Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've always really ejoyed photography. I have several cameras...p&s, DSLR (old 300D), and a panasonic Lumix that's a p&s but has manual controls.
I have the hardest time trying to learn in manual mode. I get frustrated and discouraged and end up giving up, but I really would like to learn it and understand it.
Any suggestions or websites that make learning all the manual settings easy to understand? I have a general understanding of what each does, but using them together to get a nice shot is where I get stuck.
having taught my wife to shoot her macro in manual I can tell you this much.
it is like learning to throw a ball . somehow through a little practice you know just how to arc it , how much force and where to aim all from a feeling.
just by doing and playing she learned if it is to bright do this , to dark do this.
she has no real technical idea what is going on but she can nail exposure ranges with the best of them.
I think you can try shooting flowers to learn.
turn off auto iso.
set camera to 400 iso, speed around 1/200th , flash off and get the background the darkness or brightness you want..
do that by adjusting the aperture. the higher the number the darker things will get.
now turn on the flash and take a shot.
adjust the flash up or down until the subject is exposed well.
if you cannot adjust your flash then open the aperture to make it brighter or close it for darker.
it is one of those things you will learn by doing.
Don't give up on manual. When I was making the switch from full auto to manual, I eased my way in via the sports mode on my old Elan 7. Set ISO as low as you on that 300D. The older DSLRs and lower end versions now are notriously grainy at higher ISOs.
Before we go on, what do you like shooting best? Still shots are easier than shots of moving subjects. That was partly my problem. My main subject is usually trains and trains typically are moving and sometimes fast. So I heard to learn that for fast moving freights, I could get by with 1/500th of a second, but for some faster passenger trains, I needed a "film speed" even faster.
Don't give up on manual. When I was making the switch from full auto to manual, I eased my way in via the sports mode on my old Elan 7. Set ISO as low as you on that 300D. The older DSLRs and lower end versions now are notriously grainy at higher ISOs.
Before we go on, what do you like shooting best? Still shots are easier than shots of moving subjects. That was partly my problem. My main subject is usually trains and trains typically are moving and sometimes fast. So I heard to learn that for fast moving freights, I could get by with 1/500th of a second, but for some faster passenger trains, I needed a "film speed" even faster.
Like I said, still subjects are much easier.
I love macro photography. I mainly enjoy taking photos of nature and landscapes.
I've always really ejoyed photography. I have several cameras...p&s, DSLR (old 300D), and a panasonic Lumix that's a p&s but has manual controls.
I have the hardest time trying to learn in manual mode. I get frustrated and discouraged and end up giving up, but I really would like to learn it and understand it.
Any suggestions or websites that make learning all the manual settings easy to understand? I have a general understanding of what each does, but using them together to get a nice shot is where I get stuck.
Thanks!
Using the flower example I would use the pre-programmed settings note how the shot appeared and what settings the camera used. If the shot turned out not-so-great I would go manual and see if I could improve upon it. You can use it as a baseline to see how changing the settings affect the outcome.
It's simplistic and non-technical but it can help.
Best way to learn would be to buy a better camera. Anything made before ~84 will be MUCH easier to use full manual on. Anything earlier than ~76 it won't be called manual - it will be called on. Because there were no other options, the controls on older cameras are a joy to use. Go through a few rolls of film and you'll know what your doing.
I used a Minolta SRT-201 for about 15 years before I bought an autofocus Minolta in college. It's like night and day. The SRT was a joy to shoot. The Maxxim was a pain to try and shoot manually. The Nikons I have now are worse. P&S are just a joke to shoot manually.
You can get into an old K-mount Pentax for less than $50 with lenses - which you can adapt to use on your Canon.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
