Learning DSLR before WDW

I have bought a new DSLR the Sony A6000 and I really want to spend as much time learning the camera before we go to WDW in May. What do you suggest to help me learn my camera? Also, it is my first DSLR. Thanks,

For starters the A6000 is NOT a DSLR. The A6000 has an electronic viewfinder, there is no mirror or optical viewfinder.

The A6000 is in a new category known as

• mirror-less
• EVIL (electronic viewfinder interchangeable lenses)
• hybrid

The best way to learn cameras with me is to use it a lot and let others see your images. I really like local night school courses that give you homework and then projects everyone's images in the classroom for group review.

Practice, practice, practice. And definitely check out this book, lots of great info: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390

Sorry but my recommendation is to talk to DSLR owners or Pro photographers BEFORE you buy. Almost none of those folks would have recommended a Sony.

Now that you are there, take pictures every day. Practice, practice. If at all possible take a class or 2 on your camera.

ChiWiCouple said:

Sorry but my recommendation is to talk to DSLR owners or Pro photographers BEFORE you buy. Almost none of those folks would have recommended a Sony.

Now that you are there, take pictures every day. Practice, practice. If at all possible take a class or 2 on your camera.

Click to expand...

That's simply false. I've shot at an enthusiast and semi-pro level for a while (Not my main line of work, but I have made some money from my photography as well), and I've largely shot Sony. (I'm currently shooting Nikon)

Now it is true, the Sony A6000 is NOT a dSLR. It is a mirrorless camera. Which many photographers -- including professionals -- are finding preferable to a dSLR. Same type of sensor. With many advantages over a traditional dSLR. I'm a bit old-fashioned, so I have some preferences for traditional. But even I must admit, on the whole, the A6000 has many many advantages over a traditional dSLR.

Here is one very respected professional travel/wedding photographer... Jason Lanier... Who during a Disney wedding, decided to try out the A6000 over his Nikon D800. I think the video is a little silly..... But Jason Lanier is now entirely using Sony mirrorless for his professional work.



So yes, a growing number of professionals shoot with Sony.

Personally, I shot with the Sony A99. It has been written up as one of the best cameras for wedding professionals.
http://www.adorama.com/alc/0014676/article/6-best-dslrs-for-wedding-photography

Finally, I'll point you to one of the finest published NYC landscape photographers I've seen,
Viviene Gucwa. She is now sponsored by Sony, but has been using it since before she was sponsored. Her shooting has mostly consisted of the Sony A55, A99, and A7 series.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/new...conversation-with-sony-artisan-vivienne-gucwa

So suggesting that professionals wouldn't recommend Sony... It's honestly a very ignorant statement.

In fact, for an APS-C shooter looking for general shooting, I dare say that looking at price, image quality and features, the A6000 is the best camera on the market right now.

It's not worth arguing with ignorant statements that usually come from biased and uninformed people...I'll leave it at that. Sufficeth to say, as an SLR photographer since 1977, digital photographer since 1997, and DSLR photographer since 2005, had I been asked, I not only would have recommended equal consideration of Sony alongside Nikon and Canon, but in the mirrorless category, wholeheartedly would have recommended the A6000 as easily one of the finest cameras on the market today for the price. So no worries - you picked just fine.

Recommendation for learning more? First off, read up some of the online guides or available books about all the things it can do. Practice with it regularly - go out in your hard, around your house, or anywhere you can, and try photographing all different types of subjects - see what the settings are on the camera when the shots come out good, and know what settings help demonstrate when they aren't good...to better understand the relationship of the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter, ISO). As a photographer, it's tough for me to even think of saying 'use auto', but honestly if in doubt at any time, don't be afraid to use auto. You should eventually learn to use more of the standard P, A, S, and M settings as you get better, but the programming of the auto modes in modern cameras is pretty good, including the Intelligent auto mode which even detects the scene you are shooting for choosing the right settings - so if you have no idea what settings to use in a given situation, there's a better chance the camera will get it right for you until you know better.

