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Author Topic: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR  (Read 4036 times)

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Offline Jenny C-B

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New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« on: October 05, 2008, 07:49:44 PM »
My very lovely boyfriend has just bought me a Sony Alpha 100 for my birthday after I used my colleagues Digital SLR and loved it.

Does anyone have any general hints or tips for using the camera?

Jenny
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Offline Rob aka [minolta mad]

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2008, 09:07:37 PM »
Hi there Jenny C-B, and welcome to the forum.
As for hints and tips, it will really depend on what type of images you are wanting to take.

The A100 is a capable camera, and one of the great things about digital, is that you get an instant feedback of the image you have taken. Which allows you to take lots of images and experiment.

A couple of members have written some articles that go through the basics of photography, One by Gazzra See Here and one by Winjeel See Here.

If you have any specific questions then just ask, this is a very friendly forum and there is always someone that will have the answer to your question.


Rob [minolta mad]
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Offline tpe

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2008, 09:12:23 PM »
To start with just take as many pictures as doesnt get you board and see what is fun. It doesnt cost anything so click away to your hearts content. Delete some, see what you like, mess around. Take it easey trying to find out about photography, there is bags to learn, but whatever you do don't get lost in all the tech, it is best to just enjoy it and then find out what it is you want to do with it later when you need it for what ever bit of photography you need it for at the time. Enjoy, find out the rough basics (apperture shutter etc), then try out some more etc etc, there will and know there will always be soemthing more you can do if you get board of what you are doing.

And welcome to the forums.  btw. does your boyfriend have a sister btw? oops, sorry don't tell the wife i said that ;).

tim

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Offline Stef.

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #3 on: October 06, 2008, 12:03:57 AM »
Welcome Jenny! I am a very big fan of actually reading the manual of things! This doesn't mean you have to memorise it but it helps you later on to remember what your camera is able to do. I would carry it around with me and literally try everyting out that's in it. One of the most important things when going outshooting later on is knowing your camera inside out. You don't want to have to search for certain controls or how things work when you are out there shooting!
Enjoy your new toy- and you got a nice boyfriend there ;)
Stef. :P
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Offline winjeel

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2008, 10:53:43 AM »
Thanks Rob. Apart from Garry's and my site, just clicking away (and experimenting), reading the manual, there's one more thing you should know, it's very important that you know this, and do this, as it will help you a lot and it is... Oh, gees. I forgot. No... That's all!
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JapanesePhotos.Asia; Some basic photographic how to's.
Sony the200, Minolta 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, 70-300mm Gregarious, 100mm 2.8 macro.

Offline Jenny C-B

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2008, 11:03:07 AM »
Thank you all - yep clicking away at anything that moves (and doesnt move)! Turning on my bathroom taps was a great substitute for capturing a waterfall!

Jenny

ps. Tim - he has THREE sisters!

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Offline winjeel

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2008, 11:09:05 AM »
Quote from: Jenny C-B on October 06, 2008, 11:03:07 AM
...

ps. Tim - he has THREE sisters!

So... the next competition (Monthly Challenge) should be... portraits?  ;)

What area are you in, btw?
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JapanesePhotos.Asia; Some basic photographic how to's.
Sony the200, Minolta 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, 70-300mm Gregarious, 100mm 2.8 macro.

Offline Jenny C-B

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2008, 11:54:30 AM »
Based in Surrey / Somerset!

Tell me more about the monthly contest...
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Offline winjeel

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #8 on: October 06, 2008, 02:05:13 PM »
I'm not sure about your area, but there's got to be really nice old buildings and parks around Reading, and I assume there'd be nice spots in your area, too.

This month's challenge is night photography: http://www.dynaxdigital.com/index.php/board,15.0.html Anybody can enter, and it's a fun way to experiment and try things you haven't done before, whilst building up a photo library. Enjoy.
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JapanesePhotos.Asia; Some basic photographic how to's.
Sony the200, Minolta 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, 70-300mm Gregarious, 100mm 2.8 macro.

Offline almassengale

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2008, 01:16:01 AM »
It is a very capable camera. I love both of mine. They've got some wonderful results. As a landscape or daylight camera they cannot be beat. One of my biggest suggestions for improving is to take the camera off of "auto" mode. With a digital you get instant feedback so play around with different settings to see what they do. Try different aperatures, etc.

I also recommend the Minolta 50mm 1.7 lens. It is an awesome lens for portraits and a great lens to learn on because you have great control over depth of field meaning you can control what is in focus very well for creative effect. It also is very sharp. All of that for under $100 used. Its a bargain.
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Offline winjeel

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2008, 01:21:23 AM »
almassenga, welcome to the forums. You got a 50mm 1.7 for under $100? Wow, great stuff. I've been considering such a move for a few years, but only more seriously in the last few weeks. It's a great lens, but I never thought of it as a landscape lens. Hmm...
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JapanesePhotos.Asia; Some basic photographic how to's.
Sony the200, Minolta 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.4, 70-300mm Gregarious, 100mm 2.8 macro.

Offline almassengale

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2008, 02:31:11 AM »
It isn't a landscape lens. I was talking more about the camera and i'm sorry to have confused. I use a 16-80 and a 11-18 for landscape work. I got the 50 1.7 on ebay a couple years ago for $80 something. I now use a 50 1.4 but in reality I really don't think it was worth paying the money to get the slightly faster lens. I think the 50 1.7 is just about as good for a lot less money.
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Offline dxqcanada

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #12 on: November 16, 2008, 03:21:18 AM »
I would suggest:

getting the largest memory cards you can
always shoot in RAW
get a 15mm lens
get a 100mm macro lens
get Adobe Photoshop CS4
get a photo quality printer

... ok, some of these are not essential tips ... except for the one about shooting in RAW.
There is so much image data that gets lost if you do not shot RAW.
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Offline zekewhipper

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Re: New to Alpha 100 and Digital SLR
« Reply #13 on: October 31, 2009, 05:42:25 AM »
I disagree with always shooting in RAW, and here's why:

http://www.dyxum.com/columns/other/rawflaw.asp
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-occasionally use my wife's Sony A100
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