deviantart.com/art...uette-76822153

Gallery: http://woodhead2k.deviantart.com/gallery/