So many settings......my brain hurts!

[syburn]

350D with 10-22mm and a side order of dumbness

I have been in the garden trying to make sense of the basics like shtter speed and aperture mainly. I have read some of the links to be found here but out on in the field i feel stuck.

Seems I can have fast shutter and open wide aperture OR slower shutter and smaller aperture (11 or 14). Which combo is best as a rule of thumb?

Then that pesky sky in my historgram is nearly always flashing. The only way to get some blue sky is to make say 4.0 and 1/1500. The sky is ok but the subject is a bit dark.

I have been using the full automatic mode as a reference, but i dont want this camera to turn into a point and shoot.

What i would like are some basic guides to follow so that i have more idea which to fiddle with- aperure or shutter - in some basic lighting situations. Would a light meter help as I read that my camera does not have one?

Its ok now sa i can down load my 30 test shots and try to gain some pearls of wisdom but when im on holiday i might end up with a CF card full of duds.

Cheers Simon

[PhotosGuy]

See if this helps: Virtual Camera (http://www.camerasinteractive.com/index.php#)

You do have a light meter in the 350D! Have you worked your way through the "-=Photography Tips and Tutorials List=-" (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=52418) at the top of this index?

[syburn]

Thanks - I'm trying but its a bit tough to understand. What I have so far is that I can go some bracketed expoure shots and merge in photoshop.
Oh and alot of stuff about white cards that made me rather lost.

Thanks - -I do how my new book "mastering dSLR photography" will help me when it arrives in my letter box.

Thanks

[syburn]

This site was helpful to me on undertanding exposure. Some beginners will like it I think.

http://www.photonhead.com/exposure/


Simon

[RTMiller]

Then that pesky sky in my historgram is nearly always flashing... The sky is ok but the subject is a bit dark.
This is a perfect candidate for fill flash. Set the camera to Av or Tv, meter for the sky, recompose and focus on the subject, then your flash will 'fill-in' the shadows on the subject.