Calling all Nikon Volunteers

[madhttr]

Well, I did it. I went and bought a Nikon D40. Welcome me to the dark side! This is the first time I have used a DSLR and will be needing much critique and help! So calling all volunteers!!

Thanks!

 

[ukcatfan]

Work on getting out of auto mode and taking shots without a flash. If you do not already understand it, you should learn about exposure. The book Understanding Exposure is great. The aperture on a DSLR is going to affect the depth of field much more than a p&s, so learn about it or you will end up with some disappointing shots. If you do not mind manual focus, look at the ~$100 50mm f/1.8. It is great for low light, but will not auto focus on a D40 series.

Kevin

 

[Gdad]

To get you accustomed very early to receiving contradictory advice I will say get a Speedlight. Fast lenses are great- don’t get me wrong- are there are plenty that will AF on the D40- if getting one you may want to look at the Sigma 30/1.4 for about $375. But if you plan on taking a lot of indoor people or pet type shots the biggest thing you can do to make a quantum leap with the camera is get away from the built-in camera flash. I would recommend an SB-600 so you can bounce the flash in either portrait or landscape orientation. That will soften the harsh light that falls directly on your subject (worse on people than dogs.) and illuminate the background at the same time.

Anyways- congratulations on your new camera- Enjoy and post pictures often. Ask questions- the people on the board are very helpful- especially if you have a specific concern.

 

[safetymom]

I would keep it in auto mode for awhile and just enjoy taking pictures with it. Then start changing the settings.

 

[YEKCIM]

Some hopefully NON-contradictory advice: purchase and learn to use a good editing program. Even a few minor tweaks can make a HUGE difference in how your photos look. PictureProject is Nikon's "freebie" editing program and does some very basic things. Google's Picasa is also a decent basic editing package, and is a free download. Most folks here use Adobe's PhotoShop in one of its various iterations. I just purchased it ($44, CD only) and am very much a learner at this point, but it has far more potential than PictureProject or Picasa.

Hope that helps.

~YEKCIM

 

[DebºoºS]

Congrats on your new D40

Wishing you many many great shots!
When I first got my D200 I found it helpful to take the same shot changing settings experimenting with different combos. Downloading them and comparing the results with the exif. I also found the PhotoBert cheatsheet helpful for quick reference especially @ WDW where I didn't have much time to fiddle around with settings.
http://www.d40users.com/

 

[Suburbanmom]

I've been a Nikon shooter since January (D50) and I agree that Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is a wonderul book. I bought it through Amazon, so it was about half the price of Barnes & Noble and worth every penny. It really helped me understand the manual features of my camera.

I also think a speedlight is a good addition to the "tool" (not "toy") box. I bought the SB-800 about 2 weeks ago. I'm still learning how to use it, but I can tell that I will not regret using it over the built-in flash.

Welcome to Club DSLR. Take lots of photos, have fun doing it and share them all with us.