Few minutes back I was busy, flipping through the manual of Canon EOS 1000D DSLR, I had purchased on Saturday.
Those who know me well enough, also know that I rarely read manuals and yet, I felt compelled to read the manual of my DSLR, even though I am well acquainted with things like Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Full Manual modes, thanks to my Canon A720IS, which had all of these “creative modes”.
However, DSLR being a DSLR, obviously has much more to offer than just these modes and coming to grips with what does what, takes time and knowledge, which just can not be acquired by casually browsing through menus. Add to that, there are usually couple or more ways to do the same thing, so knowing which way works fastest, is the key to becoming an expert with the DSLR.
Of course that does not mean that one can not use a DSLR without this knowledge and photographs would actually suck, if they do! If this was the case, then I wouldn’t have been able to capture this decent portrait of Shamik and Nadya, which I did, yesterday at BCMTouring Meet.
What I did meant with my above line of thought, was that one should know the ins and outs of their equipment well enough to be able to take advantage of a particular option eg. in case I am shooting flying birds, I wouldn’t likely be able to fully exploit my camera’s focusing system, unless I switch it to AI Servo Mode, in which any object is continuously tracked and thus gives much better results than the normal one shot focus option.
Thankfully Canon has not only provided a nicely detailed user manual with easy to understand direction, but has gone one step further by providing two extra booklets; Do More With Macros and Great Photography IS Easy (more of promotional thing, highlighting advantage of IS lenses, but providing tips as well), additionally I also have a coupon to attend one of Canon’s regular DSLR training classes to get some tips from the pros.
Guess this is just a start to a learning adventure, that would last a life time…
2 Comments
Yogesh, i totally second your thoughts. Having been using a DSLR for a while now, the use is only if you know it inside out. else it will leave you with the worst pictures you could ever take. Know it and you will be pleasantly surprised to see the world through your own eyes and lenses!!
Canon has been at the fore front in making DSLR more used friendly from the very onset of its existence. With the increasing interest of the Indian population in photography we are set to see some new avenues pop up in no time…..good times are on the roll!
I use a Canon 550D with a few telephoto and a few prime lenses and i have been happy so far…though the lust to get that super shot never ends….and i am happy that it is that way!
Keep up the good work.
God speed!
Thanks Doc, btw did you attend Canon Edge Workshop?