Timid Newbie---Eager to learn

[smilesarepriceless]

I love taking pictures. I have had a digital camera since 2000 and after having just joined so I can learn more, I was very initimidated to even post...I must start somewhere, right?

My 20 month old daughter is my favorit subject matter these days. My current camera is a Canon Powerhot A80. I absolutely love the screen on the back which swivels and allows me to get great, diverse angles. But as I look for a new, better camera, I see very few choices that have this feature..

I admit, I don't even know the difference between Digital, and Digital SLR and as I read some here..I see I truly know about 2% about photography, and I thought I knew something..LOL - Ha


Well I hope to meet some personal goals here -
1. Learn of a better camera for point/shoot purposes for a christmas present for myself ( price limit is around $350)
2. Discover how to use different settings on my camera and get better pictures
3. Figure out how on earth to take a picture of a subject, and have her focused, and all the background, fuzzy/blurry!

Heather

[mwfanelli]

My 20 month old daughter is my favorit subject matter these days. My current camera is a Canon Powerhot A80. I absolutely love the screen on the back which swivels and allows me to get great, diverse angles. But as I look for a new, better camera, I see very few choices that have this feature..

Yeah, this feature is hard to find, very strange.

I admit, I don't even know the difference between Digital, and Digital SLR and as I read some here..I see I truly know about 2% about photography, and I thought I knew something..LOL - Ha

You probably want to stay with some sort of P&S. A digital SLR will give you better images ONLY if you know what you are doing. IMHO, For snapshots and family pics, it is overkill. Also, it is very rare that a DSLR will have a preview: seeing the image on the big LCD befoire the picture is shot.

2. Discover how to use different settings on my camera and get better pictures

Find a good beginners book and shoot, shoot, shoot. The big advantages with digital is the instant feedback and free photos.

3. Figure out how on earth to take a picture of a subject, and have her focused, and all the background, fuzzy/blurry!

Well, P&S cameras make this very close to impossible. You are talking about depth of field (DOF). The real focal lengths, not the "equivalents", are so small on a P&S that DOF goes on forever. You really can't get this efffect from teh camera the way you want.

The harder question, (1), will have to wait until tomorrow. I have to start teaching!

[zrfraser]

Don't worry about not knowing a lot about photography. We are all learning here in some sort or fashion. This is not something you ever master, but you can come close. The only DSLR that I know of that has a screen that swivels is the Olympus E-Volt 330. It even lets you take a photo by looking at the screen rather than a viewfinder which almost all DSLR's require. I have only played with this camera once, but I thought it was a nifty feature. I am about to buy a digital compact for my girlfriend and she loves the ones with the swivel screens. Feel free to ask any questions as we all have our own strengths and weaknesses.

Most important of all....Have fun! Thats the first rule of photography (a la mtbrian)

Z