dadschild Loc: Methuen, Ma

I have a Minolta 7000 with 50mm I think. It's been sitting for years. I use to have a pentex loved it & did quite well with it. Haven't been into my camera for LONG time. 1 reason, I never learned everything about the camera, especially the F stops. Am I even saying the right word for it? On the flash... Don't understand things on camera either. 've actually been out of life itself for past 1 years sooo, that hasn't helped either. No LOL Maybe I shouldn't even be posting anything cuz you might try to tell me something & I won't understand! I live in Andover, Ma. Anyone around to go out with for photography lessons? Now you can laugh! Thanks for your time. ~Brenda~ P.S. I also have a 400MM, but I moved & lost 90% of my stuff, don't know if still have my tri-pod. I really don't have my ---- together! :cry:

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Before you start looking for a school, read this:
http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm

dadschild Loc: Methuen, Ma

Thank you sooo much for that. Hope I can understand when I start it! Was just thinking, I don't even know if I can download my camera. Gotta lot to learn. LOL Wish me luck & thanks again. I think this is in wrong reply area, isn't it? As long as you get it!

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Please expand on "download my camera"; we might be able to help.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

You sound like a good student. You realise that you don't know stuff. If I was nearby I would gladly hang out and teach you but I am halfway around the world.
One suggestion (and I hope you can afford it) - if I was you I would leave your old camera where it is and get a digital SLR.
It doesn't have to be the latest and greatest.
A second hand Nikon D90, and some cheap or second hand lenses would be great.
So much easier and faster to learn when you get immediate feedback from the review screen and live view.
I would estimate that you can learn 20 times faster and 20 times cheaper with a digital SLR than a film SLR.

sixshooter Loc: constitution state

I have to disagree with lighthouse....Use your older cameras and learn the basics...Being able to produce a well exposed image is one of the basic foundations of good photography.Now this is just my opinion so I hope no one gets upset...But I think theres too much reliance on technology in todays photography.Half the questions on this forum would be obsolete if folks just learned to use a basic slr and a light meter.
I think that what you have right now is an excellent learning tool.Go to your local library or order some books on understanding exposure and practice!! You'll be on your way in no time. Good luck!!

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

What I am proposing is a far cheaper, far faster option in the long run.
$730 can get you a D90 and lens and unlimited shots with immediate feedback via the view screen. It can also get you a preview of the exposure before you take the shot.
It also gives you an automatic record of all your camera settings built into the image. This is all the stuff that enables quick learning.
With film you don't get any of that.
You get a piece of paper exposed to boring lacklustre 18% grey and that is it.
Every dollar that you spend on film processing is money that you could have spent on that digital camera.
With film you have to wait til you get to town to the processing stop. Then wait at least an hour but probably a week or a month by the time you finish the roll., then try to remember what set up you had. Don't let anyone tell you that the answer is to write all your settings and setup down on paper - it just won't happen, does anyone right down the height the tripod was set at, the angle of the camera, how close the foreground object was etc
Once you are set up digitally you can go out on a shoot and take 50 ...... 300 ...... 1000 shots and it costs you nothing.
Every shot is immediately able to be viewed, complete with all settings, focus point, histogram etc. You can look at your shot and make an immediate adjustment and take the shot again. You can shift that little bit closer ... or further away.
You can download them to your computer and see them at about A3 size as soon as you get home. And you can have a play and print out what you like within minutes of doing so.
Digital is liberating.

You can't learn about correct exposure when you use a print lab that processes via an automatic machine to average 18% grey. They correct your stuff ups and stuff up the ones you got right.
How can you learn from that?

lorenww Loc: St. Petersburg

Take a walk through in this tutorial.
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-64061-1.html

sixshooter Loc: constitution state

Spent twenty years learning from that.Since I've switched to digital I rarely use my LCD.(old habits die hard) I barely ever need to correct my exposure in pp, I still use a light/incident meter (again those old habits) I make a point of getting it right in camera.Taking dozens of shots to get one decent one isn't learning or photography, it's luck of the draw.
My reply was directed to the poster who seemed intrested in learning the art.And yes,write it down pay attention to what your doing..Thats how you learn!!! By the way your digital sensor still records in 18% grey.I might also mention that photography has existed and amazing images have been captured long before digital technology existed.your most important equiptment is behind the camera.!Whats liberating is confidence and knowledge.

dadschild Loc: Methuen, Ma

SLR? No clue! Mine is digital. Oh, you mean like my sony cyber shot? Right now am between jobs & it's sooo hard. It's been sitting for years so a little more time won't hurt. Thankyou!

