Help Required - Looking for a New Lens

[Dave Humphries]

i cant find the album!!

The album

[Breinke]

Haha I was kidding. But I will for sure take some pictures tonight and submit them later. Which focus mode means what? Or should I just look it up?

[Mark von Kanel]

Hi Brianna, yes i know you were joking! you need to read your manual but id start by putting your cam in AFS mode and then selecting single point AF, this will allow you to select a focus point in your view finder with the arrow keys, start by useing the middle one as its the most sensitive, then when you half press you shutter button it should focus on that point. If you keep your shutter button half pressed you will be able to move the camera without it re focusing, so if your subject is at one side then focus wit them in the middle, keep you shutter button half pressed and move the came so they are back at the side of the frame. Does that make sense?

[Breinke]

So if I'm taking a picture of something that's on the left side of my screen, make sure the focus is in the middle, keep it half pressed, and then what?

[Breinke]

I'm very confused about the focus modes. There are so many to choose from and I'm not finding anything that explains them very well, therefor I don't know which one to use. ):

[Donald]

I'm very confused about the focus modes. There are so many to choose from and I'm not finding anything that explains them very well, therefor I don't know which one to use. ):

Do you have a User Manual for your camera? If not, you can download one. I would urge you, most strongly, to take time out to read that until you are confident you understand what it is telling you. The answers to all the questions you have asked are in that booklet.

[Mark von Kanel]

im not explaining this very well! select AFS, select single point focus, your manual will tell you how to do it, i think the d5100 has 31 focus points for you to choose from in the view finder using the arrow keys, again your manual will tell you how to select them.

There are 2 ways you can do this, you can either select a focus point that covers the area you want in focus, half press the shutter button and the camera should focus on the bit youve selected and then you take the picture.

the other way is probably more used ( i do it this way), I select the middle focus point, i line up the bit i want in focus, with that af point and half press the button, then if i want the bit ive focused on, in a different area of the picture, i keep the button half pressed and re aim the camera so that the in focus bit is where i want it in the image. so if there was a photo of 3 people in, and the one i wanted in focus was on the left, id move the camera so that person was in the middle, then press the button half way down, the camera will focus. then keeping the button half pressed id move the camera back to where it was, so that all 3 people are where they were originally, the camera wont change its focus with the button half pressed, so you take the pic and the person on the left will be in focus,..... phew!

[Melkus]

Maybe this video will help clear things up about the autofocus on the D5100.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfQ0aZzulPA

[JPS]

Hi Brianna,
perhaps this link might help.


http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d5100/af-settings.htm

[Breinke]

The video really helped me out, thanks Paul. Mark, I have to let my camera charge but afterwards I am going to take some pictures with my new knowledge!

[Breinke]

Okay so, when my camera locks the focus, it looks like a perfect picture, but when I go to playback, the picture is black ):

[Breinke]

I don't know which setting to use; aperture priority, manual, programed, or the s one. But whenever I set it to single servo and single shot, it only lets me take one picture and then it goes back to the usual settings.

[Melkus]

I don't know which setting to use; aperture priority, manual, programed, or the s one. But whenever I set it to single servo and single shot, it only lets me take one picture and then it goes back to the usual settings.

Here's an idea. Just leave it on Auto mode for now and work on your composition. Do you know what the “Rule of Thirds” are, if not then check this out.
http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

[Breinke]

I've been trying for an hour to figure this out and nothing is changing.

[rtbaum]

Are you perhaps depending on autofocus?

[Breinke]

I have no idea what I'm doing. I spent all day looking into this camera, and then the second I go home and try things out, it doesn't work.

[Polar01]

Brianna: I am going to be brutal, until you figure out how to set focus and focus, depth of field, your images will never, and I mean never show the detail that you want. A new lens will not help, until you learn your camera inside and out, and that takes practice, practice, practice and more practice. You get a new lens when the lens can not longer give you what you require of it, ie. reach, width, speed these are the things what cause you to get a lens that you give you what you want. Focus and depth of field will give you the detail that you want. It is not the camera it is you, most of us have been there, read the lessons here, your manual and above all practice and take note of how one thing affects the image you get, if you have to write it down then do it and review it.

Cheers:

Allan
Been there and learned from it as we all have

[Breinke]

I already realize that, but how m I supposed to practice when no matter what setting I choose, my picture come out black? Or when I go to take a picture of q close up, it'll work once, but never again.

[Breinke]

I can't really practice when nobody is helping me understand the functions of my camera. All my photos are coming out black, I can't turn the flash off, when I take a close up, it only gives me a clear picture one time out of 100 shots. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I took 2 pages of notes on how to set up the camera to get a good picture and it's not working. If you want a close up, you're supposed to take a picture with a fast shutter speed and an aperture close to 3.5 or so, correct? Then how come when i do, my photos come out blurry?

[Scott Stephen]

I can't really practice when nobody is helping me understand the functions of my camera. All my photos are coming out black, I can't turn the flash off, when I take a close up, it only gives me a clear picture one time out of 100 shots. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I took 2 pages of notes on how to set up the camera to get a good picture and it's not working. If you want a close up, you're supposed to take a picture with a fast shutter speed and an aperture close to 3.5 or so, correct? Then how come when i do, my photos come out blurry?

Close up has nothing to do with aperature or shutter speed. If your picture is coming out black, it is because you have raised your shutter speed too high, and there is not enough light to expose an image. Since you are able to set both aperature and suutter, you sou sound like you must be in full Manual ("M") mode, which is way, way beyond where a beginner should be.