Any good?

Lucy J

Lucy J

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Name
Lucy
Edit My Images
Yes
I have the following equipment... was wondering if I could get a few opinions on what it's capable of and if it's any good etc.

I have a Nikon D3000 with 18-55mm Lens and also a Nikon 55-200mm f/4.-5.6 AFS DX VR Lens.

I’m taking photos of pretty much anything at the moment...
 
Yes, it's REALLY good kit. You'll see a lot of superb photos taken with equipment a lot less capable. There was a recent link to an amazing fashion shoot taken on an iPhone.

Carry on taking pics and you'll find out what you enjoy photographing. Upgrade lenses before bodies as they'll make more difference.
 
I don't know the D3000, but I'm sure it is more than capable......
Use the right settings in the right condition, and It'll be great.

As you advance and learn more, you'll see that different modes in different situations will be very useful.
 
Perfectly fine kit. As siwhite said concentrate on getting the lenses before bodies. Maybe a 50mm 1.8? Just a touch over £100 and a brilliant piece of kit.
 
WP-UK said:
. Maybe a 50mm 1.8? Just a touch over £100 and a brilliant piece of kit.
Click to expand...

wont auto-focus on a D3000.....:nono:.... there is an AF-S version @ £300 I think

the lenses you have will cover ALL the basics as you learn

should you move indoors and need a "faster" lens - a 35mm AF-S 1.8 DX is about £170

should you get a tripod and use the 55-200 make sure you turn the VR "OFF"
as the lens will hunt for vibration, find none, and get very confused...!:lol:
 
Thanks for the info guys, here are some pics I took on Saturday at the Zoo...

I think for a first attempt they came out ok... There are a few more in my Gallery.











 
.
cricket [or locust] sex ...well that's a first ....!!!

like #6............:thumbs:
 
Lucy

posted image size............

in your PC when/if you edit your image, save a COPY as 800 on the longest side
and size <200kb --- [TP max size]

then when you upload to your gallery - and post - the image will be larger

if you know this , I'll shutup......:exit:
 
I didn't know this, I had trouble with uploading the images. I just opened them in photoshop, went to image size and reduced it to under 200k... not sure how i would keep one side 800? :thinking:
 
Lucy J said:
I didn't know this, I had trouble with uploading the images. I just opened them in photoshop, went to image size and reduced it to under 200k... not sure how i would keep one side 800? :thinking:
Click to expand...

cannot help you there as I use PhotoPlus X3

once the editing is done....I resize...to 800
then when i save ...it has a "quality % slider" which I reduce till the file size <200kb
 
may I comment on the camera data..?
take all with a pinch of salt as I'm only just learning to setup my D5000...:)

I notice your ASA rating is pegged at 800ASA
have you considered setting the ASA to "Auto" and then set limits

the apertures range from f4.8 - 5.6 so DOF is ok but some of the shutter speeds are high 1/1000 and 1/1600

this indicates lotsa light so means you could reduce the ASA for less "noise"
[the VR will help at lower shutter speeds of course]

also they are all set to "matrix" metering
this is perfect for overall exposure - but if you are shooting targets [like these 6] you may want to try "spot" metering if the background confuses the matrix setting

you're shooting in "Auto" - try A Aperture
set to say f5.6 for DOF, then adjust speed and ASA

before shooting for the day - I press the 2 factory reset buttons
then change anything to my choice eg Fine jpeg, white balance etc

this is in case i forgot what i did yesterday - like yours set to "cool white" for inside the zoo...................:D

hope that helps - John
 
You completely lost me haha

I'm literally just starting to TRY and use my maunal settings. I had the setting on 'P' and changed the ISO and white balance... don't really know what I'm doing to be honest :shrug:
 
Lucy J said:
You completely lost me haha

I'm literally just starting to TRY and use my maunal settings. I had the setting on 'P' and changed the ISO and white balance... don't really know what I'm doing to be honest :shrug:
Click to expand...

