Welcome!!

[walterick]

Welcome Charlotte! You've made a great purchase with the D40. No need to second-guess yourself. From what you're describing of your photography habits, it should suit you perfectly well!

When you're feeling ready, please post a review of that D40. It helps our site!

Also don't miss the How-To section for tips on learning your camera!

Have fun
Rick

[walterick]

Welcome Tracy! I see you've already jumped right into our forums! Enjoy our site and let us know how we can help!

Rick

[walterick]

Welcome Aspen!

Sounds like you're off for a great trip. I think any DSLR you buy these days is going to serve you well. The quality of each brand, even at the entry level, is excellent and will probably not let you down. A few questions you need to answer before you can make your choice however:

What am I going to do with my pictures? Post them on the web? Print them? If so, what size?

What types of subjects am I going to be shooting? Landscapes, on a tripod? Fast action wildlife?

These questions will help you and us pick the right camera for you. But, again I would venture a bet that you will be very happy with even the most basic DSLR, unless you have specific given needs that require a more advanced one. If your shooting does not require finer high iso or higher frames per second, then I might recommend you buy a basic camera and spend the extra money on a better (read: sharper and faster) lens, as that may be where you see the most improvement in your photos.

Also check the DSLR buying guide in our DSLR forum.

Good luck!
Rick

[craftgirl]

Thanks Rick! I am having a blast and have already met some super photographers. I am sorry it took so long to find you guys!

[Addies Granddaddy]

Thanks, but no thanks. The old user name is out of date anyway, and this one's better suited to me. I think I solved the problem I was having.
John

[aspen2001]

Rick,

I will be posting them on my web site, and showing them on TV. I my print some special shots, but since I will be traveling in a 5th wheel camper space is an issue.

My subjects will mainly be landscape and wild life.

It my be over kill, but I was looking at the Nikon D300 with a 18-200 lense. Because of the places we are going and the wildlife we will encounter, I feel I need a good camera. I realize I will be on a big leaning curve and it will take time. I plan on making photograph my hobby during retirement and it will allow me to document the places we will be traveling. Should I be looking at a more entry level camera.

[walterick]

"Should" is a bad word

I had the chance to shoot with the D300 for a couple of days a few months ago. It is an incredible camera. My only complaint is it was a very heavy camera for me, especially with a solid lens on it, like I believe the 18-200 is. You may want to take this into consideration before buying. The 18-200 I have not used but have seen pics from it and they seem amazing. It sounds like a great all-around choice for your traveling needs as well.

The D300 packs more than enough firepower for web posting and tv and will serve you well for both landscapes and wildlife. You can leave it on fully-automatic and it will take many good shots for you while you learn the ins and outs of the camera. If you get caught in the rain, the D300 may have better weather sealing than entry-level cameras. You can't go wrong with either lens or camera choice.

If there's anything else we can do, let us know.

Rick

[Norbert]

My forum name is Norbert , it's a in joke with friends based on a "Viz" comic character Norbert Colon .
I've been doing photography off and on for 22 years . On Digital I use a Nikon Coolpix L2 , it's a toe in the water thing until I get all the film stuff digitalized on my Prime Film Scanner and get a Nikon D1X which will meter with my AIS Nikkors .
I use a Nikon FE which appears to have gone wrong after long trusty service , put that down to it's age .
My favourite Colour Trannie Films are Kodak Elite Extra Colour , Fuji Sensia , but my main passions B&W , which I'll carry on as a Luddite on film. I just like the quality and depth which you just can't get with digital.
Anyway I've had some luck with purchases off Ebay , some dodgy ones as well which goes with the scenery and enjoy working with my scans on my brilliant Apple Imac .
I'm 42 , male and live in Preston, Central Lancashire , England and would just like to say hello to all .

[walterick]

Welcome "Norbert!" We're glad to have you onboard. It sounds like you bring a wealth of photography and especially film experience with you. If you haven't already, please check out our Film Forum where your input and experience would be greatly appreciated!

Rick

[jrianoslp]

Hello everyone!

Just joined the forum and wanted to say hi. Lots of great information and people on here and I'm excited to get started reading and posting messages.
I am a freelance sports photographer (beginner) and enjoy taking pictures of any sports action I have the time to photograph.

Looking forward to posting my questions, pictures, thoughts and getting feedback from everyone. I'm here to learn from others and share what I can with everyone.

Thanks
Jorge

[walterick]

Welcome Jorge! Enjoy looking around our forums and feel free to ask questions. Have you found our Sports Forum?

Welcome!
Rick

[Frog]

Hi, Jorge. Great place here. There's someone that can answer just about any questions anybody has.

[Vreyens]

Hi All,
Just joined, been looking around and I sure like what I see.
I live in Winston, Oregon USA. Will post a few photo later.
Barry Vreyens

[snappy45]

Hi all been looking around for a while and thought id best pop in and hello .Have been into 35mm film for 15 fears but went digital 6months ago and enjoy it .Will post some images later after a browse.

[Frog]

Hello Barry and welcome. I'm one of your northern neighbors in Wa.

