Well Finally I got into the 21st Century

[TimEwers]

Got a newfangeld camera a nikon coolpix l22 12.0megapixels 3.6x zoom.

Don't know if it's a good one but it was the cheapest one on sale.

Damn sure wish they still made flim for my old polaroid.

So once I get it figured out I guess I can join in on these group builds thingies.

 

[Airframes]

Sounds good. Looking forward to seeing some pics.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

The best way to learn with the new toy is USE IT. Hope you have loads of fun with it Tim. There are several of us on the forum who enjoy photography.

 

[RabidAlien]

One of the joys of digital cameras....once you buy the camera and card, every picture you take from then on is pretty much free. No more wondering if you captured the lighting just right, or whether you'll have enough film, or shooting off that last frame 30 seconds before the UFO (up close, in focus, and unquestionable!) cruises past...like ABW said, take that bad boy out and play with it! Experiment with different settings (I'd strongly suggest playing with the macro feature, if you're planning on doing builds). Oh, and shop around, there are still a few places that carry Polariod film, IIRC.

I'm a Canon man, but Nikon makes pretty good cameras too!

 

[Gnomey]

Yep, RA has hit the nail on the head. Was much more selective with film than I am with digital which is great plus the ability to Photoshop the pictures and do I wish makes it so much better.

Canon man myself (like RA) but that isn't a bad little camera, my little brother had one for a while until he got a different one this year.

 

[mikewint]

TimE, small point but drop the O it's MEGA which mean million so there are 12 million pixels in your photo. so you could blow those bad boys up to wall sized with no problems.
as others have said the best feature is the ability to manipulate those pixels via something like photoshop. you can change and improve just about anything on your photo without have a huge photolab. Just be sure to make backups of your backup if those pics are important to you. My important pics are on two separate disk drives and a stick

 

[RabidAlien]

Seems like the professional photographer is starting to be come a rare bird these days....last wedding my wife and I shot, I had to shoo relatives out of the way several times while doing the posed photos...some uncle or cousin would walk up after we spent two or three minutes getting everyone situated, stop right in front of the rather large tripod with big expensive camera/lens/flash/batterypack, pull out his $100 digital point-n-shoot, and start snapping away to get pics these nice folks are paying us to take for them. Back in the film days, most folks never bothered to carry a 35mm with them, they would actually rely on the pros and were courteous and respectful of the equipment and experience.

Sorry, venting. Enjoy your camera!

Oh, and another side note....if you ever graduate up to a camera with a neck strap, its called that for a reason. I was taking sunset/wave pics on the beach once while stationed in Hawaii, had the strap dangling...jumped from one rock/coral to another, and the strap got snagged on the original one. Camera ended up in the drink. Canon managed to salvage the film and the lens, but the camera was toast. Apparently saltwater will do that. Had another one go into freshwater, left it to dry out for several days, and its still goin strong after about 15 years.

 

[BikerBabe]

Congrats with the new "baby", Tim - I sure hope you two are going to have lots of fun together.
And I'm definitely looking forward to see the pics of your models.

 

[evangilder]

"Crowd-sourcing" is a big problem for us pros these days, RA. Nothing draws my ire like have my 500mm trained on a subject and some dipstick steps in front of me with a cell phone camera. Really?!?! Do they think they are going to get the shot that I am taking with a 7 pound, 500mm lens that cost three times what their cell phone cost? /rant

Get out and take a bunch of test shots to learn your equipment. Try different settings and don't be afraid to blow a shot. That's how you learn. The biggest thing going to digital is breaking the "film fear". Step outside of your comfort box and try something you would never have tried with film and you never know what you may discover.

As an example, I was in the back of a T-6 in a four ship formation for photos. Years of doing photography told me to get the subject lit well, etc etc. Two T-6s were joining up on the left with the sun directly behind them. Instinctively, I lowered the camera. Then I thought "What the hell" and rapped off a couple of shots. Discovered a whole new world for myself.

The more you know about your gear and what settings do what, the better use you will get out of it. Blew a photo? So what, erase it and try again. Having trouble breaking the film fear? Do "Kamikaze Kamera". What that involves is holding the camera in an unusual way and take a photo. Hold it above your head and take a photo, hold it down low by your knees, point it out the passenger window of the car while you drive (do this carefully and watch for highway patrol). Sometimes, you get cool shots. Mostly, they will be crap, but it helps break the fear of composing the shot and costing money for every photo taken.

 

[Njaco]

As an example, I was in the back of a T-6 in a four ship formation for photos.

