Help for a Beginner

[sgcurtis]

I'm very happy to say that I own a 20d that I have had for several months. I have taken a bunch of pictures on "automatic" but don't know anything really about the camera. I just found this forum tonight. Can anyone point me in the direction of some 20d basics? I feel like I don't even tap 1% of this camera's abilities....thanks for your help!:lol:

[drparker]

Welcome to P.O.T.N.

Canon has some good info on their sites try looking here http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/p_2_006.html

Fist think is to get off full auto, start playing with Tv and Av mode.

Things to learn;

Exposure and how shutter speed, f-stop and ISO settings are related.
Depth of field.
Camera shake and it's relation to shutter speed.
Rule of thirds.
Effects of early morning and late afternoon /evening light.
Plus tons more .......

Ask questions, post samples of your photos.

Most important, have fun and experiment!

[inthedeck]

Well, for starters, read the book "Understanding Exposure" which can be found on amazon, etc.

Secondly, learn to switch to 'manual' mode for a few days. Auto is great and all, but you want to use the camera, not let it make your decisions. Don't be afraid to experiment.

Breakdown: Aperture controls the amount of light into the lens. The lower the number (1.8, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6) the more light that is let into the lens. Also, the depth of field is 'smaller' meaning that your focus point will have to be fairly accurate...and the background will be blurred. The lower you go (i.e. 1.8,) the more blurred the background. This can be quite useful for portraits. f/8 and f/11 are generally good to use, and learn with.

Shutter speed basically controls how long the shutter will remain open. The lower the number, the longer the shutter will stay open. i.e. 1"4, 1"2, 1"0 are 1.4 seconds, 1.2, and 1 second. On the other side of the scale, there is 0.4, 0.2, 0, etc...and the more in the 'positive' this goes (i.e. 22) the faster the shutter speed. This will allow for 'motion blur' in fast moving objects. Generally, for rule of thumb, there is 1/F which should dictate the shutter speed. So, if your lens is capable of 85mm, you should at least allow for 1/85 for you shutter speed. Basically, this will allow you to reduce the effects of camera shake. Usually best during the daytime...since night time, you will fall into really slow shutter speeds, even with a low aperture.

Hope that helps...and definately read the FAQ's on the top of each forum. They have some really good tips.

Take care.

[John_B]

sgcurtis,
I second inthedeck's suggestion of putting your camera in "M" manual mode. It gives you control over the camera, so you can take alot of test shots to learn by doing. Here is a link that gives a demo of different f/stops and shutter speeds & even ISO film speeds
The SimCam (http://www.photonhead.com/simcam/) <--Just click to see :)

And of course photography-on-the.net has great FAQ's that can always help :)

[sgcurtis]

Thank you so much for all of your advice. I will look into these websites. I appreciate the responses!!!