Digital Photography Beginner

[rbweddle]

Hi all. I am a new member and want to expand my photography knowledge beyond Auto mode. I am a senior and grew up with film from my first Argus C3 to my last Canon AE1 (which I still have and it works). Digitally, I have moved from a Sony Dcs-W50, to Canon SX-200IS to my present Canon SX-500IS. (I broke the SX-200) I thought the AE-1 was simple because the film determined the ISO and you could press the button halfway and the internal light meter would tell you if there was enough light and whether to change the shutter speed and aperture. I know the basics of photography but want to understand the specifics of my camera. Does anyone know of a "cheat sheet" that shows if condition A exists, then set the camera to______. Reading the owners manual shows all the options but is confusing to try and remember all the shooting conditions when in the field.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Bruce,

P. S. Would switching to a DSLR, like the Canon T2i or T3i make life any easier???

 

[480sparky]

Trying to create a 'cheat sheet' will only cause you to cheat yourself. it's far better to learn what each setting does, what impact it has on the image, then use that knowledge to choose wisely in the field.

 

[KmH]

Today's cameras have a lot of options. There really aren't any short cuts to learning what those options are.

I'm a senior too ( - not high school) but started making the switch from film to digital several years ago. The transition took me 2 years.

Exposure is exposure but there is a lot of other stuff to learn, like digital image file types, white balance, image file management, yada, yada, yada.
With film we exposed for the shadows and let the highlights take care of themselves.
Digital is just the opposite - expose for the highlights and let the shadows take car of themselves.