Your average joe camera question

Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the whole
digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and always taking
pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures in full
auto mode. A few days ago I had taken the camera to a nice outdoorsy
setting and took some pictures (in full auto mode). Well, upon getting home
and downloading the pictures to a computer....all of them, for lack of a
better word---sucked!

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking into
the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is just to
satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures? As far as how do
you use your camera (I know every picture taking oppurtunity is
different)...but do ppl go full auto....S mode...A mode...totally manual?
It just seems that if you go totally manual...there seem to be other
settings on the camera to set beyond the standard F-stop/AP settings---like
the white balance and 1 other one which the name escapes me right now. LIke
I said, the whole thing now is a bit daunting to me. I want to regain my
power in taking over in the camera's settings but there seems to be a fair
amount to think about anymore as far as to what to set the camera at.

I am rambling.....but I am just curious as to how ppl take their
pictures....in what mode I should say.

Any help would be greatly appreciate.

"TSKO" wrote in message
news
Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the whole
digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and always
taking pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures in
full auto mode. A few days ago I had taken the camera to a nice outdoorsy
setting and took some pictures (in full auto mode). Well, upon getting
home and downloading the pictures to a computer....all of them, for lack
of a better word---sucked!

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking into
the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is just to
satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures? As far as how
do you use your camera (I know every picture taking oppurtunity is
different)...but do ppl go full auto....S mode...A mode...totally manual?
It just seems that if you go totally manual...there seem to be other
settings on the camera to set beyond the standard F-stop/AP
settings---like the white balance and 1 other one which the name escapes
me right now. LIke I said, the whole thing now is a bit daunting to me.
I want to regain my power in taking over in the camera's settings but
there seems to be a fair amount to think about anymore as far as to what
to set the camera at.

Why not first try P mode where you can vary either the aperture or the
shutter speed to suit your needs (called shifting the program). Also, can
you select the exposure point or bias it to the center of the view (don't
have any experience with your camera)?

Actually, manual exposure is not all that tough; but why not experiment with
P mode first?

White balance affects color and should be set to match the light source
(e.g. daylight or flash).

ISO is sensitivity and can be boosted for low-light shots or where you'd
like a fast shutter speed.

"Charles Schuler" wrote in message
. ..

"TSKO" wrote in message
news
Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the whole
digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and always
taking pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures in
full auto mode. A few days ago I had taken the camera to a nice
outdoorsy setting and took some pictures (in full auto mode). Well, upon
getting home and downloading the pictures to a computer....all of them,
for lack of a better word---sucked!

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking into
the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is just to
satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures? As far as how
do you use your camera (I know every picture taking oppurtunity is
different)...but do ppl go full auto....S mode...A mode...totally manual?
It just seems that if you go totally manual...there seem to be other
settings on the camera to set beyond the standard F-stop/AP
settings---like the white balance and 1 other one which the name escapes
me right now. LIke I said, the whole thing now is a bit daunting to me.
I want to regain my power in taking over in the camera's settings but
there seems to be a fair amount to think about anymore as far as to what
to set the camera at.

Why not first try P mode where you can vary either the aperture or the
shutter speed to suit your needs (called shifting the program). Also, can
you select the exposure point or bias it to the center of the view (don't
have any experience with your camera)?

Actually, manual exposure is not all that tough; but why not experiment
with P mode first?

White balance affects color and should be set to match the light source
(e.g. daylight or flash).

ISO is sensitivity and can be boosted for low-light shots or where you'd
like a fast shutter speed.


That sounds like a good place to start. Thanx for the info.

I never thought I would go digital because I consider myself a bit old
school when it comes to taking pictures...but for playing around, you cant
go wrong w/ digital.

If anyone else has anything to offer, I would appreciate it.

TSKO wrote:
Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the whole
digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and always taking
pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures in full
auto mode. A few days ago I had taken the camera to a nice outdoorsy
setting and took some pictures (in full auto mode). Well, upon getting home
and downloading the pictures to a computer....all of them, for lack of a
better word---sucked!

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking into
the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is just to
satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures? As far as how do
you use your camera (I know every picture taking oppurtunity is
different)...but do ppl go full auto....S mode...A mode...totally manual?
It just seems that if you go totally manual...there seem to be other
settings on the camera to set beyond the standard F-stop/AP settings---like
the white balance and 1 other one which the name escapes me right now. LIke
I said, the whole thing now is a bit daunting to me. I want to regain my
power in taking over in the camera's settings but there seems to be a fair
amount to think about anymore as far as to what to set the camera at.

