Bought a camera

[deltashad]

I've been after a decent camera for years. Now, I realise there's decent and good, this is decent, for me its the first proper camera, the reviews rate it as a starter camera.
I kept walking past the electrical store saying shall I? So the other day I did, and bought a Nikon D3100.

I have absolutley no idea how to use it.

[tenohfive]

I take it you've just got a kit lens to go with?

See about reading Understanding Exposure or something similar to get the gist of how to use your camera in the manual modes, get out and play with it, follow people on Flickr (so you can rip off their ideas) and then realise you can't anywhere near afford the kit you'll find that you desperately have to have. It's all good fun.

[deltashad]

Yeah, my brother's camera cost 3.5k not including all the other accessories he has. He does it professionally.

I hardly ever see him though and he's in London - me Romania. I only have one lens, the one which came with the camera, but I took it off auto and started playing with the buttons.
Haven't broken anything yet and I can tell the difference between the pictures. I'm off to youtube for some more hints

[MysteryLemon]

Nowt wrong at all with a D3100.

If you dont know how to use it, stick it on auto or P mode and just let the camera do everything for you. You can learn what all the other modes do as and when.

[Simpo Two]

I think he's gone beyond that already.

[dave0010]

I have a D3100 and it was my first proper camera. Your best friend if you want to learn about the camera is youtube. There are hours of videos from people explaining every little feature the camera has

Then if you want to learn what exactly each feature is for and why your would want to use it I would recommend this website

http://www.r-photoclass.com

Someone linked this for me when I was asking the same question and it helped me understand the basic principles brilliantly.

[deltashad]

This is a really interesting hobbie. I bought it primarily for taking photo's of cars, photoshop can only do so much, its a big learning curve, my cellphone just wasn't up to the job. I've been afraid of these 'grown-up' cameras for a long time.
I never knew anything about Aperature, Shutter speed or ISO until today. Now I can already control a photo much more to my taste. It's not as scary as I thought it would be. Auto is great, but under certain circumstances its just not what I'm looking for.

Taking a photo of the same subject over and over with different settings really helps.

Thanks for the great link Dave.

[Simpo Two]

deltashad said:

This is a really interesting hobbie. I bought it primarily for taking photo's of cars, photoshop can only do so much, its a big learning curve, my cellphone just wasn't up to the job. I've been afraid of these 'grown-up' cameras for a long time.

Sounds like you're off and away, I like your approach

deltashad said:

Aperature

Well almost

[deltashad]

Simpo Two said:

deltashad said:

This is a really interesting hobbie. I bought it primarily for taking photo's of cars, photoshop can only do so much, its a big learning curve, my cellphone just wasn't up to the job. I've been afraid of these 'grown-up' cameras for a long time.

Sounds like you're off and away, I like your approach

deltashad said:

Aperature

Well almost

Sorry, aperture.. (had to google that to make sure I got it right the second time).
I'm finding this guy really helpful for anyone who reads this who decided on the D3100
Youtube:
Nikon D3100 basic beginner operation guide

[Simpo Two]

Don't get too hung up on the make of camera. Photography is the same whatever you use, the cameras just have buttons in different places. When you passed your driving test it wasn't just for a Nissan Micra 1.0, it was for all cars. The camera is just an enabler.

[FussyFez]

I learnt ALOT from www.kenrockwell.com


Good luck and enjoy.

[budfox]

Whack it in "M" mode (manual) and learn how the holy trinity of ISO, aperture and shutter speed work together. There is nothing more important of a technical nature to understand.

Once you've cracked that look at things like composition, depth of field and exposure compensation.

Remember, you camera has a wealth of settings, knobs and control, but at it's most basic it is a very simple device.