new to photography

[angeleigh]

Many years ago my dh replaced my point and shoot kodak easyshare that he destroyed with a Minolta Dimage a2 slr. I love the camera and love the pictures I took with out however I didn't use any of the features because I didn't know how. I replaced that camera with another point and shoot (Nikon Coolpix s550) I like that camera well enough but wanted to start using the Dimage again. However, I still don't know how to use it. One thing that I want to do is take pictures where my subject is in focus and the background is blurred. Does that make sense? Is my camera too old and out of date to take excellent pictures? It works fine but I want to learn how to take great pictures. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[seashoreCM]

Your cameras can probably take excellent pictures, but a blurry background requires features that many point-and-shoots don't have.

You need to be able to manually open the aperture very wide and focus directly on the subject (as opposed to a compromise focus between subject and background). The wider the aperture the smaller the range of distances where subject matter looks to be in focus. In some cases you would need to focus (manually) for a distance a little closer than the subject really is to get the background more out of focus but still have the subject not objectionably out of focus. You would need to use trial and error to get the exact result you want.

 

[angeleigh]

I guess my post was some what confusing. I just began using the Minolta Dimage again. It is a dslr. I have been trying different things with it. I have read the manual and it all seems overwhelming. I have never used any of the features. From what I understand it was a very good camera 4 years ago when I got it. I have to do some research to see what exactly it can do. Thanks for your reply.

 

[JoeDif]

If you have the ability to change apertures on your camera, you can get the effect you want by using a wider aperture ( f2.8 - f5.6). This with the ability to zoom in on you subject with the lens should give you the blurry background you are looking for.

 

[MICKEY88]

I guess my post was some what confusing. I just began using the Minolta Dimage again. It is a dslr. I have been trying different things with it. I have read the manual and it all seems overwhelming. I have never used any of the features. From what I understand it was a very good camera 4 years ago when I got it. I have to do some research to see what exactly it can do. Thanks for your reply.

the Minolta Dimage A2 is not an slr.. it is a bridge camera the only DSLRs that Minolta made before Sony bought them out were the 7D and 5D
the A2 was my first digital camera, it is an excellent camera, and at the time was considered to be as close as you could get to a DSLR witout actually buying one. I still have mine as backup to my 2 Sony A700s, and my
Minolta 7D

the A2 will allow you to do a lot of things, but it has its limits..

you can accomplish what you want, take pictures where my subject is in focus and the background is blurred within limits..
as many zooms the lens is a variable aperture lens.. this means at 28mm you can open up to 2.8, but when you start zooming the largest aperture becomes 3.5,, you can also do what you want with some software programs..

Paint Shop Pro Photo does it fairly easily..

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Bokeh

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I've been trying to get a good Bokeh shot also without much luck. Whe you say a wider aperture, you want that # to be lower correct? I.E 2.8 would get a better shot than 5.0, is this correct?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I've been trying to get a good Bokeh shot also without much luck. Whe you say a wider aperture, you want that # to be lower correct? I.E 2.8 would get a better shot than 5.0, is this correct?

Yes.

Depth of Field

In the book Understanding Exposure, Bryan Peterson does a nice job of explaining this and other concepts if you want to read more.