Once you get the hang of it, there's almost nothing you can't do with the A6000 - and you can get new lenses for different needs to expand the system down the road as you find out what types of photography you like most. I still shoot with an actual DSLR - the big chunky kind - but also with the A6000, which is a wonderful camera with the same APS-C sized sensor in most DSLRs today. I've shot portrait, action, wildlife, birds-in-flight, stage photography, landscape, night long exposure, night handheld, architecture, macro...pretty much everything with the A6000, and it's simply an excellent camera...it has ended up causing my poor DSLR to stay behind sometimes on trips, because of the size and how many more lenses I can pack into a small space with the A6000 compared to my DSLR, yet compromise nothing in image quality.

+1 for Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Start there and shoot shoot shoot. I also find posting my stuff on photography websites for critique to be useful. Try thephotoforum.com (if you have a thick skin) or photo.net Have fun!

Arguing over whether the a6000 is a DSLR is arguing semantics. I own a 6D, a 7DII and an a6000 (and lots of others too). I can do virtually anything with the a6000 that I can do with my Canons and even some things BETTER. The a6000 is one FINE instrument, and one of the most highly acclaimed cameras of any kind in the past year. It's darn near PERFECT for WDW.

I can't believe anybody would essentially call this guy out for buying this camera. Unbelievable.

ENJOY your new DSLR. You bought a good one!

For the record, DVC Mike is pretty much considered an expert on photography around here and especially photography at WDW. He's the reason I sold my Nex5R and bought an a6000 literally while I was on vacation at WDW a few months ago.

Take a look at what HE has to say...

http://www.disboards.com/threads/ju...less-for-wdw-vacations.3355908/#post-52746259

Wow, the side by side gear photos make me long for lighter gear and I'm only toting the Nikon 5100 and a few lenses!

sharona said:

Wow, the side by side gear photos make me long for lighter gear and I'm only toting the Nikon 5100 and a few lenses!

Click to expand...

That's what Mike's thread did for/to me too. I leave next weekend for a week and I'm taking nothing but the a6000 this time (PROBABLY. Still debating). We shall see.

I just recently bought a new lens and expensive polarizer for my nikon kit. No room in the budget for anything else at this point. But hey, there's always next year! Looking forward to seeing your thoughts on this after your trip.

swooshbear said:

Practice, practice, practice. And definitely check out this book, lots of great info: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390

Click to expand...

+100 to this. Really helped me a lot.

As to Sony and their mirrorless cameras, while sony isn't my first choice for a DSLR the Sony mirrorless is getting some great reviews...

I can't comment on mirrorless, I'm married to my DSLR's and cannon type lenses for them. I'm not switching any time soon that said-

PRACTICE!!!

The first time I went to WDW with a DSLR I only had a few weeks of experience with it. Wow was I behind the curve and I did a lot of "pixel peeping" with the screen to make sure my shots were ok.

You get a DSLR (or mirrorless equivalent) to be able to really capture those hard to get shots you wouldn't get with a PNS or cell phone camera, using the camera on AUTO can be easy but getting into difficult lighting conditions and AUTO can really put you at a disadvantage. *Yes sometimes even a stopped clock is right twice a day and I know how super the new android/iphone cell cameras are, my wife and I have them, the joy of a DSLR/mirrorless is consistency, IMO anyway.

Experiment in Manual mode a lot.

Take shots with the sun coming into your subject from all angles... take shots with back lighting, at night, with lights try and recreate a lot of what you expect to find at WDW.

Also, when you are in a queue, experiment taking shots of things. Figure out your internal flash and what it can and can't do. Consider something to help it, because there will be plenty of times when it won't be enough or will just make things look awful.

For me, the only thing that worked was time and practice. I can now look at something and know about where my settings have to be and be pretty close, if not spot on.

Learn your light metering but realize if you are simply lining it up to line it up, you might as well be shooting in an auto mode, so basic you learn when to trust it and when not to.

Learn to use your spot focus vs averaging so you can get crisp shots of your family and the masses behind them blur out.. when appropriate. Also realize you can't hand your camera off that way to a CM to use because they might spot on something 20 or 200 feet behind you and you'll be out of focus.

With all that practice, you will learn something just as important... what all those buttons and menus do so that when you need to change something, it's second nature and you can do it in a split second instead of missing the moment because you were trying to change a setting and staring at the camera/menu instead of getting the shot.

Also, your second trip with it will be 10 times better than your first and don't live your entire trip thru the viewfinder

swooshbear said:

Practice, practice, practice. And definitely check out this book, lots of great info: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390

Click to expand...

+! as well. I really enjoyed the book and also took Bryan's online course and was very happy with the results.