DSLR camera help

[nebula]

SO I successfully traded up my Android Tablet for a good DSLR camera, and this is what I have coming next week.


The thing is, I have no idea about exposures, ISO etc- I know you can do some awesome things with a DSLR Camera (Well this one is called a Bridge, whatever that means)??

Is there a good definative source on working a DSLR camera- Anyone have any "Must Read" books etc?

Thought about maybe taking a photography class as well.

 

[luvmyparker]

The only books I read were the manual with my camera. (Well my point and shoot. I haven't touched the enormous book that came with my DSLR).

What I did was google "camera terminology" and learned what ISO, aperture, shutter speed and all that jazz actually meant. I learned most terms from A to Z. 

Then I found a free site that covers all the basics. I spent hours upon hours reading it, writing stuff down and testing out the tips offered on the site as I went along. Not sure if I am allowed to post the link to it but I will PM it to you, regardless. There is a lot of very helpful information on it to get you started.

I haven't heard of a bridge camera before...but from what I gather, its sort of in between a digital and a DSLR. (Hence the term bridge, I guess.) You won't find quite the same quality photos you would with an actual DSLR but you should still be able to turn out some great pictures with the options it has. 

 

[nebula]

The only books I read were the manual with my camera. (Well my point and shoot. I haven't touched the enormous book that came with my DSLR).

What I did was google "camera terminology" and learned what ISO, aperture, shutter speed and all that jazz actually meant. I learned most terms from A to Z. 

Then I found a free site that covers all the basics. I spent hours upon hours reading it, writing stuff down and testing out the tips offered on the site as I went along. Not sure if I am allowed to post the link to it but I will PM it to you, regardless. There is a lot of very helpful information on it to get you started.

I haven't heard of a bridge camera before...but from what I gather, its sort of in between a digital and a DSLR. (Hence the term bridge, I guess.) You won't find quite the same quality photos you would with an actual DSLR but you should still be able to turn out some great pictures with the options it has. 

From what a friend of mine told me, a Bridge is a Bridge between a point and shoot and a DSLR. Kind of like the best of both worlds. A point and shoot f you want that, and a more advanced manual type for the more daring photographer.

I got the link, thanks!! It should come very soon and hopefully will be able to post some pics.

 

[zohdee]

I don't mean to go off topic but it is kind of on topic .

What really is the difference between a digital camera and a DSLR?  When I looked at your link I thought it was a digital camera.  I am the most uninformed photographer around.

That camera on your link looks nice.  Will it take extreme close ups without a bunch of blurryness?  We like to take pictures of bugs and close ups of flowers but the cheapie I have always makes the end result blurry.

Thanks for starting this thread.  It will be educational for those of us who are complete dolts when it comes to cameras and operation.
 

 

[nebula]

I don't mean to go off topic but it is kind of on topic .

What really is the difference between a digital camera and a DSLR?  When I looked at your link I thought it was a digital camera.  I am the most uninformed photographer around.

That camera on your link looks nice.  Will it take extreme close ups without a bunch of blurryness?  We like to take pictures of bugs and close ups of flowers but the cheapie I have always makes the end result blurry.

Thanks for starting this thread.  It will be educational for those of us who are complete dolts when it comes to cameras and operation.
 

A DSLR is closer to the old SLR manual 35 MM cameras, only digital.

To answer your questions: Yes it will be able to take closeups without blur (a very cool thing to do is  blur the background and keep the subject clear- like this



Here is a good link that shows the difference.

http://www.geek.com/digital-camera-buyers-guide/point-and-shoot-or-dslr/

From the above site:

"Digicams make up the vast majority of consumer digital cameras on the market. Usually, they cost between $100 and $300, and are simple point-and-shoot affairs. A digicam has an electronic viewfinder on a built-in LCD display, and generally takes care of everything short of zooming without any user input, including focus. They often also have a lot of fun novelty features, like automatic smile detection, fun image filters, or even automatic YouTube video conversion. They are fantastic choices for almost everyone with a totally casual interest in photography.

The problem with digicams, though, is also their greatest benefit: they take control out of the hands of the user. For professionals then, or amateur photographers, digicams won’t get the job done.

For these types of photographers, a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera is the way to go. Think of DSLRs as a high-end 35mm camera to the digicam’s Polaroid Instant. Digicams sacrifice user-friendliness for user options and quality. A DSLR allows a photographer to change out lenses, manually focus, capture photographic effects like depth of field (probably the signature aesthetic of DSLR photography), and balance color and light within the camera. DSLRs offer better quality photography, plain and simple… but only in the hands of photographers who know what they are doing with one. DSLRs aren’t cheap, though: they start at $500, but can easily cost thousands of dollars."

