Originally Posted by Saracen
We've all got to start somewhere, and learn, and buying an SLR then learning about it seems like a decent way of going about it. Which is what's happening by asking questions.
That's true, and it'll certainly help the learning process by actually having an SLR to play with. But the questions being posed in this thread weren't exactly the questions of someone who sounded like they'd even picked up an SLR before, let alone known enough to decide which one to buy...
"i was wondering what it means by f/3.5-5.6" - fair enough, that's a question you often see as some people aren't aware that most zoom lens change their maximum aperture as a function of focal length. But it's not like you couldn't experiment and figure it out by setting the aperture and zooming in and out.
"i've used my camera on like f/22(and more)" - ahh. Apertures
that small are best avoided when possible.
"only can get to 3.5 a few times." - sorry to be blunt, but if you've failed to realise that you can only get to f/3.5 at the wide end, then I've no idea what you must be doing with the camera controls.
Originally Posted by Funkstar
There are also very good reasons for using a SLR over a P&S, even if you set to to fully auto and ignore all the settings possible. Near instant shutter response, continuous shooting, an actual shutter as opposed to a beep when shooting, etc.
That's also true, but as I've alluded to in the past, learning to drive in a Ferrari doesn't make you a better driver. The performance of a DSLR is just wasted if you don't understand the most basic concepts of aperture/shutter speed and how if affects your image. I'd also argue that the single, main
raison d'etre of SLR is the performance and functionality of the interchangeable lenses. The camera body performance is just a bonus, imho!
Originally Posted by r_j_k_p
get off your high horse.
not everyone is born some sort of technical genius as you are..
I'm flattered, but sadly you're wrong. I'm no genius, I just read up on the basics of photography so I could take better pictures when I had a compact. You don't even need to buy a book these days, it's all on the web.
Originally Posted by Bobster
do you want me to lecture you about the choice of your TFT?
Nah, s'okay, thanks.
Not sure why you offered though, as I don't remember posting a topic asking what the "1280×1024" means on the box my TFT came in.
Originally Posted by Saracen
So yeah, not all P&S cameras are suitable for learning, and there certainly are good reasons for going SLR, but it MIGHT be the best bet for some people to start with one of those versatile 'P&S' models. Not all non-SLR's are simply point-and-shoots.
That's kind of the line of thinking I had, I just put mine in a slightly blunter fashion.
So sorry for not being diplomatic, but I stand beside my point. Buying a DSLR and
then asking why you can only get to f/3.5 "some of the time" suggests you really don't know what the aperture is, or means. Buying a DSLR without the first clue about lenses is a bit like putting a £4000 pre-overclocked, watercooled gaming rig in front of your grandmother. Your grandmother wouldn't know where to start with it, and would be better off with a simple machine and a book to teach her the basics.