Nikon D5000,help/advice/newbie

C

cesarin321

Senior Member
ahoy !!!!

here's the thing, i got this nikon D5000 and a canon 400D in a pretty sweet deal, the canon goes to my sister because that one was at my place when it got broken into... :( (yeah they took everything).

i was just using the canon for like a year, mainly for day shots, nothing fancy, but really didn't get the chance to "get into" the canon... anyhow, now i got this nikon cam which looks intimidating comparing in to the canon, i'm still familiarizing with the cam but i'm getting good...

so i was wondering if i could get some advice in setting up the cam for outdoor daylight shots, indoors shots and how to make the best out of the burst mode, i will mainly use this cam for 2 purposes, working with models and sports events where i would need to take as many pic as possible as fast as the cam allows it.

i also need advice on a good flash or external flash (dunno how you people call it), i don't want something fancy, just something good to start with, i don't think i would pay more than 150 euros for it...

since the lens on the cam is slightly scratch, i'd need to change it, i'd be looking for wider lens and with more zoom, here's one silly question, how does one measures how wide a lens is? for outdoor shooting i'll be needing a sun hood, which i supposed i need to get after i get the lens to verify the size...right?

filters, battery grip, extra battery... oh god...

don't know if it's important but i'm using a trascend SDHC 16Gb memory card.



thank you all in advance, and looking forward to your replies.

cheers
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
cesarin321 said:
... so i was wondering if i could get some advice in setting up the cam for outdoor daylight shots, indoors shots and how to make the best out of the burst mode, i will mainly use this cam for 2 purposes, working with models and sports events where i would need to take as many pic as possible as fast as the cam allows it.
Click to expand...
Well, there are several ways to approach this but the *simplest* (not necessarily the *best* and certainly not the *only* way) would be to use Program Mode and set your minimum shutter speed in the ISO Sensitivity menu to something that you feel confident will handle the fast action of sporting events. I'm assuming your models will be less of an issue in this regard. For "Burst" mode you simply turn on "Continuous" for the shutter button function.

cesarin321 said:
i also need advice on a good flash or external flash (dunno how you people call it), i don't want something fancy, just something good to start with, i don't think i would pay more than 150 euros for it...
Click to expand...
Look into the Yongnuo YN-468 II.

cesarin321 said:
since the lens on the cam is slightly scratch, i'd need to change it, i'd be looking for wider lens and with more zoom, here's one silly question, how does one measures how wide a lens is? for outdoor shooting i'll be needing a sun hood, which i supposed i need to get after i get the lens to verify the size...right?
Click to expand...
Lens are measured in millimeters with lower numbers having wider fields of view, larger numbers indicate "telephoto" lenses and ranges "zoom" lenses. 50mm is considered "normal" perspective. For wide angle you probably want something in the 18mm to 24mm range. For zooming 200-300mm is pretty standard. You can get one lens that goes from 18-300 but it won't be cheap.

cesarin321 said:
filters, battery grip, extra battery... oh god...
Click to expand...
I wouldn't worry about any of these, personally. Take a deep breath and relax.

cesarin321 said:
don't know if it's important but i'm using a trascend SDHC 16Gb memory card.
Click to expand...
Well how important could it be? It only holds your photo's until you download them to your computer, right? Transcend is a good brand. Don't be afraid to reformat the card, often, in camera; it will prevent problems with corruption.

Cheers.



P.S. Send Hoegaarden, Cote d'Or Noir de Noir in quantity, and as soon as possible, please and thank you.
 
Last edited:
C

cesarin321

Senior Member
Horoscope Fish said:
Well, there are several ways to approach this but the *simplest* (not necessarily the *best* and certainly not the *only* way) would be to use Program Mode and set your minimum shutter speed in the ISO Sensitivity menu to something that you feel confident will handle the fast action of sporting events. I'm assuming your models will be less of an issue in this regard. For "Burst" mode you simply turn on "Continuous" for the shutter button function.


Look into the Yongnuo YN-468 II.


Lens are measured in millimeters with lower numbers having wider fields of view, larger numbers indicate "telephoto" lenses and ranges "zoom" lenses. 50mm is considered "normal" perspective. For wide angle you probably want something in the 18mm to 24mm range. For zooming 200-300mm is pretty standard. You can get one lens that goes from 18-300 but it won't be cheap.


I wouldn't worry about any of these, personally. Take a deep breath and relax.


Well how important could it be? It only holds your photo's until you download them to your computer, right? Transcend is a good brand. Don't be afraid to reformat the card, often, in camera; it will prevent problems with corruption.

Cheers.



