Sony NEX 5R w/ SELP1650

[Infinite]

I've never owned anything beyond a point and shoot so I was thinking of getting a proper DSLR for Christmas but ended up buy this instead. I'm in Hong Kong and the exchange rate at the moment is pretty decent. Bought this at Broadway (one of HK chain electronic stores) and they sure pack it with the freebies! Got a extra Sony battery, 16GB Class10 SDcard, protective filter, cheapo tripod, cheapo camera bag, multi-card reader, external battery charger, screen protector, and some other stuff.

As I said, I am a complete beginner at photography so if anyone could point my towards some good beginner guides, it would be greatly appreciated After one night of toying around I can just about manage to navigate the menus and modes XD

If any of you guys have questions I will try to the best of my ability answer them, but don't expect much

I will try to get some shots uploaded tonight.

[benzeman]

I found http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/ useful, especially for understanding jargon!

[kalniel]

Agreed with the Cambridge in Colour recommendation.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/ is another resource I've found great - large collection from basic to quite advanced. Obviously focused on landscapes, but a lot of it is still applicable to other types of photography. It's quite quirky - some of them require a bit of knowledge to be useful, some are quite old fashioned.

[TheAnimus]

Do you want to learn about processing the digital images?

You can do amazing things when shooting in raw, recover what would be a terrible picture and develop it in to something good.

However, my recommendation for that would involve spending more money on Lightroom.

[kalniel]

However, my recommendation for that would involve spending more money on Lightroom.

There are free alternatives for raw processing, not quite as simple to use, but almost. RawTherapee for example.

[mcmiller]

Very nice camera. I have the NEX5 N which i believe it exactly the same but without the wifi. Hmm not sure if i should ask the question but how much did you pay for it?

I found this channel on youtube very handy

http://www.youtube.com/user/worm3245?feature=g-user-c

[Infinite]

Everything shot in auto so far

Photobucket seems to be heavily compressing the photos. Any better sites or methods to upload photos?

[Infinite]

I found http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/ useful, especially for understanding jargon!

Thanks, had a quick look, seems really good. Think it will be my go to tutorial site.

Do you want to learn about processing the digital images?

You can do amazing things when shooting in raw, recover what would be a terrible picture and develop it in to something good.

However, my recommendation for that would involve spending more money on Lightroom.

Yes, I was thinking whether to dip my toes or go balls deep into this and I think going all in would be worth the time. I also found the option to shoot in Raw+jpeg so I will be using that from now on. I'm still a student so would Lightroom 4 student edition be the cheapest option to get?

Very nice camera. I have the NEX5 N which i believe it exactly the same but without the wifi. Hmm not sure if i should ask the question but how much did you pay for it?

I found this channel on youtube very handy

http://www.youtube.com/user/worm3245?feature=g-user-c

I got it for 6100HKD so about £500 which is about what you would pay for it in the UK, but it come with about £60-70 worth of free stuff.

[rox0r]

Get it off auto and learn the ropes, or did you mean to buy a p&s? If you leave it on it becomes a habitual comfort zone and you'll never learn. Be warned

[benzeman]

Put it on aperture priority, then set the aperture to 3 or 4 stops above the minimum.

[kalniel]

Put it on aperture priority, then set the aperture to 3 or 4 stops above the minimum.

Interesting idea of a tutorial. Why would you universally do that, and what do you expect to learn from it?

[benzeman]

Interesting idea of a tutorial. Why would you universally do that, and what do you expect to learn from it?

Sorry, that wasn't a complete tutorial, just something that's "better than auto"

There's a good article in "this" (Jan 2013) issue of digital camera magazine - in explains what all the modes do and what you use them for. Page 34 onwards.

[kalniel]

Sorry, that wasn't a complete tutorial, just something that's "better than auto"

Right, but you need to know why it's better than auto, or it'll become the default mode and not any better than using a point and shoot.

With a relatively large sensored DSLR and a typical poorish quality kit lens, taking the aperture down a few stops tends to be the sharpest range for the lens, and the one with the fewest image flaws from CA etc. So the advice helps give you an image with the fewest problems from the lens.

But that's all it does. It's only appropriate if by taking the aperture down a few stops from maximum happens to place the resulting parameters (ISO, shutter speed, D.o.F.-depth of field etc.) in values appropriate for the scene you are trying to capture and the light level. One could (and I would) argue that with the quality and over-resolution of today's cameras (together with software correction of certain lens flaws) that minimising lens flaws and trying to get the absolutely sharpest shot possible is way down the priority list when it comes to taking a good photo.

Foremost for me is capturing what you want to capture, and the advantage of a DSLR is precisely in it's flexibility to capture such a wide range of scenes/stories. Good use of ISO, focal length and D.o.F. control for starters enable you to do that, and to understand why you are using them you need to understand light/exposure etc.

[TheAnimus]

There are free alternatives for raw processing, not quite as simple to use, but almost. RawTherapee for example.

YMMV

But I just can't stand RawTherapee, as soon as I get something looking almost, but not quite how I want, it crashes.... every.... damned.... time.