New to photography

Challynger said:
Anyone know if there's a photography forum out there that's as awesome as AGO?
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As was suggested, the Fred Miranda forum is an excellent resource as well as Photo.net. Both have specific Nikon forums with very helpful, friendly people. I started out with a Nikon D40, then a D90, and now have a D7000. The first place I started my learning curve with the different cameras was on the Nikon site. Very informative video tutorials on each camera. I agree, the Nikon manuals are somewhat dry and difficult to get through, but if you're that type of learner (which I'm not), you can usually find stuff if you dig enough. There are a ton of really good basic photography books out there, so check those out as well. (One of my first was Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure".) Have fun with your new camera!
 
One thing to remember with most DSLR's is the cmos that captures the image is of a size "APS-C" where the lens isn't actually a true magnification of the focal length.

APS-C will have a 1.5~1.6 multiplication factor, (Canon 1.6 and your Nikon 1.5) In real world use that 100mm lens will 'act' like a 150, basically it will have a focal length that would the same as if you had a full frame sensor and a 150mm lens. Which means that 18~55 is a 'true length' of 27~132.

It does that because the cmos isn't the full 35mm frame size that you'd get with a old school 35mm "film" camera. There are full frame DSLR's but they are not cheap! :eek: I'm a Canon guy, and the cheapest unit they have that fits that bill is the 6D @ $1699 or the 5DMkIII @ $2800 for the body only! (I keep hinting to my family that I'd be a really happy boy with the 5DMkIII but somehow they don't seem to catch my drift.) :rolleyes: Considering the 'body' and the lens (70~300 F4 L) I want would be $4500 I guess that's why they keep getting hard of hearing. :laughing:

Just keep that in mind when you go to shoot wide angle as 27 is as wide at that lens will go. (Although that's plenty wide.) Just if you do buy some prime lenses (prime means it doesn't zoom, and is a fixed length).

In the meantime, shoot EVERYTHING. :) Play with all the features. Shoot in manual mode as much as possible or if you have it, try auto exposure bracketing that'll push the exposure just below center, dead on and just above and you'll get some nice shots. Also remember to use the flash when outdoors if the sun is behind your subject, or if your subject is in the shade (called 'fill flash').

No such thing as taking too many shots. ;) Considering if you are printing anything at all you'll likely end up with about 10% of your shots 'keepers'. Last time my daughter and I went to Europe I shot about 4600shots in 2 weeks, culled them out either on the spot or at night when transferring the cards to a portable hard drive/card reader and ended up with about 2800 'keepers'. Later when we got home we culled them down to about 400 that were worth printing! :dunno:
 
Znig22 said:
I just received my Nikon d3200 with a 18-55 lens. First off can someone tell me what the 18-55 means and also is this going to be sufficient for capturing clear coat flaws? It's bad weather out so I can't really play with it. I have read that a 40mm lenses does best up close, Any input on this as well?
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You have received some good suggestions.

Here are mine.

DO READ the manual and have the camera with you and try the functions as you go. Very important to get familiar with the camera.

For now, the kit lens is just fine.

I have seen the best equipment with the best lenses produce below average results, and amazing shots with P&S cameras. It is the person behind the camera that makes the difference. Each and every time.

Flickr: The Nikon D3200 DSLR Pool - study these pictures. This will give you a very good idea about what is possible with these cameras. Not all are with the kit lens though. You have to click on the "Additional info" link to see what lens was used. Sometimes it is not listed though. Anyway.

You will learn about F stop, ISO, and shutter speeds. (Understanding Exposure is very good book to have)

However, there are many other functions within your camera that will affect the outcome of your pictures.

Set your metering to "multi zone"

Since you will shoot Jpegs for now, play around with contrast, sharpness etc... in camera and see what gives you the best results.
Always take the largest pictures, in case you need to crop a lot.

Leaving everything on default/auto is like getting a rupes 21 and using it with a finishing pad on speed 1 only.

Get a tripod, even if it is inexpensive. When on a tripod, make sure to turn off the VR (vibration reduction) on the lens. To get the sharpest pictures, you always want a tripod. If the camera is on a tripod, you can keep your ISO at the lowest setting. The higher the iso, the more "noise" (grain) you will see in the pictures, which you don't want for your car shots.

Aperture: Set to this setting, (for now) instead of AUTO,

The wider the Aperture /F stop is (low number like 2.8), the less is in focus. We do not want that for car shots - here is an example at F2.8


PB080003.jpg by savingspaces33, on Flickr

Very beneficial for portraiture photography though.

The smaller the Aperture/Fstop (high numbers like F8 for your camera) the better it is for something like landscape or car shots, where you want everything in focus. With car pictures, that is what we want to shoot for. You want the whole car in focus like this. The down side with smaller Aperture is that the shutter will be longer and if hand held, you will get a fuzzy picture. (Use a tripod)


_B040022.jpg by savingspaces33, on Flickr

There are other factors still, but I think this is enough for a starter. I love photography, so if you have any questions, ask and if I know the answer, I will help you.

