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sandinmysh
oes
872 days ago
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Newbie
So, I love taking pictures but I had never had a "good" camera before. I just got a Canon Powershot SD
630 and need hints on how to use it. I am definitely an amateur and want to get better at this. Any suggestions?
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charliesuh
872 days ago
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Go buy the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson! Its really a great book, with big vidid pictures too! It helped me a TON.
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alicia954
872 days ago
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The beauty of having a digital camera is that you can take as many pictures as you want without having to pay to print and weed out the "bad" photos. I advocate learning by discovery...take the same picture with different settings, writing down what you did, and look at the difference between the photos when you upload them. I've learned, somewhat begrudgingly, that it takes patience and time to really become comfortable with my camera and learn about the settings. It's an ongoing process...
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Ankou
870 days ago
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I agree with alicia954 - take tons of pics and keep track of what you did with the camera. If you can't always write down the settings a lot of photo programs allow you to examine the exif data which can be useful to find the camera settings.
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charliesuh
870 days ago
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Oh, also make sure you give assignments to yourself, or find some online. Projects, tasks, etc. Like scope through the photojojo archives, there are some cool and fun things to do with your photography. Make sure you don't looks the passion! And in order to make sure of that you need to keep things spicy, make a list of things to do with your photography. Ex: Take a sunset picture you are proud of, take a panning photo, take a long exposure shot, take a photo from the ground level, from a high place, etc.
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xstevex
868 days ago
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Yeah I think alicia954 sums it up simply...I just got a Canon powershot digital and I am going through a learning curve , just keep shooting , I used a nikon F for years w/ no light meter so Im not too worried about getting this digital right .
Its alot more information and options I find though. Some of my best shots I have to admit I got completely by accident , I take a lot of live concert photography and lots of times your holding the camera above your head , its important to take a lot of shots...I try to find other photographers to share info with , I have one that I may partner up with that , learn from. I have had some interest from publications on a couple of my concert pics , so that kinda get you motivated to get better...
cheers
xs
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DWAlexande
r
859 days ago
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Hi, I'm pretty much a newbie too. I had a Fujifilm Finepix 6800(?) but now I have a Canon PowerShot SD550. I really enjoy it but there is something I wish I could do but can't figure out how. I would like to take night shots of the moon and skyline with longer shutter openings. Is it possible? I don't know if there are any firmware updates (I should check) that might influence this. Also, does anyone know of a monopod/walking stick which has (small) retractable tripod legs on the bottom? I like to take macro shots of flowers with bees or other bugs on them on my walks. Thanks for any help.
Regards,
Dave
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ben-s
859 days ago
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Dave;
I'd rather make a concise post here, with proper references, but I'm at work, so I'll have to keep it brief;
Manfrotto make a monopod with small fold out legs.
I can't remember the part number. Have a look on their website.
Alternatively, consider a small tripod.
As regards long exposures, check your manual or the canon website as to whether your camera is capable of them. It will almost certainly allow exposures up to 2 seconds, and it may go much longer (30sec - 3 mins or more).
A firmware update is (very) unlikely to add longer exposure options to what you already have.
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ben-s
859 days ago
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OK, I'm at home now. More info coming up...
Manfrotto 682 Self standing monopod:
http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/man … mp;child=2
Your SD550 is capable of making a maximum of a 15 second exposure.
According to DPreview.com, it has a manual mode, which means you can get it to do what you want.
The following instructions should help with setting the camera:
Put the camera in manual record mode.
Go into the menu, select the red camera tab, and scroll down to find the "long shutter" option. Set it to "on".
Whack it on a tripod, frame up and fire off a shot.
If it's too light or dark, press the "FUNC SET" button, and move down until the screen shows "+/- (Exp.)" at the bottom.
Moving the green marker with the arrow keys changes the exposure - right will make for a longer exposure, and left for a shorter one.
I would suggest you have a look at the camera's manual, and try these settings out at home before you try and use it for any real project.
Hope this helps.
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Willtastic
716 days ago
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@Charliesuh: Agreed, Understanding Exposure is a -great- book. When I first started learning about photography it really helped me sort out all the confusing terms in my head.
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