New to DSLR

[thehammer]

Hi Guys

I've been given a Canon 400D and not being very experienced I'm looking for some guidance. I have been having a play taking pictures of the kids, dog and the general surrounding areas and have been really enjoying it.

Does anyone know of any absolute basic websites I can visit to give me the basics of what to do. Also is there anything I should buy straight away to make use of it or should I wait a while till my technique improves?

Thanks

[Seight_Returns]

I always like the Magic Lantern Guides for finding my way around a new camera - contains the same level of detail as the manual but in a much less dry format.

The 400d has been out of production for a while now (but still a very capable camera, I have 2 of them!) and so the guide has been out of print for a while - but you should be able to find a second hand one on Ebay or Amazon Marketplace for almost nothing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Rebel-Magic-Lantern-...

[silobass]

Youtube is good for learning things. There's lots of tutorials for the 400d specifically but millions on general photography and techniques.

Scott Kelby has a few great books, I have the Digital Photography book part 1 but there are newer versions out and he's just released a "Best of" version which I assume is brilliant - he tells you what you need to do to get the shot rather than go on for pages about why you are doing it. Worth getting for sure.

[budfox]

Don't be tempted to just use a fully automatic mode all of the time. Most of your pictures will be fine, but to get the best out of a DSLR it's important that you understand the relationship between the "holy trinity" of shutter speed, aperture and ISO setting.

Understand those three, learn about composition, and you'll have 90% of the knowledge you need to take photos you'll be very happy with.

[Simpo Two]

budfox said:

Don't be tempted to just use a fully automatic mode all of the time.

Almost every DSLR owner seems eternally surprised when the flash keeps popping up, or annoyed when it doesn't. And their photos are often 1-2 stops underexposed.

In addition to what budfox said, read the manual. It won't tell you how to take photos or when to use which feature, but you will at least know where all the features are and what they do.

[ManFromDelmonte]

I'd echo all of the above but when it comes to features I would focus on the following:

How to change Shooting mode and what each one does (P, Av, Tv, M etc.)
How to change Aperture, Shutter-speed and ISO (and what changing each does)
How to change Autofocus settings (and what they do)

Most of the other features will be less important or just outright fluff.

[thehammer]

Thanks everyone some great info there.

I sat in my hotel room last night just switching the modes and other options (exposure, white balance etc.) also have a manual on the way. Was amazing how the colours changed in the photo just by changing these. I was just a bedside lamp that I was taking pictures of but gave some interesting results.

Obviously the great advantage between this and my dads old 35mm SLR that I remember never being allowed to touch as a child is not having to wait for pictures to be developed or the cost involved in finding out that your doing it wrong.

[covmutley]

I find youtube the best and easiest to follow.

Try froknows photo (he is a bit marmite) for basic settings etc, and also karl taylor photography.

get to grips with shutter speed, aperture and iso. Everything else is just subjective really (sort of!)

[ambuletz]

youtube is great for this. I highly suggest Mike Browne

I've watched many of his videos and I think they're perfect for someone starting out. Everything from the various modes to pulling off certain types of images. Plus he's british too. There are loads of videos out there from many different people, its just a case of seeing what you want to learn about and who you want to see it from.

[An Marcach]

This is a simple site that explains the basics and allows you to practice them on the screen

http://camerasim.com/apps/original-camerasim/web/

[LongQ]

Canon provide PDFs of User Guides on line.

http://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer_products/p...

HTH.