Finally

[DivotDan]

I have put off getting a digital SLR for too long. I knew I wanted one, but continued to get film equipment. Well my wife talked me into getting a D40 as my Christmas present from her and so on Black Friday I got one from Amazon.com.

It got here on Wednesday, I let the battery charge till Thursday night and I haven't put it down except to sleep. I love it and I should have bought it years ago.

Here is the sunset from the end of my driveway, hot off the press.

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/1964/1196551685.jpg

Here is a quick album (http://www.divotfilms.com/photos/lgofc/) I did today. When I drove through our little town they were doing an "Old Fashion Christmas". Most of it looks more autumnish than winter or Christmas, but that's Georgia for ya.

As a side note, other then a slight crop here or there, this is all directly off the camera with no PS or anything. I love this thing.

Hope ya like 'em.

[alwayslearning]

Hey Dan ... do you remember your shutter speed, etc.? Did you adjust them or use auto? I like the porch light in the foreground on the right and the sunset. Very nice.

Larry

[DivotDan]

Hey Larry, thanks.

I do not recall but lucky for us since it's digital my camera does.

I had switched to Manual mode. I still had the camera set to auto adjust the ISO according to what it thinks I need. Wish I had turned it off. ISO was 640. I did a 15 second exposure at F4.5. As low as the aperture would go at 28mm on this lens.

I also did one that came out a little bit clearer that was a 30sec exposure at ISO 250. Looking back I probably should have posted that one.

[Eastside Parkway]

The D40 is a superb camera. Glad you like it!

[Rick Meyer]

Hey Dan...nice crisp shots! As I've mentioned in another thread...that is my downfall. I have a hard time getting the shot as sharp as I'd like...Did you use a tripod? Stock Lens?

Beautiful colors too...
Rick

[DivotDan]

Thanks rlm. Just the kit lens 18-55mm.

I shoot to Large Jpeg. No point in me having those large raw files when shooting for fun if all I have to do is convert them later. So no special post processing either.

The night shot was on tripod but it was a 15 sec exposure.

All the shots on the link are handheld. Holding a camera still is hard to learn. I also like to shoot firearms and being a good shot with them is a lot like holding a camera steady. I try to do a few things. Some people when they shoot have a tendency to pull the camera (or gun too) in one direction or another as part of their finger pushing the button. Without putting your eye to the eye piece, watch what your hand does when you push the button to see if there is a movement that you can correct. Also, I usually slow my breathing and/or hold my breath when I take a shot. It helps me keep the rest of my body calm and still. Last, I'll shoot on continuous shutter. It not only gives me a few extra shots to pick from, but betters the chances of you overcoming both the button movement and body movement if you hold the button down for a second. Prob not the info you were looking for but I hope this helps.

[Rick Meyer]

Nah, thats totally helpful. I actually hold my breath a lot. But I will definitely try to be more aware of what my shutter finger is doing to the overall shot, thanks for the suggestion! I'm sure I can correct a lot of my photos by manually opening up the iris and shortening the shutter speed...but as a general rule...its my downfall. Especially since I like natural light so much more and only like to use the flash if I am desperate....

Continuous shutter? I should try that. I DO take multiple shots of the same subject I like because I assume one or two of them just one be nearly sharp enough...but continuous might be the ticket. It avoids moving the cam to much with multiple button presses...hmm...