I am rambling.....but I am just curious as to how ppl take their
pictures....in what mode I should say.

Any help would be greatly appreciate.

'Sucked' is not exactly a definitive description of your problems. If
you could be more specific, maybe post an image or two so we can see
what you are talking about. On the surface at least, all modern dSLR
cameras from any of the big makers - Canon, Minolta/Sony, Nikon, Pentax
(in alphabetic order in case some zealots charge me with bias) - do very
well with automatic exposure and focusing, and at a far greater speed
than is possible manually.

Lacking any detail to go on, some of the most common problems a
playing with the new camera and inadvertently altering some setting like
exposure compensation so that shots are incorrectly exposed; running at
very high ISO and getting noisy images; improper use of the various
metering modes, e.g. spot metering on the wrong tone; setting the image
size too small in order to get more shots on the card and then trying to
get good 10x8's; and more that don't come to mind.

Then there is the possibility that your shots are ok, but your computer
setup is not appropriate for handling images. What sort of monitor are
you using, and how old is it? Is it calibrated, or at least set for
6500K and a reasonable gray balance? Some lcd monitors are just plain
horrible for displaying images.

I set my camera to no exp. comp; either (P)rogram, or Av if I wish to
maintain a known aperture; ISO usually 100 to 400 depending on light and
motion factors, White balance to auto, unless I am in difficult lighting
and then I will custom balance from a neutral gray card, usually Adobe
RGB, and almost always shoot RAW. This is on a Canon, but a D50 should
be similar.


Tell us more,

Colin D.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Colin_D" wrote in message
.. .
TSKO wrote:
Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the whole
digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and always
taking pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures in
full auto mode. A few days ago I had taken the camera to a nice
outdoorsy setting and took some pictures (in full auto mode). Well, upon
getting home and downloading the pictures to a computer....all of them,
for lack of a better word---sucked!

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking into
the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is just to
satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures? As far as how
do you use your camera (I know every picture taking oppurtunity is
different)...but do ppl go full auto....S mode...A mode...totally manual?
It just seems that if you go totally manual...there seem to be other
settings on the camera to set beyond the standard F-stop/AP
settings---like the white balance and 1 other one which the name escapes
me right now. LIke I said, the whole thing now is a bit daunting to me.
I want to regain my power in taking over in the camera's settings but
there seems to be a fair amount to think about anymore as far as to what
to set the camera at.

I am rambling.....but I am just curious as to how ppl take their
pictures....in what mode I should say.

Any help would be greatly appreciate.

'Sucked' is not exactly a definitive description of your problems. If you
could be more specific, maybe post an image or two so we can see what you
are talking about. On the surface at least, all modern dSLR cameras from
any of the big makers - Canon, Minolta/Sony, Nikon, Pentax (in alphabetic
order in case some zealots charge me with bias) - do very well with
automatic exposure and focusing, and at a far greater speed than is
possible manually.

Lacking any detail to go on, some of the most common problems a playing
with the new camera and inadvertently altering some setting like exposure
compensation so that shots are incorrectly exposed; running at very high
ISO and getting noisy images; improper use of the various metering modes,
e.g. spot metering on the wrong tone; setting the image size too small in
order to get more shots on the card and then trying to get good 10x8's;
and more that don't come to mind.

Then there is the possibility that your shots are ok, but your computer
setup is not appropriate for handling images. What sort of monitor are
you using, and how old is it? Is it calibrated, or at least set for 6500K
and a reasonable gray balance? Some lcd monitors are just plain horrible
for displaying images.

I set my camera to no exp. comp; either (P)rogram, or Av if I wish to
maintain a known aperture; ISO usually 100 to 400 depending on light and
motion factors, White balance to auto, unless I am in difficult lighting
and then I will custom balance from a neutral gray card, usually Adobe
RGB, and almost always shoot RAW. This is on a Canon, but a D50 should be
similar.


Tell us more,

Colin D.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com


I know, I am not offering any real information.

I guess I just want to know basically is how ppl set their camera to take
pictures be it full auto..manual...A mode..P mode. What is the most 'used'
setting for someone who just takes pictures for fun. The average joe like
me. Is that too basic of a question?

Sometimes reading a manual can just sort of be 'confusing' a bit. I should
just go with what I know from using my 2020 and go from there.

I still forget that I have a digital camera and can play around with the
settings, as it were and not worry about wasting film.

"TSKO" wrote in message
news
Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the whole
digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and always
taking pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures in
full auto mode. A few days ago I had taken the camera to a nice outdoorsy
setting and took some pictures (in full auto mode). Well, upon getting
home and downloading the pictures to a computer....all of them, for lack
of a better word---sucked!

