Bought a d3100

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Necrolezbeast

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
838
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Hey guys, I'm a complete DSLR noob and have been looking at buying one for awhile. I settled for a refurb d3100 w/ 18-55 kit lens from Adorama for $429. I'm waiting for everything to arrive at my Mom's place so she can take it out and make sure everything is working, as she'll be delivering it to me here in China next month. Just in time for a two week vacation! Guess it'll be a good timeto learn wtf I'm doing with the camera.

Anyway, I appreciate all the threads that I read and lurked in for the last couple months. I don't think my pickup was too bad, cost-wise, or product-wise. Of course I would have loved to get something a little more high end or with a few lenses, but ya gotta start somewhere right?

Thanks again! I'm sure I'll be lurking or asking for advice as I begin to look for more lenses or help shooting in the future!
 
Throckmorton

Throckmorton

Lifer
Aug 23, 2007
16,829
3
0
I ordered a used camera from Adorama too, a Sony A35. Had to wait for Passover to end for them to ship :p

Look on eBay for lenses. Used Nikons seem to be pretty cheap
 
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currahee440

Member
Dec 26, 2011
55
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I've found that learning with the D5100 was really easy. I honestly didn't mess with the other settings, I just had it on auto all the time but I loved messing with the lens. Being able to focus on objects you want is probably the most gratifying feeling ever. You'll really like the D3100 too I think, it has a program which guides you through the process which I think is nice.
 
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Necrolezbeast

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
838
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Sweet, I'm beyond excited for the arrival of the camera (and i guess a little excited to see the family again)... Hopefully I get some good for me photos out of it during my travels in May and over the summer. I hope by the summer I know wtf I'm doing a little bit more so I can actually make use of it on some good vacations.
 
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swanysto

Golden Member
May 8, 2005
1,949
9
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currahee440 said:
I've found that learning with the D5100 was really easy. I honestly didn't mess with the other settings, I just had it on auto all the time but I loved messing with the lens. Being able to focus on objects you want is probably the most gratifying feeling ever. You'll really like the D3100 too I think, it has a program which guides you through the process which I think is nice.
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The auto setting are really nice. I think once you play with the manual modes a little more, you will see how good it can get.
 
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maniac5999

Senior member
Dec 30, 2009
505
14
81
My advice would be to spend $20 on a good beginner photography book. (or to just read online, unfortunately I learned the basics before the interwebz got big, so i can't tell you where to go about that.) Even just spending an hour learning what happens if you change the aperture and F stops can be a good experience. I've had my D200 for a year, and i'm still learning about how to play with auto white balance to my advantage. sometimes I still miss the three lights on my old FM
 
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elitejp

Golden Member
Jan 2, 2010
1,080
20
81
Necrolezbeast said:
I teach in Zhejiang province. Yourself?
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I just last year opened a pizza cafe, and am now getting steaks and ribs on the menu as well. I also taught though before that. Ive been here quite a while now so I also got the language down, which makes life a whole lot easier.;)
 
Throckmorton

Throckmorton

Lifer
Aug 23, 2007
16,829
3
0
JohnnyRebel said:
+1

A Bargain at $26.43 shipped...

The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression p://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Photography-Approach-Expression/dp/1933952687
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I'm reading the reviews...

"... It is not, however, without limitations.

First is the fact that the views expressed are quite narrow in perspective. There's no question that the author is exceedingly bright, highly experienced, and duly lauded within the tight-knit community of well-known fine-art photographers. But photography as a medium deserves freedom from too much pigeonholing. The strong emphasis in this piece is on artistically created large-format black & white images processed in a wet darkroom and delivered in the form of silver prints. Yes, there is a nod toward color, and to digital capture and processing, but large chunks of space are devoted to elaborate film-related discussions of Zone System exposure followed by contrast-controlling development and printing methods using chemicals and other materials that are increasingly expensive and hard to get. These methods are not obsolete, but are practiced by an ever-diminishing percentage of image-makers. There certainly are valuable principles buried in this discussion that apply to photography in general, but for a great many readers the arcane specifics of wet darkroom procedures won't be of much value. Another limitation is the mixed nature of an "updated" book. With so much of the material referencing film and chemical-based processes, the added sections on digital have a distinctly "tacked-on" feel...hard to avoid without a very time-consuming total re-write."
 