:lol::lol:...OK

firstly I dont know what the D3000 Nikon manual is like
the D40 and the D5000 are confusing - constantly jumping pages backwards and forwards
I got the David Busch Guides from Amazon - much easier to use... :thumbs:
also "Understanding Exposure" is a good read

if I may suggest....:)
press the two green reset buttons [simultaneously] - to reset ALL the options to default and start afresh

1..take a load shots on "Auto" - see what you like/dont like

2..change to P - in the viewfinder you will see ASA set to 200 [on mine]
using the thumb-wheel, you can change speed/shutter combination
- speed for moving
- small aperture eg f8 - f16 for increased DOF [Depth of Field]

3.. then try "S" or "A" depending on the subject

4...stay away from manual till you are happy with the above......:D

I would leave the ASA on Auto for now

change the White Balance on the Menu options if you need to [dont forget to reset later]

cheers.....John
 
any D3000 owners..?

:banana::banana::banana:................POST 2000..................:banana::banana::banana:
 
Yardbent said:
:lol::lol:...OK

firstly I dont know what the D3000 Nikon manual is like
the D40 and the D5000 are confusing - constantly jumping pages backwards and forwards
I got the David Busch Guides from Amazon - much easier to use... :thumbs:
also "Understanding Exposure" is a good read

if I may suggest....:)
press the two green reset buttons [simultaneously] - to reset ALL the options to default and start afresh

1..take a load shots on "Auto" - see what you like/dont like

2..change to P - in the viewfinder you will see ASA set to 200 [on mine]
using the thumb-wheel, you can change speed/shutter combination
- speed for moving
- small aperture eg f8 - f16 for increased DOF [Depth of Field]

3.. then try "S" or "A" depending on the subject

4...stay away from manual till you are happy with the above......:D

I would leave the ASA on Auto for now

change the White Balance on the Menu options if you need to [dont forget to reset later]

cheers.....John
Click to expand...

You've really blown my mind with these comments, I'm wondering if I'll ever know what it all means :thinking:
 
Lucy J said:
You've really blown my mind with these comments, I'm wondering if I'll ever know what it all means :thinking:
Click to expand...

DON'T PANIC........:cool:

read the book and the manual

put it on "Auto" for a few weeks - take one step at a time ......:thumbs:
 
I've had the camera since last year and have been using it on auto, to me they are just normal photos...

If i sit and change the settings one by one and take a photos on the room that's when I see changes...

So I need to get David Busch's Nikon D3000 Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)
 
See if you can get a copy of "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It will help you understand the terminology. Library should be able to get it.

Also asking lots of questions and experimenting is the way to go.

It's fun.:)
 
Get the book "Understanding Exposure". That will explain a lot.

Set ISO to auto (max 800), and try to use A mode as much as possible.

Your kit is fine for general photography work and will be loads better than a P&S. Primes are nice, but I would say a flash would be your best buy. A pic with the onboard flash looks a hell of a lot different to a SB400 or 600 bounced!
 
Lucy J said:
I've had the camera since last year and have been using it on auto, to me they are just normal photos...

If i sit and change the settings one by one and take a photos on the room that's when I see changes...

So I need to get David Busch's Nikon D3000 Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)
Click to expand...

1...ok then - time to use P for a while and see what changes are made when you alter the shutter speed/ aperture combination ?
sorry if you're past this already

2..yes - i did the photo the room , check and change a setting - useful
the biggest change I saw was the White Balance - especially setting it to Flash

3...Ken Rockwell has a User Guide for the D3000 (c) ..."here"
with links to other D3000 settings
 
cambsno said:
. A pic with the onboard flash looks a hell of a lot different to a SB400 or 600 bounced!
Click to expand...

Simon ...hope you dont mind.........

Lucy....the flash units Simon recommends have the facility to swivel the head and so "bounce" the light off adjacent surfaces

gives a better quality of light than the full-on harsh light from the camera flash
 
Hi Lucy,

If you already know this stuff I apologise but heres a simple description of the basics of using a camera.

The smaller the f number e.g. f2.8 &#8211; f4 &#8211; f5.6 etc the larger the aperture which means more light hits the sensor.

