Read your darn manual folks...

[timmyquest]

I'm not going to flag anyone specifically because there is no need to offend anyone but:

I just bought a 300D, i spent two hours reading the manual, the manual was very redundent as i have a 35mm rebel too, but i still did it because it is the only way i was going to learn. (maybe not the onlly, but it sure was the fastest)

I picked this camera up in the car on the way home and said to myself "my god, what did i buy this thing for". Now after reading the manual and playing around with it, the only limit i have is my own photographic ability. If you are a young photographer (me) and have new equipment that you dont know how to fully use then you are only hindering your own improvement.

Just some advice to some of you guys...you know who you are. :wink:

[defordphoto]

How refreshing! Someone who actually reads the manual. You'll get so much more enjoyment out of your camera because of that. I have had my D60 for about a year and a half, and the 10D since May 03 and I still keep the manuals in the bags.

[IanD]

That is why I bought a larger bag, to keep all the manuals in. Got the 10D in there along with the 550EX and a copy of the Kodiak Pocket Guide to Photography. Many times when i have set up for deer, there is not much to do. Just sitting there and watching, so out comes the manuals. It is amazing what they contain.
Ian

[stoneylonesome]

What I find the most useful is to first skim through the manual to get familiar with the controls etc. and than start shooting until I find a road block. than jump back to the manual. I personally find just reading through the manual not that productive. To much to remember right of the bat.

[Deckyon]

I carry my manual in my gadget bag all the time. I have to say, that on an averge all-day trip, I will refer to it at least twice. Especially when dealing with the exposure locking and such... The old computer saying, RTFM, has bubbled up in my thoughts many times when reading some of the questions on the forums. Most of the questions asked are ones that are easily answered by the manual. As long as my manual fits in the gadget bag, I will be carrying it with me.

I remember when I first got my camera (Canon G3) I spent a few hours, while the batteries were charging, reading it from cover to cover. After getting the batteries in the camera, I took the camera, tripod and manual out on my deck and went through it cover to cover again. It helped immensly

[where1]

I must agree with reading the manual. The DRebel manual is pocket size, and I carry it with me. I learn better from doing than reading, so I need it with me.

[CyberDyneSystems]

"put the manual in the camera bag"

...what a wonderfull concept!!!! :?

Now why on earth didn't I think of that...

It is amazing what you can find in those manuals!

[maderito]

Just some advice to some of you guys...you know who you are. :wink:

timmyquest -- caught your wink...

I've never met a technical manual I've read thoroughly and understood on first reading.
Perhaps I'm brain damaged - but my approach is:
1. Skim the manual - paying close attention to the topics covered.
2. Re-read portions of the manual as they become relevant to your shooting experience.
3. Use this and other forums to remind you when it's time to read again.
4. Keep the manual in your camera bag (per where1 and CDS).
5. Be more tolerant of those who don't read manuals ... Has everyone read their car manual(s) from cover to cover? Some of us are manually challenged :wink:

[jim monroe]

I couldn't agree more with maderito and stoneylonesome, perhaps others, that its best to start with skimming the manual, then keep it very handy. First time through reading something about say mirror lockup probably won't mean much to many, it certainly meant nothing to me, but then later when its mentioned in this forum you reread the manual and things start to mean something.

[Scottes]

That is why I bought a larger bag, to keep all the manuals in. Got the 10D in there along with the 550EX and a copy of the Kodiak Pocket Guide to Photography. Many times when i have set up for deer, there is not much to do. Just sitting there and watching, so out comes the manuals. It is amazing what they contain.
Ian

What an amazing idea! I always keep the manuals with me, but I went out the other day and got bored quite quickly, so I went home. If I had just sat down and read a few pages I would have found something to do as practice at the very least.

Thanks Ian. I'll know better next time.

[timmyquest]

The fact is people spend a grand on a peice of equipment and just expect to know how to use it, and if they dont know how to use it they assume they dont need that feature...then they come here and ask why their pictures look like they do. I'm just saying to look it over a bit :D

[CyberDyneSystems]

I wasn't being sarcastic! :P

My manuals are all on my bedside table for light reading before dozing off...... :oops:

I WILL be putting them in my bag though,. (Hey,. I just realized why my bag has a pocket for books and stuff???)

[timmyquest]

(Hey,. I just realized why my bag has a pocket for books and stuff???)

Hmm, i always thought that was for the playboys on the road :lol:

[iwatkins]

Manuals ? Pah. You push all the buttons until it goes "beep".

