Daft question

melanie

melanie

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Just in case I didn't post this in the right place before....

Good Morning.
I want to ask a question that'll make you all wonder how anybody quite so ignorant dares to even be looking at this forum, but please bear with me, I'm REALLY new (couldn't even manage to make my pic bigger than a postage stamp at my one attempt so far to post a photo on here) but I will learn, I promise. That's why I'm here. :wave:
Question - I only have a compact (Pentax M20) - can I set the shutter speed manually or do I have to just live with the camera deciding for me?
Reading all these bits of advice above about Apertures and ISOs etc is like martian to me at the moment. I've managed to master the manual focus settings and a few other things but I don't even know whether it will let me do any of the other stuff.
My fireworks shots will NOT be appearing here!! But any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. :thinking:
 
If you can't ask the questions, how can you improve :D

There are no stupid questions... Only stupid answers :lol:

There doesn't look to be a "manual" mode.. There is a P (program) mode, but I'm not sure whether that'll allow you to change settings such as shutter speed, aperature or ISO.
 
Melanie
From reading the specs for the M20 you only have control over ISO, white balance & exposure comensation, so you won't get much control over what the camera decides to do. There is a Night Scene mode which would probably be best - maybe someone will come along with more detailed experience of this camera.
Basically if you don't have the options for P, A, S, M (Programme, Aperture, Shutter Speed, Manual) you're pretty much at the mercy of the camera!
Have fun at the display!
 
Hi Melanie - ask away with all your questions - that's what the forum's here for!

As for your settings for fireworks - you're looking for a fairly long exposure - usually around the 6 second mark - so the camera mounted on a tripod is a must. Bearing in mind you have no control over the shutter speed I would actually suggest setting the ISO as low as possible (100 if you can - 200 if not) which should force the camera to expose for longer. Hopefully. :)

I usually use 100 for night shots anyway as the results tend to be more free of noise.
 
mattyh said:
There are no stupid questions... Only stupid answers :lol:
Click to expand...
Just out of curiosity, Matty, what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they suddenly get smart before they ask a question, and then relapse into stupidity afterwards?
 
StewartR said:
Just out of curiosity, Matty, what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they suddenly get smart before they ask a question, and then relapse into stupidity afterwards?
Click to expand...

Good point, but are they stupid because they don't know the answer to their "stupid" question, or just because they are generally stupid?

If you don't know the answer to a so called stupid question, does that also make you stupid?

My head hurts now :lol:
 
I totally agree that there are no stupid questions, if you don't know - just ask.

I believe your question has been answered i.e. No your current camera doesn't have the ability to change the Aperture / Shutter Speed on demand. I'm currently looking for a pocket sized compact that has this ability and the sad fact I'm learning is that there aren't many that do :shake:

If you want to learn about photography (and it sounds like you do :thumbs:) then you really do need to have basic control over the Aperture and Shutter Speed. So therefore you need a new camera which has these controls this will cost from about £50 (if you are content to go with second hand).
 
No, there are stupid questions (Sorry for going somewhat off topic here); Had a student come up to me the other week (I work on an IT helpdesk in a 6th from college) and asked; "Are there any wars on at the moment?" I looked at her deadly serious face for a minute before answering; "Yes, there's Iraq, Afghanistan...". "Oh right, how do you spell Iraq?". Im sorry, but even if you don't watch the news, how do you manage to miss the fact that there's a war on?:shrug:

Then a few days ago even that was beaten;

Student: "Are you the person I see about the password thingy?"
Me: "Yes, thats me, have you got your student ID card?"
Student: "Erm (Looks confused) no."
Me: "Whats your name?"
Student: *gives me her name*
Me: "Whats your date of birth?"
Student: "Well I don't know the numbers, but its the first of January."

:eek: What! You don't know that January is the 1st month? and people say A levels arn't getting easier. How do some people get dressed in the morning?
 
Thank you everybody!
Messiah, if you are not pulling my leg, then you've definately succeeded in making me feel like quite an academic compared to those students :cuckoo:

Anyhow I've definately had my question answered so cheers everybody. I'll try the low ISO suggestion and start saving up for a better camera.....I'll be back when the time comes asking for advice about what to buy.
 
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