Nikon d5200

[ivangela]

So, after much research by my wife, we own a new camera!

Anyone know anything about DSLRs?

I've never owned a "real" camera, so this should be fun.

 

First, can one use a micro SDXC card, or only a full size SDXC card?

 

Any tips or websites for people new to the non point and click?

 

Thanks

[DanTheGamer11]

It has a SD port I believe but you should be able to use uSD cards with an adaptor... it wouldn't be the first time I did, granted not with a DSLR.

[SpeedCrazy]

Great camera. I have its younger brother the 5100.

The one thing that helped me most in learning how to make the most of a DSLR was to get a basic guide to the settings and then slap it on a tripod and drop it in full manual and mess with everything taking the same shot every time and experimenting with how different settings turn out. I took probably 1000 or more pics that afternoon most of the worthless but i learned a lot. Biggest thing is just use it.

I personally would not recommend a micro sd card as any adapter will slow down transfer rates and potentially affect the camera's performance, especially if you are shooting in burst mode.

[ivangela]

Speed, if I closed my eyes, I would swear I was talking to my brother...he also said to take lots of pictures of the same thing while messing with the settings.

Cool and thanks for the uSD card advice.

 

My wife and I are excited to enter the world of photography. I was thinking of taking a class at the local college to learn about the settings, etc as I have no idea about fstop and metering and all that jazz.

[BluePanda]

Most of everything you'll use will come from practice. Play with all the settings and take horrible pictures -- you soon learn what is and ins't appropriate. 

 

Fortunately -- you can always take pictures in AUTO!

[Andrewr05]

I would only buy class 10 (or higher) SD cards, even if other ones work I'd rather have the peace of mind knowing none of my shots will ever be missed because the camera is taking an extra half to full second to write the file.

 

You can take some amazing pics with the default lens too, so don't feel you need to rush out and buy any extras.

[ivangela]

I just found out my brother has a lens upgrade for me on the cheap

He has a d7100 and is probably the reason my wife chose the camera she did.

So smart,lol

[Renigade]

Last October I bought a D3200 for the arrival of my Grandson. It was suggested for me to put it in MANUAL and keep it there and set the camera to take both NEF and JPEG to learn. The NEF format will have all of your settings tagged on the picture so you can later trouble shoot how to adjust the settings if the shot did not come out how you like. If you have trouble getting a shot then just drop it into AUTO. I would suggest if you like to take pics outside get some filters to play with as well as a circular polarized filter. I live in Central FLA and and the Circular Polarizer is my favorite because any time i want to enhance the blue of the sky it just screws on to the end of my lens, It's a really cool gadget for 20-30$

I have been told that because of the smaller sensor on my d3200 the telephoto lenses like the 18-300 (I have been considering getting or a 18-250) is equivalent to a 450  not sure the equivalent for the 250, but the last thing you want to do is max out the zoom to full focal length because the more zoom with the smaller sensor the more fuzzy the images get  at full focal length.

oh yeah... Get a Flickr Pro account because you will need LOTS of space to sort and show all your pics i think I'm at just under 10K clicks now on the camera and  im getting close to 200GB of Video and shots. Have Fun !

[ir_cow]

Buy this book! Digital Photogrpahy: A Basic Manual. It's a great book for learning the ropes. I even managed to get my photography teacher to pick up the book for the classes.

[ivangela]

Thanks all for the recommendations!