Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, Dposcorp, SpotTheCat
just brew it! wrote:On dedicated photography forums you're going to get a lot of artsy-fartsy types who don't have the patience to actually learn about the equipment. Here, a large percentage of the forum members are computer geeks who actually want to understand how things work at a fairly deep level. I think that's the essential difference.
ludi wrote:I used P&S digitals for years before finally getting my first dSLR this year. IMO a lot of people would benefit from practicing photography on a P&S before going whole-hog, because the limitations of the hardware will force you to learn some things about lighting and composition that might otherwise get buried under the "ooh, complex toy" factor.
JustAnEngineer wrote:Incidentally, in your example the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM is a very high quality general-purpose zoom lens. Did you mean the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens that comes in the EOS 550 kit?
SlyFerret wrote:As we all know, in the days of film, most hobbyists couldn't just fire away with their cameras, taking thousands of shots per month. They had to take into account the cost of film and processing, or the cost of setting up their own darkroom to develop their images. Back then, they also needed to really pay attention and know what they were doing in order to make sure they got the image they wanted, since they didn't have the handy little preview window on the back of the camera to make sure that the image turned out like they wanted.
Now days, somebody buys an electronic gadget, goes out and presses the shutter a bunch of times, gets a couple good images (even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then), and says... "see, I'm a photographer!"
Voldenuit wrote:Sometimes, in the pursuit of gear, we forget that the ultimate goal is to take better pictures, and not just more gear ^_^.
I'm just speculating on the cause of the influx of so many people to the hobby that are "helpless".
I have to wonder if part of the problem isn't related to the fact that the transition to digital, and the proliferation of relatively inexpensive dSLR cameras just about eliminated all of the barriers to entry into this hobby.
paulWTAMU wrote:What I don't understand is *anyone* that spends major bucks without doing some research. Car, PC, camera, guns, instruments, whatever. How do you not look into something before dropping 2 grand?
Madman wrote:Then again, I don't take pictures on M as well, except when I do night photographs with 30sec shutters. Somehow I even starting to lean towards setting ISO to auto on P mode, so that all people who take my camera could also make non-blurry pictures. AF at center spot also throws all newbies off.
Madman wrote:Then again, I don't take pictures on M as well, except when I do night photographs with 30sec shutters. Somehow I even starting to lean towards setting ISO to auto on P mode, so that all people who take my camera could also make non-blurry pictures. AF at center spot also throws all newbies off.
reactorfuel wrote:Madman wrote:Then again, I don't take pictures on M as well, except when I do night photographs with 30sec shutters. Somehow I even starting to lean towards setting ISO to auto on P mode, so that all people who take my camera could also make non-blurry pictures. AF at center spot also throws all newbies off.
Automatic focus? Pansy.
JustAnEngineer wrote:Changing the ISO on the EOS 40D just requires pushing a dedicated button then spinning the top wheel. You can see the ISO displayed on the top LCD, on the rear screen and in the viewfinder. No menus are required.
Madman wrote:You know what's the best thing?
When someone stands near me with 50D or something, he presses the button and built in flash opens (green camera mode), makes me laugh out loud every time.
Then again, I don't take pictures on M as well, except when I do night photographs with 30sec shutters. Somehow I even starting to lean towards setting ISO to auto on P mode, so that all people who take my camera could also make non-blurry pictures. AF at center spot also throws all newbies off.