Warning: Beginner with a D50!

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Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
18,606
Location
London
Hey all. I got my D50 a few weeks ago but havent been able to have a proper play with it due to finishing Uni. I was also sorting insurance for it so havent strayed too far out of the house with it yet, but i thought i'd post three from my (dodgy) first batch of pics. Just playing about really, and looking for anyone to pick apart these pics. To be honest most of what i got was rubbish, and these arent great either!!

house.jpg

Not very interesting really. Wanted a pic of our house so i took one! lol.

car.jpg

I had a go at taking some pics of my housemates car. It turns out i need to spend a lot more time framing my shots; most were terrible (wonky etc). I was using manual focus and aperture-priority mode to help me out. I guess this often pushed the shutter speed to be longer and hence gave me a bit of shake. Combine this with manual focus and hmn... :(

mark.jpg

Here i was actually meaning to focus on my housemate, but managed to hit the bush (which i didnt even notice was in frame, woops). I think this is probably the nicest of the first lot thought. Nice blue sky i guess.

So? Should i be using aperture-priority mode or jump straight in to full manual? Do people generally use manual focus or auto?

Also i take it the .nef files are the Nikon RAW files, how come i can see thumbnails of them in Explorer, but cant open them in PS (CS2)?? Do i need to use Nikon PictureProject to convert them into something PS can handle? Whats the general workflow? Also, when cropping, do you generally stick to a common ratio (4:3 or something?) or just go nuts?

Thanks for any pointers. I'm sure these are pretty terrible but it is my first lot! :)
 
While you get the hang of the camera I would definitely use auto focus. Also, while learning the camera there is no harm in using Full auto mode, or maybe 'P' (program) mode.

Now I know where you live :p
 
As Joe T said, use the auto focus for a bit, and when you get used to the camera, try using manual focus. Not bad for the first few you've taken :)
 
Thanks, i'll give it a go! Can anyone answer my question about the .NEF files? Whats the general workflow with those? Do i need a plugin for PS, or use PictureProject? I'd rather use them than the JPGs off the camera.

And what about cropping, too? :)
 
If you want to use RAW, get RAWShooter. Its a great (free) program. You can adjust the RAW file in that and process it to a TIFF you can then open in PS.

Alternatively there may be a plug in for PS to allow you to open NEF files directly, but I do recommend RawShooter. There is the Essentails version which is free, and does most of what you need, or you can pay and get the Pro version which has a few extra features (there is a 15 day trial of this available). BTW, its made by Pixmantec. :)
 
hi there I just brought a D50 (kit) on Thursday. Not had the chance to go and try much out yet but plan to later, it's a big step for me moving back to an SLR of sorts (and trying to take proper photos!)

Anyway just posting to say that the camera RAW plugin of Adobe seems to have the most easy options for opening the .nefs, and Nikon View off the Nikon site is a lot faster than the picture project for viewing and browsing the NEFs!

The camera feels good, the kit lens is very light which is good I guess but *** manual focus ring is awful, I can't get the hang of it just being a little ring stuck at the front and I keep catching the zoom. Oh and why is the apature no longer done on the lens, it's all hidden away!
 
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