New here, complete newbie to photography

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lawrence567

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Lawrence
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Morning all,

I've found you all via Google :)
This is my first post here & i'm a complete newbie, when i say complete, i mean that my current photo taking abilities lie within an Iphone 4.
I can hear you all sighing now, 'here comes another one'.
Well i've decided that i'd like to be able to take some nice photo's & learn a new hobby, i'm here for the long run & i've already bought myself a camera.
My brother has a Canon 600D & dabbles a bit in photogaphy & he gave me a couple of pointers, he was edging me towards Canon as that is what he has used the last few years, i was looking into an 1100D, i'd ideally have liked to have gotten hold of a 550D but my budget could'nt stretch that far.
So i ended up with a Nikon D3100 from Jessops with a 18-55VR lens.
My main reason on getting the Nikon over the 1100 was the full HD video capabilities & the fact you just seemed to get a bit more bang for your buck for little extra outlay (although this was primarely based on my limitied knowledge & reading online reviews etc).
Starting out i'll mainly just be taking things of interest to me, so my son who's not far off 2, family, celebrations etc, i live in the country so also sunrises / sunsets & anything that really takes my fancy at the time.
I also liked the capabilites of the full HD video for special occasions etc.
The only stumbling block was the lack of ability to add an exteral microphone for better quality but i figured if i need one badly i can always upgrade once i've learnt a bit more!
So, with my limited knowledge in mind, is there anything else i should be looking at purchasing to get started?
I'm looking at camera backpacks at the moment to keep everything safe, i've ordered a memory card also, lens hoods, UV filters, lens cleaner pen etc, will i need those?
I'm going to order some screen protectors for piece of mind also!
Plus any hints & tips will be greatly welcomed.
Could i of obtained all of the above from a bridge / fancy P&C camera? Probably but i liked DSLRS, i like toys/gadgets & i figured photography would be a cool thing to learn a bit about.
Anyway, hello all :)
 
Welcome to TP Lawrence. You will find plenty to learn from others on here. As to extra equipment, take it slowly, you will find that if you get bitten by the photography bug, you will end up spending a fortune! Find areas of photography that interest you, then see what you will need, especially in terms of lenses. Have a look arond the forums and see what others produce. There are some really talented togs on here, who are always willing to give advice to newcomers. If you have a question just ask, no question is too dumb. And lastly Enjoy!
 
Errr I'm unsure about mentioning this but it is something I only tend to remember to do once i loose something.

Insurance coverage? You have a lot of shiny new kit. And as much as it pains me to say, it does have the possibility of getting stolen, damaged etc. See how your current insurance covers things maybe.
Also if you are looking to upgrade a few bits don't forget to update the details for any insurance you do take out on your kit!
Regards
 
Unless you're a pro or very serious amateur you'll probably find your house insurance will cover it even away from home so no need to take out special insurance. You need yo check your policy.
 
D3100 here also :D

you should go into Live view, then change AF mode to AF-S. before pressing record button, half-press the shutter button to focus, now you can record and have a reasonably clean audio track.
 
Thanks for the replies so far...
I have a habit of getting 'into things' & buying every conceivable extra under the sun, i'm determined this time round not to do this, hence asking for advise ;)
I was looking into getting one of those 'Nikon D3100 for Dummies' books, would this be a worthwhile purchase or am i better learning from Youtube tutorials et al?
 
I would stop buying and go out and take some photos.
 
lol, same here. on the month i bought the camera (first digital SLR for me) i went crazy and spent £1000 on all kinds of stuff: 2 extra lenses, bag, flash, tripod, etc.

the 18-55mm kit lens is more than good enough. get out there and shoot is most important thing.

no need for books, just experiment in manual mode. digital cameras are really the same, just need to read up on 3 main settings to understand basics of photography:
-Aperture
-Shutter speed
-ISO
 
wuyanxu said:
lol, same here. on the month i bought the camera (first digital SLR for me) i went crazy and spent £1000 on all kinds of stuff: 2 extra lenses, bag, flash, tripod, etc.

the 18-55mm kit lens is more than good enough. get out there and shoot is most important thing.

no need for books, just experiment in manual mode. digital cameras are really the same, just need to read up on 3 main settings to understand basics of photography:
-Aperture
-Shutter speed
-ISO
Click to expand...

manual mode won't teach you composition, light etc...books, forums like this and online tutorials can be extremely useful for you to start learning quickly
 
sorry, i meant camera specific books. all cameras are the same, composition and lighting is photographer's judgement, not something a camera book covers.

photography books, photography forums are extremely useful. i agree.
 
Welcome to TP :)

Stop buying things. Especially stuff suggested by sales people. You obviously need a memory card, but don't get anything else yet. Nothing. Plenty of time for that.

What you need is some experience and knowledge. Read the tutorials on here. You will soon find out that what you need and what you want are completely different things ;) Good luck.
 
Ok thanks, i hav'nt bought anything more than the camera, the USB cable & the memory card at the moment, although i am going to buy a case/bag to protect it as i'm a tad clumsy!
Nothing was recommended by anyone, i've just been looking on the web & thought a book with pointers might of helped me.
I'd prefer to read online tutorials / watch videos etc anyway!
 
wuyanxu said:
composition and lighting is photographer's judgement, not something a camera book covers.
Click to expand...

There are many books that cover this, The Photographers Eye is a great book that covers all aspects of composition for example.
 
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