Newbie unsure...

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Sirmol

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Marc
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Hey all i am new to the SLR world and bought myself (like many) the D3100 with 18-55 lens kit. What are the limitations to only having this combo, by this i mean can i take the long ezposure pics of car lights, the waterfall shots etc. Can anyone recommend any basic tips/hints/techniques/practical sessions to practise? I am trying to get my head around using the different shooting modes and usually use the A mode which i think makes the camera choose the Aperture level which allows me to focus on the iso and F-stop - which i still don't fully understand lol.
Any advice much appreciated,
Marc
 
Have a look at these videos, they describe all the functions of the d3100.

http://youtu.be/ptiTruEXkGk

There are 3 parts plus a few more dedicated to the d3100 on there.

The camera is perfectly capable of almost anything, you just need to learn how to set the camera up and what settings do what. Don't run before you can walk, get to grips with the basics, then try out more creative things.
 
Hello Marc.

Your camera is perfectly capable of producing great photos.

I suggest you read the manual a few times and consult it if there is some control you are not sure about. I've had my DSLR for a well over a year and have been photographing for about 45 years and I always have the manual to hand.

To get the best from your camera and photography you need to understand aperture, shutter speed and ISO, how they relate to each other and what effect they have on the image.

There is a lot of info on the 'net about these, for example this one-

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm

If you don't have a photo editor there are quite a few free ones to try, if you are not happy with these there paid for ones too.

Couple of free ones -

Photoscape - http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php
This is very easy to use but does not have a lot of features, and

GIMP - http://www.gimp.org
More difficult to get to grips with but can do a lot.

Dave
 
Sirmol said:
Hey all i am new to the SLR world and bought myself (like many) the D3100 with 18-55 lens kit. What are the limitations to only having this combo, by this i mean can i take the long ezposure pics of car lights, the waterfall shots etc. Can anyone recommend any basic tips/hints/techniques/practical sessions to practise? I am trying to get my head around using the different shooting modes and usually use the A mode which i think makes the camera choose the Aperture level which allows me to focus on the iso and F-stop - which i still don't fully understand lol.
Any advice much appreciated,
Marc
Click to expand...

With a Nikon you can't do any of these things. Haha just kidding you.
The others have put down some really good links for you. I would suggest saving them so you can refer back as you go. I'm fairly new as well, shoot some of these guys/ladies have forgotten more than I know. But one thing that really helped me was hooking up my camera to my laptop wail shooting from a tripod. I would shoot, examine and make one adjustment and repeat. You can see how your adjustments effect the pic. I highly recommend it.
 
Thats a great camera, I'm not a big fan of the kit lens itself, the Nikon 35mm 1.8 is much better and quite cheap to go with it. The f/1.8 aperture value will let in a lot more light than the kit lens giving you faster shutter speeds when in 'A' mode.

I'd just sit down and play in manual mode, changing the aperture and shutter speed values and see how it affects the exposure of you're shot e.g. darker or lighter. Alternatively put it in 'A' mode, take a photo, then match the settings in manual mode.
 
The Cambridge in colour link is excellent.

Now all I have to do is put the kettle on, open up the Hob-Nobs and start reading up.
 
Sorry wrong post oops don't know how to delete it
 
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Hi Marc,

I've had a D3100 for just over a year and I love it. To be honest, I didn't find the manual that came with it very helpful, but I was given The Expanded Guide by Jon Sparks as a Christmas present and it's been really good at explaining all the things the camera can do, well worth buying.
 
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