canon 450d

[sintra307]

:)i have a canon 450d bought it because i was fed up with the delay on my point and shoot camera i have a 18-55m and a 70-300 tele-macro lens....i have not mastered the use of this camera and wonder if there are any weekly/monthly classes for real beginners that have not got the foggiest what they are doing...i know there is a camera club at thurso but they all appear to know everything already...i am getting some stunning photos but for every one i must have ten that are rubbish...another question would be that the telephoto lens i have is in my opinion not good enough my oh says its ok. so if i buy another one which one should i buy next. i really do not have a clue how to use it and have read through most of the photography thread to get info but quite honestly it all flys over my head i cant even programme my alarm clock so that explains a lot all this af and raw etc so if anyone knows of an idiots guide to understanding your camera point me and shoot me in the right direction please.

[North Light]

sintra307

Have a look at Thurso Camera Club

http://www.thursocameraclub.co.uk/

The North Highland College run a basic course

http://www.northhighland.ac.uk/coursedetails.aspx?course=DIGITAL%20PHOTOGRAPHY

There are lots of websites a search on "Digital Photography Basics" and "Digital Photography Tutorial" produced a long list.

http://photo.net/equipment/digital/basics/

http://www.geofflawrence.com/

Have fun looking, and most importantly have fun with the camera.

NL

[Stingray]

:)i know there is a camera club at thurso but they all appear to know everything already....

Now then, wouldnt this be the best place to go locally?

[sintra307]

:)thankyou stingray i cant explain why i did not find the north highland college link for photography anyway now sorted sent them my details. so once again thankyou very much.

[sintra307]

:)wow the jefflawrence.com website explains it at a level that i can understand. for example i now know that my blurred photos are caused by tiny movements of the camera and not the lens being set wrongly i am starting to fall in. he recommends a 500mm lens so i may have to be nice to oh for a day or two to get one so thankyou once again.

[ClachanHope]

The college in Wick isn't doing a photography course this year, don't know about Thurso, and I wouldn't go buying a new lens for your camera until you have mastered the functions on it, as lenses are quite expensive. And make sure it's compatible as some fitting from the Canon 400D to the 450D are different.
Just make sure you ask before you buy

[sintra307]

:)first a very big thankyou once again for north light the links were very helpful, i am getting the hang of things quite quickly just from that one website and clachenhope thankyou also..i understand fully what you are saying but i need some retail therapy hehe just do not want to buy one that is covered by what i already have. i am going to attempt to post some of my efforts in the near future so once again thanks to you all.

[Deemac]

Can't say I'm aware of any lens fitting differences between a 400D and a 450D. As long as it has a canon EF or EF-S compatible lens fitting. The Sigma 150-500mm is reasonable value if you need that much reach, though I do recommend you get a firm grip of your present stuff before splashing out. I thought a 1 in 10 hit rate for a cracking shot not too bad myself. I've taken 100's of shots of a location/subject and been glad of only getting a couple good shots. That's the beauty of digital shooting.

[John Baikie]

I run courses for all levels of photography. I do groups and one to one. Drop me an email if you're interested. john@captiv8.uk.com

John

[ClachanHope]

I didn't say lens fittings were different, I said some fittings. For example, the batterygrips can be different.
As for 1 in 10 odds of a good shot, personally, digital or not I want better than that or I wouldn't bother.
And Sintra307, if you can manage it, getting in touch with John Baikie for some lessons would definately be worth it. He explains things really well and is a good teacher

[Mystical Potato Head]

I didn't say lens fittings were different, I said some fittings. For example, the batterygrips can be different.
As for 1 in 10 odds of a good shot, personally, digital or not I want better than that or I wouldn't bother.
And Sintra307, if you can manage it, getting in touch with John Baikie for some lessons would definately be worth it. He explains things really well and is a good teacher

You can go out one day and every second shot comes out good,next day can be a total disaster,depends what your shooting and how good or bad the conditions are as to how many shots are "good".How good is good anyway.Good enough that your happy with it or good enough to make a gallery or be sold?
Too many variables to put a figure on it but i certainly woudn't give up if i "only" got 1 good shot in every 10.

I dont think the percentage of good shots you get should even enter your head,a beginner will have more bad shots than someone with more experience or knowledge but as you gain experience the number of bad shots will decrease but i'm sure even the pros will have a bad day when nothing turns out very good,we all have "bad days at the office".
Some photographers in the Landscape Photography magazine are only looking for 2 or 3 photos from their chosen location and it would be fair to assume they take dozens,so dont worry about how many bad shots you get,be happy that you ARE getting some good ones.

[Happy Guy]

You can go out one day and every second shot comes out good,next day can be a total disaster,depends what your shooting and how good or bad the conditions are as to how many shots are "good".How good is good anyway.Good enough that your happy with it or good enough to make a gallery or be sold?
Too many variables to put a figure on it but i certainly woudn't give up if i "only" got 1 good shot in every 10.

I dont think the percentage of good shots you get should even enter your head,a beginner will have more bad shots than someone with more experience or knowledge but as you gain experience the number of bad shots will decrease but i'm sure even the pros will have a bad day when nothing turns out very good,we all have "bad days at the office".
Some photographers in the Landscape Photography magazine are only looking for 2 or 3 photos from their chosen location and it would be fair to assume they take dozens,so dont worry about how many bad shots you get,be happy that you ARE getting some good ones.

I couldn't agree more with MPH! getting the 'good' shot depends on so many things, some outside your control, things like a cloud obscuring the sun and changing light patterns, or the other way, a burst of sunlight as you click the shutter changing the whole picture. Digital means you can shoot away as much as you like. some locations I may take as many as 30 or even 50 shots and be dead happy with 'THE' one when I review them at home. Anyway enjoy yourself and dont let anyone or anything put you off!