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

Is "old habits die hard" another version of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks"?
Regarding - "Taking dozens of shots to get one decent one isn't learning or photography, it's luck of the draw." -
That is just not true - its not luck of the draw. Its exactly how everyone does it. Its how I did it, its how you did it, its how Ansel did it. No one is immediately brilliant. We all learn by taking pics. Thousands of them. And learning from them, the mistakes as well as the ones we get right.

I generally like to get it right in camera too. but I use a variety of techniques, and some of those specifically involve adjusting exposure and white balance in post work. I am sure what you do works for you - but it doesn't mean it is the only way to do it.
I often need to correct parts of the images exposure. That is because the camera cannot always capture what the eye can see.

When Ansel "invented" this, his version was called "The Zone System" and he manipulated his exposures to suit.

Yes my digital sensor records in approximately 18% grey. I use it as a spotmeter on different areas of the scene and then adjust my exposure manually to suit what I am trying to do.
But that is a spot input reading.

That is totally different than a full scene averaged 18% output reading that a mass print lab/machine gives you.
This 18% averaged print is the reason why I changed to Kodachrome so many years ago. To get WYSIWYG.

Yes photography has existed long before digital. And all the best were manipulating their images - either themselves or through professional print labs in many different ways - eg chemical types and matches, paper types, dodging, burning etc

dadschild Loc: Methuen, Ma

OOOK! I have read from everyone today & sooo grateful. I HAVE to bookmark this page bcoz
" I'm more confused than ever " LOL
But that's ok, I can always go back to each & every one. At first I thought, should I sell my camera? Then I thought, it's always good to have the old way! I think film is good for special things & digital is great for others.
God Bless Always & enjoy! ~dadschild~

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

This is for sixshooter and lighthouse:

I attended a seminar many years ago; the subject was "Causes of Deviant Behavior". The format was unusual, two professors debating each other in a timed forum. Each had fifteen minutes for presentation, ten minutes for rebuttal and five minutes closing. At no point in the entire presentation did either party attack the other's person, each made good points and I found myself in disagreement with certain conclusions made by each. I learned more about that subject in one hour (timing was very rigidly controlled) than I did in nine semester hours of boring lectures, horrible textbooks and a battery of quizzes, term papers and examinations.

The point of these comments? You two disagree, but you chose not to engage in personal attacks. Instead you each presented your facts and opinions with an apparent understanding and respect for the other and with the best interests of the OP in mind. I did not totally agree or disagree with either of you, but I learned a great deal about examining my processes and about how to combine the strengths of your positions.

Congratulations on well written arguments. Kudos for acting like adults. I know dadschild is still confused, but that is now educated indecision. Thank you both for teaching me some lessons about photography and about how to agree to disagree. Good work!

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

Thank you Mogul.
Funny thing is that I agree with a lot of what sharpshooter said and know exactly where he is coming from photographically.
I'm guessing we might have more in common than it initially appears.
Not only that. I'd look a bit of a chump if I said he didn't know the brown stuff from boot polish, and then we happened to see each others portfolios one day, and I found out sixshooter was a ten times better photographer than me.

:)

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

I will offer up a 3rd alternative - You have a Minolta 7000 which is a fairly modern 35mm SLR film camera with auto focus lenses - if they are Minolta brand lenses they were good lenses and more importantly will work, I think, with the current line of Sony digital SLR cameras. IF you inclined to purchase new perhaps this would be a good way to go...

I'm a Nikon guy so I'm hoping some Sony folks can chime in a confirm me belief that Minolta AF lenses are compatible with Sony DSLR body's?

Though I agree with SixShooter in principal, film based SLR cameras have had auto exposure for quite some time and the bottom line is folks have to choose to turn the dial to one of the manual or semi-manual positions regardless of how the the image is recorded. Unless your film camera is more than 40 years old it probably has an A option...