Just boght a digital camera need advice on how to use it...

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2003-09-25 07:08am

Okay after much websurfing and review reading I finaly ordered a new digital camera.

Now I am the ovner of a Minolta 7Hi ETA from the delivery service is next Monday.

So nof for a question, anyone knows of guides and stuff how I shold use that camera?

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-09-25 07:12am

What kind of advice?
I'm assuming 'point and click' is a bit obvious?

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2003-09-25 07:14am

Well point anc click is abot as much I cn do today so any guides from the net and stuff would be much appriciated(sp?)

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-09-25 07:17am

appreciated

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-09-25 07:26am

It should come with a manual, right? That should be well enough of a start.

Speaking of cameras, I really should use my Pentax SLR more often...

Kenny_10_Bellys · Post by **Kenny_10_Bellys** » 2003-09-25 10:46am

Photography tips for the beginner, these are the things I see amatuers doing that drive me up the wall...

1. it's not a gun, dont aim for the head. Too many shots of people come my way with the head of the subject dead centre, and acres of sky above. If you think like it's a weapon then at least aim for the heart, cropping your picture more neatly on the subject.

2. Get close! Most pictures are of people in some way or another, and the best advice anyone can get is to get close to your subject, the closer the better. Fill the frame with them and you'll have an interesting shot one way or the other, and with more chance of it being lit correctly and in focus. Cartier-Bresson was once the worlds greatest photojournalist and that was always his advice to n00bs.

3. Hold it the right way up! If you're taking a shot of a wide scene, several people or a landscape or whatever, then hold the camera as normal and all will be well. If it's a portrait then for gods sake hold the camera in 'portrait format' with the long axis of the picture running up and down. That way you get a much better picture than your subject in the middle and 2 sides full of out of focus clutter.

Any advice more complex than this would require too much space to write up. Go buy a decent beginners guide and see how much it helps. If your camera has controls similar to an SLR (that is control of shutter speed and aperture) then you can go buy pretty much any good photography book and it'll help. Have fun.

Coalition · Post by **Coalition** » 2003-09-26 01:55am

1) Some digital cameras have a screen in the back of the camera, so you can see how the picture will look before you take it. Use it.

2) set the flash to default. I went to Dragoncon last year, and never used the flash indoors. My pictures were horrible. This year I had lots of batteries and left the flash on all the time. The only pictures I had that were horrible were the ones where the flash didn't go off.

3) Practice. Take pictures of people walking by, take pictures indoors, outdoors, everywhere. Review the pictures on your computer afterwards, see what worked and what didn't. Delete them afterwards, and do it again.

4) Get a large CompactFlash card. If a 16MB card comes with the camera, you will only be able to get ~32 pictures on it, but those will be at 8x10 picture quality. If you grab a 256 MB flash card, you will be having lots of fun.

Of all the advice above, #3 is the most important.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-09-26 02:05am

I think my family's digital camera has a 4mb card