My first DSLR nikon d80, where do I start

[kiddk1]

just got my new camera,(cant open until fathers day), it is a nikon d80 with 18-135mm lens, a substantial upgrade from my canon a530, I am planning on purchasing the magic lantern guide and the book "understanding exposure" is there anything else I should be doing to learn on this camera.

[00silvergt]

Sell it and get a Canon 40D LOL j/k Seriously, take pictures and post or have someone who's opinion matters to you critique them so you can figure out what you are doing right and not so right. That book is excellent. Not that it really matters, but Bryan Peterson shoots mostly Noinks as well.

[kiddk1]

Originally Posted by 00silvergt

Sell it and get a Canon 40D LOL j/k Seriously, take pictures and post or have someone who's opinion matters to you critique them so you can figure out what you are doing right and not so right. That book is excellent. Not that it really matters, but Bryan Peterson shoots mostly Noinks as well.

thanks for the advice, and please everyone else keep the tips coming, I cant wait to open it.

[00silvergt]

Originally Posted by kiddk1

thanks for the advice, and please everyone else keep the tips coming, I cant wait to open it.

It really is hard to give "general" device until we see your pictures and see what level your are at. Now you got me as excited as you in opening your present!

[Not4wood]

Originally Posted by kiddk1

just got my new camera,(cant open until fathers day), it is a nikon d80 with 18-135mm lens, a substantial upgrade from my canon a530, I am planning on purchasing the magic lantern guide and the book "understanding exposure" is there anything else I should be doing to learn on this camera.

First things first. Congrats on the new D80, you will find that its a great camera at any skill level and the lens is outstanding.

Besides the Understanding Exposure, which if you have any experience in Photography with Film you will find that this book will update you into the Digital Difference of Photography. Not much but it has its quirks.

Only other book I can think of for you is the Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide by David D. Busch.

Happy Fathers Day, and Happy Shooting. Matter of fact, shoot on Fathers Day. Oh, almost forgot. Between now and then, go out and get yourself an SD Extreme III 2 gig mem card by San Disk. You'll thank me later.

[kiddk1]

thanks for all the advice,

[Arrowind]

First Congrats on the new D80. I have had mine for a couple of months. Really love it.
Do a internet search on the D80. There are a number of good articles on there. The literature that come with the camera covers the basics, however the capabilities of the D80 and lense you have are extensive. Take the time to play with all aspects of the camera. The controls are very well laid out and easy to operate. Within a very short time you will be a master with this camera.
And please don't forget to post pictures on the Camel.

[RvA944]

Congrats on the new D80. I have had mine for a couple of weeks and I love it. Here are a couple of pics I took with mine.

The first one is with the 18-135 f/3.5 and the second was with my new lens 70-300 f4.5 VR.

Best of luck with your new toy!!

[Songman45]

Happy Father's day. I'll be lucky to get a phone call.
The only advice I can give you is to learn the controls and menus and how to make the camera behave the way you want it to. If memory serves me, the majority of controls on that camera are menu driven. You want to be familar with those so you don't miss time sensitive shots wile fumbling.

[RvA944]

WELL where all waiting...

And Songman45 happy father's day!

[ladonna]

You can visit Nikon Website. Search the internet for Nikon Digitutor and select your camera Nikon D80. This is a very good website. There are tutorials about every button on the camera. Great site.

[ladonna]

the message about Nikon's website from Ladonna was directed to Kiddk1.

[kiddk1]

sorry, still playing with it, I like the fact that most of the controls can be changed with the main or sub command dial, will post pics for critique soon. thanks to all for the advice.

[Not4wood]

I have a question about the D80, I know I'm shooting in only Raw but I'm confused about the JPG settings and just want it to be clarified.

I see that when using the Raw, some of the effects like vivid or more vivid are supposed to be not associated to the Raw files. But, I've been seeing comments in books like my D80 Field Guide by David D. Busch says otherwise.

If setting the vivid or more vivid or even the custom sharpness or colors does it effect the Raw images?

Also, I am confused about the JPG settings. Basic, Fine and Normal are these for detail settings (show more DPI I guess) or for compression settings? I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Thanks for your time and expertise.

[cyclohexane]

If setting the vivid or more vivid or even the custom sharpness or colors does it effect the Raw images?

It applies if you use a RAW converter that reads in-camera settings, so any software from Nikon will apply these settings to the RAW file upon conversion. You can change these to whatever you want in Nikon Capture NX, so it's not really a problem. If you're using ACR or something else don't worry about it.

Basic, Fine and Normal are these for detail settings (show more DPI I guess) or for compression settings?

Basic, Normal, and Fine are compression settings. "L", "M", and "S" correspond to the resolution; if you go into the "Shooting Menu" it will tell you the dimensions of the images for "L", "M", and "S", as well as the corresponding number of megapixels.

[Not4wood]

Thanks!

I thought it was the compression but for some reason even searching for it I couldn't get a very clear answer. As for the enhancing effects, I dont think the Capture NX was mentioned but that the vivid/more etc was affecting the Raw image as well. But that didn't make sense to me in my experience shooting in Raw. I was getting worried that my camera was malfunctioning and I wasn't getting these effects.

[cyclohexane]

No problem; glad I could help.