Again, fredmiranda.com: Specialized in Canon - Nikon SLR Cameras, Forum, Photoshop Plugins, Actions, Reviews, Hosting and Digital Darkroom is the AG of photo forums
 
goodinblack said:
Get a few prime lenses later on.

Some really great and cheap ones are

50mm 1.8g
35mm 1.8g

The 40mm lens is said to be a close up lens........ however by the time you get that close to your subject.. the lens is not getting enough light.
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+10000. The 'nifty fifty' is great.

An 80~85mm lens will look through the lens about the same as standing and looking. Because your Nikon is a 'crop sensor' (won't get into that, but basically your focal length is actually a little 'more' than what's on the lens), that 50mm 1.8g will get approximately the same results as an 85mm lens on a 'full sensor' body. That means that when you have the 50mm lens on, whatever you see, is what you'll see through the Camera. Not zoomed in, not zoomed out. That's really awesome for car pictures and other static subjects as you can 'zoom with your feet' and get a feel for the shot, then take it.

Prime lenses are generally sharper too. The 50 1.8g is one of the SHARPEST lenses you can buy on the cheap. Especially at a little bit higher aperture settings (f/8, f/9, etc.). I shoot a Canon myself, and Canons equivalent (the 50 f/1.8) is razor sharp at f/9.

The OTHER thing they can do, is at a LOW aperture setting (like 1.8) they can be amazing low light lenses. No flash necessary!

Good luck! Photography is a wonderful wonderful hobby! I'd suggest reading up on it a lot!

Also; one tip. Do some reading on how to shoot the camera manually, really study it, buy a book (or four). Then, when you think you've got the hang of it; go 'film mode'. Take some painters tape and cover your rear LCD screen, then drive to a park or maybe even a car show (If you want to take car pictures!). Adjust your settings using the display inside of the viewfinder, and use your cameras built in meter (You'll learn about this as you read) and take lots of photos. When you get home, remove the painters tape, and see what you need to improve on. So many digital photographers 'chimp', that is, they are constantly checking their pictures on the back before taking the next one. That is the awesome advantage of digital. However, if they were more confident in their ability to get the shot right the first time, then they would take better pictures and miss none. Really being forced to 'shoot blindly' and make good settings choices is awesome experience. I do it all the time; it's a fun exercise!
 
KillaCam said:
Wow great advice in this thread! Keep it coming
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What else do you want to know? :props:

Here is one by one of the great French photographers:

Your first 10000 pictures are your worst.

OP - keep it simple, get used to your kit zoom - that will take some time. The issue with primes for us is that many times they are the wrong focal length. They are almost always sharper, but what good is it if you can't take the right shot? Best to invest in a very good zoom down the line. Imagine, you want a close up shot and you have a wide angle lens on the camera. Now you need to change lenses, but you are in a shop and using 105. You don't want to get dust on the sensor. :dblthumb2: With a zoom, you are safe and a lot faster as well. This is just my opinion from MY experience.
 
This is your camera/lens combo - you can clearly see how much of a difference a better lens make compared to the kit lens. in the above set.

500px / Search
 
Lets hold off on suggesting the op consider more expensive lenses. The op hasn't stated his intended use, other than car details. I think it can be discouraging to receive a new toy only to have others negating it by saying you need better.

Fact is, what the op has will work fine for the intended use and will help the op learn. Then, once the op has a grasp on his or her own shooting preference, they can consider a spendy glass upgrade.

For now, learn with what you've got!
 
StangFan25 said:
Lets hold off on suggesting the op consider more expensive lenses. The op hasn't stated his intended use, other than car details. I think it can be discouraging to receive a new toy only to have others negating it by saying you need better.

Fact is, what the op has will work fine for the intended use and will help the op learn. Then, once the op has a grasp on his or her own shooting preference, they can consider a spendy glass upgrade.

For now, learn with what you've got!
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Exactly!
 
This has been so helpful. It really is helping me feel more comfortable with my camera. I did my first photos on a vehicle today. I'm not really pleased with them but I'm trying.
 
Zach that is a great write up and really helped me with a even better understanding with questions I had. I have so much to learn.
 
Znig22 said:
Zach that is a great write up and really helped me with a even better understanding with questions I had. I have so much to learn.
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Welcome to the wonderful world of photography! It can be even more addicting than detailing :dblthumb2:
 
Znig22 said:
This has been so helpful. It really is helping me feel more comfortable with my camera. I did my first photos on a vehicle today. I'm not really pleased with them but I'm trying.
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Id suggest you post your images and ask for tips, suggestions and general critique. This is a great way to improve. Being able to see where you're at with your skills will allow us to better help you.
 
I posted pictures today in the show and shine of a black Lexus rx350 I'm not sure how to add a link yet but the headliner is "Lexus Rx350 full detail"
 
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