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Necrolezbeast

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
838
0
0
Been awhile but I thought I'd update! Well, my Mom decided she wanted a DSLR for personal use so I handed the d3100 to her and ordered a d3200 for myself. She was able to deliver it when she got here on Sunday, since then it's taken a couple thousand pictures. I had a friend using it for my wedding party (been married for a few months, just convenient to have mine and her family and friends make it halfway across the country or world in my case).

So far it's been great, some really nice pictures have been taken and very few of them have were out of focus. I wouldn't say there have been many great photos taken, but that is completely due to user error!

Today I went to the market as we toured around the city nearby and haggled myself a pretty sweet deal for a Tamron 70-300mm and an extra Nikon battery. The shop owner was impressed with the camera and spent 45 minutes trying lenses on it and snapping shots for himself. He stated that it's not out in China and asked me a ton of questions about it and if I could help him get some in, and if I would sell it to him at quite a nice deal... of course I turned it down and managed to talk him into giving me the battery and lens for 1460rmb or $231. Not a bad deal, considering same stuff on Amazon would have put me back $240.

Reason I bought the lens was because there were many times today that I wished I had more reach..... and the next week and a half of travelling is going to be at even more large-scale places that I just knew that I would be wishing for some more reach and being able to play with macro...

Like I've pointed out many times, I'm new to this and have no idea what I'm doing... but I feel I've already learned a lot and am having an amazing time playing around with the camera. I would like some feedback as to whether or not people here like my lens choice (although there was hardly any choice, as it was between the Nikon 55-200 and the Tamron, I wouldn't call 2 choices a variety). I can definitely see being frustrated with having to swap the lenses out for a shot and having zero overlap, but it is what it is in the price range I was working with and the availability at the electronics store in town.

As for another tidbit of information: I've seen a few websites suggest that the battery life is around 650 shots... well first night of using it my buddy shot 700+ most indoors with flash and the battery didn't drop a bar...

I'll be sure to report back with more about the camera, battery life, etc. as I get the time... I'll even throw up some pictures that I am least ashamed of and see if you guys can give me some suggestion about how to improve!!

Thanks a lot!
 
Throckmorton

Throckmorton

Lifer
Aug 23, 2007
16,829
3
0
I don't get why people care about overlap. At what point are you going to say "boy I sure wish I had 60mm focal length right now!"?

I got a photo in the local newspaper with my 70-300mm lens (Quantaray branded Tamron). A 55-200 (or whatever) wouldn't have gotten the picture.
 
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JohnnyRebel

JohnnyRebel

Senior member
Feb 7, 2011
762
0
0
Throckmorton said:
I'm reading the reviews...

"... It is not, however, without limitations.

First is the fact that the views expressed are quite narrow in perspective. There's no question that the author is exceedingly bright, highly experienced, and duly lauded within the tight-knit community of well-known fine-art photographers. But photography as a medium deserves freedom from too much pigeonholing. The strong emphasis in this piece is on artistically created large-format black & white images processed in a wet darkroom and delivered in the form of silver prints. Yes, there is a nod toward color, and to digital capture and processing, but large chunks of space are devoted to elaborate film-related discussions of Zone System exposure followed by contrast-controlling development and printing methods using chemicals and other materials that are increasingly expensive and hard to get. These methods are not obsolete, but are practiced by an ever-diminishing percentage of image-makers. There certainly are valuable principles buried in this discussion that apply to photography in general, but for a great many readers the arcane specifics of wet darkroom procedures won't be of much value. Another limitation is the mixed nature of an "updated" book. With so much of the material referencing film and chemical-based processes, the added sections on digital have a distinctly "tacked-on" feel...hard to avoid without a very time-consuming total re-write."
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Here's a review that mirrors my own experience...
For someone who had no previous formal education in art of any sort including photography, this is the best book I came across. I was looking for a book that is not too advanced to understand about artistic compositions, but not too shallow that it simply tell you to apply "higher contrast is better", "the rule of the third", "the golden ratio" etc. without enough explanation. I actually came across some books like that which left me even more confused about compositions. Most of the time, I just blindly apply whatever I learned of composition.

