man this is hard...

[prodigy2k7]

Think of the aperture are your iris getting smaller in bright light and bigger in less light. (pupils get bigger/smaller as a result)

Also, the "shutter" is kinda like you blinking your eyes, except you start with them closed, open them for lets say 1/10 of a second (slow) or really fast like 1/1000 of a second!

Also the shutter is location inside the camera body, the aperture is located inside the lens.

 

[TamiyaGuy]

Congrats on getting the camera, Upper! What was it again, a D60?

For beginning, I'd recommend putting the camera in Program (P) mode for general shots. This is similar to Auto in that it controlls the aperture and shutter speed for you, but you can control stuff like ISO sensitivity, White Balance (e.g. Tungsten for indoor lighting) and whether or not you have the flash. If you want to get that "popping out" feeling to portraits or close-ups, set the camera to Aperture Priority (A) mode, and set the camera to the largest aperture you can (lowest F-number, it'll be between 3.5 and 5.6 for your lens). Likewise, if you want to get everything in focus for a landscape shot, set the camera to A mode and choose the smallest aperture you can (biggest F-number, between 22 and 36). Be aware, however, that a smaller aperture will result in a slower shutter speed, so a tripod might be necessary. Also, it's worth noting that a lens never performs at its best at very large or very small apertures, so at f/36 you might find your images "soften" a bit (I haven't seen anything THAT bad at f/3.5-5.6).

Finally, for sports shots where you absolutely need to freeze the action, or for waterfall shots etc where you want to blur movement, choose the Shutter Priority mode (S). Wheel the command dial to change the shutter speed, and bear in mind that 50 doesn't mean 50 seconds, it's actually 1/50th. For sports, a minimum of 1/160-1/500 is necessary (depending on the sport), but you might need to raise your ISO sensitivity in order to compensate. For blurring photos, you'll certainly need a tripod. If the weather allows for it, choose a shutter speed of about 1 second. This will show up as 1" on your LCD (I say "if the weather allows for it" because you'll get an overexposed photo if you create a 1 second exposure in brigh, bright sunlight).


ISO is how sensitive the camera's sensor is, in the same way as how ISO values on a film work. Your camera's lowest ISO value is 100, so use this for landscape photos, blurred ones, or when you want the absolute best image quality. Your camera's highest sensitivity is ISO 1600/Hi-1 (ISO 3200 equivalent), so use these values for indoor photographs without flash and places where you are absolutely DESPERATE for that extra bit of shutter speed (rock concerts, for example). For sports, an ISO of between 400 and 800 is good. This will allow you to get that extra bit of shutter speed, while still giving you good image quality.

One very last thing: You seem quite into close-up photos. Bear in mind that the closer you focus, the less your depth of field will be, even if you keep the aperture the same. If you want a close-up photo to have everything in focus, you'll need to use very small apertures (large f-numbers).


Congratulations! I hope you'll have as much fun plating with your D60 as I have had playing with my D40!

 

[Dao]

hee hee hee

Actually, upper went with the XSI as mentioned in his post.

 

[Village Idiot]

Even if they're exposed properly, you will get more noise at ISO 800 than you do at 400 and more at 400 than at 100. This becomes a matter of what amount of noise is acceptable to you.

Really? I had no idea it worked that way. I thought that at ISO 801 you got photos that were so noisy that they were un usable.

And actually, I could show you a photo at ISO 400 that's noisier than at ISO 800. Proper exposure, as highlighted above, is the key to getting photos at higher ISO's with as little grain as possible.

 

[icassell]

I meant, with all other things equal ... the higher the ISO, the higher the noise. If the lower ISO shot is poorly exposed, I agree that it might have more noise. I've shot at ISO 3200 and gotten some great images -- it all depends on what you're after.

 

[Battou]

Really? I had no idea it worked that way. I thought that at ISO 801 you got photos that were so noisy that they were un usable.

And actually, I could show you a photo at ISO 400 that's noisier than at ISO 800. Proper exposure, as highlighted above, is the key to getting photos at higher ISO's with as little grain as possible.

I meant, with all other things equal ... the higher the ISO, the higher the noise. If the lower ISO shot is poorly exposed, I agree that it might have more noise. I've shot at ISO 3200 and gotten some great images -- it all depends on what you're after.

I believe what we have here is a descrepency in where internal noise reduction starting point is set in the camrea at hand...but I could be wrong.

 

[Village Idiot]

I believe what we have here is a descrepency in where internal noise reduction starting point is set in the camrea at hand...but I could be wrong.

My post was purely sarcasm. I have experience with the entry level rebels and they function pretty much like the XXD line when it comes to IQ. I shoot at 640-800 when it's called for and don't have any real issue with noise when the photo's exposed properly. Of course, lower ISO = lower noise, but you can still shoot at higher ISO's and get a relatively noise free photo.

 

[Battou]

My post was purely sarcasm. I have experience with the entry level rebels and they function pretty much like the XXD line when it comes to IQ. I shoot at 640-800 when it's called for and don't have any real issue with noise when the photo's exposed properly. Of course, lower ISO = lower noise, but you can still shoot at higher ISO's and get a relatively noise free photo.

I did catch that in the one I quotyed but it was right there handy as this has been going for a wile, never the less I could be wrong on the whole accessment as I am not shooting a 30D like the two of you guys are.