so now i have it....how do i use it :P

opentarget

So I took the plunge and picked up a Nikon d60, feels fantastic in my hand and so far in the little free time iv had with it its been great fun to mess with...now in fairness I have no real idea about how to use a camera so messing is all it has been, but I understand composition fairly well(although its been a while since I had to compose an image in work so im a bit rusty)so im hoping that that will pull me through and help keep confidence up while I learn what I am trying to do and how to get what I want from the camera itself.

Can anyone recommend any books or a decent site to look at to get me on my feet? is there any D60 specific books...or is that TO specific? ill start to put some images up on flicker as soon as I get a few minutes to shoot some (work is insanely busy the past few weeks).
ohh and a quick question, I was messing in the garden taking snaps of flowers with the close-up setting and the auto focus on....in the view finder it was focused well but it wouldn't take the snap? I changed to manual focus and the picture took perfectly.....why would the AF not snap? like I said totally ignorant to the workings of a camera so any help would be extremely appreciated. and id like to thank all that helped me in my decision to pick a camera....which was almost as hard as using the thing now that I have it!

peasant

opentarget wrote: »

[ohh and a quick question, I was messing in the garden taking snaps of flowers with the close-up setting and the auto focus on....in the view finder it was focused well but it wouldn't take the snap? I changed to manual focus and the picture took perfectly.....why would the AF not snap?

Most likely because you had the AF set on a wide field instead of a single spot.

When you go close up, the AF can get confussed, as focus varies widely on a small area ...add a bit of a shaky hand and the computer never stops computing (and doesn't "snap")

AnimalRights

Why do you use that particular font? It's goddamned hard on the mince pies!

eas

opentarget wrote: »

ohh and a quick question, I was messing in the garden taking snaps of flowers with the close-up setting and the auto focus on....in the view finder it was focused well but it wouldn't take the snap?

I'm not familiar with the d60, but have a look in your manual under "focus priority".

Basically unless the camera detects perfect focus (should be a green circle in the viewfinder) it wont let the shutter realease. You can turn this off of course, but until you understand why and when you should turn it off, I would leave it on for the most part.

hope that helps

peasant

The best way to get to understand the workings of your camera is to "RTFM" ...read the manual.

Nikon manuals are usually pretty good and you can work through subsection after subsection.
Devote a rainy wekend or two to manipulating every setting as described in the manual, take a few shots with the different settings and see the "aha-effect" as you look at the results in comparison.

And then try to remember it all

opentarget

AnimalRights wrote: »

Why do you use that particular font? It's goddamned hard on the mince pies!

had no idea i changed the font...sorry, its prob cos i cut and paste from outlook so it looks like im sending internal mail instead of messing when i should be working lol. hows that on your eyes

opentarget

peasant wrote: »

The best way to get to understand the workings of your camera is to "RTFM" ...read the manual.

Nikon manuals are usually pretty good and you can work through subsection after subsection.
Devote a rainy wekend or two to manipulating every setting as described in the manual, take a few shots with the different settings and see the "aha-effect" as you look at the results in comparison.

And then try to remember it all

lol thats good advice i must say! well i really hate to read manuals...i usually only do it after I press something that breaks the device! but ill do it for my own sanity lol

bp_me

opentarget wrote: »

ohh and a quick question, I was messing in the garden taking snaps of flowers with the close-up setting and the auto focus on....in the view finder it was focused well but it wouldn't take the snap? I changed to manual focus and the picture took perfectly.....why would the AF not snap? like I said totally ignorant to the workings of a camera so

You were probably in AF-S (single auto focus mode), where the camera will use focus priority. That is, the shutter won't fire until focus locks (green dot in the viewfinder).

It worked in MF because MF and AF-C will both be release priority. I.e. the shutter will open as soon as you full press the button regardless of focus on your subject.

With a D-SLR, the "close up" setting wont actually change anything like focus distances, etc, so there probably isnt much point to it. I don't know what other changes it makes. I would suggest you get intimately aquainted with your camera manual. Probably the most important book you will read relating to it.