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking into
the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is just to
satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures? As far as how
do you use your camera (I know every picture taking oppurtunity is
different)...but do ppl go full auto....S mode...A mode...totally manual?
It just seems that if you go totally manual...there seem to be other
settings on the camera to set beyond the standard F-stop/AP
settings---like the white balance and 1 other one which the name escapes
me right now. LIke I said, the whole thing now is a bit daunting to me.
I want to regain my power in taking over in the camera's settings but
there seems to be a fair amount to think about anymore as far as to what
to set the camera at.

I am rambling.....but I am just curious as to how ppl take their
pictures....in what mode I should say.

Any help would be greatly appreciate.


You might find this website very helpful. Costs nothing to look :-) Good
luck !
http://www.digicamhelp.com/index.php

"TSKO" wrote:

'Sucked' is not exactly a definitive description of your problems.
If you could be more specific
...
I know, I am not offering any real information.

I guess I just want to know basically is how ppl set their camera to
take pictures be it full auto..manual...A mode..P mode. What is the
most 'used' setting for someone who just takes pictures for fun. The
average joe like me. Is that too basic of a question?

It's not too basic, it's just unanswerable, really. Lots of people
leave their cameras on the most automatic setting it has. Some find
that every once in a while something comes out not their liking, so they
use whatever setting is available to let them override this. Depending
on what it is they aren't liking, that could mean using A mode, T mode,
or M mode, or adding EV compensation, or changing WB, or changing ISO,
etc. Some find they often want to be making some of these settings.
And some virtually always do.

For me personally, I use P mode a fair amount of the time, with AWB, but
ISO set to 200 rather than Auto. If I don't like the exposure I see on
the review, I use EV compensation as a first defense. If I don't like
the aperture or shutter speed chosen, I use A or T modes, and/or change
the ISO if necessary. If I don't like the WB, I change that - but this
is completely unrelated to what exposure mode I am in. When I have a
fully manual lens on my camera, I go to M mode.

Sometimes reading a manual can just sort of be 'confusing' a bit. I
should just go with what I know from using my 2020 and go from there.

That's a good start. I'd recommend reading the manul, though, to see
what the camera can do, and when something jumps out at you as likely to
address whatever problems you are seeing, learn how to do that.

---------------
Marc Sabatella


Music, art, & educational materials
Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer"
http://www.outsideshore.com/

"TSKO" wrote in message
om...

"Charles Schuler" wrote in message
. ..

"TSKO" wrote in message
news
Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the
whole digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and
always taking pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures
in full auto mode. A few days ago I had taken the camera to a nice
outdoorsy setting and took some pictures (in full auto mode). Well,
upon getting home and downloading the pictures to a computer....all
of them, for lack of a better word---sucked!

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking
into the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is
just to satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures?
As far as how do you use your camera (I know every picture taking
oppurtunity is different)...but do ppl go full auto....S mode...A
mode...totally manual? It just seems that if you go totally
manual...there seem to be other settings on the camera to set beyond
the standard F-stop/AP settings---like the white balance and 1 other
one which the name escapes me right now. LIke I said, the whole
thing now is a bit daunting to me. I want to regain my power in
taking over in the camera's settings but there seems to be a fair
amount to think about anymore as far as to what to set the camera
at.

Why not first try P mode where you can vary either the aperture or
the shutter speed to suit your needs (called shifting the program).
Also, can you select the exposure point or bias it to the center of
the view (don't have any experience with your camera)?

Actually, manual exposure is not all that tough; but why not
experiment with P mode first?

White balance affects color and should be set to match the light
source (e.g. daylight or flash).

ISO is sensitivity and can be boosted for low-light shots or where
you'd like a fast shutter speed.


That sounds like a good place to start. Thanx for the info.

I never thought I would go digital because I consider myself a bit old
school when it comes to taking pictures...but for playing around, you
cant go wrong w/ digital.

If anyone else has anything to offer, I would appreciate it.


Couple of sites for you to snoop around on and get some
ideas:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d50/d50-settings.htm
http://www.bythom.com/d50guide.htm

The D50 guide by Thom is an "ebook" but many people
really seem to like it. I just got the D70 version 500+
pages or so but have not had a chance to play with it
yet (soccer games all weekend).

mikey

"TSKO" wrote in message
news
Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the
whole digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and
always taking pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures
in full auto mode.

Why would you use Auto mode when you know how to use manual? Auto mode
is for newbies who don't know anything about exposure control, or when
you ask your neighbour to take a shot for you, etc.