Hi Snappy..welcome aboard. We have quite a group of film enthusiast so you may be able to keep your 35mm and explore digital at the same time.

[ying_hao]

hallo..
My name is Ying Hao and I'm new to the board. I'm also pretty new to photography.

[walterick]

Welcome Ying! Enjoy browsing our site! Make sure you check out our Learn section!

Rick

[walterick]

Welcome snappy. If you're still shooting film, make sure you take a look at out new Film Forum for thoughts and discussion on your 35!

Rick

[EstherS]

Hi, new here. I mainly take photo's of my kid and random family snapshots. I am looking to branch out and learn more. I used to manage a 1 hour photo lab and loved it. That's what got me in to photography. So my main project is to learn more to be able to take photo's that are just not snapshots.

Right now I have a point and shoot Canon A540. I love all the options on it. I have been looking at the G9, S5 IS or the SX100 IS. I wouldn't mind a DSLR, but maybe in a few years.

[walterick]

Welcome Esther! Sounds like you're really enjoying your camera. We're here to help if you ever decide to upgrade! Take a look at our Learn section as well!

Rick

[GPLarge]

Hi All,
New to the forums but have read alot. Recently rediscovered my love of photography and decided to enter the world if digital. Picked up a Sony Alpha 200 so the my Minolta stuff could get a few more years of use. Still learning the camera but should have some stuff up soon.

[Chaive]

Hello to all,

I have just registered here. I am not new to photography, I have been a "hobbyist" for probably 25 years or so. My wife and I are planning a trip to France in September so I am refreshing and upgrading my equipment. I am using a Canon EOS Rebel. I have recently purchased a Canon 28-135 IS f3.5-4 lens, and a Sigma 17-35 f2.8-4 lens.

Next on my list is the following;

Manfrotto carbon fiber tri-pod
580 EX Flash
70- 200 or 300 Zoom lens
Lowepro Slingshot 200

I joined this forum because it looks like an excellent way to correspond with likeminded folks about the subject. (43,000 members I think...?...impressive!)

Anyways, I just wanted to get a post under my belt and an introduction. I am looking for a few ideas and if anyone can help in the following it would be very much appreciated.

A) how do I select Neutral Density Filters? What are the numbers for? What is appropriate for what conditions? and where is a good place to buy them?

B) Does anyone have experience with scanning their old photo collection? This is something that is on my list and when I started to research scanners, I got bogged down with alot of options, features and prices! My thinking is to spend the money on a good scanner (Epson V750-M Pro)...catalogue my photos and then re-sell the scanner to recover the cost. I thought about taking them in but to keep the cost down, the stores want all the pics at once and I really don't want to take that many albums apart all at once.

C) And last on this extremely long introduction is Photoshop. I would like to find some information on learning more about Photoshop. I am sure that there is a spot in this forum on the topic... I just have to find it.

If you have made it this far through my post... thanks for taking the time and my apologies for the length... I am working graveyard shift and trying to keep awake...hahaha.

Look forward to sharing ideas and pictures with you.

Jeff

[another view]

Hi Jeff, you'll probably find more help for your questions in other forums here but I'll try to give you a quick start.

ND filters are rated by filter factor, or basically how dark they are. A 2x is one stop and a 4x is two stops. Check out the Singh-Ray variable ND filter which goes up to about 8x or 10x but it's quite expensive. Lots of fun though!

I think you're on the right track with a scanner if you're not going to shoot film anymore (buy it, use it, sell it) but there can be a fairly steep learning curve with scanning. The first few scans might take awhile to get right, but with any amount of automation it should go at least a little faster later. Best results of course would be from negatives or slides (not prints) and if you have slides you might check out a 35mm film scanner with a batch feeder accessory (Nikon has them). Expensive, but a huge time saver and will have a high resale value.

Photoshop is a constant learning process. Check out Scott Kelby's books for a great start (Adobe Photoshop {insert your version here} for Digital Photographers). Also look for the Digital Imaging forum on this site.

[RaMaSo]

Hi I am new here and very excited to learn as much as I can about photography. I have always loved photography. About 5months ago my husband bought me the Canon Rebel XTi(i LOVE this camera) and my interest in taking pictures has become a complete obsession. I am driving my family crazy especially my kids. They are my models. My two youngest(twins)will be starting school soon and I would love to be able to make a little money on the side doing portraits(my favorites are outside portraits). I have been asked recently to take pictures at a big birthday party but I turned it down(i know not smart) but I felt like the job was to big for me. I really need more practice and knowledge. I was SO flattered though. We have a building that has 3 suites that I could actually have a studio in but I want to learn more before I start up a buisness SO I am here to learn,get feedback about my pictures. I am looking forward to seeing awesom pictures from you all, learning from you all.

[jimbo03]

Hi,

My name is jim and I'm a new member but old reader of this forum. i've found it to be a reasonable and realistic source for lens and camera reviews and as a registered user I'll try to add my own $0.02.

So it's nice to be here, sounds like a good community and looking forward to revisiting often!

Jimbo