Camera Basics

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I already have a cheap point and shoot.  However I would like to start actually getting into photography.  What would you recommend I buy for my first camera?  Took a look around a craigslist and there was a Nikon N55 for 60 bucks.  deal? 

I think my brother has a cannon rebel thats pretty nice.  It doesnt look too complicated

I think my brother has a cannon rebel thats pretty nice.  It doesnt look too complicated

depends on the rebel. I went from a powershot A570 to the 450d, I thought I'd be able to ease into it quickly but I was wrong. Took me about 6 or 7 months to get proficient with it, and have still been learning it through and through since.

Im not worried about the time.  If I can fiddle and learn something with it everyday im out with it it will keep me interested.  How about one of the entry level Nikon DSLRs?

Thats Axle.  I knew that one was film, only mentioned it because it was pretty cheap.  Ill be looking at entry level dslrs and hopefully entry level priced ones as well.

Doesn't really matter how cheap it is if you're trying to learn... Stick with digital to learn, because you can take 300 pictures and not have to pay $50-60 to have it developed. The settings are essentially the same, and it gives you a huge advantage.

If I take a shot on film (which I rarely do) I usually only take 1. I can't see it until it's developed. If it came out, great! If it didn't, then I wasted my time, money, and eventual frustration as I may never be able to get that shot again.

If I take a shot in digital, I usually take 2 or 3 pictures of every actual shot I want, depending on the subject. I can see a glimpse of it right away, change settings if need be, and take more pictures without a thought. If they came out, great! If they didn't, just delete it, one of the others is probably better.

What Ademan said about Kodak Easyshares is right. I love Canon PowerShots, myself. Either one is pretty easy to learn on, cheap to use, and best of all, they're digital.

Lots of good advice here,  but I suggest you chose the most camera you can afford. Yeah, they're a little complicated, but they all have an "automatic" setting you can use while you learn. If you're a quick learner, and I'll bet you probably are, you won't regret have bought further up the food chain. If you're a slow learner and you don't like a larger DSLR, you can get something for it in eBay. Personally I only use Sonys because they have the best live view and my eyesight isn't what it used to be. But I recommend that you look for either a Nikon or a Canon. There are some real bargains on used cameras -- like the Nikon kit in the previous post.

FILM:
n55 isnt all that great and theres no room to grow with it, if you want a cheap film slr thats going to have comparable options to a dslr check out the the n75 or n80. The n75 is one of the last 3 film cameras nikon made, its modern enough to work with a wireless remote, the n80 requiers a cable release but it can accept differnt focus screens. dont get the n/f90 because it has more complications when it comes to lens motors functioning on the body, if you want something more serious get the f100 instead.  if you arent prepaired to develop your own film, then expect to pay $6-15 dollars every 24/36 shots.

DIGITAL:
Nikon glass is cheaper, I prefer canon because the controls better fit me for low light shooting.  I know a photographer that shoots with a 6mp nikon and a 12-24mm tokina lens. his pictures are astounding and he receives praise all of the time.  I shoot with an xti ($200 body but i carry $700 in glass).  By todays standards these are old cameras, and for entry level/urbex that's all you need.  if you want a dslr this is all the options you need:

6mp or more
Programed auto
Manual
bulb
ability to use a remote with bulb
functioning back screen for preview
interchangeable lenses

I highly suggest a rebel xti

I shot with a canon rebel for years, it held up to a lot of abuse, and still works great.

I just brought home a Nikon4004s for free.  I think I may try and fiddle with it.

Only problem with it:  No power.

no power? is that one on the models that takes aa batteries?

4 AA.  I also have the repair manual.  I may try digging into it tonight.

Yea, so corrosion damage.  I tried cleaning the connections and still no power.

Perhaps take my advince lightly, as I'm a broke noob haha

But when I wanted to get more in to photography (instead of a 5MP point and shoot with very limited capabilities) I did a lot of searching, and realized I couldn't afford a DSLR. What I did find is this though:

http://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-FinePix-S1800-Digital-Stabilized/dp/B0035JD0DW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1312333323&sr=8-6

Back when I bought it, it was only $169 I think, or somewhere around there.

It's called an inbetween camera as it can be used as a point and shoot, but it also allows several manual controls.

You can control the ISO, the exposure, and the shutter speed. You can also "technically" control the aperture, but you're only given two choices to choose from, which is the downfal of the camera. But honestly, you won't see much difference changing the aperture on this camera. Basically it's all in focus, unless you use macro to get an edge blur.

