ditto to MWAC. I agree with you completley. If something another poster has said bothers you send them a message. I have no problem with READ YOUR CAMERA MANUAL because many times the answer is there, and usualy the question asked has been asked many times before. Not to come across as harsh but your manual will tell you how to set av or aperture mode not why. If you need to understands f-stops better, thats what an introduction to photography book is for. after making a dilligent effort on your part, then thats when you should post a question. It is called taking personel RESPONSIBILITY for learning your craft. thats one difference between a photographer and a snapshooter.

as for anaycronyms, I am old school. other than the universal initials such as FBI,CIA,DEA,DOD,NASA SOS ETC, i dont know them nor care to. I am one of the last americans who doesn't text and chooses not too. I like bob feel that texting is a step backwards in communication and is in fact more responsible than tv for turning our youth into morons unable to compete with the Japanese, Indians,and Koreans. U is not a word and UR is the city in chaldean where God called Abrahm out of to go to cannan.

Finaly being a midwestener down south in a state half full of people from the nort east versuses a bunch of florida crackers I have to remind people that their are cultural and regional differences in how people communicate and that should be considered before judging that a person is being rude. For example New Yorkkers, speak fast, are brusque and get strait to the point. Down south that is considered rude, but in New York thats normal. Southerners on the other hand speak slowly, aren't rushed, like to ponder things first, in New york that is considered wasting another persons time and rude, but in the south thats normal. Perhaps if we were less quick to get offended at what people post and more offended at things that really matter such as homelessness, poverty racism, and immorality, we would all be better off.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER AND AGAIN I SAY NEVER :!: English is a beautifal language, textian is an abomination. U is not a word, it is just the symbol of a very lazy person who can't be bothered to type a yo infront of the u. Ur is only a word if you are refering to the home city of abram ( soon to become abraham) who God called out of to go to cannan.

Can you imagine the textian version of the Bible " N th bgnn, Gd cr8td hvn nd the rth..... nd say10 ws unhpe" I don't think so

Janice,
I know exactly how you feel!! I got my Nikon 2 years ago, and just shot in the auto or preset settings. My daughter said to me, "Why did you buy that camera if you didn't intend to use all that it has to offer?" She was right. So, I decided I needed to learn my camera. I have read, and reread the manual, but the most helpful for me was to take a couple of Continuing Education classes at the local Community College. They are 6 sessions each, several times I've had those "aha" moments that made the whole class so worthwhile. Now when I go back over something in my manual, it makes so much more sense. So I would encourage you to take advantage of any classes you can take. They are full of people just like yourself, everyone wanting to learn how to take pictures in the manual settings, and to learn photography basics. Oh, and then practice, practice, practice!!