new 5100 user beginner questions

2

2ball

Senior Member
I bought a Canon T3 on black Friday for $300. It was a decent camera, very simple to use. The camera told you exactly what every setting did and how to adjust it. I ended up sending the T3 back and I bought the 5100 for $140 more to get 1080 hd video and better low light performance.

1. Can someone walk me through what setting I use that will let me pick 3200 iso and 1/250 shutter speed and plus 1 exposure?

2. The apatrue also confuses me. Why doesent the camera know the apature of my lens and use that?

3. Is there a way to get lcd screen to preview the pic without the red, blue and other color graph?

I have more questions but i will stop at these for now.
 
K

KWJams

Senior Member
Don't mean to sound rude or anything -- but the best thing you can do is read your manual. I know it is dry reading but one page at a time and you can gain a lot a of valuable information.

All of your questions are explained in the manual.

Example: Page 40 explains ISO
 
§

§am

Senior Member
The user manual and even in more depth reference manual are your best friends, but in answer to your 3rd question, just press down or up on the command dial to get rid of the histogram info when viewing pics
 
D

DTigga

New member
Just a tip; if you have a smart phone then you can download and store the manual on it. That way it's always on hand, and you can search for the feature you're after.

D
 
C

Chemic

Senior Member
Im not sure if you got a used device, or a very good deal on a new one. But look into reverting the stock settings.
 
2

2ball

Senior Member
SS381 said:
The user manual and even in more depth reference manual are your best friends, but in answer to your 3rd question, just press down or up on the command dial to get rid of the histogram info when viewing pics
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info. For anyone else that may be in the same position as me in the future, the answer to question 1 is to press the "i" button twice and you will go into the menu to change all those things.

as for question 2 why does the camera let me go above the f limits of the lens?
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
2ball said:
Thanks for the info. For anyone else that may be in the same position as me in the future, the answer to question 1 is to press the "i" button twice and you will go into the menu to change all those things.

as for question 2 why does the camera let me go above the f limits of the lens?
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean here.. it sounds like (I apologize if I am wrong)...

You have a lens rated at 3afe f/3.5... your camera lets you go up to f/8 or f/16 etc..???

If that is the case:
f3.5 is the Largest Aperture capability and it can and will go smaller... Note though, that smaller aperture is a LARGER f/ number so maybe that is what you are seeing?

Pat in NH
 
AC016

AC016

Senior Member
A camera can not let you go past or below the F stops on your lens, it's impossible. I am guessing that your cam came with the 18-55mm. If that is the case, read this: Nikon 18-55mm VR

If the aperture range of a lens is 1.8 to 32, the camera can not make the lens go below 1.8 or above 32. It is physically and mechanically impossible.
 
2

2ball

Senior Member
RockyNH said:
Not sure what you mean here.. it sounds like (I apologize if I am wrong)...

You have a lens rated at 3afe f/3.5... your camera lets you go up to f/8 or f/16 etc..???

If that is the case:
f3.5 is the Largest Aperture capability and it can and will go smaller... Note though, that smaller aperture is a LARGER f/ number so maybe that is what you are seeing?

Pat in NH
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I guess there will be times that I want to let in less light then the best f/number the lens is capable of?
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
2ball said:
That makes sense. I guess there will be times that I want to let in less light then the best f/number the lens is capable of?
Click to expand...

Where I think you need to start is to look at the interaction of the 3 things that affect your exposure and how they affect each other...

ISO - How sensitive the camera is to lower light (allows a faster shutter speed for action at the expense of quality depending on how high and ISO you run)

f-Stop/Aperture - Lens opening .. larger number, smaller opening less light - smaller number is a larger opening allowing more light

Shutter speed - Faster less light and stops action - slower is more light but easier to blur
-----------------------

You need to look at all 3 as you plan a shot. Do you need more light??? Increase ISO, slow shutter and or open lens.


This is very simplistic and you need to study and practice this to get a good understanding. You action is blurred? Increase shutter!! Not enough light for that, open the lens more and or increase ISO...

Read your manual, check youtube for videos on exposure... study and practice!

Hope this helps some... above all .. Enjoy!

Pat in NH
 
2

2ball

Senior Member
RockyNH said:
Where I think you need to start is to look at the interaction of the 3 things that affect your exposure and how they affect each other...

ISO - How sensitive the camera is to lower light (allows a faster shutter speed for action at the expense of quality depending on how high and ISO you run)

f-Stop/Aperture - Lens opening .. larger number, smaller opening less light - smaller number is a larger opening allowing more light

Shutter speed - Faster less light and stops action - slower is more light but easier to blur
-----------------------

You need to look at all 3 as you plan a shot. Do you need more light??? Increase ISO, slow shutter and or open lens.


This is very simplistic and you need to study and practice this to get a good understanding. You action is blurred? Increase shutter!! Not enough light for that, open the lens more and or increase ISO...

Read your manual, check youtube for videos on exposure... study and practice!

Hope this helps some... above all .. Enjoy!

Pat in NH
Click to expand...

Thanks Pat.

I think I understand iso and speed, it was just confusing me as to why there is an aperture setting on my camera, that I can adjust.
 
D

dherd1

New member
2ball said:
it was just confusing me as to why there is an aperture setting on my camera, that I can adjust.
Click to expand...

In addition to controlling the amount of light making it through the lens, aperature also controls depth of field. For a given lens, a small aperature (e.g. F22) will have a larger depth of field than a large aperature (e.g. F2.8). Note that depth of field is also dependent on the lens length and the distance from the camera to the subject.
 
D

DTigga

New member
2ball said:
Thanks Pat.

I think I understand iso and speed, it was just confusing me as to why there is an aperture setting on my camera, that I can adjust.
Click to expand...

This is the major difference between a point & shoot and a DSLR; the ability to control your aperture. Your fstop controls light but also depth of field (the amount of detail in focus).

DT
 
RockyNH_RIP

RockyNH_RIP

Senior Member
Great!! Be sure and get back to us with some of your pics... Hockey presents a few opportunities... action, lighting and affect of the ice on the exposure... Shoot lots and and adjust as needed... (and have fun!)

Pat in NH
 
Top