Now this DSLR I am getting, is on Sale for $106. It normally runs about $400- and since this article DSLR cameras have come down in price tremendously.

 

[zohdee]

Ohh...nice pic.  Thank you for sharing!!  Great pic..just the type of close up I am looking for.
 

 

[nerdrock]

The camera in your link is a bridge camera, still a lot more shooting options than most point and shoot cameras and a good place to start learning. A true DSLR will still cost you upwards of $500 for the body only (new, extremely base model, no lenses). My mom is in desperate need of a new DSLR, on Friday we're going to pick that up for her and it's $1699. I need a new "kit" lens, but I won't be getting that for awhile. A couple of the major differences between bridge cameras are the ability to change lenses, accessories (flashes, cable releases, etc) and sensor size. 

You'll find that you won't get pictures like the one you posted without a lot of light. When you're that close to the subject, unless you have a really good aperture and stable lens, your shutter speed will be too slow and the picture will be blurry because (generally) a flash will be too strong that close. Of course there are always exceptions with different subject and depending on your ability to hold the camera absolutely still during a long exposure (or if you can use a tripod in that situation). To blur the background you will need to open up the aperture (the lower numbers; f1.8, f2.8, f4), the more open the aperture (lower the number) the more blurred the background will be. If you want infinite depth of field (extremely clear background) you need to make the aperture extremely small (f22, f16, f11). Your camera will probably have a couple of different manual modes; M - completely manual, you control everything, A - aperture priority, you control the aperture, the camera chooses the best shutter speed, T - shutter priority, you control the shutter, the camera chooses the aperture and P - the camera does pretty much everything, but you can adjust it a bit, flash usually doesn't go off in this mode. I usually suggest that people start with A (aperture priority) and pay attention to what the camera is choosing for the shutter speed, then move onto T (shutter priority) and see what apertures it chooses, then start experimenting with the completely manual modes. I find that if people jump right into the completely manual mode, the usually get frustrated and live on P mode. You'll also learn how different scenes will affect your exposure and how to compensate for that - say sunset with people, if you want to silhouette them you would slightly underexpose it, whereas if you wanted to be able to see them you would overexpose. It can be really complicated but the best way to learn is to play with it and try not to get frustrated. Remember that for every good picture you see, there are probably 5-50 (depending on the subject matter) that suck. 

 

[luvmyparker]

The camera in your link is a bridge camera, still a lot more shooting options than most point and shoot cameras and a good place to start learning. A true DSLR will still cost you upwards of $500 for the body only (new, extremely base model, no lenses).
 

 I find that if people jump right into the completely manual mode, the usually get frustrated and live on P mode.

The Rebel XS and the T3 are both around $500. Both come with the 18-50mm lens. Well, at least they do here. 

I lived on auto with my Elph for most of the time that I had it, sadly. Manual on the DSLR is kind of intimidating but I started playing with it right away anyway. Setting a low shutter speed and playing with the lights at night was really fun to learn. Macro is really fun too but I really need a better lens for it. After spending 500 on the camera, I can't afford any lenses now.
Still though, its amazing how nice of shots you can get, even on P mode with a DSLR. 

 

[nebula]

So why is it called a Bridge?
 

 

[AbbysMom]

They "bridge the gap"

Bridge cameras are also often referred to as superzooms. As the name suggests they ‘bridge' the gap between DSLRs and compact cameras in some respects, offering a longer zoom range than traditional compact cameras (hence ‘superzoom').

From here:


http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/eq...ra-2011-our-top-5-superzooms-of-the-year.html

 

[nerdrock]

The Rebel XS and the T3 are both around $500. Both come with the 18-50mm lens. Well, at least they do here. 

I lived on auto with my Elph for most of the time that I had it, sadly. Manual on the DSLR is kind of intimidating but I started playing with it right away anyway. Setting a low shutter speed and playing with the lights at night was really fun to learn. Macro is really fun too but I really need a better lens for it. After spending 500 on the camera, I can't afford any lenses now.
Still though, its amazing how nice of shots you can get, even on P mode with a DSLR. 

They must have dropped since the last time I actually looked at them then. I bought my last camera about 2 years ago, I glance at the newer ones and play around with them when I'm in the stores, but I've never been a huge fan of the Rebel series because of how rough I am on my cameras, I have to get the ones with more metal in them, lol.