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking
into the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

There is nothing really daunting.

Forget about the instructions and do it the way you know works. Set
the camera in manual mode, adjust aperture and shutter for the
exposure you want to achieve, and start shooting. Digital cameras work
the same as film when it comes to exposures - the only difference
really is the recording media.

The only time you should need to use the manual is to learn about a
feature, or to find out how to adjust a specific setting or control
that you haven't used yet. Keep the manual handy for those times. I
just recently bought my third digital camera (Nikon D80 I bought last
week and had fun with it on the weekend), so I don't really have much
use for the manual since most of the controls are familiar, but I have
it in the camera bag in case I need to refer to it for a feature or
control I have yet to use.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is
just to satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures?

I use all of the settings in the creative modes (P,A,S,M).

I tend to use aperture priority mode the most for static subjects
because I like to have control over depth of field, be it shallow or
deep. For moving subjects, I often use shutter priority to get the
effect of motion I want. I use manual mode for odd shots like shooting
the sky at night, the moon, star trails, scenery, etc. But that's just
a very general guideline...I've probably used almost every mode on the
camera for all of the above, depending on what I want to obtain in the
shot.

The automatic modes with little pictograms, like full auto, portrait,
landscape, night portrait, etc., I generally have no use for them. I
always take a few snaps in each mode to ensure they work when I buy a
new camera, but I've never really had an interest using those settings
myself. They're on the camera for inexperienced users who don't know
how to adjust the camera to obtain the results they want.

In the end, who cares what others use? There's a reason why there are
so many different settings on cameras, and you selectively use the one
that best suits the conditions and your own personal needs.

"Bill" wrote in message
news
"TSKO" wrote in message
news
Okay....I had said in an earlier post that I am quite new to the whole
digital camera thing. I spent 20 years using a Nikon 2020 and always
taking pictures in manual mode.

Well, upon getting a D50 I got lazy and started to take my pictures in
full auto mode.

Why would you use Auto mode when you know how to use manual? Auto mode is
for newbies who don't know anything about exposure control, or when you
ask your neighbour to take a shot for you, etc.

I have vowed to go back to taking pictures manually but upon looking into
the camera manual instructions, this looks a bit daunting.

There is nothing really daunting.

Forget about the instructions and do it the way you know works. Set the
camera in manual mode, adjust aperture and shutter for the exposure you
want to achieve, and start shooting. Digital cameras work the same as film
when it comes to exposures - the only difference really is the recording
media.

The only time you should need to use the manual is to learn about a
feature, or to find out how to adjust a specific setting or control that
you haven't used yet. Keep the manual handy for those times. I just
recently bought my third digital camera (Nikon D80 I bought last week and
had fun with it on the weekend), so I don't really have much use for the
manual since most of the controls are familiar, but I have it in the
camera bag in case I need to refer to it for a feature or control I have
yet to use.

My question is, for your average joe photographer....and this is just to
satisfy my curiosity......how do ppl take their pictures?

I use all of the settings in the creative modes (P,A,S,M).

I tend to use aperture priority mode the most for static subjects because
I like to have control over depth of field, be it shallow or deep. For
moving subjects, I often use shutter priority to get the effect of motion
I want. I use manual mode for odd shots like shooting the sky at night,
the moon, star trails, scenery, etc. But that's just a very general
guideline...I've probably used almost every mode on the camera for all of
the above, depending on what I want to obtain in the shot.

The automatic modes with little pictograms, like full auto, portrait,
landscape, night portrait, etc., I generally have no use for them. I
always take a few snaps in each mode to ensure they work when I buy a new
camera, but I've never really had an interest using those settings myself.
They're on the camera for inexperienced users who don't know how to adjust
the camera to obtain the results they want.

In the end, who cares what others use? There's a reason why there are so
many different settings on cameras, and you selectively use the one that
best suits the conditions and your own personal needs.

Why would I go to full auto over manual? My wife! She would get tired of
me wanting to take a picture and setting everything on the camera the way I
wtd it set. So I got lazy and went to auto. That is my reason and I am
sticking to it!

LIke I said, it was just out of curiosity of what others use. No other
reason than that.

Its like when someone gets a computer for the first time and has no idea how
to use one. Its a bit overwhelming. I know, cameras stay the same as far
as aperture and F stops...etc etc.....be it film or digital.......but having
never used a digital at all....it just seemed like a lot at first to grasp
with menu settings and buttons I have never used before.

Like I said, it was just a 'out of curiosity' type of question. Thanx for
taking the time to give your insight to the whole thing.