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Getting started with DSLR'S..help and questions

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Coalescent
Posts: 4871 - Karma: 2,063

Ok so i picked up a nikon d5000 today and super stoked on it.  waited a week since I paid for it.  It has a 18-55mm lens which i assume is basically stock.  I read a little bit online about it and i need help in simple terms just to get the jist down.  From what i read its mainly about aperture and isochanges? and numbers that look like this 1/50, 1/60, 1/70 and such.  I have the aperture and iso ideas down but i have no idea when it comes to the 1/50, 1/60, 1/70 and so on...I was messing around today at the river near my house at the sunset and came up with this.  I haven't done anything to the image since taking it.  I was just messing around with the numbers till i got something i liked.

The settings for this photo were iso 200, 22mm, f/5.6, and 1/60sec

Click for larger image

In my neighborhood i took a walk around and came up with this.

iso 200, 18mm, f/4.5, 13 sec

Click for larger image

Can someone help me understand the numbers a little bit more clear?  I guess when the seconds are higher does that mean the shutter speed?

and the f/ whatever number, the lower it is the more light it lets in and the higher the less light?

and iso is about the quality/grain or something?

Jul 9 2009 12:30AM
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^nate^
Posts: 1263 - Karma: 560
f-stop is your aperture. lower the number bigger the hole in which light travels into the lens. Causes blurry backgrounds when open due to low "depth of field" (google search that and it will be explained very clearly to you) and crisp backgrounds when closed shut.

ur right about the shutter. match these two things up to get the right exposure!

but seriously if you really wanna learn just go search for dslr's 101 on google or something.
Jul 9 2009 12:55AM
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ChronicLines
Posts: 951 - Karma: 61
Continuing on with the f/stop, shutter speed business.

Each stop is either doubling or halving the amount of light hitting the film or sensor.  So say you want to make the exposure twice as bright, just open up one stop.  For example, from 5.6 to 4 (that's one stop).  Or leave it at 5.6 and halve your shutter speed from say 1/125 to 1/60 ( that's also one stop.)

Read up on equivalent exposures once you get a hang of the numbers, those things are nice to have in the back of your head.
Jul 9 2009 1:38AM
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camohard
Posts: 343 - Karma: 22
^Yup. F-stop is aperture: small number = bigger hole (more light hits the sensor), smaller depth of field (blurry background), said "larger aperture", each stop (I don't know how the numbers are determined, but you'll see they aren't just a logical procedure) doubles or halves the size of the hole. The time is shutter speed (again, each progression doubles or halves exposure, so going from 1/2sec to 1/4sec, you would want to go from f5.6 to f4, for example, in order to maintain the same exposure). ISO is the light sensitivity. Sometimes it is hard to see the difference, sometimes it is more noticeable. Just shoot 5identical photos (or 6 if you can go up to 6400): one at 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 and look at the difference. Try this is a few different lighting situations. Another pretty important setting is the white balance. To be perfectly honest, I haven't done much with it, as I'm still getting my exposure, and other skills down, but it can make a huge difference. Right now I've just got it set to auto WB.

Hope this helps.
Jul 10 2009 10:38AM
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