Here's a 100% crop and then just a picture of a pumpkin I took Neither has been edited at all (besides the cropping).
Hopefully this helps a little....

This is a thread for anyone who wants to get into photography or wants to improve their photography, or wants to learn more about the principles behind it. So let's start at the very beginning.

What the heck is a camera? Well, at the very base a camera is a sealed box, that is light tight (doesn't let light in), except through a hole, this hole will often have a lens attached to it, with two things to control the amount of light is let through, that I will cover later. This light is then shone on some light-sensitive materials, and then the captured image is stored in some way.

The first cameras, to your camera in your iPhone work on the same principle, just the technology, materials, and quality has improved since the first permanent photograph was captured in 1826 (If you want to read more on the history of photography, click here for a Wikipedia article.). Now, let's get into the types of cameras that are available to you.

1. The Point & Shoot
This fundamental type of camera is the smallest and cheapest type of camera out there, often is fully automatic and perfect for sliding into a pocket for capturing the family picnic, or a fun vacation. In the film world, these usually take 35mm film, either have a fixed focus lens, or a zoom lens and offer little in the way of manual control. For digital, they have a small sensor, a zoom or digital zoom lens that on lower-end models is plastic and higher-end might be glass. They usually can shoot video as well. Often they will have a simple optical viewfinder or just an LCD screen to compose your shots.

The Canon G-Series is a high end point and shoot camera

2. Bridge or Hybrid
A Hybrid Camera is one that is at its core a point & shoot camera but often have a longer zoom and a more SLR like body. These also take the name 'super-zoom', and while they're still sold, they are often left behind in favour of an SLR.

While an older model the Lumix FZ-7 is a prime example of a Super-Zoom

3. Single Lens Reflex
As the name implies, the SLR has a single lens along with a mirror and prism finder to allow the user to see what the lens sees. Today you can get SLRs that are both digital and film. In the digital field, there are two sub-varients, a DX or Crop Sensor body that has a sensor the size of the APS-C negative. The second is FX or Full-Frame where the sensor is the same size as a 35mm negative (36x24mm). SLRs have interchangeable lenses that allow for different angles of vision. Larger film SLRs accept 120 (medium) format film and shoot larger negative sizes, such as 6cm by 4.5cm or 6cm by 7cm.

The Minolta Maxxum 9 was the last 35mm SLR produced by Minolta. The Lens Mount is used today by Sony a-series dSLRs

4. Mirrorless
Mirrorless cameras are a new format in the digital camera market. These are high-performance cameras that have interchangeable lenses, electronic viewfinders but operate much like an SLR but without the need for mirrors or prisms. You can often adapt your older SLR lenses to work with mirrorless cameras. An example is the Sony a7 or Canon EOS-M series. Like SLRs, they come in both crop and full-frame sensors.

5. Twin Lens Reflex
Twin Lens cameras or TLRs are exclusively film-based, taking a common 120 (Medium) format roll film. A top lens allows you to frame and focus the shot, using a ground-glass waist-level or Porro-mirror finder, while the bottom lens exposes the film. Most shoot a negative size of 6cm by 6cm.

The Rolleiflex 2.8F is one of the top-dogs in the TLR field and has a price-tag to match

6. View Cameras
If 120 film isn't big enough for you, then how about sheet film? Sheet film measures in the inch range starting with 4" by 5" films and are shot using a view camera. The name is such as you using a ground glass to look directly through an open lens. These aren't cameras for beginners as you need lots of extra accessories. They come in three types, Press, Field, and Monorail. If you're taking these out exploring, I suggest a Press (Compact with limited movements) or Field (Compact with a few more movements). Monorails, as they have two standards mounted on a single rail with bellows between them, are more designed for studio work.

A Crown Graphic is an example of a Press View Camera

So now that we have the cameras taken care of, we can start to attach lenses to them. This is mostly aimed at those with interchangeable lens cameras. However, those with a fixed lens camera might be able to read into how to adjust your camera lens to get the best results.

Lenses can be broken down into two major categories. Those with a fixed focal length are known as prime lenses, whereas those with variable focal lengths are zoom lenses. A lenses focal length is usually measured in millimetres (mm) but you will often find some marked in centimetres (cm), 1cm = 10mm, therefore if you have a 5cm lens, it's just a different way of saying 50mm.