Now theres a sentence I want to write some day!

Take Eric's words - hes right. I'm no camera guy - I'm usually the 'crowd source' guy but his comment about kamikazi camera is right one. This past year at WWII Weekend they re-enacted the flag raising on Suribachi. Crowd of people, couldn't get close so I said the 'ell with lining up a shot and just held the camera over head as far as I could (long arms will let you do that ) and just started shooting. Not the best pics but they work. Real happy I did that.

 

[mikewint]

RA, taking pics of the kids in the water at Johnson Shut-ins in Mo. bottom was rocks covered with algae, slippery as snot on a doorknob. Yup, foot slipped. camera and I went up in the air and both came down in about 4ft of water. scratch one $200 camera and 36 vacation pics.
worst part was that the wife said "don't do it, it's too slippery"

 

[Pong]

I feel left out with you people using DSLRs.

Though have fun with it, Tim and like Aaron said go ahead and play with it. Best way to know the capabilities of your camera.

 

[RabidAlien]

Don't worry 'bout it, Pong....buy the camera that you're going to use. I see so many people out at the botanical gardens or wherever, toting around huge expensive DSLR's with mega-lenses attached, trying to look cool while staring blankly at the buttons and knobs and dials on the back of the camera, lining up and being very serious about taking the exact same pictures that they would've taken with the point-n-shoot. Photography is 98% composition, which is 100% about your good ole Mk1Mod1 (or Mod2, in my case...darn contacts...) eyeball. If you can't see the shot in your mind, line it up from whatever extremely odd/awkward angles may be required, you're going to just come out with typical "vacation" images in a very expensive camera. And the ability to see those shots comes, in large part, from getting over that film-fear and taking that "what the hell" shot. Once you push the button, every camera in the world does the exact same thing: it records the image you, the idiot behind the lens, put in front of it. Photography begins in the eyeball. You just have to train the eyeball to see the world in a different way. And you do that by going out and shooting.

 

[evangilder]

You don't need a big expensive camera to take good photos. While it can add reach and flexibility, it still comes down to having the eye for the shot and composition. I started out with a point and shoot, and worked up. If you start with an inexpensive point and shoot and develop the eye and the compositional skills, it makes the nice, expensive rigs that much more useful.

I do know some people that go out and spend a couple of thousand dollars on gear, don't know how to use it and still take crappy photos.

 

[TimEwers]

Well ummm thanks I guess. Really I just wanted something to take pictures of my models, and like I said this was on sale so I picked it up. They had other cameras but I can't afford no 3 or 4 hundred dollar camera. And I really don't intend to get that envoled in it.

But may go to the 36Th inf division museum again here in okc and try it out there. Guess I'll get some extras batteries and another flash card just in case.

 

[RabidAlien]

Heh...one of the first lessons I learned....always have spare consumables!!!

 

[GrauGeist]

...I do know some people that go out and spend a couple of thousand dollars on gear, don't know how to use it and still take crappy photos.

Aww c'mon, I'm trying!

Seriously, congrats on the digital camera, Tim...one of the things I had to do, when I made the switch from film to digital, was not to be so conservative on the shots. With a digital, your only limitation is your camera's memory card capacity!

Have fun, and hope to see some of your pics soon!

 

[Pong]

Don't worry 'bout it, Pong....buy the camera that you're going to use. I see so many people out at the botanical gardens or wherever, toting around huge expensive DSLR's with mega-lenses attached, trying to look cool while staring blankly at the buttons and knobs and dials on the back of the camera, lining up and being very serious about taking the exact same pictures that they would've taken with the point-n-shoot. Photography is 98% composition, which is 100% about your good ole Mk1Mod1 (or Mod2, in my case...darn contacts...) eyeball. If you can't see the shot in your mind, line it up from whatever extremely odd/awkward angles may be required, you're going to just come out with typical "vacation" images in a very expensive camera. And the ability to see those shots comes, in large part, from getting over that film-fear and taking that "what the hell" shot. Once you push the button, every camera in the world does the exact same thing: it records the image you, the idiot behind the lens, put in front of it. Photography begins in the eyeball. You just have to train the eyeball to see the world in a different way. And you do that by going out and shooting.

Thanks RA.

I do know some people that go out and spend a couple of thousand dollars on gear, don't know how to use it and still take crappy photos.

I know what you're saying. I know a couple of peeps who have expensive DSLRs and their shots, well IMO, look awful. I have to agree it all comes down to having an eye for the shot.

 

[evangilder]

Having a good eye is important, but equally important is knowing your gear to get the best possible image.