CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Why are you back?

fhayes Loc: Madison, Tennessee

hahahahahahaha ouch!! hahahahaha

mindzye Loc: WV

Piggybacking on your car analogy I feel it is very similar. Case in point - when I was 18 and behind the wheel of a '65 Mustang 289 4-speed I learned how to feel the road w/ gear changing, braking, accelerating, etc. One night in Nashville a buddy-' 73 Vega !!, yeah I know.... - were off to the side of a side road in the evening. A fellow high school student w/ brand new '74 Trans Am slowed down and gave us both the finger. "T" looked at me and pointed down the road. Climbing on the TA at around 80, intersection to the main road coming up, light red. His braking gave me the opportunity to close the gap and with the light now green he accelerated. Problem was his nose was all over the place at the speed he was going and the back was following. He obviously didn't have a clue as to what he was doing, or the capabilities of this fantastic car. The 289 was screaming through rpm's downshifting and I thought he's going to kill us both. Yet knowing how my car handled I put the 'Stang' into an intentional powerslide
downshifting to rev and hit the power band, control the steering and doing what is now called a "Swedish slide" and with tires burning and engine screaming, w/intentional control of the steering I slid around him at probably no more than 65 mph. Eased grip of the wheel, let it right itself after! braking 'till the apex of the turn and nailed it, pulling out of the slide and again asking more of the engine that it was usually asked. Passed him on the uphill side and caught just a bit of air on the downside. He wouldn't come up to me at the light at McDonald's. sheesh what a wuss. Was just having fun............Point is, his TA could outperform that Mustang in all performance categories,except one: knowing your equipment and knowing how and when to use it. Not training, just experience. Well, training right after the times you needed said experience...........
ps I now wonder why I never thought about the cops....well, they Were involved at some other time(s)......... youth, ignorance, guts, and wondering how far one can push things - except Dad and, well, the cops......

Kind of like my first Pentax K-1000. Basic settings. "sorry no pictures, no neg's on the strip" to develop on the package(s). sheeesh And figuring out what I did wrong.
Push processing of film. Learning to intentionally under/ over expose a particular brand of film; Kodak, Agafa, Ilford, etc. Lots of money on b&w contact sheets & prints. Notes on what I did - mostly so I wouldn't 'did it' again.
Learning the limits in steering your equipment to get the most of the camera.

Knowing the basics and then elevating your game is part of the joy of photography. And then you can ask of it to produce what you 'see' and then of what the camera is capable.

And yet again, if one just wants to push a button ( pro's excluded here) then they can be happy w/ mediocre performance, compared to what their equipment may be able to offer.

radiojohn

Good idea. People learn in different ways, some by doing, some by hearing and some by seeing.

User ID

The camera ages faster than the user. Better that noobsters learn their first camera in Auto and their next camera in P-mode followed by a verrrrrry advanced model to learn full manual.

It would help minimize noobster confusion if the very advanced third camera uses a different lens mount than the prior two cameras but accepts an OEM adapter that uses an earlier lens mount of a different brand. This way each step in the learning process will be distinct and not blur into the adjacent steps.

therwol Loc: USA

Reality check. Times have changed. Phones are the tool of choice for taking pictures for just about everyone. Photo interest isn't starting with adjustable cameras. I don't think that most people even realize the limitations of phones. Those who eventually do will already have had much experience with "point and shoot" photography. Those who are motivated will buy a camera and learn how to change what's under the hood to take better pictures. Most people will not.

Blues Dude

I agree. Start the newbies with fully auto, and the ones who like a challenge will try the other options, at their own speed. Just be thankful you don't have to pay for their film and processing anymore while they learn. 😎

MDI Mainer

This is 2022. What is a stick shift? What is onion skin? What is a mimeograph? What is a switchboard?

User ID

ROTFLMFAO again ....

(Download)


(Download)


(Download)


(Download)

OldSchool-WI Loc: Brandon, Wisconsin 53919

____________________(Reply)

and go back farther a stick shift was often called the "wobble stick." Cars like the 37 Chev, a popular car with teens in my day.------

OldSchool-WI Loc: Brandon, Wisconsin 53919

So------once again, the MONITOR is a sleep at the switch and the three or four "spoiling snarkies" take over.--------Wonder why there are fewer and fewer topics in discussion????????????????????

User ID

(Download)


(Download)

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Now that we are back into the “work week”, monitoring will probably improve

petercbrandt Loc: New York City, Manhattan

I think Auto is the way to start a newbie. What is photography, a visual language. Capture what your mind instigated. How it turns out will drive you to finesse with the technicalities.

EJMcD

Aperture, Shutter speed, and ISO... learn and understand their relationship. Anyone with average intelligence can and will get more out of their photography with that knowledge. It's not rocket science. IMO beginners should start with a fully adjustable, all manual camera. My first SLR was a Yashica J-P..