Another note before going into the different types of lenses, on focal lengths. Depending on the size of the recording media, the focal length varies. On Digital cameras that us a crop sensor, (that is a sensor size that is less than the 36x24mm or 'full-frame') there's a crop factor. You can multiply the focal length by that number, so for example on Nikon's sensor; there's a 1.5x factor, so your 50mm lens will give you the similar image of a 75mm lens. To get over this factor to some extent, most camera and lens manufacturers have released lenses designed for cropped sensors. Now you can use lenses designed for Full Frame (35mm) sensors on crop sensor bodies, but you will be unable to use crop sensor lenses on full-frame cameras. (Well you can, but there will be issues).

So with Zoom and Prime settled, let's start with classifying the lenses by focal length.

Ultra-Wide
An ultra-wide or just wide lens is anything with a focal length of less than but not including 35mm. But they keep the straight lines in the image straight (within reason, most ultra-wide lenses produce some level of distortion). This type of lens is great for capturing buildings and landscapes. However, I would avoid using them in portraits, unless you're going for that look. You can find ultra-wide lenses in both zoom and prime types. Ultra-wides should not be confused with fish-eye lenses. Fish-eyes, although they fall into the ultra-wide category by focal length, they often have a field of view of 180 degrees and have a very distorted look to them.

One thing to look for in any ultra-wide lens is an aspherical lens so that there's little in the way of distortion in your straight lines.
Nikon F5 - AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G - Rollei RPX 400 - Kodak Xtol (1+1) 12:00 @ 20C

Normal
The Normal focal range covers 35mm to 70mm. However, most people will call a 50mm lens normal as it shares the same field of view as your eyes do. These types of lenses often are great for a carry around a fixed focus lens or a simple everyday zoom lens. Most DSLRs ship with a basic "kit" which covers a wide-angle through normal usually. The trusty 18-55mm. On crop sensor cameras, a 50mm will turn into the equivalent of a short telephoto (75mm), so I often will use a 35mm lens to get the 50mm (52mm) focal length back. These lenses are great for capturing details and making a great portrait lens. You can get a 50mm f/1.8 (don't worry, we'll cover the f-number later), for around one hundred dollars these days which make it useful for low light situations and a fast portrait lens. Normal lenses can be found in both zoom and prime, although I prefer them in original form.

A 35mm lens is the perfect balance between wide-angle and telephoto. You can still capture an open space but are granted a more 'normal' angle of view.
Nikon F4 - AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D - Kodak Panatomic-X (FX) @ ASA-32 - Kodak Xtol (1+1) 7:30 @ 20C

Telephoto
A telephoto lens is any lens that is greater than 70mm in focal length. These often are big, heavy, noticeable, and unwieldy. Available in both zoom and prime types. They're great for portrait work, and event photography, and more importantly sports and wildlife photography. When it comes to architecture, they're great for capturing details of a structure that are far away from you. Such as carved figures or other details on skyscrapers and churches. I primarily use telephotos for portrait work and some street photography.

I'm not one to use even a short telephoto lens inside as I'm often in cramped spaces. But they're great for catching exterior details.
Nikon F5 - AF DC-Nikkor 105mm 1:2D - Efke KB50 @ ASA-50 - Kodak Xtol (Stock) 8:00 @ 20C

Other Lenses
There are a couple of other specialized lenses out there we will discuss them in brief.

Selective Focus - These often will blur out the rest of the frame, allowing the person to isolate their exact subject in the frame. The Lensbaby series is famous for these types of lenses.

Selective Focus lenses aren't for everyone. While I still have one, it's not one I grab regularly.
Nikon D300 + Lensbaby Composer

Tilt-Shift (TS) or Perspective Control (PC) - very specialized lens, often used in architecture shots because you can move the lens elements to make lines straight. So in a building where to capture it all you'd have to tilt your camera up, the building would have diagonal lines converging at the top. With a TS/PC lens, you won't have that issue; you shift the lens up to frame it as you like.

By using a Perspective Control lens, I was able to better compose this image of all the dials without compromising the stability of the tripod.
Nikon D300 - PC-Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8

Macro - Macro lenses are specialised in the sense they can focus close on an object to show incredible detail. They're usually in the normal to a telephoto range of lenses.

Look for a lens that has 1:1 magnification factor for life-size reproductive ablity.
Nikon D300 - Sigma DC 18-50mm 1:2.8 EX MACRO

I think this is a timeless tutorial even though we are a decade down the road technology wise so I stickied it @Axle

By this point, you will have collected your choice of camera, lens, and media. The next step in all this is exposure. Today all modern cameras have the capability of using a built-in light meter to set the camera's exposure that you as the photographer don't have to worry about setting everything manually. However, when working in dim and often dark environments, you'll probably want to have some manual control over your exposure. Exposure is reliant on three primary factors which apply to all formats of photography.

