Beginners Beginner

rbweddle · Jul 1, 2013

Bought my first dSLR since owning Canon AE-1, and Canon SX500IS. Have Canon T2I with kit 18-135 lens. I bought Zykkor FD adapter so I could try my old Canon AE-1 lens. Now have the Canon FD 50 mm/1.8 lens attached and want to learn from it Would like to learn basic photo with this combo and would like any suggestions from the "experts" Thanks

deeky · Jul 1, 2013

That's about like asking how you get from here to there without defining either point. Start reading and listening. Start taking pictures and share them here for feedback. Don't really qualify as an expert, but that's my advice. We need to know where we are starting.

ShaneF · Jul 2, 2013

I bought my first DSLR about 2 months ago and i can honesty say youtube has been a great learning channel for me since i have a bit of add when it comes to books but there is a lot of information out there in all formats to get a hold of. They are so many Videos about photography its fantastic. I try to watch a few videos everyday and at least take 1 thing away from what i saw because the information is too overwhelming to try to do everything at once.

The biggest thing i find is to take that 1 thing or more and go practice it until you are comfortable with it and then go back for more.

I am no expert to photography but when i started it seemed like i opened the door to a landslide of information and got very excited and discouraged at the same time. But every time i get my camera in my hands and some new information i get a little bit better.

I can honestly say i have taken about 1000 pictures in my house in the last few months just trying things out and another few hundred when i go out to actually make an effort to get pictures i plan on getting keeping. Not all my pictures are keepers but i get more and more every time.

Sorry to rant i kinda got carried away.

ShooterJ · Jul 2, 2013

Agreed, the best place to start is with the camera. If you haven't already learned about it's functions, then refer to your manual. Read that more than once and get familiar with how it works, what the various modes are, etc. Once you know how to operate your camera effectively, get out and start taking photos. YouTube is great, as stated above.. and this forum is excellent if you have specific questions or photos that you would like feedback on.

The best thing you can do is to SHOOT. Start using the camera, take photos, post them for feedback and build on what you can do from there. Congrats on the new camera and good luck! Look forward to seeing some of your photos.

peter27 · Jul 2, 2013

I'm not sure but think if your 50mm lens is from the AE-1, it won't look like 50mm through the viewfinder of the 550D but more like 75mm because of the crop sensor. Probably the DoF will be different and possibly the hyperfocal range. I confess that I'm a digital dunce though, so maybe someone else could confirm or correct this info.

hirejn · Jul 2, 2013

Become a student of light. Experiment with it. Learn how to meter it. Learn how to expose for it. You have the gear; now learn how to use it. Gear alone is nothing without skill. Don't become fascinated with the tools. Learn how to apply the fundamentals of photography to your images. Look up pro webinars and seminars and workshops. Read pro books. Get out and shoot. Walk around your neighborhood and try something new.

TCampbell · Jul 2, 2013

rbweddle said:
Bought my first dSLR since owning Canon AE-1, and Canon SX500IS. Have Canon T2I with kit 18-135 lens. I bought Zykkor FD adapter so I could try my old Canon AE-1 lens. Now have the Canon FD 50 mm/1.8 lens attached and want to learn from it Would like to learn basic photo with this combo and would like any suggestions from the "experts" Thanks

You should learn by using the kit lens... don't try to use the FD lens (yet.)

Buy a copy of "Understanding Exposure" (by Bryan Peterson) or alternatively you can buy the Scott Kelby Digital Photography series of books (I think he's up to four volumes now.)

The single-volume "Understanding Exposure" is probably the more popular and is geared toward teach beginners the basics of using a DSLR camera by learning to shoot in manual so that you grasp what happens when you change shutter speed vs aperture vs. ISO and why even though two completely different settings result in the camera capturing the same amount of light, the images you capture can look very different.

The problem with the FD lens is that it'll be more challenge than you should be trying to take on right now because it doesn't work the way any of of the EOS lenses.

The FD lens doesn't have any electronic communication with the body. It also has no focus motor. You'd have to manually focus the lens. On your AE-1 you'll notice you have a nice HUGE BRIGHT viewfinder with a giant split-prism (two half-moon shapes) in the center which show when your focus is correct by causing a subject in those two half-moon shapes to appear in phase or out of phase with respect to the other half of the moon. It's then surrounded by an array of micro-prisms which further help as a focusing aid.

Your T2i, on the other hand, has no split-prism focusing aid in the viewfinder... in fact it has no visual aids at all. It shows you where the AF points are that the camera would use (if only you had an auto-focusing lens). Since the T2i is a crop-frame sensor body, the mirror and viewfinder are much smaller than they are in your AE-1. You'll notice the edge-to-edge view that your eye sees isn't nearly as large nor as bright as your AE-1.

Lastly, the AE-1 can automatically control the f-stop on the lens but your T2i cannot. The aperture is mechanically controlled by the AE-1. You can press the small black button to the right of the green letter "A" on your aperture ring (on the lens) to unlock it and this will allow you to manually dial in the f-stop you'd like to use, but the "through the camera" metering can't control the aperture.

When you've thoroughly understand how aperture, shutter, and ISO work together to control exposure and are able to do it with your T2i and kit lens backwards and forwards, in manual mode (or any other mode) THEN you can grab your 50mm FD lens and have some fun with it. But if you try to control the lens before you even understand what you're controlling or why you're more likely to just get confused and possibly frustrated.

rbweddle · Jul 17, 2013

Thanks for all the comments. Sorry to be so late in responding. I believe the message is "when all else fails, read the instructions" I like the suggestion to work in MANUAL and SHOOT.