Newbie questions on SLR (digital) and manual

[Caitsmama]

Hi, I am trying to think of how to word this without sounding totally stupid!
I have a Sony Mavica CD400, got it brand new in 2002, I was very nervous when i was given it (as a Christmas gift from my dad) - as all i wanted was a "simple camera" - well 4 yrs later, i haven't yet mastered it..
I have yet to use the manual mode.. i have only used strictly point and shoot mode.. Although i have tried the different scene selection modes..
Anyway, I am so lost on all this manual stuff, i have read the owners manual over and over, and it still seems so hard to figure out! (Honestly, up til yesterday, i didn't realize that my camera was considered a manual camera!!) I knew it had manual modes.. but oh.. that's just another discussion.

Anyway, What is exactly an SLR digital camera? How is it different than a regular manual optional camera like mine? I hear all the talk about how great a "SLR" digital is.. but don't exactly know what it is! I know it stands for "single lens r' something.." But that's about it.

Also, how can i learn more about manual modes (shutter speed, apature, etc.) in plain simple english? I know my camera is capable of doing so much more than i use it for..

 

[OCSurfCity]

A D-SLR is a Digital Single Lens Reflex camera. This means the camera usually has interchangeable lenses. What you see through the viewfinder is what you are going to get on your final printed image.

Your camera is probably a variable focus camera which has a built-in zoom lens but you cannot change the lens.

For the lay person, a simple point and shoot digital camera is enough but when you want to expand further into photography, it is recommended you get a DSLR camera so that you can experiment with various lenses, flashes and other accessories.

Canon has the Digital Rebel camera that is less than $1,000 and will allow you to expand to whatever lens you desire.

 

[Master Mason]

SLR stands for Single Lens Reflex, and has to do with the way that the image is captured on either the film or in our cases now, the sensor. It also has to do with the way that you view the scean while your taking the picture as well.

The advantages of the SLR is it gives you a lot more control over what your doing regarding apiture(sp), exposure time, ISO, basically all the things that have to do with taking a picture.

Please let me clearly state, I am not an expert, nor even remotely approching that status.

Kelly has a running thread or threads on how to take pictures, I would start there, and then if you have more questions, get yourself a good book, or take a class at your local JC.....

The other thing is don't be afraid of experimenting, do it when you don't abosultey have to have the pic. But where you can learn and know your cammera and gain the confidence to use it when you do need to get the pic.

 

[Caitsmama]

Thanks! I know my camera has additional lenses that i can "add on" to the regular lens, but i can't actually remove the regular lens. So, a SLR is when you can remove the whole original lens?

I am going to have to check out Kellys thread.. I checked my local college, and no courses being offered.
I guess part of it is that i am afraid to try my manual mode, as i am afraid of "messing up" my camera.. as stupid as that sounds!!

 

[Master Mason]

you can't mess up the camera by using manual mode... the pictures your trying to take perhaps, but not the cammera.

SLR explained better than I can

The single-lens reflex (SLR) is a type of camera that uses a movable mirror placed between the lens and the film to project the image seen through the lens to a matte focusing screen. Most SLRs use a roof pentaprism or pentamirror to observe the image via an eyepiece, but there are also other finder arrangements, such as the waist-level finder or porro prisms.


Cross-section view of SLR system.The shutter in almost all contemporary SLRs sits just in front of the focal plane. If it does not, some other mechanism is required to ensure that no light reaches the film between exposures. For example, the Hasselblad 500C camera uses an auxiliary shutter blind in addition to its in-lens leaf shutter.

The cross-section (side-view) of the optical components of an SLR shows how the light passes through the lens assembly (1), is reflected by the mirror (2) and is projected on the matte focusing screen (5). Via a condensing lens (6) and internal reflections in the roof pentaprism (7) the image appears in the eyepiece (8). When an image is taken, the mirror moves in the direction of the arrow, the focal plane shutter (3) opens, and the image is projected in the film (4) in exactly the same manner as on the focusing screen.

This feature separates SLRs from other cameras, as the user sees the image as it would be captured. This aids in accurately knowing the image beforehand.

Since the technology became widespread in the 1970s, SLRs have become the main type of camera used by dedicated amateur photographers and professionals.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-lens_reflex_camera

The way the camera takes the picture is what determins SLR.... yours is not an SLR, although from the review I just read it does sound like a very nice camera...

 

[DizGeek]

I say you give the "M" option a try for awhile to test it out and see what it does. Obviously, if you want to keep the pictures, just use the auto mode until you master the "M" mode...then if you like it, you can jump up to a SLR.

Heres a good web site to browse.

www.dpreview.com

 

[jann1033]

in addition to Kelly's compilation you might want to check the Sony website also and see if they have any kind of tutorial...if not go to canon via this link http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/index.html
the eos tutorial ( far left) helps explain shutter, aperture etc and shows pictures that might help( some is eos specific but lots isn't)

 

[pisco]

I feel like I wind up saying this in every other thread I contribute to here but it can't be said enough. Pick up a copy of Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. This is an excellent way to learn about the relationship between Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.

I promise you will comfortable experimenting with the manual mode on your camera after reading this.

 

[WillCAD]

What really defines an SLR camera is how the light travels into it through the lens. However, every modern SLR that I have ever seen, whether film or digital, has always had interchangable lenses.

This diagram is for a film camera, but a digital SLR is exactly the same, except that it has a digital sensor instead of film.

This diagram is good, too, since it also shows where the shutter is:

Light comes in through the lens. The light bounces off the mirror, goes up through the pentaprism, and is sent back through the viewfinder to your eye. Thus, when you look through the viewfinder of an SLR, you are actually seeing the light that comes through the lens (point and shoot cameras just have a place to look through that is not connected to the lens).

When you actually take the picture (see the right side of the first figure), the mirror flips up, allowing the light to pass through to the film or sensor, thus recording an image.

SLR cameras are better than most point and shoots because they tend to have better quality glass in the lenses, better light meters, better auto-focus sensors, more digital features, and finer control over exposure (i.e. how much light actually strikes the film or sensor). Modern SLRs tend to have lots of add-ons available, such as hot shoe flashes, remote controls, extended battery packs, grips for vertical shooting, and of course, a huge selection of lenses from super wide angle to super zoom, and everything in between.

SLRs are more complicated than point and shoot cameras because they can do more things. For every feature or option added to a camera, you also have to have a control or menu item. More features and options = more controls, which makes SLRs more complicated than those silver Kodak boxes with one button on top that says "Press here to take a picture".

And the difference between an automatic camera vs. a manual camera is simply that the automatic camera reads the light and decides how far to open the shutter and how long to open the shutter so that enough light strikes the film or sensor to record an image. It also decides how long to fire the flash and how powerful the flash will be to illuminate dark areas. Manual cameras allow you to adjust all of those settings (one at a time or all at once, however you please), since the human eye and brain are still smarter than any camera ever built.

 

[Caitsmama]

Thank you all very much!!! I will have to start checking into the M mode!