1. Shutter Speed - How long light is let onto the media.
2. Aperture - How much light is let onto the media
3. Sensitivity - How sensitive your media is to light.

These three factors are referred to as the exposure triangle, and by manipulating all three, you can make your camera do anything you want and how you want it done. In the end, it's all a balancing act.

Shutter Speed
Shutter speeds are measured in seconds. Most advanced cameras can run in shutter priority mode, "S" on Nikon or "Tv" on Canon (T standing for Time). In most applications, you're working in fractions of a second, but in the context of exploring buildings, you're talking full seconds and even minutes. The longer your exposure, the more suspectable to catching motion and camera shake comes into play. But this also comes with the lens you have mounted. As a rule of thumb, the best shutter speed for the handheld is the reciprocal of double your focal length. For example, if you have a 24mm lens mounted, to shoot handheld and avoid camera shake, you'll want a shutter speed of 1/50". Anything less, you will need a tripod. Also if there's a moving object in your frame, any motion will show as a blur; usually, you start seeing motion blur at 1/60" or slower. One note on shutter speed, when it comes to digital sensors, you can have the shutter open for minutes even hours without any loss of sensitivity of the sensor. Although you might get thermal damage to your camera sensor or chips. With film you have to deal with reciprocity failure, that is the longer film is exposed to light the less sensitive it becomes. Each film has a different failure rate, and it's best to get a smartphone app that allows you to calculate how much longer you need to expose your image to compensate.

While the shutter speed dial on the Leica IIIf show full numbers, each indicates a fraction of a second so the 1000 means 1/1000"

Aperature
When you look at your eyes, you'll notice that in bright light your pupils get smaller, and bigger in dim light. The aperture on your camera works the same way. The aperture on most cameras with interchangeable lenses are found in the lens itself and are a series of blades that open and close automatically (on all modern cameras starting in the mid-1950s). These apertures are called f-stops and are indicated as f/x, where x is the numerical value. The lower the number, the larger the aperture is, the higher the number, the smaller the aperture is. The larger the aperture means more light is being let in, but the less of your frame will be in focus. The smaller the aperture, the less light is let in, but more of your image will be in focus. This is known as depth of field. Often you'll hear a lens being called 'fast' this has more to do with aperture than shutter speed. A lens that has a maximum open aperture of f/1.4 is faster than a lens with a maximum open aperture of f/3.5, for example. You can manipulate your image to either keep everything in focus for capturing a wide area or isolating a single subject such as a sign or control by opening up the aperture and throwing the background and foreground into focus.

You can see the aperture ring at the back of the lens, modern lenses have done away with a lens mounted aperture controls in favour of camera controlled apertures.

Sensitivity
How sensitive your media is to light is also known as the Exposure Index or EI; these days this applies to both digital and film and measured in ISO or ASA. With digital cameras you can easily adjust this setting on the fly depending on the situation you're in, with film there the box speed or native ISO for the film. But most films have an exposure latitude which you can push and pull then adjust the development later to push or pull process. But the higher the ISO rating, the more digital noise or film grain you're going to encounter, less so with a lower number. With digital sensors, these days you can push them pretty far without having too much issue with noise, in the case of my Sony a6000 I regularly run it at ISO-3200 with little in the way of distracting noise in my images.

Kodak Portra 400 is normally an ISO-400 film, but you can expose it between ISO-100 and ISO-1600 and get it processed normally.

I know that is a lot of data to throw your way, but having that information can help you see your vision become a photograph. Let's walk through an example. Like me, you want to be able to capture the 'big empty' with the back, mid, and foreground all in focus. You also don't want to worry about any noise. So you want to set your aperture to the smallest it will go, f/22, the ISO you set to ISO-100, and your camera sets the shutter speed to 30" that means you'll need a tripod, even with your 14mm lens. But here you have some wiggle room if you forgot your tripod in your car and had to pre-dawn the joint. Because you're using such a wide lens, you don't need to stop down to f/22, you can easily catch everything at f/8, and you only need a 1/30" shutter speed to keep that camera shake to a minimum. So open up the aperture and give the ISO a couple of bumps up to ISO-400.

In the end, it's all about balancing out that triangle to work with the light, area, and your vision.

Well put together you learn something new all the time!