P.S. Send Hoegaarden, Cote d'Or Noir de Noir in quantity, and as soon as possible, please and thank you.
Click to expand...



hey hey

thanks for the helpful reply...

would you mind telling me more about "sport" settings, shutter speed.. the thing is, it's being a while since i hold a dslr in my hands... i guess i would need to experiment a little bit when the time comes...

about the lens, what would you recommend? i know lenses aren't cheap i just want to have an idea on the price in my mind...
but honestly wouldn't know where to start...


ps: hoegaarden is my fav... :)
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
cesarin321 said:
thanks for the helpful reply...
Click to expand...
Most welcome. My ex-wife is Belgian (grew up in Ronse but is now living in Ghent)... I did fall in love with Belgium while I was there. Ate myself nearly to bursting on steamed mussels, escargot and Palm more than once. Do love me some Hoegaarden, though! Anyway...

cesarin321 said:
would you mind telling me more about "sport" settings, shutter speed.. the thing is, it's being a while since i hold a dslr in my hands... i guess i would need to experiment a little bit when the time comes...
Click to expand...
Well if you mean "Sports" MODE on your camera (one of the icons on the topmost selector wheel) all that really does is try to select a fast shutter speed for your shots. You could experiment with it but I prefer to set things up myself. I am, by the way, making certain assumptions about your understanding of things like: Shutter Speed, Aperture, Depth of Field and ISO. If you're NOT familiar with what these terms mean, and how the affect your picture taking, I would suggest you spend some time with a good book on basic photography or, at the very least, Ken Rockwell's online guide to the D5000. A good book I can suggest would be the Nikon D5000 Digital Field Guide (link goes to Amazon, stateside...).

cesarin321 said:
about the lens, what would you recommend? i know lenses aren't cheap i just want to have an idea on the price in my mind... but honestly wouldn't know where to start...
Click to expand...
Well suggesting a particular lens is never easy because everyone wants ONE lens that does everything and that, unfortunately, just isn't going to happen. What lens is on the camera now?

For myself, I pretty much live and die by two lenses: My 18-105mm rarely leaves my D5100 but when it does, most likely, it's for a 35mm prime. But that's me and based on my shooting needs. For shooting models, I would want a 50mm prime (meaning the focal length is fixed) and for shooting sports I would want my 18-105 (at a minimum) or the 18-300mm (oh hell yes!). The latter would totally awesome, but I don't have a need at this point for that much zoom power. You will probably want it, though.

Hope that helps! I'm sure others will post with equally good suggestions.
 
C

cesarin321

Senior Member
hey hey

so the ex-w was from the dutch side...they're so much cooler than the french... lol

anyhow, assumption was wrong, i really need to catch up on basic stuff, i really never got the chance to do so...

the lens i got now is the one that came with the cam, 18-55mm

the sam rockwell's guide looks really cool and easy to read, thanks for that !!

i was checking lenses on this second hand site.....expensive..... guess i'll need to wait a bit to get a new one....
on the other hand i found this nikon sb28 flash for 70 euros, what do you think about that? price-like is perfect for me,
bu i've never used a nikon flash before so...


thanks again for the help

ps: the more i read about the nik the more i dig it !!
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
cesarin321 said:
so the ex-w was from the dutch side...they're so much cooler than the french... lol
Click to expand...
That's what she said, too... lol...

cesarin321 said:
anyhow, assumption was wrong, i really need to catch up on basic stuff, i really never got the chance to do so...
Click to expand...
Then read, read, read... And EXPERIMENT. Digital is cheap (free!) so no one needs to see all the shots you screwed up on your learning curve. Shoot in "P"rogram Mode, shoot in "A"perture Priority, shoot in "S"hutter Priority and really get a feel for what at those modes can do for you. Once you understand the tools you have you'll start applying them to help you get the picture you have in your head matching the picture you print.

cesarin321 said:
the lens i got now is the one that came with the cam, 18-55mm
Click to expand...
The 18-55 is a dandy lens, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Used with skill that lens will serve you well.

cesarin321 said:
i was checking lenses on this second hand site.....expensive..... guess i'll need to wait a bit to get a new one....
Click to expand...
You will NEVER regret saving your money and buying good glass. Period.

cesarin321 said:
on the other hand i found this nikon sb28 flash for 70 euros, what do you think about that? price-like is perfect for me...
Click to expand...
The only thing I don't like about the SB-28 is that it doesn't do TTL metering. You don't know what that is, do you? lol... Read up on "Through The Lens" (TTL) metering. If you think you're going to need an inexpensive flash, look for a Yongnuo YN-468 II. A brand new one should cost you somewhere around 60 euro. It blows away the SB-28 on every front.
 
C

cesarin321

Senior Member
the guy selling the flash also mentions about it not doing TTL metering...i guess metering is important, i'll stick with the yongy yongy then...

there... i just learned what "TTL" means... must reward myself for this...

cheers
 
SkvLTD

SkvLTD

Senior Member
For models, get a prime lens perhaps? For sports, depending on the sport, anything thats within your budget and ends at 2-300mm.

Battery-wise, I think 5000 didn't require batteries to have official chips to work, so you could look into cheap chinese ones or the Meike dual battery grip.

As far as learning settings, play with auto or the S(hutter priority) and see what the cam sets ISO and aperture to, then dive into Manual.
 
C

cesarin321

Senior Member
SkvLTD said:
For models, get a prime lens perhaps? For sports, depending on the sport, anything thats within your budget and ends at 2-300mm.

Battery-wise, I think 5000 didn't require batteries to have official chips to work, so you could look into cheap chinese ones or the Meike dual battery grip.

As far as learning settings, play with auto or the S(hutter priority) and see what the cam sets ISO and aperture to, then dive into Manual.
Click to expand...



ok thanks for the info :)
 
Top