LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Aneishi: I have the camera and enjoy using it. As others have said, just get out there and use it. Here's what I do: pick out some feature and go try it. As a (former) staff trainer there's one way to learn: just do it. ;-) In other words: reinforcing what you've just read by practicing it.

kiterwv Loc: Hagerstown, MD

I would start with the automatic settings. Take a lot of pictures. Then look at the picture postings on UHH and wonder "how did they do that". Then look at the discussions. I have a Nikon D5100 and it does lots of things I'll never use. Sometimes it's composition that counts. Take it slow and enjoy. You'll be surprised at the growth and maturity as time goes on.

willaim Loc: Sunny Southern California

Learn as you go. Keep the instruction manual with you and be fore you know it, it'll be 2ND nature for you. Happy shooting.

jack schade Loc: La Pine Oregon

Go take pictures. You can learn as you go. I would also recommend that you buy a book for your camera. The manuals that come with the cameras are very difficult to understand and follow.
Jack

Creta1 Loc: Vancouver, BC

Get the Nikon 7100 book for Dummies way better than the manual.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Relax- virtually any button you push won't harm the camera. If you make a mistake (every one does ) you can always go back to original settings. There are an unlimitted number of possible settings, no one can learn all of the possibilites, so don't even try. As others have said put the camera in full auto and go out and shoot. Don't worry about bad photos, thats why the delete is there. Don't be concerned about the time it takes to learn the camera. As you go things will become comfortable. Read the books advised and Shoot, Shoot, Shoot. There will be plenty of "oh $hit" things. It happens to every one. I have been using cameras of 1 kind of another for decades, and I have made all the mistakes possible, and some more than once.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

My first DSLR was the D7000 and I had fun right out of the box. I set the ISO and put the mode on P and started shooting. Never mind the other buttons and bows....you'll learn them. The first one to learn though is the review button.

Forget the manual, pick up Mastering the Nikon D7100 by Darrell Young. It goes into much more detail than the manual. I recommend reading the extended section on focus and also on metering.

Once you become used to your camera, I recommend trying out shutter and aperture priority.

You've purchased an excellent camera. I'd also recommend the 28-300mm as an all around lens.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Absolutely

Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

Welcome!

I don't know if anyone here knows all the functions of their cameras, so start shooting now and learn as you go.

One trick is to fire away on full auto, see what aperature, shutter speed, and ISO your camera shoots at, and use that to use the aperature and/or shutter priority to tinker on your own. But be aware that "full auto" doesn't always produce the best images.....

Learning while shooting may be frustrating, but it is often very interesting.....

farnsworth52 Loc: W. Pa.

I assume you learned to ride a bike and drive a car a little at a time. Eventually you got the hang of it. Just remember to practise---frequently. Take mental notes of the outcome. Pretty soon you'll be riding that new camera just as easy as anything else that scared you at first. Noone here was born knowing what you need to learn--we all started the same way. There are no stupid questions;just stupid people that don't ask them. One important note: Take the exact same picture several ways after auto to get a good comparison of focus, depth of field and exposure. Welcome to the group and hope to see some of your results when your ready to share.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

Welcome to the Hog. Some bookwork is essential for learning any camera. But, the process is only fully understood when you take pictures, MANY PICTURES. Change modes, change settings, experiment, experiment, experiment. Good Luck with your new and powerful camera.

Lionel1954 Loc: Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

You also have AUTO on the camera, in fact you can auto everything. Every image has data which you can learn from, use the data when you're studying a particular aspect of the cameras functions. You can take pictures now with the camera and learn as you go along.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Even shooting in Auto or Scene modes, the D7100 will provide superior images. Then try Aperture priority and gradually every other option.

I strongly recommend the Darrell Young book, "Mastering the Nikon D7100" It is so much easier to read and follow but will also give you the author's choices for menu options.These are a good START before you try other options.

The D7100 is an awesome camera. It will work at a beginner level, like a P&S, but then have all the controls available as you progress.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Hello Aneishi, and welcome to this forum. You are wondering if you did the right thing, and personally I think you know you did! You may not have chosen the easiest way to go about what you are trying to do, but your method should give you results that people will admire. Most folks buy a camera and find the owner's manual too technical for the so they go out and buy a book they think will teach them how to get great photographs using that camera. What these folks are actually looking for is instruction on photography, not just that particular camera. So they get another photographer's notebook on that particular camera body. Then these people mimic another photographer's methods but have no idea how or why those methods work. You, on the other hand are interested in how and why the camera works. That is what the owner's manual is for. It is not going to teach you photography, it is going to teach you how to use the camera. There are some outstanding photography training courses available on-line. However, these courses assume you already know how operate your camera and are not going to teach you that. These courses will teach you how to take pictures with any camera, as long as you know how that camera operates. You are on the road to learning photography, but first you need to learn a camera. You understand that learning that camera is not learning photography. The two are inter-related but quite separate. The camera is only a tool. The more you know about the camera, the better you can apply your photographic skills. Good luck to you, and the buttons aren't really labeled in Latin, just seems that way.

tusketwedge Loc: Nova Scotia Canada

You have had tons of replies. A lot of them are good, some so so ,and some oh well. You have to decide at what level you are and at what level you want to get. After deciding what road you are going I would strongly suggest that you do a search for a photo club in your area.Attend a few meetings (usually most will allow a couple of meeting without paying) Search the group and try to find someone that has a camera like your or close to it.Strike up a conversation and don't be afraid to ask for help.The worst that can happen is they say no,which I don't think that will happen often.Remember ,everyone started where you are now.They weren't all Ansel Adam's when they got into photography and if they want to admit it ,they still aren't.