Then you read the manuals. :lol:

Cheers

Ian

[twl845]

:lol:
When I was a kid back in the 40s my Father gave me his old Kodak box camera to use. It had no manual, because it had one control, the shutter flipper. You looked in the hole and flipped the shutter. Great B/W pictures.
I still have it. My new Canon G3 has more controls than the space shuttle, and a manual to match. Great camera and great pictures, but my memory isn't what it used to be, so I'm always going back to the manual to refresh my memory. I hope I get the controls memorized before the manual wears out.

[ssim]

Whatever happened to that old saying "real men don't need instructions" :wink: Must have fallen by the wayside in this new age of technology. Kind of like stopping and asking for directions.

Seriously, I take my manuals with me everywhere I go. When I first got the 10D I did skim the manual and then would take an evening, take out the manual and concentrate on one subject and test it thoroughly. I feel better for it but I'm not sure if I'm a better photographer but I sure have a level of confidence using the camera.

[marie]

"put the manual in the camera bag"

...what a wonderfull concept!!!! :?

Now why on earth didn't I think of that...

It is amazing what you can find in those manuals!



I photocopy the pages of the manual
and then take a few pages (zapped together ) which I think I may need at any particular time.

takes up less room in the bag and keeps the manual at home looking and feeling nice .........
hoping for it to last until I die ......just like the camera :lol: :lol: :lol:

8) :shock: :roll: :lol:

marie

[timmyquest]

"put the manual in the camera bag"

...what a wonderfull concept!!!! :?

Now why on earth didn't I think of that...

It is amazing what you can find in those manuals!



I photocopy the pages of the manual
and then take a few pages (zapped together ) which I think I may need at any particular time.

takes up less room in the bag and keeps the manual at home looking and feeling nice .........
hoping for it to last until I die ......just like the camera :lol: :lol: :lol:

8) :shock: :roll: :lol:

marie

What camera do you have, i love my 300D's pocket sized manual, it's no bigger, infact tis smaller, then my wallet

[pradeep1]

I like reading manuals like a novel. I like to discover all that I can do with the equipment before I try it.

Actually that's not true. I fool around with the camera first to get over the new toy feeling, and after I've hit a roadblock or two, I then read the entire manual like a novel.

[marie]

"put the manual in the camera bag"

...what a wonderfull concept!!!! :?

Now why on earth didn't I think of that...

It is amazing what you can find in those manuals!



I photocopy the pages of the manual
and then take a few pages (zapped together ) which I think I may need at any particular time.

takes up less room in the bag and keeps the manual at home looking and feeling nice .........
hoping for it to last until I die ......just like the camera :lol: :lol: :lol:

8) :shock: :roll: :lol:

marie

What camera do you have, i love my 300D's pocket sized manual, it's no bigger, infact tis smaller, then my wallet



Timmyquest, I have a G2 powershot
(the power in the shots is up to me :lol: :lol: )

I started taking digital shots with a Casio qvx3000
but the switch broke where the memory card goes in.
they are fleecing me repairing it
it came back from casio and broke at the first go again. so I posted it back( to London)
and now they want more money to repair it again. but I never broke it again.
(it was over one hundred pounds sterling to repair ... just over £130)
and what with postage etc (bubble packaging ) there was a lot of time and energy put into sending it off (twice)
never mind trying to concentrate on doing all that
among a lot of other things needing doing
and it was under guarantee too (the repairs ! ) :cry:
I refused to accept I should pay again
and they still have my camera.
sent me an invoice now, but never mentioning they already repaired it and got over £100 sterling a while ago
and I never got using the camera, just the once and it broke again.

watch out for where the memory card goes in on any camera
its delicate.
well , must be on the casio anyway.
:cry:


Don't worry about all that :lol:

heres why I am here ,
to reply to your question >>>

seems the G2 manual is larger then yours
its approx 6 inches x 8 and a quarter inches.and fairly thick :lol:
bit bulky for taking around everywhere .

however most of my shots are 'off the cuff' and I just shoot happily without thinking too much of all that I should :lol:

regards
marie

[Belmondo]

I have a separate small gadget bag that I carry important, but non-critical items in. These would be things that I don't need while shooting photos, but might need before returning home. It rarely leaves the car. I keep one copy of the manual in that bag, so I can hopefully answer my own questions in the field. I have another copy of the manual at home to refer to when questions crop up while there.

I've actually read the manual cover to cover twice now, and certain sections, another couple times. Each time, I pick up more and more. Knowledge is something we build on, and repeated exposure to material, no matter how repetitive is useful.

Now, for the other side of the coin: I have a 550EX flash. That manual is 128 pages of undecipherable claptrap. I’ve read the manual over and over, slept with it under my pillow, and generally done everything I can think of to help my comprehension of what can only be described as ‘black art.’ It can’t have been written by humans.