Mulley Loc: West Texas

I am new to my DSLR and need tons of advice. I really don't know much about the different settings and using my Nikon D5300. Any help on where and how to begin to use and understand will be greatly appreciated.

PhotosBySteve

I would start by reading the owner's manual. Then read it again. Then play around with your camera until you get a good feel for it. Then read the manual again and repeat the process. Also check out a few of the many great tutorials available online. Experiment with the many modes available. Spend a fair amount of time working in manual and the manual assisted modes such as aperture priority, shutter priority and program modes. Read the manual again. Practice, Practice, Practice. Follow the forum here and you will learn a whole lot about photography, and a lot of other things.

Photomacdog Loc: San Francisco (Bay Area) California

Hi Mulley, I have been shooting with a DSLR for about twenty years now. Don't make the same mistake I made and shoot in "auto". I bought a D5300 last January. I decided to learn about shooting in manual mode. I hate reading camera manuals. I got as much information out of the camera salesman, he was very knowledgeable, as his boss would allow. Learn about the relationship between ISO, aperture setting and shutter speed. I started out shooting in aperture priority. And as PhotosBySteve said practice, practice, and practice. Don't be afraid to shoot everything in sight. The beauty of digital is it's free once you have the camera. Learn from your mistakes. As PhotosBySteve said there are lots of tutorials on line, some even on the D5300. I am looking forward to seeing the great captures you make on the Hog.

RicknJude Loc: Quebec, Canada

Until you learn some of the jargon and acronyms the manual will be a tough read. Try the D5300 for Dummies book first. These books are easy to read and loaded with the info you need.

Good book

Nic42 Loc: Cardiff, Wales

This site is good for learning

http://digital-photography-school.com/getting-off-auto-manual-aperture-and-shutter-priority-modes-explained/

amehta Loc: Boston

Welcome, Mulley! You're in for a lot of fun, but it's going to take some effort to make it really happen, just like anything else. I apologize for the contradicting answers you're going to get. :-)

I would start by reading the table of contents (ToC) of the manual and look at the sections you need to do the basic camera setup. Then print the ToC and put the manual aside. Few of us learn by just reading a textbook, and these manuals don't even try to be a textbook.

There aren't many controls you need to worry about with the D5300:
* framing/composition
* zoom
* focus
* exposure (ISO, aperture, shutter speed)

I would suggest the following to get started, and then evolve from there as your familiarity grows. First, use the viewfinder for framing/composition, not live view. Partly because this forces you to see what the camera sees, and partly because the information presented in the viewfinder is the most important things you need to know about each picture. For zooming, just do what is seems to make sense for you for now. With focus, I would suggest starting with AF-S (single-servo AF) and single point AF, using the center point. Ok, you'll have to look at the section on "Focus" to see how to do this. For exposure, I would set the ISO manually and use aperture priority (A on the mode dial). You use the command dial to set the aperture, and the camera will select the shutter speed. The next thing you will add for exposure will be exposure compensation. (See "ISO Sensitivity", "P, S, A, and M Modes").

Then, go shoot, but don't have high expectations. You aren't going out to shoot masterpieces, you are going to learn photography and your camera. The masterpieces will come soon. As you have ideas for shots, or think some are not working out, look at the ToC printout to see if something could help you. But don't worry about solving the problem, just make a note of it and then keep shooting. Afterwards, go to the manual and see what the feature was and how you could set it to get different results.

Keep doing this process a little, and you will quickly learn the features of your camera which matter to you.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

Welcome to UHH. You are in for a fun ride. Ametha gave you some very good advise. In addition, I recommend that you read Bryan Peterson's, "Understanding Exposure, 3rd. Edition" and then shoot as much as you can. Remember to push your shutter button only half way to engage auto focus then push it down fully to capture your shot. The photography language will take you a while to fully grasp but the lights will come on, I assure you. Make good use of the free videos on YouTube. If you can afford it, sign up on Lynda.com and go through as many tutorials as you can. I still do this. Ask questions here when you can't seem to grasp something and use the search feature, above, to search different topics. Most of all, have fun.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

Mulley,
One thing that I think is THE most important thing to understand.
No matter how confusing, or how complicated things seem, they really aren't.
There are only 3 real variables that write every image to the sensor - and they comprise the exposure triangle - that is shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.
Shutter speed - how long the shutter is open.
Aperture - how big the hole in the lens opens
ISO - how sensitive the sensor is (the equivalent of the old film speed).
This website is a good place for a beginner to browse around.
http://digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography/
And if you are into books there is one book in particular that I will recommend very very highly as one of the first photography books you should read.
http://digital-photography-school.com/understanding-exposure-by-brian-peterson-a-reader-review/

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Understanding exposure by Bryan Peterson. Get yourself a copy.

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Ditto. :thumbup:

Welome to the Hog, Mulley. You can also learn a lot reading the Q&A here in this section of the forum but do get Bryan's book. Well illustrated and an easy read.

Mr PC Loc: Austin, TX

Tony Northrup's Kindle ebook How to Create Stunning Digital Photography gave me a big boost when I was just starting out with my first DSLR a little over a year ago. Good discussions of the basics described above and every type of photography known to man. He also has links in the book to private youtube videos where he demonstrates what is discussed in each chapter. Also, B&H, Adorama, youtube, adobe.com, Nikon.com and others have excellent video tutorials on most anything you can think of. Google is your friend. Search for "Lightroom tutuorial" for example, and you'll be amazed at the number of resources out there. I concur, read the manual, breathe in the jargon and practice. Repeat. You will understand a little more each time. And ask questions here, use the search button at the top of the page and check out the Links and Resources section of the Hog. There's an amazing amount of stuff here. Good luck!

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

Shoot, chimp, and shoot some more!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Start with A mode...learn how to use it then move to S. Understand those two, then move into M mode if you feel it is necessary. I shoot 95% of my shots on aperture mode. Mostly because of glass I own (It's all pretty much faster than f/2)

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Check out the 3rd party books available at a store like Barnes and Noble. They have "manuals" soecific to to your camera that are much more comprehensive and easier to digest than the manufacturer's manual. Secondly, when you run into something you don't understand, post it here on UHH ..., you will get answers. Welcome!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

For $49, here a good video.

https://www.creativelive.com/courses/nikon-d5100-d5200-dslr-fast-start