Jeffcs Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina

Op asking how to
In one word
Shoot-shoot-shoot
Than go and shoot some more
If your not out there shooting your not learning

ken glanzer

This learning problem points out the need for factory made video's you can watch repetitively enough to fully grasp each procedure & quickly review it when needed without bothering others probably again. I'm 88 now & learning is slower than before. I recently got a highly excessively Menu driven Digital N5500 from Barrow Camera (to learn IR photography with no instruction manual & I had to keep taking pictures until I finally get up to some speed. A video would have saved me a lot of time. Fortunately in Digital photography you can see the results right away but you have to remember them that is not possible with film cameras. Features have been kept to a minimum on film cameras for that reason. I have suggested videos to the Mfgs. but they won't do it until they have to to be competitive. When you really master all your camera features you can do a lot of things quickly to maximize every shot. When you do that you are re

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

One way I have learned a lot about any camera I have ever owned: "Translate" the instructions into my own "language" - sometimes by following available instructions very carefully but also taking my own notes while I do so. Sometimes by writing down what someone tells me, so that I will still understand it three days later.
Following that, and possibly even more important: practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more.
You don't necessarily have to go out to practice: I often sit on the couch, with a cup of steaming hot chocolate, the fireplace on, and take photos of the tv across the room, of the street outside, etc. - anything I can see without getting up.
I keep some of my best as well as some of my worst "efforts" so later on I can check the exif data and learn from those photos.

philo Loc: philo, ca

I would stay in Auto for a while. Just go and enjoy your camera. When you are having fun with it then try the P mode this allows you to change a few setting. Take it one step at a time. the most important thing is to enjoy your new tool. Have fun and then you will want to move on. You will get good images in the auto mode.

ken glanzer

In my post here the system sent it before I was finished with it SOMEHOW--its done that before also? Last sentence "When you do that (learn all the Menu procedures) you are re--"eady to buy a more advanced camera & make use of it's additional features." All kinds of things can be done to reduce any Photo Shop work later.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Join a club and find someone to mentor you. I briefly mentored someone for a half hour or so before meetings, very basic basic info.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Classes are great, but if you do not budget time to go out and try, fail, learn, try, fail, learn, try, succeed, repeat with all the functions, the classes will do you no good.

Both together is best, but classes without practice will never work. Lots of practice without a class can work, but may be slower.

RolandDieter

Based on what you posted, it sounds to me like you don't want to learn but want the results from learning. Technology has not yet reached the point where knowledge can be digitally programmed into us. Around Houston it should be easy to find a community college course or a camera club. I'm sure they can easily be found online. Goggle camera clubs houston and several may pop up. But after learning the easy way you better practice a lot because forgetting is a fast process than learning. If you short-cut on learning you will forget faster unless you discipline yourself to stay at it.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

David, contact the Houston Camera Exchange. They have courses weekly and bring in photographers like, Randy Kerr and Doug Box, who simply love photography and really want to pass their knowledge along. Getting better is a matter of time, making lots of shots, learning the language of photography and your personal effort. Good luck.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

First of all, I sincerely hope you bought a Canon "60D" instead of a Canon "D60". The former is an 18MP DSLR introduced in 2010 with a reasonably high performance 9-point AF system. The D60 is one of the earliest Canon DSLRs from 2002, a 6MP model with a rather archaic 3-point AF system. There were a TON of advancements and improvements to DSLRs in the eight years between those two models.

The 60D has a "teaching mode" built in. Look for "CA" or "creative auto" on the mode dial, on the lefthand shoulder of the camera. Set to that, the camera will give you guidance on your settings on the rear LCD screen. That can be helpful to use for a while. But because it slows you down, eventually you'll probably want to stop using it.

Canon calls M (manual), P (program), Av (aperture priority auto exposure) and Tv (shutter priority AE) the "Creative Zone" settings. Learn to use those. P, Av and Tv are all auto exposure modes, with Exposure Compensation to override it if needed. M is the only truly manual mode. Each of these have their uses, so it pays to eventually learn them all.

You'll also see "A+" and a series of icons indicating "Scene Modes" (and video mode) on that dial. Canon calls this the "Basic Zone", but I'd say those are more of a "super automated" group of settings. The Scene Modes such as "running man" (sports), "mountain" (scenic), etc. not only set the exposure mode, but also will override focus setup, frame rate, type of image file saved and possibly more. The more advanced models such as 7D Mark II don't even have those "icon modes" A+ is "beyond super auto"... basically a "point n shoot" and pray! mode.

Finally, on that same dial you'll see a "C" (in the Creative Zone).... That's a user-programmable "custom" mode that you can set up to be able to quickly switch to a mode you frequently use. I'd leave it alone for now... until you have more experience and know better what settings you need most frequently (which can vary a lot, depending upon what you shoot and how you shoot it).

If you didn't get the user manual with the camera, you can download a PDF copy from https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/cameras/dslr/eos-60d?tab=manuals#Z7_MQH8HIC0L88RB0AMD0F1Q42K25

You might print out a copy of the manual (lots of pages!).... or if you have a smart phone, may be able to keep it on there for reference.

There also are some very good guide books specifically for the 60D available on Amazon. These expand upon what's in the manual and can be quite helpful. Even though I've been using SLRs and DSLRs for 35+ years, I always buy at least one of these guides any time I get a new camera. It and the manual help shorten and ease the "learning curve". I'm familiar with similar books (though other models) from Bavid Busch, Charlotte Lowrie, Doug Klostermann and Michael Guncheon... all good and helpful. I imagine some of the other books there are good, too (check buyer reviews on Amazon). I'm not a fan of the "Dummies" series.... but some people like them. I got one recently when it was the only guide available for a particular camera, but found the Dummies series book overly simplistic. But, again, maybe that's just me because I know other folks find them useful.

While you're shopping on Amazon, also pick up a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". It's an excellent, in depth description of how to use practically any relatively modern DSLR or film SLR. Should be required reading for anyone wanting to do more than just "point n shoot".

There also may be local camera clubs that can be helpful. Check on meetup.com to see if there are any in your area.

Also look for online courses or photography classes at local schools.

Smudgey Loc: Ohio, Calif, Now Arizona

Depending on what camera you have, you most likely never will. You will learn what you need to learn to do the kind of photography you like. There are classes available on line that will help you. Practice Practice Practice. It is much like PP work in Photoshop, the program is so extensive that no one knows every single aspect of the program. Todays cameras are much the same, the capabilities of the camera are so extensive that most photographers don't use everything the camera is capable of.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

Most community colleges and many community centers offer low cost beginning digital photography courses. These courses usually teach you the basics of both the automatic settings, when to use each and also the manual settings and how to manipulate them to get the results you want. From there you could take more advanced courses or, using the basics you learn in the beginner's course, you could just work on your own.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Do that and look for a mentor.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

Practice, practice, practice. Find out what's wrong with the ones that fail and then practice some more.

AlfredU Loc: Mooresville, NC

David, you are going to have to put forth a little effort. You answered your own question though. Yes, you need a class or a club or wherever you can find a class with good testimonials from real students. Most classes will require you to know something about the controls on your camera. There are so many models of digital cameras out there that no instructor can know how all of them work. For that I recommend a book by David Busch written specifically for your camera. Stick with it. It may take some time and effort but it will be worth it.