Hi im Misha!

[Kofman13]

Hello all! I am totally new to dSLRs ive always been interested in photography. I just got my first dSLR today it is OLYMPUS EVOLT E-510 Black 10.0 MP 2.5" 230K LCD Digital SLR Camera w/ ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Lense

I have no idea where to start!! What is a good way to get started learning settings and so forth. I have a few questions. I played with a friends canon xt and he had a lens that does not zoom and it could focus on a subject and make the background blurry.. can I do that too? Whats a good way to practice getting to know my new camera? I am here to learn!

 

[ssnxp]

Hello all! I am totally new to dSLRs ive always been interested in photography. I just got my first dSLR today it is OLYMPUS EVOLT E-510 Black 10.0 MP 2.5" 230K LCD Digital SLR Camera w/ ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Lense

I have no idea where to start!! What is a good way to get started learning settings and so forth. I have a few questions. I played with a friends canon xt and he had a lens that does not zoom and it could focus on a subject and make the background blurry.. can I do that too? Whats a good way to practice getting to know my new camera? I am here to learn!

Welcome, Misha!

What your friend has is called a Prime lens. Primes cannot zoom, but they typically take slightly sharper photos. The extent of this is debated.

To get a blurred background, you'll need a lower depth of field (DOF). TO get a low DOF, you need to have a higher aperture. A higher aperture is a SMALLER f/ number, which equates to a wider opened aperture.

For instance, my 50mm f1.8 can blur the background very well, but my zoom lens (which has a maximum aperture of 3.5) does not do as well at blurring the background.

I'm no professional, but I hope this helps a bit. And the best way to "learn" your camera is to go and shoot! (Read the manual first though, it helps too )

 

[Nicholas James Photo]

Welcome Misha,

DOF is HIGHER aperture which means Smaller f number which gives you WIDER etc etc. A lens with a lower number is faster (love this game)

The first thing to learn is that photography terminology is a pain in the ar** when you first set out because everything seems to contradict itself, but keep with it, it's worth learning.

As ssnxp said read the manual and if you can pick up a copy of a good (photography basics) book, do that too.

Then it is a good idea to take a number of pics of the same thing, at different settings, so that you can get a comparison and feel for the different results. Take zillions of photos, it's not like we pay for film and developing anymore.

Try not to shoot on auto - my preference is AP

I have been at this years (too many to mention) and the perfect picture is just around the corner