Once again some more questions?

Brian L · Nov 13, 2007

Alright guys I am learning lots from this site and found out that I should have done a little more research before I bought my Finepix s700. However it takes great pictures for what it is and a great starting camrea that I am happy with. However after the first of the year I will be upgrading to a true slr. What do you guys think about the canon rebel. Here is the link.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=11154

Im going to play with it at a local camra shop tomorrow but would like to know what you think as far as a noob moving up in photography? It fits my budget for now. Also I would like to know.... With a digital camera everyone knows if you push half way down to take a shot the camera focuses on what your taking and you can then press all the way down to take the shot. What I want to know is... Do you just press all the way down and hold steady or do you first focus then press all the way down? Which would be the proper way and is there a difference between just pressing to focus or pressing all the way down and letting the camrea focus then shoots?

Also I would like to know with more advanced camreas such as this canon I am looking at. With most cameras they have modes. Now are these modes there for both noobs like me lol and the expert people. Lets say there is an expert. He is taking a macro shot of a flower. Does this expert use the mode or does he just us manual mode cause he has learned bout lighting and what not. Also do the modes better a picture if some can't get the shot by setting shutter speed and just using manual mode. Do all theses mode still play in roll when you become a better at photography?

One thing about this camera I looking at that I did not mention. It says it take a cf card. I am not sure what a cf card is and are they standard for a true digital slr like a standard sandisk for a my camra? Is there any trade offs between shooting speeds and right times.

Thanks guys and gals so much for answering these questions. I know its a lot of questions but answer the best you can thanks.

nossie · Nov 13, 2007

I think your path to slr is like many on here. Mine too. I bought the 350d when it was new out and it's a fantastic camera. It does all of the things that SLRs do, so it's perfect for price/beginner matching. You'll sell it in seconds for a fair price too if you want to upgrade later on.
Get the views of some Nikon people for balance though since I bought into the Canon line. Seems to be good talk about the Nikon cameras in the same class.

Do you just press all the way down and hold steady or do you first focus then press all the way down? Which would be the proper way and is there a difference between just pressing to focus or pressing all the way down and letting the camrea focus then shoots?

The shutter button has two stages, half way starts the focusing then all the way causes the click. You usually complete this move in one pass... press half way, pause, if you don't focus where you intended release and press half way again until you focus on what you want then complete the motion to trip the shutter.

The camera can work in fully automatic or fully manual modes and everything in between. How to use it is all ahead of you.
Regarding the macro shot, it's more of a job for the different lenses you'll buy along the way.
To learn how to use the different modes a lot of people are suggesting the book Understanding Exposure for $16 - great investment in yourself.

cf card means Compact Flash card, it's another form of memory card. Buy a slightly more expensive version because it reads/writes faster and won't slow the camera down.

Check out this other thread for a current talk about the XTI
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99936

patrickt · Nov 13, 2007

Modes try an anticipate the needs of the photographer for more or less depth-of-field or a faster shutter speed for action shots or a wider aperture for lower light. They're like training wheels. And, like training wheels, when you're ready you can go without them. If you check the more expensive models they rarely if ever had "modes".