Hello from Washington! Newbie here, been stalking for about a month though. ;): I just received a brand new Nikon D3100 for Christmas and have NO CLUE how to work the thing. I am here...

kmc212 Loc: Lake Stevens, Wa

I just received a brand new Nikon D3100 for Christmas and have NO CLUE how to work the thing. I am here to learn about aperture, ISO, composition, and all that fancy stuff. I also need help knowing which lenses are compatible, etc.

Any and all help will be appreciated. :)

Feels good to finally jump in.

72young Loc: Williston Park, NY

Welcome to the UHH. Ask a question and someone will answer it.

forbescat

Welcome from another Washingtonian! Congrats on your new camera. The first thing you should do is sit down with your camera and the manual. Study the parts of the camera and learn all the names. Then you can go page by page until you have an idea of what you want to ask about. The time you spend now will be important so don't try to skim the pages. As you cover new topics, try them out on your camera. As much of what you want to know has been covered, go to Search in the taskbar and read. Lots of knowledgeable folks have put in a lot of time making sure questions can be answered. Then come back with a specific question or two. If you don't do your homework, the answers won't make much sense. Most of all, do approach this with joy as it is a joyous and marvelous event when you create a picture that you absolutely love and, in your mind at least, should be hanging in a world class museum!

kmc212 Loc: Lake Stevens, Wa

72young wrote:

Welcome to the UHH. Ask a question and someone will answer it.

Thank you so much!

blueeyes3515 Loc: WV

Glad to see you here on the forum, and welcome!
Might I suggest going to this link,to learn how to use your camera properly. There are lots of options to choose from.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Nikon+D3100+books

kmc212 Loc: Lake Stevens, Wa

forbescat wrote:

Welcome from another Washingtonian! Congrats on y... (show quote)

Thank you Forbescat. Yes, I have been stalking, like I said, so that I would not come on here looking like a TOTAL idiot. lol. I am just amazed at all the photos on here and how beautiful they are. I know a lot of them have been shot with more than just a 18-55mm lens. That's one problem I do have is trying to figure out what "cheap" lens would be best for a beginner. I LOVE the shots of the moon. I didn't even know those were possible to take without a telescope. ;P
Anyhow, I hope to learn a lot in here and have some fun!

kmc212 Loc: Lake Stevens, Wa

blueeyes3515 wrote:

Glad to see you here on the forum, and welcome!
Might I suggest going to this link,to learn how to use your camera properly. There are lots of options to choose from.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Nikon+D3100+books

Thank you for the link. I will do this. :)

forbescat

kmc212 wrote:

quote=forbescat Welcome from another Washingtonia... (show quote)

As far as a lens is concerned, it will depend on what you want to shoot. One of my favorite lens is the 70-300VR. It's not terribly expensive and I've gotten a lot of use out of mine.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

kmc212 wrote:

I just received a brand new Nikon D3100 for Christmas and have NO CLUE how to work the thing. I am here to learn about aperture, ISO, composition, and all that fancy stuff. I also need help knowing which lenses are compatible, etc.

Any and all help will be appreciated. :)

Feels good to finally jump in.

welcome

see what you think of this
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Nikon+D3100++tutorials&oq=Nikon+D3100++tutorials&aq=f&aqi=g2&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=8326l8326l0l13184l1l1l0l0l0l0l121l121l0.1l1l0

Hando Rei Loc: Long Island New York

Remember that "cheap is expensive "...your lens is more important than your camera body. Buy the best you can afford by saving up for the right lenses.

rocco_7155 Loc: Connecticut/Louisiana

Welcome to the group. You'll find several PNW ers here.

Meives Loc: FORT LAUDERDALE

kmc212 wrote:

I just received a brand new Nikon D3100 for Christmas and have NO CLUE how to work the thing. I am here to learn about aperture, ISO, composition, and all that fancy stuff. I also need help knowing which lenses are compatible, etc.

Any and all help will be appreciated. :)

Feels good to finally jump in.

Nice Avatar. Welcome to the HOG. I often say "shoot on automatic and then check the readings" It will tell you the ISO, the Apature, and speed of shutter". Later you can play with manual settings. Post some of your artwork and we can see what your doing.

jcsnell Loc: SW Ohio

Welcome! I also have a D3100 an really like it. Outside of the normal lens I use a 70-300 VR for wildlife etc. I would recommend printing out the reference manual, it is much more helpful that the
user guide. Just go out and experiment with different settings and enjoy your camera, you will get better the more you shoot.

kmc212 Loc: Lake Stevens, Wa

Meives wrote:

quote=kmc212 I just received a brand new Nikon D3... (show quote)

Thanks. My Avatar was taken with a point and shoot at Baker Lake in Washington. Love the pic but hate the date stamp. I will start posting some pics. My only problem is that I don't get out much, so most photos have been taken inside. They're pretty boring, lol.

Blue Gill crappie

My 8 year old daughter, Willow

My 10 year old daughter, Autumn.

steve Loc: Iowa

David Busch's "D3100 field Guide" sure helped me