But this book is totally different. It starts talking about the philosophy of how photography is connected personally to the photographer. Then it gives a detail analysis of all the elements of composition with great examples and with a language that even an amateur can understand. Best of all, the author did a great job at interconnecting all the elements to help the reader understand the importance of applying a combination of elements instead of focusing on just one of two of the elements. It is like putting all the puzzles together to solve a great mistery.

If you want to find a book that will teach you composition and connect yourself to your photography, this is the book.
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JR
 
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Necrolezbeast

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
838
0
0
Throckmorton said:
I don't get why people care about overlap. At what point are you going to say "boy I sure wish I had 60mm focal length right now!"?

I got a photo in the local newspaper with my 70-300mm lens (Quantaray branded Tamron). A 55-200 (or whatever) wouldn't have gotten the picture.
Click to expand...

Ok good to know! I think the desire for overlap comes with my lack of experience and confidence about switching lenses multiple times within a given time frame. I'm sure after today is over I'll have more experience swapping the lenses and hopefully some more confidence with the camera will come as I get more experience. :)
 
Throckmorton

Throckmorton

Lifer
Aug 23, 2007
16,829
3
0
Necrolezbeast said:
Ok good to know! I think the desire for overlap comes with my lack of experience and confidence about switching lenses multiple times within a given time frame. I'm sure after today is over I'll have more experience swapping the lenses and hopefully some more confidence with the camera will come as I get more experience. :)
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I for one don't like switching lenses... but my Sony has a translucent mirror made of plastic that is prone to scratching, so it's really difficult to clean (Sony doesn't even give cleaning instructions).


What I really want is a Tamron 28-300mm lens, but they cost $350 even used on Ebay.
 
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Necrolezbeast

Senior member
Apr 11, 2002
838
0
0
First day of lens swapping complete... must say that it wasn't as bad as I imagined... but I think I held things up for a few moments and possibly lost some shots due to needing to swap. Overall it worked well and I am happy about my purchases!

I'm having a hard time understanding when to use the close up blurry backgrounded portrait shot that I can get with the Tamron.... and I think that not knowing which looks better and then swapping lenses and getting an idea of it for each case scenario is allowing me to learn, but this learning could be achieved in a much more simply with the 28-300 you speak of.

Update on battery life: 606 shots and I'm at 2 out of 3 bars.
 
Throckmorton

Throckmorton

Lifer
Aug 23, 2007
16,829
3
0
Well the idea is to take advantage of shallow depth of field when the in-focus person/object is important but the background isn't.

I did real lens swapping for the first time yesterday... Figured out how to do it right in my bag without dropping anything. It was Linda Lingle's senate campaign office opening. I just had my kit 18-55 and my 100-400... which was perfect. The 100-400 is awesome for candid shots because it's very sharp until you zoom it all the way to 400.

Here's a picture I really like. Linda Lingle is on focus, the rabbi and his son aren't but they are still recognizeable.

YzIur.jpg


This one would have been better with even shallower depth of field so the crowd was more blurred and possibly the stars too

gnWAE.jpg
 
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SHahsmerdis

Junior Member
Nov 6, 2006
7
0
0
I have the camera. Its a great intro level camera. Very simple to use. Great on low lighting settings. When you feel comfy though i suggest going for a higher end lens.
 
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