However the smaller the f number the shallower the depth of field. This means that less of your image will be in focus, for example, at f1.4 a dogs nose will be in focus but his eyes will not but at f8 the whole of the dog will be in focus.

More light hitting the sensor means that a faster shutter speed can be used which means that moving objects can be frozen.

If you cannot get a fast enough shutter speed using your chosen aperture, alter the ISO.
The higher the number e.g. 100 &#8211; 200 &#8211; 800 etc. the more sensitive the sensor becomes to light which means that the shutter speed can be increased.

Beware that the higher the ISO the more noise or grain will appear on the images.

The kit you have at the moment will enable you to take great pictures once you have sorted out the basics.

Cheers

Andy
 
Andysnap said:
Hi Lucy,

If you already know this stuff I apologise but heres a simple description of the basics of using a camera.

The smaller the f number e.g. f2.8 – f4 – f5.6 etc the larger the aperture which means more light hits the sensor.

However the smaller the f number the shallower the depth of field. This means that less of your image will be in focus, for example, at f1.4 a dogs nose will be in focus but his eyes will not but at f8 the whole of the dog will be in focus.

More light hitting the sensor means that a faster shutter speed can be used which means that moving objects can be frozen.

If you cannot get a fast enough shutter speed using your chosen aperture, alter the ISO.
The higher the number e.g. 100 – 200 – 800 etc. the more sensitive the sensor becomes to light which means that the shutter speed can be increased.

Beware that the higher the ISO the more noise or grain will appear on the images.

The kit you have at the moment will enable you to take great pictures once you have sorted out the basics.

Cheers

Andy
Click to expand...

That helps, thanks, I'll practise with that tonight. I need the idiots guide I think lol
 
No problem, it sounds complicated sometimes but once you get the hang of it its quite simple. A camera is just a box that lets light in really.
If you want to see the difference the aperture makes line 6 golf balls or apples and set the aperture to f3.5 (if thats as low as the kit lens will go) and focus on the centre one, take a pic and then change the aperture to f5.6 and do the same again (try and focus on the same spot each time) and do that all the way up to f22 you'll immediately see what a difference it makes.

Andy
 
Hmmm don't have any apples... or golf balls...

Will it work with beer cans? My other half has a lot of those! lol

I’m going to adopt you as my mentor lol
 
Im with you Lucy, Im getting the D5000 and I read the replies and it got me scratching my head. I always get worried when I read things like that, start to think that Im going to get frustrated by it all and not be able to drive the thing. I have short listed that book also, gets good reviews as well as the 'for dummies' books which have specific cameras, so see if they do one for yours.

I will be doing most things on auto first, just to get a feeling for the camera, and then start playing around.
 
HornetSting said:
Im with you Lucy, Im getting the D5000 and I read the replies and it got me scratching my head. I always get worried when I read things like that, start to think that Im going to get frustrated by it all and not be able to drive the thing. I have short listed that book also, gets good reviews as well as the 'for dummies' books which have specific cameras, so see if they do one for yours.

I will be doing most things on auto first, just to get a feeling for the camera, and then start playing around.
Click to expand...

Now I'm a little jealous, I noticed the D5000 just after I got my camera and it has video, which is one thing my camera is missing when it comes to family events. Damn it lol

Good luck to you. I have picked up so many different bits of info from the website so far. I have 3 PDF books which I read snaps of here and there at work. There's sooooooooooo much.
 
Make good use of the D3000's 'Guide Mode' - it is very good for beginners.

I am in the throes of showing my better half the basics of photography with a D5000. My suggestion would be to start in Aperture priority mode, set ISO to Auto, WB to Auto, and then you only have the one dial to worry about to control the aperture.

Edit: sorry to repeat others, note to self, read other posts properly.

Btw, those zoo pic's look perfectly fine to me.
 
Beer cans would do the trick, just line up a few and focus on the same point each time. :thumbs: Jobs a good 'un

Andy
 
Ive got the exact same gear as you Lucy. Its a lot to get your head around. A bit of advice I was given (especially when you delve into photoshop etc) was just try and learn one wee thing about it each day. Theres no point trying to digest everything at once, my head would explode! :thumbs:
 
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