Bobbee

I was reading down, but have a mapping doc to do for a WebService so i have to curtail this reading BUT, I certainly agree with Gessman. You are WAY ahead of the curve. You have the knowledge of what it takes to shoot a photo. The location has changed but not the details. Find what you know and get acquainted. Then move on to the REAL interesting stuff you can do. Later on you will say, "That was not that bad."

wildman Loc: Bluffton, SC

fred,

All I can say is "enjoy the ride"! READ and SHOOT! (and learn)

wildman

photocat Loc: Atlanta, Ga

Consider the following, an fstop is still an fstop, the shutter speed is the same.

Tbe basic difference, the ability to change the ISO in the middle of a shoot and no need for a temperature controling filter when you happen to have the wrong color film in the camera.

The rest of the whistle and bells may or maynot be of interest to you at this time.

Use it as you did you film camera.

These new cameras have far too many bells and whistles (IMHO) and it is no wonder that peoples eyes glaze over.

I have a d700 and it could probably drive me home if I lost my way (which it does include a gps device)however, it is rare when I use or pay any attention to any of the options buried deep within the menu of the camera. Just the basics, manual metering.

Start taking pictures and as your needs increase (if they do) then worry about the exotic features.

les_stockton Loc: Eastern Oklahoma

Start with the basics. Don't worry about not knowing how to use all the features. Some features aren't going to be necessary for you. For instance, my camera has a feature for custom white balancing bracketing. It's a jpeg feature and I'll likely never use it.
I create a simple custom white balance and I almost always shooting in RAW, so I would probably never use white balance bracketing.
And there are program modes that I'll probably never use.

I've use shutter priority; I've used aperture priority; and I use manual mode. That's about it. I've used P mode only for taking a reference shot to be used for a custom white balance. Other than that, I never use P mode.

Take photos. Experiment. Enjoy. Little by little, you'll learn how to use the features you need.

Greg Loc: Maryland

Deja Vu! ;)

DB Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC

LOL I thought you were talkin about me hehehhe I go to Nashville several times a month and still don't know my way around...now the car has auto-pilot direct to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and can find its way to Amerigo Italian Restaurant, and the Parthanon.. driving around I can usually hit music row lol Great Place to visit....

joeyg

1) Skip the manual & get the Canon 60D field guide - $11 at amazon. The manual is more about the camera - the field guide is about taking pictures. (But - know how to jump between settings fairly quickly.) I would use only the wheels on the back of the camera for now.
2) Stick with one lens for now - don't change it. This will eliminate a variable. Same with the tripod - either all the time or never.
3) Bracket your exposures. Start with full auto if you want, note what the camera did. Hold the ISO steady (for now) and change the shutter speed/aperture for effect. Later you can blend in ISO & white balance.
4) Learn the differences between film & digital. Like what effect the ISO has on the picture quality or the difference in a 50 mm lens - film versus digital.
5) View some of your results on screen, on your PC, and in print to fully see the differences.
I have a 50D with high end lenses. the 50mm 1.2 takes a completely different picture than the 18 - 200mm zoom. Now throw in a 580ex flash or two and the fun really starts (another big, long manual to read but man do it have some fun settings too!)

anotherview Loc: California

If you register your camera with Canon, then the company will notify you by e-mail of firmware updates for your camera.

deniseb

I have a Canon 60D too and I love it!! I didn't know most of what the camera could do either and someone suggested checking out Canon EOS 60D for Dummies. The book explained everything about the camera in detail in layman terms that the manual didn't. I would highly recommend it. I was using the camera confidently within a day or two.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

When I first got my Nikon DSLR, upgrading from my P & S, I made a conscientious effort to go through the manual, over several days (not finished yet) and learn at least one or two new functions of the camera each time. Helped me.

kaypasa Loc: Born in Virginia but live in Tennessee

I agree! But most of all play and enjoy. You'll learn as you go. There is a learning curve to these cameras and you don't have to use all of the bells an whistles on the first shoot. After you are comfortable with the feel of the camera, then take it out of the auto mode and begin to play with other modes.

Enjoy, it is a whole new world from our old filmers. I've gone kicking and screaming into digital from film and love them both.

jjestar Loc: Savannah GA

I agree with Igor Blue Crane does a pretty good job of explanning different Cameras and their controls at a very modest price. They can be bought on Amazon, ebay and some online camera stores. Good luck and have fun.

2 Dog Don Loc: Virginia Beach VA

I also got lost when moving from film to digital. An approach that I used was to identify a photo task that I wanted to do such as depth of field, then learned to do that with the digital camera, then picked another task and learned how to do that.
That way I leared how to to what I wanted to do rather than what the camera book said the camera could do. I hate the way camera and most other "user manuals" are written. They take the approach "you can do this or you can do that" rather than the approach, to do X perform the following steps in the order indicated. They keep adding buttons for people that want one button approach rather than learning photography basics.

gessman Loc: Colorado

If I may jump back in here again for a second, I have an approach I use with everything new that I get which may not work for everyone. I don't like to read, especially something as dry as a camera manual. So, with me, it doesn't matter what I've gotten new, whether it's a camera, a computer, a car, or whatever, when I get something new the first thing I do is see what is familiar with it - what I can relate to by bringing my past experience into the scenario. If I've been driving a car for 20 years, I already know about 90% of what I need to know to pull that car out on the road. I may not know where to turn on the new radio but then I don't have to listen to music to get to work on the first day. I'll have time to find the radio on button later. If it's a new computer, likewise, and a camera is no exception. When I start at the front of a manual, I get bogged in detailed concepts of something I probably am not interested in. It's like eating a bowl of corn flakes with no milk or sugar. It ain't fun. To me, it's senseless to sit and read through 250 pages of a 320 page manual when I already know what it's going to tell me.

After I go through everything on a new camera and see what I already know about it, then I start going through the manual and can skip to the things that I don't already know. That brings me to a place less boring and gives me a new level of energy, just knowing that I only have a little bit to learn. I don't let new stuff overwhelm me, rather just move methodically through what I need to become familiar with to see if I'm interested in incorporating it into my repertoire. I highly recommend this method. I'm not a patient person when it comes to learning something new that I just want to get out there and use and I don't waste my time reading about stuff I already know. I think that's a terrible waste of time. An occasional "refresher" is a good thing but there's a time and a place for that. My $.02. :)

Nevada Chuck

I would add a ditto to what others have said here. When I got my first DSLR, I had 40 years of SLR film camera usage behind me. I don't know if this helped or hurt, but in any event it led me to an approach that served me well.

Tackle the manual, and initially only read the most basic function sections: how to control aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings. Use only the P,A,S, and M functions, and deal with other aspects of DSLR usage as they come up. For example, when you get an indoor shot with an off-color cast to it, then it's time to look at the section of the manual dealing with color balance. Try this approach.

One more thing; take LOTS of pictures! If you've used film for many years like I had, you might have trouble getting past the mind set that dictates that you shouldn't waste shots. Waste as many shots as you can.