What does it mean?

Steven001

Steven001

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Steven
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Hi guys,

I'm hopefully getting a new camera at Christmas time, and I want to learn everything that I need to know before I get the camera. What does a 18-55mm lens mean? What type of pictures would it be used for? What do all the settings do and mean?

Basically I want to read up about everything :LOL: Can anyone suggest some reading material? Or point me in the right direction?

Cheers,
Steven
 
Two decent books that I found helpful as a total beginner are:

The Digital Photography Handbook: Doug Harman

Digital Photographer's Handbook: Tom Ang

Enjoy.
 
or just type
Photography Basics
Click to expand...
and not look like a complete geek :p

oops meant to quote mattyh at the start of that, cant be arsed now.

Wish I could get a new camera for chrimbo :(
 
I bought a hell of a lot of books on different techniques and things from ebay...if you like it and know what you're looking for then you cant go far wrong.
I also go the digital photographers handbook by Tom Ang for £10 from WHSmith! [Normally £25] So keep an eye out for Sales!
 
dellipher said:
I bought a hell of a lot of books on different techniques and things from ebay...if you like it and know what you're looking for then you cant go far wrong.
I also go the digital photographers handbook by Tom Ang for £10 from WHSmith! [Normally £25] So keep an eye out for Sales!
Click to expand...

So you don't need my 'Newbie' course then?
 
By far the best photography book that I have read is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I have a copy and it is excellent. It's very well written with lots of examples and exercises. It's not expensive either.

Other than that, there are lots of web sites that might help you understand the area. These three are oriented towards Canon DSLRs, but the concepts in them are fairly generic:

* Enjoy! Digital SLR Camera - from Canon Japan, generic to Canon DSLRs, very easy
* Digital Rebel XT Lessons - from Canon USA, partly generic and partly specific to Canon 350D/XT
* EOS Digital Rebel Tutorials - also from Canon USA, a bit more advanced perhaps

And this is just educational fun regardless of what camera you have

* The Sim Cam - online camera simulator, lets you play around with aperture, shutter etc. and see what happens
 
StewartR said:
By far the best photography book that I have read is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I have a copy and it is excellent. It's very well written with lots of examples and exercises. It's not expensive either.

Other than that, there are lots of web sites that might help you understand the area. These three are oriented towards Canon DSLRs, but the concepts in them are fairly generic:

* Enjoy! Digital SLR Camera - from Canon Japan, generic to Canon DSLRs, very easy
* Digital Rebel XT Lessons - from Canon USA, partly generic and partly specific to Canon 350D/XT
* EOS Digital Rebel Tutorials - also from Canon USA, a bit more advanced perhaps

And this is just educational fun regardless of what camera you have

* The Sim Cam - online camera simulator, lets you play around with aperture, shutter etc. and see what happens
Click to expand...

Brilliant links! Cheers (y)
 
Steven001 said:
What does a 18-55mm lens mean? What type of pictures would it be used for? What do all the settings do and mean?
Click to expand...

18-55mm is the equivalent zoom of your normal "3x optical" point and shoot camera.

IMO, kit lenses aren't anything special, at all ("kit lens" is a term used for what is usually supplied with a camera body). They are the entry level lenses.

Some people use them as their everyday lens, ie for taking general photos whatever that may be, or keep it as backup, or sell it on and get a more expensive lens.

I didn't bother with a kit lens. I bought the body on it's own and bought the lenses seperately I thought would suit my needs. So far it's going well. That and the fact I believe in you get what you pay for. :bonk:

I started off with an older body with kit lens a while ago and I didn't know much about the different lenses out there. I thought it was the dogs nads! :D

By all means, keep it and get used to DSLR-dom, and enjoy it! (y) Learn your way through by just getting out there and seeing what the different settings and features do, for yourself. (y)

Have fun! :woot:
 
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