Reassurance please

[iron]

I've not had my SLR for long and I admit that I'm slow to get to grips with it, but I'm becoming a little disillusioned. Most of the time I leave it on auto as do with my Ixus, but when I browse through my older Ixus pics, they seem sharper and the colour better. I realise that it's because I don't know how to use the SLR yet but why is it that when both cameras are on auto, the ixus takes a better photo, especially when I enlarge and crop. I'm not at the stage where I want to take 'clever' photos, I just want to take quality snapshot.

[flook]

well the brolly picture looks pin sharp to me ron, and that was tith your D90

all things being equal, your D90 should blow your ixus out of the water in terms of sharpness

colour may be a little more complicated, as each camera will have default settings which Im guessing you haven't adjusted. The ixus "may" be pre set to provide punchier than real life pics as its a "fun" camera, whereas the D90 is a serious users box and the defaults will be more neutral I suspect.

I know its a pain, but if you are new to any technical hobby (and photography is as much about technique as it is about creativity) then you eed to spend time with your manual, and the internet, understanding how it works.

rest assured, with a bit of work your nikon will not disappoint :cool:

[iron]

Thank you very much Colin, you've cheered me up a great deal, that's the reassurance I was looking for. I will do as you say and work at it. I'm slow to learn but willing and really want to be able to use it to it's potential. I have other interests that take up so much of my time especially at this time of year but hopefully I'll get there .....in time.

[kooky]

I know how you feel Ron. I had my dslr for about a year before i was happy, kept going back to my sony bridge camera and believe it was as good if not better, but when i eventually took the bull by the horns and actually starting to play about a little and wasn't so frightened of the setting etc i found i got good results, so keep at it my friend;)

[benjiblanco]

i think weve all been their Ron. its just a matter of time and persevering. Sometimes the auto on dslrs are not 100% auto, and rely on that bit of user input to make the difference. When you get there, it will blow the ixus out the water as Colin says.

[Jeni]

as with all things, its a learning curve. you will get it right the more you play with it. even on auto theres different settings for the camera (well there was for my Fuji, never had the d60 on auto lol) you can adjust the picture sharpness and colours and stuff.

i cant see anything wrong with your pictures, they look perfectly fine to me.

isnt the Ixus a Canon and isnt there usually a difference between colours from Canon to Nikon?

[badbadman]

Stick with it Ron, you'll get there. :top:

[jsmyth]

Don't worry Ron, as you get savvy with the technical side of photography and what settings produce different effects you will see that your DSLR is a lot more versatile than your Ixus. Keep at the good work mate!:top:

[munchycarrot]

Ron, we'll have to get out and take some pics together or sit in a beer garden practising (with the camera, not the beer) :top:

[Hicarrumba]

Stick with it Ron, it just falls into place, I recently upgraded from a 300D to a 450D and guess what, I feel the same as you!! Its getting there, I have taken about 100 shots so far with about a 1 in 20 success rate, but its coming slowly and surely.

[Pipeman]

I agree with everything above - It will all come together, Ron.

[iron]

Thank you all for your unanimous support, clearly I'll get there if I persevere. What daunts me is that though I've been 'digital' for two years now, I find it difficult to learn cameras, computers not to mention editing/filing all at once. I enjoy taking photos especially when out with fellow toggers. When I get to know the language, so many words I don't understand, it will help. I found Steff's illustration on Apertures useful and would like reminders of what things are for. I've been reluctant to examine all the many settings on my Nikon fearing that I may upset things, but I suppose that's a good place to start.

[benjiblanco]

Ron, i am going to make some videos on camera theories and the very basics of the 5 variables in photography.
Maybe youd like to meet up and help?
It may involve pressing record for me etc. but (please take this the right way), if i do it with you there, then i can make sure it is suitable for a beginner to understand and i dont miss any jargon without explanation.
one day this week would be good, weather depending.

[iron]

Ben, I would really like to help with your recording and hopefully in the process learn something. One thing I would be good at is asking very basic questions even some that would sound silly to a pro. I know people with SLR's who like me leave them on auto saying they've no time to figure out the 'instructions' so your video is I think a good idea. I'll give you a ring.

[Pipeman]

Sounds as if that could be good.

[sharkbait]

Ron, If I was you, I'd start on the semi-auto settings, that way you are only changing 1 setting and the camera does the rest. then as you understand more, you will get more confident and progress to full manual ... I certainly still shoot on semi-auto a lot of the time, as do most of us I suspect.

[Hicarrumba]

Only time I shoot full manual is in either Studio situations or shooting a Landscape/seascape where nothing it gong to pop up to surprise me

[Pipeman]

You are right, semi is the norm now, I reckon.
Just choose aperture priority or shutter priority.

[jsmyth]

The problem with full manual is that it requires a lot more, and constant, input and is slower to operate in surprise situations.

I'm sure nearly all of us here are learning all the time, you're not alone Ron!;)

[flook]

walkabout is usually aperture prioroty for me, when I know what Im shooting I often use full manual, mainly because I can meter off something "neutral" which may not actually be in the frame once I compose the shot, shutter priority is used quite often for motor sports to ensure I get the right speed for panning

Horses for courses as is usually the case :cool:

[Beeje25]

don't worry too much Ron when I first picked up my SLR i put it down after a week of using it then didn't take a single shot for 4 months. as some of the other mentioned set your camera to one of the semi manual modes I recommend aperture mode to start with and play around with setting the aperture. try setting up a still life or photographing a single object, take a photo with the f number set to the smallest number (something like f4.5) then at the highest number then somewhere in between it will start to give you an idea of what changing the aperture will do for your images.

[munchycarrot]

good advice Bryan :top:

[CPU]

After you've been on full auto, best to spend a while on shutter priority, then on aperture priority, that way you understand better what is needed when you go to manual.

You'll get there... AP is way more fun :D