Need help w/ Camera Lens for D40

I'm serious, a good camera store should have classes and the few hours you spend taking them will be well worth it. You'll have the foundation to take spectacular pics without a bunch of post processing not to mention you'll get the ones that would otherwise be lost because of bad camera settings.

Yes, seriously, the time you spend learning the basics of photography rather than relying on the camera to do everything for you will be time very well spent.

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Is that something I can do in full auto mode? The extent of my settings is: I just pick flash or no flash and press the button.

Originally Posted by gdl203

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mmm OK. I won't do that but thanks. Good for you though

couple things for you.

1) when i first took up photography, i rented a vhs tape from the local library. it was maybe half an hour long. the guy showed how to load the film, set the i.s.o., set the aperture, shutter speed, and focus. the hardest part was loading the film. the second hardest part was focussing accurately, but you have autofocus anyway. learning to set the aperture and shutter speed on your own will take about 10 minutes.

2) if you are really that stubborn as to not want to take 10 minutes to learn how to use your camera, at the very least, i hope you put your camera in portrait mode when you shoot a portrait.

Hey, not everyone is interested in picking up a new hobby every week, alright? I bought a camera that takes good pics in full auto mode precisely because I have no interest in "learning" photography. I bought a DSLR 4 years ago because I liked the end results pictures and I liked the flexibility to change lenses when I need to use a strong zoom or when I want to take portraits. Is that being stubborn to have other priorities for my time and have zero interest in learning photography or experimenting with apertures, shutter speed, ISO, etc?

Originally Posted by milosz

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Yes, that's something you can do in full auto. I don't have a D40, but the process (either buttons to push or which menu to go to) should be in the instruction manual.

Thanks - I'll see look through the manual. Mine is a D70 btw

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Hey, not everyone is interested in picking up a new hobby every week, alright? I bought a camera that takes good pics in full auto mode precisely because I have no interest in "learning" photography. I bought a DSLR 4 years ago because I liked the end results pictures and I liked the flexibility to change lenses when I need to use a strong zoom or when I want to take portraits. Is that being stubborn to have other priorities for my time and have zero interest in learning photography or experimenting with apertures, shutter speed, ISO, etc?

i guess my point is that learning to set the exposure manually is not a big deal. it takes a few minutes. learning photography would involve learning to use light and lighting equipment in creative ways.

it's like knowing how to drive a stick. some people never learn because they are intimidated by it. those of us who can know it only takes a few minutes to learn (and maybe a lifetime to master.)

i think a grown man who owns a dslr should know how to set the exposure manually. if you don't, it means you spent hundreds of dollars on equipment but didn't spend 10 minutes to learn how to use it.

Originally Posted by matadorpoeta

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i think a grown man who owns a dslr should know how to set the exposure manually. if you don't, it means you spent hundreds of dollars on equipment but didn't spend 10 minutes to learn how to use it.
Obviously, I disagree. And I know very well how to use my DSLR - you turn it on and push the button.

Originally Posted by dhc905

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If you think you're only going to be shooting indoors, a 50mm 2.8f (about $300) or 1.8f (much more) will give you great indoor pics (esp portaits) even in lower light situations.

Prices may have changed in the last 3-4 years, but a new Nikon 50mm 1.4f used to be about $300, and the Nikon 50mm 1.8f about $125. Cheap!

Originally Posted by gdl203

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Obviously, I disagree. And I know very well how to use my DSLR - you turn it on and push the button.

Ok, then duplicate these in auto mode.

mmm... I'm not really sure how to say this other than to repeat: I have no interest in taking pictures of lightnings, I have no interest in photography as an art to practice. I know it's hard to believe for someone who has passion for something, but believe me, I only want to take good, easy pics of my family and places we visit as souvenirs. And I want a camera that does it all for me and still is flexible enough and takes great photos. I don't want to replicate these shots at all. They're very nice though. (btw, the last one is very easy in full auto with my 70-300... point and press the button)

Originally Posted by gdl203

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mmm... I'm not really sure how to say this other than to repeat: I have no interest in taking pictures of lightnings, I have no interest in photography as an art to practice. I know it's hard to believe for someone who has passion for something, but believe me, I only want to take good, easy pics of my family and places we visit as souvenirs. And I want a camera that does it all for me and still is flexible enough and takes great photos. I don't want to replicate these shots at all. They're very nice though. (btw, the last one is very easy in full auto with my 70-300... point and press the button)

Not unless you know about depth of field and macro pic taking.

Anyway, if you take enough pics you'll quickly find out that you're going to have to use your camera's functions to get good ones in the real world of light and shadow. Those picture perfect days are far and few between.

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

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Leaning to focus manually may be one of the best photographic skills you ever develop, and with digital it costs you nothing but time noodling around. With practice you can get quite fast.

Unfortunately, it might be harder to learn to focus well manually on digital equipment.

My dad's a photographer and I learned how to focus on a fully manual (other than an on-camera light meter) olympus OM-1 and learned how to use bits of newer equipment as it became available (I never played with his medium format work-cameras but now that he's gone digital there is crossover again).

My problem with manual focus is that on my canon D60, there is no split-prism overlay in the viewfinder which makes it a lot harder to achieve tack-sharp focus. Some of the higher end cameras have swappable viewfinder screens but on the D60 it is a kind of pricey modification that ends up causing the camera to mess up the exposure settings on a lot of shots...

Originally Posted by otc

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Unfortunately, it might be harder to learn to focus well manually on digital equipment.

This is true, but it's still possible. Also, I believe most digital cameras have a focus confirm indicator that can be used for focusing manually. Admittedly, though, I'm out of my depth when it comes to digital, since I use fully manual film cameras exclusively. Still, I've used Nikon DSLRs enough to know how easily autofocus can be fooled or in some cases fails entirely. Being able to focus manually is always a good skill to have.

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

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This is true, but it's still possible. Also, I believe most digital cameras have a focus confirm indicator that can be used for focusing manually. Admittedly, though, I'm out of my depth when it comes to digital, since I use fully manual film cameras exclusively. Still, I've used Nikon DSLRs enough to know how easily autofocus can be fooled or in some cases fails entirely. Being able to focus manually is always a good skill to have.

There is, and it's not that hard to focus on a DSLR. I'm comfortable enough to use MF when I couldn't get what I wanted with AF, but I just can't compete with a fast AF lens when it comes to fast moving action shots. Maybe I'll get there some day.

But, I echo gdl's sentiments. Sometimes you just want to pick up the camera and start clicking away without have to fuss over the settings, especially when you're also trying to have fun with the people who you're trying to capture.

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

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But, I echo gdl's sentiments. Sometimes you just want to pick up the camera and start clicking away without have to fuss over the settings, especially when you're also trying to have fun with the people who you're trying to capture.

Modern DSLRs are good news for anybody with that approach. But still, investing a trifling amount of time learning the basics will repay the effort many times over in the quality of your photos.

And I can appreciate that most people are not life-long hardcore photo nerds like me.